Pass the Mint Sauce
Spurs Men nearly suffered the ultimate FA Cup embarrassment after being held scoreless in regulation time at Tamworth, but extra time substitutions made the difference and secured progression to the next round.
There's no time to breath a sigh of relief, however, because Arsenal is up next in Premier League play. A visit to the Emirates will see both teams compensating for injuries to key players. But the momentum swing is firmly on Spurs side after winning in both domestic cups in the past week, while Arsenal lost both of their matchups. It's worth noting that the League Cup games were only the first legs of two-legged ties, so technically both teams could advance in that competition, but Spurs look better poised to do so. Does momentum ever really matter in a derby, though?
In this issue: Tamworth recap | Previewing the away NLD | Transfer talk | News from around the Lane
Then there are a few sundry news items to roundup, as we reach the halfway point of the January transfer window.
Men's FA Cup Round 3 recap | Tamworth 0 - 3 Tottenham (AET)
Tshikuna (OG) 101', Kulusevski 107', Johnson 118'
I'm going to keep it short with this recap, unlike the match itself.
Starting XI:
While acknowledging that Ange Postecoglou didn't have a ton of leeway when it came to picking the defense, the minimal rotation might come back to haunt him if Archie Gray and Pedro Porro are showing visible signs of fatigue on Wednesday against Arsenal.
It was nice to see Mikey Moore finally back on the pitch, although he was only allowed to play just under 70 minutes—just when he was finally warming up to the game.
For me, the two main disappointments of the team selection were that Yang Min-hyeok was nowhere to be found (and still yet to make his debut) and none of the Academy-adjacent players made it onto the pitch. Will Lankshear in particular seemed like an easy choice for a game that desperately called for a traditional target man striker, but alas. Calum Olusesi has yet to get minutes in a senior game, while Alfie Dorrington was hardly utilized earlier this season—more on him later in the Transfer Talk.
Big picture takeaways:
It was always going to be a matter of survival on an artificial pitch before we factored in the injury crisis as well. Tamworth were within their rights as a (much) lower division team to make the game as difficult for Spurs as they could, which they achieved through persistent physicality and a hostile fan atmosphere. Ange Postecoglou was on the receiving end of much banter from the stand just behind the away bench. He took it in stride during the moment but apparently wasn't too impressed by a few of the more "detestable" comments he heard.
But to Tamworth's credit, their squad wasn't wholly without quality; goalkeeper Jas Singh, winger Beck-Ray Enoru, and eventual Man of the Match winner Haydn Hollis seemed to transcend the part-time nature of their club with talented displays. In the end, midfielder Tom Tonks' long throw didn't prove as troublesome as predicted, although new Spurs goalkeeper Antonín Kinský had a lot to do with neutralizing Tamworth's set piece threat.
It was certainly not ideal to take the game to extra time, but Spurs' experienced subs took over in the extra period and produced three goals. The first was a good old-fashioned own goal on a sneaky free kick routine; the second a familiar linkup between Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski, which they made look like child's play despite the bobbly pitch; and the third an opportunistic shot from Brennan Johnson to ice the result. Johnson looked a little sheepish (no pun intended) about his goal after having a pretty disappointing performance overall, but a goal is a goal.
Tamworth weren't the real losers of this game—that would be Timo Werner. He's not exactly been impressive in other recent matches, but it's one thing to struggle to make an impact against Premier League or even Europa League opposition, and another thing entirely to fail to score against a National League side. As someone who's observed Werner in many different situations in the past few seasons of his career (including now-rare national team appearances), I firmly believe he's best suited to playing as a wide forward with plenty of space to run into. I used to joke that Timo Time was synonymous with being offside, but he's added so many other issues to his general game lately that I would welcome a flag from the assistant referee for old-time's sake. And for his efforts (or lack thereof) in this game? He picked up a hamstring injury, prognosis to be determined.
SAtP Player of the Match: James Maddison
Maybe a surprising pick from me (I'm not exactly a Maddison super fan), but I did think our co-captain put in a strong shift and was unlucky not to be on the end of an assist. Plus, he was obviously providing some decent leadership out there on the pitch since we didn't see heads dropping even when shot after shot went astray or saved. This was the kind of performance that will likely go unsung since he didn't get on the scoresheet, but I'll give him some props.
Notable & quotable:
• This was Sergio Reguilón's first start of the season in all competitions.
• Mikey Moore got his first minutes since October 30, missing significant time with an illness and remaining an unused substitute in the previous two games.
• Archie Gray's assessment of the game:
They made it really difficult for us, like I said, not to make excuses, it’s a bit of a change for us, the different pitch, that can affect it, but ultimately, we weren’t good enough over the first 90 minutes, I thought we could have showed our quality more... Credit to them, for 90 minutes, they withstood it, in extra time I thought our quality shone through and we managed to get the result.
Previewing PL Matchday 21 — Arsenal
I have been told by many fellow Spurs fans who probably know much better than me not to ever feel confident about an away North London derby, but I can't help it—I feel a teeny, tiny glimmer of hope about this one.
For one thing, I don't think the atmosphere at the Emirates is going to be particularly warm from the home fans toward their own side. There's been a lot of discontent around individual players in the Arsenal squad, dwindling trust in the tactics of manager Mikel Arteta, and just general disgruntlement about falling so far behind in the title race. But who knows, Arsenal fans might look past their misgivings and rally behind Arteta and the team to unite against the common enemy (Spurs).
On the flip side, the mood is much improved in the COYS camp these days. There was definitely some frustration with the first 90 minutes against Tamworth, but I don't think it will linger long in fans' heads with the derby about to take place. It's not hard to get behind a team that's taking Ange Postecoglou's "we never stop" motto to heart in the midst of a challenging injury crisis.
Speaking of injuries, Arsenal were dealt the blow of losing Gabriel Jesus to an ACL tear in their FA Cup loss to Manchester United. That loss came after a penalty shootout, as it happens, so no rest advantage for Arsenal, either. The red side of London will also be without Bukayo Saka, Ben White, and Takehiro Tomiyasu, though Ethan Nwaneri and Riccardo Calafiori could be back in contention.
Spurs are unintentionally taking the transfer strategy of "one in, one out" with injuries. We've lost Timo Werner to the aforementioned hamstring injury, but Richarlison is finally back from his own. Or as Ange put it:
He's been harassing me for the last 10 days to be involved, but we've tried to stay disciplined with that and he's looked really good in training, he looks like he's ready to go, so really happy to get him back involved.
It's no secret that Arsenal have been heavily reliant on their set piece prowess for success this season. I feel better about defending that threat with Antonín Kinský in goal rather than, say, Fraser Forster. In his first two games with Spurs he's proven himself to be adept at claiming the ball in a congested box and commanding his area with his physically imposing stature. It's also been good to hear that the club (and goalkeeper coach Rob Burch in particular) have been focused on helping him settle in off the pitch so he can perform well on the pitch.
I'll try to temper my optimism with a couple of undeniable facts: it's not helpful to have this fixture taking place midweek after playing on an artificial turf at the weekend, nor to have this be the second of four away matches in a row. But hopefully there was enough rotation (and substitutions) against Tamworth for the squad to enter the NLD feeling as fresh as could be expected in these tough circumstances. And I don't think we need to worry about the players failing to understand the importance of the fixture despite not having a home crowd to remind them. Ange described it as being like a "standalone fixture" in the context of the season because of the tensions around it and the importance it holds for supporters.
I know we haven't managed to win at the Emirates since the League Cup game in 2018, but why not now? Arsenal are vulnerable, and Spurs have very little left to fight for in the league except for pride if we don't turn things around quickly—and this is the ultimate glory game. Just go for it! I'll let Ange close the preview for me:
We have to start winning games in the league and there is no better place to start...
Transfer talk
Once again, there has only been concrete transfer movement within the Academy teams—albeit with players who have both had some involvement with their respective senior teams.
• Elkie Bowyer is returning from her half-season dual-registration loan at Watford. The midfielder scored one goal in her eight games with Watford in the National League Southern Premier Division. I would expect her to head out on another loan at a higher level rather than joining up with the first team, but we shall see.
• Alfie Dorrington is going out on loan for the second half of the season at Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership. Before departing, he signed a new contract with Spurs that will keep him at the club until 2029. Although he made his first team debut earlier in the season against Southampton in the Premier League, he's struggled for consistent minutes at the U21s level since returning from a fairly long-term injury last season. Hopefully this loan will be an opportunity for him to play regular football again and get back up to speed.
• Ange Postecoglou hinted that Will Lankshear could also be going on loan because of his limited game time so far with the senior team.
News from around the Lane
• Spurs Men were drawn away at Aston Villa for the fourth round of the Men's FA Cup. The match will be scheduled for the weekend beginning February 8, which is rather troublesome since we play the second leg of the League Cup semi-final with Liverpool on February 6. It probably goes without saying that I hope we prioritize reaching the League Cup final.
• Elsewhere in the Men's FA Cup, Leyton Orient knocked out Derby County on penalties in their rescheduled managed (originally postponed) thanks to a big save in the shootout from on-loan Spurs player Josh Keeley. He had also played hero for the Os in the second round of the competition, scoring a stoppage-time header to equalize against Oldham Athletic and send the game to extra time.
Jamie Donley is also on loan at Leyton Orient and played the full 90 minutes plus extra time, converting his PK in the shootout (he went first for the home side!). And now our loan stars get to take on Manchester City in the fourth round. Good luck to them both!
• In the Women's FA Cup, Spurs Women's match with Everton was postponed due to a frozen pitch. The new date for the fixture is January 29. The draw for the fifth round has already been made, and if Spurs progress we will face Chelsea away.
• I'm late to reading this Jay Harris profile on Archie Gray, but I highly recommend it.
Jay Harris
My favorite detail was that Archie was only one year old (1!) when he was taken to his first football program by his dad, himself a former player (alongside many other Gray relatives). That truly explains a lot.
It's also just nice to read that he's as lovely a person as he seems from the club's social content. We love a good egg.
When we beat Arsenal tomorrow, I want it on record that I always believed.
COYS
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