Drawing Purgatory

Another Spurs Women matchday, another 1-1 draw. This time we conceded first, unlike the previous two matches, but the result was the same. Profligate finishing has been an issue over the last few weeks that will need to be addressed before the gauntlet of fixtures against top 4 teams leading into the winter break. But first, there's a midweek Conti Cup match to hopefully provide some fresh inspiration with a bit of rotation to the squad.

In this issue: Leicester City recap | Previewing Bristol City | Pub chat

WSL Matchday 7 recap | Leicester City 1 - 1 Tottenham

Cayman 18' | Bizet 56'

This was definitely a game of two halves, with Spurs looking low on quality for large stretches of the first half but improving in the second—particularly after the substitutions. In fact, one of the subs necessitated a role change for a go-to starter that is worth dissecting, so more on that later. Let's look at the starting lineup first, because there were a couple of enforced changes due to injuries.

Starting XI:

With Olga Ahtinen out until the new year, there were two realistic choices to replace her in Robert Vilahaman's preferred 4-2-3-1 formation: Ria Percival or Angharad James. We would see both play in the pivot with Eveliina Summanen over the course of the game, but Percival got the start in midfield while James retained the right fullback spot she's been playing in all season. Meanwhile, Drew Spence was still unavailable for this game and Grace Clinton got the nod for the #10 role, with Jess Naz entering the starting XI out at left winger and Kit Graham dropping back to the bench after starting last time out against Liverpool. Otherwise, it was business as usual.

Unfortunately, James got smoked on defense in the buildup to Leicester's sole goal in the 18th minute, with Hannah Cain breezing past her to send in a cross to Janice Cayman for the shot. It didn't help that Cayman was basically unmarked in the middle of our box, but she did have to make a sophisticated touch to open up the angle past Becky Spencer.

Before the goal, Leicester had another threatening chance caused by poor tracking back by Clinton (which seems to be a concern no matter if she's playing centrally or on the wing). Jutta Rantala's shot was nicely saved by Spencer but it took a heroic goal-line clearance by Ash Neville to prevent Missy Goodwin from scoring at close range on the rebound.

The first half ended with a flurry of Spurs chances, including a fairly tame header by Martha Thomas and a triple save by Leicester's keeper, Janina Leitzig, on a series of shots by Naz, Neville, and James (why Haz didn't leave the ball for Clinton to take with her superior shooting range, I will never know). Leitzig had a very strong game in general, and yes, I will accept the blame since I downplayed her form this season in my match preview.

Even though we ended the first half with some momentum, it had undoubtedly been a poor effort overall, with lots of short passes and lackluster pressing. A big response was needed after halftime—and we mostly got it.

Bizet got us onto the scoresheet in the 56th minute, making it two goals in two games for our Norwegian winger. After Neville fed the ball up to Naz, whose pass into the central area wasn't exactly successful and didn't find a specific target, but Thomas was able to drop back and claim the loose ball. Her hold-up play skills have really been on display lately and this was another great example, as she navigated around her marker to send a through ball to Bizet. Celin had a very composed finish and hopefully we will continue to see more of that over the next few games.

As alluded to earlier, we saw some intriguing substitutions in the 59th minute, with Rosella Ayane and Asmita Ale coming on for Naz and Percival. Ayane for Naz was a like-for-like swap, but Ale traded places with James at right-back so the Welshwoman could enter the midfield pivot with Summanen.

Although James has performed better in the right-back role than I think we could have reasonably expected at the start of the season, there have still been some tradeoffs to contend with, and overall I thought the formation felt much more balanced after Ale came on and the switch was made. For one thing, Ale has a much better sense of timing when it comes to the push-and-pull of attack vs defense. Asmita contributed to some interesting attacking moves going forward and didn't shirk her defensive duties either. James is much better suited to a more central role where she is facilitating ball progression with short, incisive passes to the more creative players (including Ale making one of her central runs) as well as controlling the ball in tight spaces as the opposition tries to press. She's never been the fastest player, so expecting her to react with pace to counterattacks is always going to get her into trouble (as we saw in the first half of this match as well as several times earlier in the season). I really would love to see us start with this lineup soon—though perhaps not the midweek match since we're expecting a lot of rotation with key starters needing some rest (including James, I would think).

There was another tactical tweak when Ellie Brazil subbed on for Clinton. Kind of similar to what we saw at the end of the Liverpool game with Naz and Thomas operating in a striker duo, where Naz played a more advanced role and Thomas dropped back as a makeshift playmaker, our top scorer once again let the younger player take advantage of fresh legs to spearhead the press. Martha hasn't gotten a lot of rest yet this season, so this late-game development makes sense to preserve her fitness while keeping such an experienced and savvy player involved.

We got a little tentative in the closing stages, with several players either hesitating to take a shot or just taking one touch too many, and Brazil wasn't pressing Leitzig with quite the same intensity that we're used to seeing from Thomas. But we were undoubtedly the dominant team and therefore feel unlucky not to have completed the comeback. A single point, in conjunction with the other results across the league, dropped us down to 5th place in the WSL table—which is still a great start to the season so far considering it's a team with a lot of young new players, a new manager, and a new tactical system. And we remain unbeaten since the initial opening-day loss to Chelsea, which itself was a close result.

In other words, I don't think this string of 1-1 draws is cause for too much concern. The underlying performances have perhaps been uneven across an entire game, as we saw in this past match with a much stronger second half, but overall the effort has been like night and day between last season's struggling side that risked relegation and this season's front-foot side. In this first campaign under Vilahamn, becoming a solid, consistent mid-table team should be the goal. We can then hope to progress further with some smart signings in January as well as the summer window. We're not miles off hitting the level of the top 4 teams but still need some fine-tuning. The important thing is that morale seems high and motivation is never lacking, and the tactical foundation is certainly there.

SAtP Player of the Match: Celin Bizet

Celin had come under some criticism (from this newsletter included) for her lack of end product early on in the season, but she's really starting to come into her stride. I think it helps that she and Martha have developed some great chemistry already. Plus, she's clearly focused in training on improving her quality of shot and it's shown in her last few efforts.

I also just love her feisty little boxing celebration. Last week it involved the corner flag, and this week Eveliina gamely took part.

Side note: I'm really annoyed that the winter break is so long on the women's side and I am being robbed of the possibility of a "Boxing Day" title pun if Celin were to score on the 26th. Why can't we have nice things? (I know the answer; it's frozen pitches.)

Notable and quotable:

• In Ash's post-game interview, she noted that in the first half, it was "not the Tottenham side that the fans are used to seeing" and alluded to Robert's halftime talk. We definitely saw a response in the second half.

She also noted:

We’ve conceded in every game… and we just want that clean sheet.

I too would very much like to see a clean sheet for Becky, who has done more than enough to earn one in several games but was thwarted by her defense (and one very questionable penalty call).

• Meanwhile, Robert reflected on the missed chances that ultimately prevented a full comeback:

We should score in some of these situations, but it’s also young players playing there and they need this experience to develop. And I think to get to the chances they are very brave to take the chances.

He also reflected positively on the performance of the substitutes:

It’s nice to see the squad now taking steps and it’s not only the starting XI…. everybody is developing in training and everybody is ready to play and when they get the minutes they want to show that they are going to want to have more minutes.

That feels like a significant comment alongside his assertion that there would be rotation again in the upcoming cup match. This will be another chance for "fringe" players to make an argument for their inclusion in the league starting XI.

• Robert also made sure to stress how important Martha's contributions have been in the last two games, despite not scoring in either. Her decoy run helped Celin find space to shoot for her solo goal against Liverpool, and in this game she provided a straight up assist.

• I just have to share the clip of Ash's goal-line clearance because it was the moment of the match for me (though I'm happy to give Becky lots of praise for her initial save, too):

• Relative to the same fixtures from last season (excluding Bristol City since they are the promoted team), we are currently breaking even on points. This Leicester away fixture was one instance where we earned more points last season, but there have been other games where we've gained points with a better result this season. But as Robert constantly refrains, the important thing is that the performances are getting more consistent and we're sticking to the playing style philosophy.

• And although we have been scoring fewer goals in the last few games, we still have the joint-3rd best defense in the league to keep us hanging around the top half of the table. Interestingly, we have the 4th best goal total, having scored one more goal than our next WSL opponents, Manchester City.

Previewing League Cup | Group Stage Matchday 2 — Bristol City

I'm going to tentatively classify this midweek cup match as a potential banana skin, for two reasons:

• Bristol City have improved since we first faced them in WSL matchday 2

• With Arsenal entering our Conti Cup group after failing to qualify for the Champions League group stage, this game suddenly feels like a must-win

However, the Robins are still bottom of the table in the league (on goal difference) and will probably want to prioritize building their progress in that campaign over attempting to advance in a cup competition they are highly unlikely to win. WSL safety is worth more to them than a quarter-final berth in the Conti Cup, that is for sure. Therefore, expect to see some rotation from our opponents that could cancel out any rotation from Spurs to a certain degree—as long as Vilahamn doesn't go overboard with the changes.

On that note though, the last time he hinted at rotating for the cup I wasn't expecting the ten changes he actually made, so who knows?

There are definitely players who could use a rest, like stalwart vice-captain Molly Bartrip, recently-injured Luana Bühler, hard-working Ash Neville, ever-battling Eveliina Summanen, and relentlessly-pressing Martha Thomas. And there are plenty of players chomping at the bit for a chance to prove themselves. We are likely to see Barbora Votíková back in goal, as well.

Beyond the need for rest in a general sense, there's also the rapidly approaching weekend fixture to factor in, too. Manchester City will not be an easy matchup by any means so we need the league starting XI to preserve some energy, whether that's by subbing off early, coming off the bench, or staying out of the matchday squad entirely. On a positive note, we could see Drew Spence back in the squad soon after her short injury layoff.

As I mentioned, we really need to get all three points from this matchup since we are unlikely to do so against Arsenal later in the group stage, realistically. There's also Southampton still to come, but as they are lower-league opposition, the expectation is that we win that game. Even if we miss out on the top spot in the group to Arsenal there is still a chance of advancing as the best 2nd place team.

If you aren't able to make it to Brisbane Road, the match will be streaming on SpursPlay. It's unfortunate that so many of the Conti Cup matches aren't more widely available, but to my understanding it's up to the hosting club to provide a broadcast. On that note, we'll have to see what Southampton's plans are when it comes time for that away fixture...

Pub chat: Thanksgiving Spurs gratitude + a bonus bookmarks roundup

Although I launched this newsletter with the intention of providing Tottenham coverage from an American perspective, the American factor really doesn't come into play all that often. But since it's Thanksgiving week here in the States, I thought I would do a good old-fashioned gratitude list with a Spurs theme.

This year in the world of Spurs, I am thankful for:

• Our new managers. Robert Vilahamn and Ange Postecoglou have come in and totally turned around the mood of the club, not to mention the performances on the pitch. They've both been a complete breath of fresh air and I'm glad the club acted bravely to appoint two relatively "untested" (at least in the WSL and PL, that is) managers because of what they offered from a club culture standpoint. We're seeing the best out of the players as a result, including many who had started to flounder under the previous managers. Long may the good vibes continue!

• Improved social media and communications around the Women's team. Sure, there's still a ways to go to get it up to the same standard as the Men's team, but I've noticed a positive change already. Sometimes it really is the "little things" that make a big difference, like timely injury updates, detailed match reports, and more transparent info about ticketing and TV/streaming information. All of these things just make it easier to follow the team, rather than it feeling like a Herculean struggle (okay, maybe that's a bit dramatic, but there was definitely a lot gnashing of teeth in past seasons). It's nice to feel like some of our frequent concerns & complaints were being heard and have now been acted on.

• New and engaging content on SpursPlay. I promise the club is not paying me to shill for them, but I genuinely think SpursPlay has been worth the price this season. I had my doubts after most of the Men's pre-season games (the main reason I subscribed to the service in the first place) were miraculously televised on US channels this past summer, meaning I only ended up needing SpursPlay to watch the final friendly against Shakhtar Donetsk. But I've ended up utilizing the platform more than I thought I would during the season. I've been tuning in to a lot of the Men's Academy games (I still wish we could get any coverage of the Women's Academy but that's a topic for another day) now that they are playing a more attacking style of football and have quite a few promising players to look out for. I've also been enjoying Inside Spurs, the roughly 30-minute weekly program presented by Ben Haines. It features analysis of the past week's games, interviews with players, and more. I'm also finding it easier to keep up with press conferences & post-game interviews by watching them on SpursPlay. I had said last season that we would need improved content offerings to make SpursPlay feel worth the subscription, and they've definitely delivered this season.

Once again, I am not being paid to say this, but if you're at all interested in subscribing to SpursPlay you should do it now while the Black Friday sale is going on. Half off the price, with more than half of the season remaining for all of Tottenham's teams.

• Son Heung-min. Okay, this one is just eternal gratitude. No explanation needed!

Bonus bookmarks roundup

Just a few links I've appreciated this week.

Are Spurs actually good?

How much has “Big Ange” already improved them?

Grace on FootballGrace Robertson

Sometimes it's reassuring to hear from a neutral source that your team is, in fact, playing well. This piece from Grace on Football did just that.

Speaking of SpursPlay, I was catching up on a recent episode of Inside Spurs and enjoyed this interview with Spurs Women's loan player, Grace Clinton. She mentioned that although she’s played for many different teams, there isn’t lingering loyalty; she’s “a Tottenham player” when she’s on the pitch and fully focused:

I don’t attach too much emotion to who I’m playing against.

There was some interesting chat about how she prioritizes creativity in her game over getting on the scoresheet in a literal sense, saying that she often prefers to be the player that "assists the assister." She also talked about her bravery when it comes to going in for headers, like we saw for her goal against Everton.

And sticking with Grace for the final bookmark, I was late to reading this BBC article but found it quite enlightening, both on the strengths of her game as well as the downsides:

How England’s ‘next superstar’ caught Wiegman’s eye

Six months ago Grace Clinton was scoring in the Women’s Championship to help secure Bristol City’s promotion to the top flight - now she is part of England’s senior squad.

BBC Sport

The article includes insights from current Leicester City manager Willie Kirk, who managed Grace during her time at Everton. He mentioned Jill Scott as a player he hoped could serve as an example to Grace for how to approach her career in terms of professionalism.

There was also an illuminating comment from Robert about why she's been playing on the left wing in many games for Spurs despite her clear potential as a #10:

Sometimes when you're young and you want to be on the ball a lot, and you don't want to lose it in the risky moments, taking a step out to the left like she's doing now is a good thing.

I feel like there's been mixed results on that strategy, but point nevertheless taken.

Maybe I will make this bookmarks roundup a more regular feature and just call it "Caroline cleans out her mobile browser tabs."

I'll be back to recap the Conti Cup match and preview the weekend fixtures sometime later this week, if I'm not in a turkey-induced coma by then.

To all of my US readers, I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving. To everyone else, have a great week and treat yourself to some nice food anyway!

COYS

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