Many Happy Returns

Well, it's fair to say that the Men's team responded in great fashion after the disappointing loss to Aston Villa on the weekend. It still took them until the second half to get the business done, but a win is a win—and a four-goal margin win is even better.

In this issue:  Crystal Palace Recap | Portsmouth Preview | Transfer Grapevine

Crystal Palace 0 - 4 Tottenham

The starting XI had a couple of tweaks from the previous match:  Oliver Skipp made just his third start of the season, replacing the suspended Yves Bissouma (yellow card accumulation), and Eric Dier returned to the back three, shifting Clément Lenglet out to the left side to replace the benched Ben Davies. Otherwise, it was nice to see some consistency with the wingbacks and the forward line while Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison are out of contention.

Despite all of the goals happening in the second half, the first half wasn't a total write-off. The first twenty-ish minutes were quite promising and I was surprised we didn't get a goal in that period. But then it was time to feel concerned again, because we let Crystal Palace get a toehold into the game after not having any chances at all in the first quarter or so. Luckily, the defense was in much better shape than in the shambolic performance against Aston Villa. Hugo was much improved as well, it must be said; I can't recall if it was in the first half or second half, but he made one incredible save with his foot that reminded us all what he's capable of—we just need him to be reaching that level on a more consistent basis. Finding his replacement will still be top of mind for Fabio Paratici, I'm sure, whether it happens in this transfer window or the next.

With Skipp on a yellow card, I half-expected him to be subbed out at halftime, but we resumed the game with the starting XI intact. Conte's faith in that lineup paid dividends early in the second half, with Harry Kane scoring his first goal in the 48th minute (a bullet of a header from a tight angle, and under pressure no less) and completing the brace just five minutes later in the 53rd. It was another routine assist from Ivan Perišić for the first, but it was delightful to see Bryan Gil get his first PL assist for Harry's second goal. In his post-game comments, Conte remarked on how important it was to have time during the World Cup pause to work with the younger players, and Bryan definitely delivered in this game. It was also nice to see Harvey White make his PL debut finally, albeit only for a few minutes near the end of the match, and for Pape Sarr to make a more extended cameo to show what he can do (Cuti-esque defending, apparently, amongst other skills).

As for Harry, our most consistent player this season proved why he is also one of the most consistent PL players of all time. With a brace on his 300th PL appearance, he is now just two goals shy of tying Jimmy Greaves for the Tottenham goals record, and is slowly but surely chipping away at the gap between his total and Alan Shearer's overall PL record. It's easy to take Harry's prolific output for granted because he is so workmanlike about it, but those milestones are well worth marking. I would be very surprised if he did leave the club at this point, so hopefully we can look forward to him breaking Shearer's record within the next couple of seasons—certainly if he continues at this pace!

The other half of Spurs' iconic attacking duo, Son Heung-min, has not been consistent this season but appeared to be working his way back towards some form with this performance. A slight deflection in the buildup to Matt Doherty's goal in the 68th minute (his first of the season in the PL!) robbed Son of an assist, but his effort in the buildup indicated that he still had something to give in the match. Indeed, he scored a goal of his own in the 72nd minute, bringing down an overhead pass from Kane (who also wasn't credited with an assist) and shooting past Palace's keeper Vicente Guaita—with a touch along the way from Marc Guehi's outstretched boot. Who cares, it was on target, it's Son's! And how he needed a goal. Coincidentally, this was also a milestone game for Son—his 200th PL start.

Speaking of records, Son & Kane together passed Liverpool's Mo Salah and Sadio Mané for the most number of distinct PL games where a duo have both scored. And since Mané is now playing with Bayern Munich, that record could be safe for a while.

So overall, lots of positives to take away:

 • scored first for the first time in eight games
 • kept a clean sheet for the first time since matchday 10
 • goal contributions from both wingbacks and the forward trio
 • scored four goals without any set piece goals, a rarity this season
 • up to double-digit wins in the PL and just two points off 3rd

In pursuit of the Cup

Spurs Men get their FA Cup campaign underway on Saturday, an early kickoff at home against League One team Portsmouth.

Ordinarily, I would say this is a great opportunity for rotation, but instead, I think this is a match where we will want to start strong, secure the result quickly, and then make subs as early as possible. Why? Although the next PL match is the all-important North London Derby, we have a full week to recover between the two games, while Arsenal play their FA Cup match two days later and therefore have a tighter turnaround to prepare for our clash. We are also somewhat sparse in terms of the bench, and I wouldn't want to risk playing Bentancur, Kulusevski, or Richarlison against a team we should be beating anyway—even though Conte has hinted that all three could be available for the NLD (I don't see how in the case of Richarlison, but maybe it's just mind games from Antonio). Let them continue to rest and recuperate ahead of such a crucial match. Plus, this game is a good opportunity for Son and Gil to build on their performances against Crystal Palace, and the same goes for the likes of Skipp and Sarr.

Dane Scarlett, on loan at Portsmouth this season, will of course be unable to play against his parent club for this match. But it sounds like he's doing well on his loan (five goals and two assists so far) and hopefully will continue to feature regularly for Pompey and keep developing.

A weird fun fact I just discovered while looking through Portsmouth's squad list:  they only have one (1!) player who isn't from the UK or Ireland, a keeper from Nigeria. I suppose Brexit has hit League One hard. I joke, but I was just having a conversation this morning with my N17 Women co-hosts about how difficult it is for foreign female players to secure visas to play for all but the highest-level teams; I'm sure it's also an issue for the lower divisions of men's football.  The more you know.

Anyway, I don't foresee this matchup being difficult for Spurs, and it should be a fairly routine passage into the next round. Should be. Famous last words when it comes to Tottenham, I know.

Transfer Grapevine

The only transfer news to report today is that Spurs Women's young defender, Gracie Pearse, is going out on loan for the second half of the season to Bristol City. They're currently second in the Championship table, so it should be a good environment for Gracie to get some experience in. I already thought she looked comfortable at the WSL level, and this loan will ensure she's ready to contribute to the first team regularly next season.  

This loan news also suggests that either a) Esther Morgan will be staying with Spurs for the second half of the season, b) we're getting a new defender in the transfer window, or c) both. My hope is that it's option c. We could use the squad depth.

COYS

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