Rallying with Reinforcements

It's always a weird situation when you feel positive about a game that resulted in a loss, but sometimes you just need to see some improvement in a struggling team. That was definitely the case with Spurs Women on the weekend, hosting Manchester City to a narrow defeat that nevertheless had some promising signs for the remainder of the season. There might not be much left to play for but pride, but at least we could feel proud of the effort put in against City.

In this issue: Manchester City recap | Previewing AZ Alkmaar | Transfer talk

Spurs Men, meanwhile, do still have something significant to play for. The Europa League knockouts begin on Thursday with the Round of 16 away leg at AZ Alkmaar. Players returning from injury will be an important factor in this match as well.

I am quite annoyed at having to revive the transfer news segment in the month of March, but here we are with the Women's team. Nonsense is afoot.

WSL Matchday 15 recap | Tottenham 1 - 2 Manchester City

England 32' | Miedema 11', Fujino 78'

Although the outcome was the same, this was a stark difference in performance from the previous game against Arsenal. In that match, we had looked devoid of ideas in the attack and hapless in defense. I won't say the performance against City was perfect (we didn't take enough advantage of our scoring opportunities), but at least the team looked like it had an identity again.

A big part of the improvement was the personnel, so let's go straight to the team selection.

Starting XI:

Robert Vilahamn made some key changes to the starting lineup that set the team up to better contend in the midfield and be less vulnerable on defense.

Since Clare Hunt was suspended for yellow card accumulation, Luana Bühler was chosen to partner with Molly Bartrip in the centerback partnership. Side note: where on earth is Amy James-Turner? She's becoming this season's Ramona Petzelberger mystery.

Ella Morris made just her third start in the league but put her stamp on the game with the confidence of a much more experienced player. Amanda Nildén dropped to the bench, so Ash Neville got to play on her preferred left-hand side.

I was so relieved (and excited) to see a midfield duo of Drew Spence and Eveliina Summanen, with the latter making her first appearance since mid-December. I was less excited about the prospect of Martha Thomas at the #10, because that strategy has rarely paid dividends, but she ended up making an early exit after picking up a knock. Hopefully it's not a serious issue. The upside to her substitution is that Olivia Holdt finally got some significant game time and looked fit enough to possibly get a start in the next game. Oh, and she made an immediate impact with an assist for Beth England's goal.

The other interesting selection decision was playing Charli Grant at left winger rather than fullback. This was only her second start in WSL play. Although part of Vilahamn's rationale was likely to make use of Grant's attacking instincts, she also brings a more defensive approach to the winger position which was helpful against City's high-powered attack.

In addition to AJT's continued absence, Hayley Raso was completely missing from the matchday squad. She didn't seem to pick up an injury with Australia during the international break and wasn't mentioned in the injury report pre-game, so it will be interesting to see if we get an update on her before the next match. I was disappointed not to see her back in club play since she had a decent set of games with Australia. Jess Naz did not get on the scoresheet with England, but also got a bit of a rest for her first game back with Spurs, only coming on as a substitute in the 85th minute.

Top three things:

1. Midfield pecking order restored. With all due respect to both Matie Oroz and Anna Csiki, they have a ways to go before supplanting Summanen and Spence as the preferred starters. The latter two's WSL experience made a difference in limiting City's toehold in the game (which increased after Summanen's 66th-minute sub), as well as their physicality. Fingers crossed they can stay fit for the rest of the season.
2. Super Ash super again. Sure, we can concede that the heroic goal-line clearance may have been mooted with goal-line technology. But it might not have! The important thing is that Neville was back in top form and playing with the kind of zeal and daring we've come to expect from her over the years. Now if only Vilahamn would set her loose at the winger position. And on that note...
3. England for MVP. As I have argued many times, it's not ideal that England continues to be our most important and influential player several transfer windows after her arrival (itself a last-ditch attempt at avoiding relegation). She needs more consistent help in the goal-scoring department, plain and simple. And it's concerning that such help seems more likely to come from the midfielders at this time than the wingers.

SAtP Player of the Match: Ash Neville

Ignoring what I just said about England being our most important player (still true), I think Neville's overall game was really strong in this match, and that goal-line clearance (whether rightly or wrongly allowed to stand) kept the deficit from getting disheartening. This is a team that was desperately in need of a morale boost after the way the last few games had gone, and Ash provided a good dose of encouragement that things would get better.

Notable & quotable:

• Rosella Ayane made her first WSL appearance of the season.

• Olga Ahtinen was also absent from the matchday squad. More on that later in the transfer talk...

• In her post-game comments, captain Beth England stated firmly:

That’s the level I expect from this team now: the standard, the defensive discipline, the aggressiveness, the first to second balls...

There’s so much to take, that’s the standard of performance, the defensive discipline and work rate we should be having from minute one. Obviously, it can always be disjointed coming back from the international break, I couldn’t have asked for much more, from those on the pitch and those on the bench, those that didn’t make the squad, everyone that trained over the last few days made that performance possible.

• With her goal, England earned the distinction of being the first player to score 25+ goals with two different WSL teams.

The team won't be back in action until March 16 against Brighton.

Previewing Europa League Round of 16 Away Leg — AZ Alkmaar

It's been over four months since we last faced Alkmaar in the league phase of the competition, and that's a long time in football. I have very little memory of that game, not least how we won the penalty that Richarlison converted (miss u, Pombo). Also, this was a jumpscare when I looked up the fixture on FotMob:

All right then!

It is interesting to look at the starting lineup from that game knowing that three of the players from that matchday squad (Fraser Forster, Timo Werner, and the injured Radu Drăgușin) have since been removed from the Europa League squad and replaced by Djed Spence and newcomers Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso.

It's a relief that Guglielmo Vicario has picked up right where he left off after rehabbing a leg fracture, since Antonín Kinský was not added to the squad as a backup option. Brandon Austin will be the second keeper for the Europa League.

And the penalty-scorer from the league phase win, Richarlison, is still out injured and won't feature this time around. Luckily, Dominic Solanke is back in contention and Mathys Tel provides another option at center forward.

The centerback duo will be the most interesting selection decision for Ange Postecoglou. Ben Davies is still out, but both Cutio Romero and Micky van de Ven are available to play. I think I am most eager to see how the latter could partner with Danso if only one of them gets the start. Archie Gray could surely use some rest, so I would prefer to see him dropping to the bench for this game.

Dejan Kulusevski is a surprise addition to the injury list as it's been revealed he has a foot injury (prognosis unknown), so Brennan Johnson is likely to start again on the right wing. Son Heung-min will surely come back into the starting lineup on the other flank.

And although Udogie has more experience in high-pressure games, I would still prefer to see Spence replace him in the lineup as he's been in much stronger form.

Now let's just hope that Troy Parrott doesn't come back to haunt us.

Transfer talk

It's a Spurs Women-centric surprise edition of transfer talk:

• Becky Spencer has made a shocking loan move to Chelsea as an emergency goalkeeper replacement. After reading about Chelsea's goalkeeper situation (Zećira Mušović is pregnant and the keeper they signed to replace her during her maternity leave is now injured, leaving just Hannah Hampton and an academy keeper available) I understand the logistics of the loan. But days later, I still struggle to understand why Spurs agreed to help them. Truly, this was not our problem. I can only assume that Spencer has become unhappy at Spurs because of her lack of game time and wanted a change of scenery, but since she had just signed a new contract earlier this season, it's not really in the club's interest to let her depart to a rival, even if only on a less-than-half-a-season loan. Plus, this decision leaves us similarly stretched at the goalkeeper position with just Lize Kop and Eleanor Heeps remaining.

• Olga Ahtinen is rumored to be signing with Hammarby IF in the Damallsvenskan. I'll link to the source here, but I can't speak to the credibility, as I don't know anything about Swedish football media. I'm always a bit confused about how these signings work when they're outside of one league's transfer window but not the other's, but regardless, it would be frustrating to see Spurs down a player in the squad with seven matchdays left to go. I also feel disappointed that Ahtinen has fallen so far out of favor in Robert Vilahamn's second season in charge when he had made her a vice-captain in his first season. However, there's no denying that she hasn't lived up to the potential hinted at in her early days at Spurs after suffering an MCL injury and never quite getting back up to speed upon return.

Here's to hoping for a strong start to the Europa League knockouts for Spurs Men and no more unpleasant transfer news for Spurs Women.

COYS

Thank you for reading!

If you’re enjoying the newsletter, make sure to sign up for a free subscription to receive new issues in your inbox. You can also buy me a Ko-fi to support my writing with a one-time tip. Your support keeps Spurs Across the Pond running and is much appreciated!

You can also find me on Bluesky and podcasting at N17 Women and The Tottenham Depot.