Risk and Responsibility

After several weeks of wondering how we could be so lucky as Spurs fans, with both teams off to flying starts, we had to come slightly back down to earth this past week—at least as far as results are concerned. Spurs Women ended their Women's Super League win streak (as well as Martha Thomas' astonishing goal-scoring streak) with a draw against a familiar bogey team, while Spurs Men squandered a strong start in the derby with Chelsea to end their unbeaten streak in the Premier League. That's just about the blandest way to describe the Men's game, in which everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

Yet somehow, it's hard not to feel positive overall about the direction of the club. The Tottenham attacking football heritage was on clear display in both games and never wavered even after setbacks. It's a football cliché, but we go again.

In this issue: Everton recap | Chelsea recap | Previewing the weekend fixtures | News from around the Lane

WSL Matchday 5 recap | Tottenham 1 - 1 Everton

Clinton 43' | Galli (pen) 85'

Everton continue to be the closest thing Spurs Women have to a bogey team. One of our most dominant attacking performances of the season so far—with 20 shots, 11 on target—was not enough to capture all three points. A lack of clinical finishing gave Everton the opportunity to nick a draw near the end of the match with a penalty goal. Sure, it was frustrating to see Becky Spencer miss out on what would have been her first clean sheet of the season, but it was made more frustrating by the knowledge that the result could have been firmly in our grasp long before the penalty call.

Starting XI:

After being benched in favor of Jess Naz last match, Drew Spence returned to the starting lineup against Everton, shifting Grace Clinton back out to the left wing. Otherwise, it was business as usual for Robert Vilahamn's side. There was a notable change to the bench, however, with Ellie Brazil making her first matchday squad since her ACL injury last season. She didn't end up making it onto the pitch in this close game, but hopefully we'll get a glimpse of her soon. Since she only made a couple of appearances and one start before her injury, she'll practically be a new signing.

The team was attacking from the very start, although Everton had a few early opportunities as well. Spencer took a couple of heavy challenges throughout the game and there was some concern about an injury, but she carried on. Celin Bizet had a big chance and Eveliina Summanen hit the crossbar in the first half. Martha Thomas nearly capitalized on another backpass situation like in the previous game, but couldn't get past Everton keeper Courtney Brosnan, who made a double save. Brosnan had a really strong game overall and was the main reason the scoreline wasn't lopsided in Spurs' favor.

Spence was hugely instrumental in the buildup to Spurs' only goal of the match in addition to contributing the actual assist, pressuring the Everton backline into a loose pass that Thomas sent out to the wing for Spence to flick on to Bizet, who did a quick give-and-go to get the ball back to Spence for the final assist, a cross from out wide. Clinton rose above a distracted Justine Vanhaevermaet to head past the oncoming Brosnan. This was her second goal for Spurs since joining on loan.

The second half was much of the same besides a few substitutions for each side, with Naz and Kit Graham coming on for Spurs to replace Bizet and Spence, like-for-like subs. One of Everton's subs, new signing Martina Piemonte, put in a dangerous header that was cleared off the line by Angharad James, but only as far as Summanen who put in a poor clearance of her own, allowing Heather Payne to try to control the ball on the edge of our 18-yard box. Her touch was also poor, but Clinton went in a little clumsily to challenge her and pushed her in the back, which the referee deemed a penalty. It was pretty soft contact and on another day with another ref, Payne may have been booked for diving instead—and indeed, the same foul was not called in the Arsenal vs City game. Alas, Aurora Galli got to shoot from the spot and converted her penalty. It was a teachable moment for Clinton; she would have done better to let Ash Neville handle Payne from the front than to attempt to gain the ball from the back as she did.

Sadly, the rainbow above Brisbane Road was not an auspicious sign as the match ended 1-1. The draw was still good enough to keep Spurs in 3rd place for another week, albeit only on goal difference; we're tied on points below Manchester City but above Liverpool and Arsenal.

SAtP Player of the Match: Molly Bartrip

While the defensive duties from the more attacking contingent of the squad left something to be desired, the two centerbacks were very strong in this game. Bartrip really stood out with an all-around performance, not only putting in the crucial blocks and tackles we expect from her but also using her positioning to make several key interceptions and displaying her improved quality on the ball this season to turn the Everton players in midfield.

Molly also deserves some praise for taking on the captain's armband in Beth England's absence and handling the leadership mantle very capably. Could she be considered for an England call-up soon? Time will tell.

Notable and quotable:

• Robert indicated that Beth could possibly return to play before the winter break:

She's taking the right steps and everything is going according to plan. Hopefully she'll be on the pitch in November [or] December, so there is a still a possibility this year for her to play.

• Although we put up our lowest goal total since the opening match against Chelsea, we're still good for joint-2nd in the league for goals scored.

• We've conceded a penalty in three out of five WSL matches, including the last two straight.

• We lost this Everton home fixture last season (miserably, I might add), so it's definitely a valuable point gained in my book.

• This was the first draw of the season.

• Vilahamn only used two substitutions in this match. Ria Percival may have brought some much-needed experience to the midfield to close out the game, while players who need minutes to prove themselves missed out on an opportunity to do so because of the close nature of the result. Hopefully we will see more (and more varied) subs in upcoming matches.

PL Matchday 11 recap | Tottenham 1 - 4 Chelsea

Kulusevski 6' | Palmer (pen) 35', Jackson 75' • 90+4' • 90+7'

For two glorious days, Spurs Men had the distinction of being the last unbeaten team in the Premier League.

Ah, well, nevertheless.

This game had everything:

• five disallowed goals across both teams
• two red cards (one of them technically a second yellow)
• two injuries to key Spurs starters
• one penalty
• one PEH goal-line clearance
• one Ange yellow card

This newsletter would reach epic/unreadable proportions if I went through every incident in a play-by-play manner, so I'm going to switch things up this time and just focus on the big themes and takeaways. If you'd like to hear my thoughts on the minutiae of the red cards and other sundry details, check out the latest Tottenham Depot podcast:

To Hell And Back by The Tottenham Depot Podcast

Spurs “welcome” back their old manager and the unthinkable happens, as the team suffers its first defeat of the season. Multiple red cards, multiple VAR reviews, and multiple injuries are the story of a nightmare game. We get into all the fallout from Spurs 1, Chelsea 4. Plus, Spurs Women drop two p…

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But first, let's briefly look at the starting lineup and the substitutions—for posterity.

Starting XI:

The only change from the previous Crystal Palace game was Brennan Johnson replacing Richarlison at left winger. He would be unfortunately yanked from the game in the 34th minute because of the first Spurs red card on Cristian Romero, necessitating the entrance of Eric Dier for his first appearance of the season in any competition.

Another disaster struck in first-half stoppage time when Micky van de Ven pulled up with a hamstring injury and was forced off (while we were all forced to reckon with 23/24 Tottenham Hotspur's mortality). James Maddison had taken a non-contact knock to his ankle not long before, so Ange opted to sub him off at the same time out of caution. Emerson Royal and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg entered the match.

Then in the 61st minute, after Destiny Udogie's second yellow sending-off, Rodrigo Bentancur and Oliver Skipp came on for Pape Sarr and Dejan Kulusevski. Please understand that at this point, the formation was more of a free jazz situation than a discrete configuration of players. Højbjerg was playing centerback! But still, the team persisted with Ange's high-pressing tactics, daring Chelsea to feast on the high defensive line. They eventually did, but it took an awful long time.

Key takeaways:

• I was complaining in a recent game about Kulusevski not taking enough shots, and this is exactly why! Sometimes even a suboptimal shot will still find its way into the net, and he got lucky in this case that the deflection didn't even make it an own goal. Deki now has the same number of goals on the season as James Maddison (3).

• Although Chelsea committed 21 fouls to Spurs' 12, they were not cautioned for any of those fouls until the 86th minute; their prior two yellow cards were for a melee just before halftime in which Pape Sarr also received a yellow. So although it would be unrealistic to say that referee Michael Oliver got the big calls against Spurs wrong (I definitely think you can make an argument against Cuti's red, but it seems like his previous behavior in the game influenced the decision to a degree), it is fair to say that Chelsea got away with far too much. Considering how long and how well we held up with just nine men, the potential of Chelsea also losing a player could have decisively tilted the game back in our direction.

• On that note, it's worth remarking just how utterly poor Chelsea played for the entire game. Not only were they caught by our high line's offside trap several times, but they also looked short on ideas when it came to varying their attack—especially once they had the two-man advantage. With the exception of Nicolas Jackson, whom I genuinely believe would never have scored a hat trick against us if it weren't for the two red cards, this Chelsea squad has plenty of talent on paper and ought to have presented more of a threat than the reality—that they could only find the decisive third goal in the deep into stoppage time when our reduced personnel finally ran out of gas.

If I wanted to be generous, I could note that each member of Chelsea's attack contributed an assist for the least impressive PL hat trick in recent history. But we all know that a more cohesive, well-managed team than Chelsea would have punished Spurs far more. This is an indictment of Mauricio Pochettino's tactical effectiveness (or lack thereof).

• Speaking of Poch, I don't necessarily think the off-pitch tension around his return to the Lane ended up affecting the match very much. Most of the on-pitch drama was caused by the uneven balance of discipline from the referee and the baseline frisson that comes with a derby match. And although we lost the match, I still think Ange Postecoglou came out of it looking like the better manager.

• And why is that? Because if you disregarded the final scoreline and just watched the match, it would be clear which side played with more creativity, more savviness, and more desire. This spirited display wouldn't have been possible without the complete mentality overhaul Ange has brought about during his short tenure so far. And I genuinely think having the backing of the entire Spurs home crowd made a difference, so kudos to everyone who kept the players going with your support.

• The last point I want to touch on is the debate over whether continuing to play the high defensive line with nine players was "naive" or even "arrogant" from Ange. Far from it, in my opinion. It was an audacious acknowledgment of Chelsea's underperformance, a taunt even. But it was also the only way we had a hope of getting anything out of the game without asking too much of the remaining forwards who were well past the point of having it in them physically to counterattack. Continuing the press and capitalizing on set pieces would be much more effective and allow us to preserve the fitness of the players still on the pitch, especially considering how little margin of error we have for further injuries in the coming weeks. And when did hunkering in a low block ever actually work under the previous managers? It just invites pressure on the defense, and many of the players who closed out this game have been known to crumble under that same pressure. Better to put the ball in our court, to mix my sports metaphors for a moment.

And It's important to note that we nearly did equalize three separate times when the score was still 1-2—on a saved shot by Sonny, a disallowed volley by Dier, and a near-miss in the six-yard box by Bentancur. All agonizingly close to pulling off an upset result in difficult, nearly impossible circumstances. We were also agonizingly close to an Eric Dier redemption arc, it must be said, and he's going to have plenty more opportunity over the next few games with Romero out.

As for being arrogant, it was rather an accurate assessment from Ange that his players had much more ability and motivation than Poch's side on the day. He bet on his players, and that is always the right decision in the long run—both from a squad morale perspective and from a fan support viewpoint. We can all be proud of the effort put in, even if it was ultimately futile on a pure results level. I don't think we ever came out of a derby loss under Conte feeling invigorated in spite of the dropped points. Ange's Spurs are different gravy.

All that being said... this image is still hilarious. I thought I was watching Hansi Flick-era Bayern for a hot second.

Now back to regularly scheduled recap programming to wrap things up.

SAtP Player of the Match: Guglielmo Vicario

Okay, it's already becoming rapidly clear who my eventual Player of the Season is going to be (much to my surprise), if this trend continues. But truly, there was no other choice in this game than Venom.

He played like a man possessed. We had seen some glimpses of his sweeper keeper abilities in previous matches, but when called upon to step it up, he rose to the occasion with aplomb. Vicario made several crucial interventions off his line (and let it be noted: he was basically a defender by the end of the match) and exemplified the Angeball ethos of "never say die" by putting his body on the line for a massive save on a Marc Cucurella shot (pictured above). You can't say he conceded any goals that he had a real chance of saving—and even saved a few that I thought he had zero hope of keeping out.

I feel privileged to have watched this goalkeeping performance as a fan, and I know that we're in safe hands with him going forward. And much as my heart sank when Van de Ven got injured, Vicario is the one player we truly cannot afford to lose for an extended period of time. Ange can find some solutions at centerback, even if they aren't ideal, but there's no replacing a goalkeeper of the caliber that Venom clearly already is so early in his career as a first keeper.

He also gives exactly the kind of post-game interview you want to hear when the setbacks are mounting, and to already be doing so as a newcomer to the team is remarkable.

Notable and quotable:

• Ange was asked about the multiple, interminable VAR delays:

I'm old school and from a bygone era. I like the purity of the game. I want my team to play high energy, relentless attacking football. If we get a red card, we cop it and we keep going.

We were certainly impeded in that aim by the constant stoppages, which Ange was also asked about regarding the potential for increased injuries:

Absolutely. I’m not going to draw a direct correlation with Micky’s injury, but I was tempted to throw some balls out so they could have a warm-up.

• What's the consensus in Spurs fandom on the commitment to the high line?

Amen.

• Looking ahead to the next fixture at Wolverhampton, is Ange tempted to change the tactics and go for a more conservative approach?

There's always the temptation but apart from chocolate I'm quite good at not giving in to temptations.

• Much as it sucks to lose to hated London rivals, we are still in a good spot in the table in 2nd place, just one point behind Manchester City and two above both Liverpool and Arsenal.

• Let's pour one out for Ange's home unbeaten streak, finally broken after bridging two changes of club. Gone but never forgotten!

Previewing PL Matchday 12 — Wolves

I delayed writing this issue until today because we hadn't yet heard anything definitive on the injury update front yesterday. As a result, we are now less than seven hours from kickoff, so I'll try to knock out this preview as quickly as possible.

So, the injury news:

• Richarlison had groin surgery and is out for about a month
• Micky van de Ven is not going to require surgery for his hamstring issue, but will likely be out until the new year
• Likewise for James Maddison, who has now been withdrawn from the England squad for the upcoming international break
• On a positive note, Ben Davies and Pedro Porro should both be available after not training earlier in the week

Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie will both miss the game through suspension.

So where does that leave us for the starting lineup? The biggest conundrum is the centerback partnership, although one of the two will definitely be Eric Dier. I've seen lots of opinions and strongly reasoned arguments for who should be the second CB, but personally, I would opt for Ben Davies now that we know he's (almost certainly) fit to start. Molineux is one of those "difficult places to go" in the Premier League and I value Davies' experience for this fixture. This leaves Emerson Royal to start at left fullback and frees up Pierre-Emile Højbjerg to either start at the 10 in place of Maddison or provide some actual quality off the bench for the midfield (which could be important if we need to close out a tight result). Ashley Phillips can be on the bench as backup if one of the CBs goes down injured (god forbid). It wouldn't be ideal for him to make his senior and PL debut in such a fraught situation, but he does have some senior football experience from his previous stint in the Championship, and his physicality could provide an asset compared to Davies and PEH.

If Højbjerg doesn't start as the 10, Dejan Kulusevski should be considered. The downside, as friend-of-the-newsletter Milo pointed out to me on Bluesky earlier today, is that that would leave us with little to no attacking depth on the bench besides (I would assume) Alejo Véliz for the striker role. Bryan Gil would have to start, having only made one PL appearance off the bench so far. It's times like this that you really miss Ivan Perišić, or even the elusive Ryan Sessegnon.

And this probably goes without saying, but I think we have to tread super carefully when it comes to reintegrating Bentancur. With the excessive stoppage time in the last match, he played way more minutes than would have been accounted for. Even if that hadn't been the case, it still feels too soon to risk letting him start a match. Lolo's initial injury was heartbreaking enough because of the timing; could the fanbase collectively survive a reinjury in the midst of all the other current obstacles? It doesn't bear thinking about.

For the record and after all those conditionals and caveats, my preferred lineup:

As far as our opponent's personnel status goes, we are fortunate that Pedro Neto is out with a hamstring injury of his own. Hwang Hee-chan, however, is fully fit and in fine form at the moment. There is also the Matt Doherty grudge match factor to consider, although I suspect any potential grudge would have mostly been directed at Antonio Conte. I've always thought José Sá was underrated in the PL keeper ranks, for what it's worth. Also keep an eye out for Saša Kalajdžić; a long-term injury marred his start at Wolves, but he was always a threat when he played for Stuttgart in the Bundesliga, particularly on set pieces due to his 6'7" height.

Wolves are comfortably above the relegation line so far but don't expect them to be complacent. We lost this fixture last year and it will undoubtedly be a hard-fought game, but even with the deck stacked against us I still think we have enough quality and the tactical edge to win.

Please, football gods, no more nasty surprises! This is the last match before the international break, so one last time to go all out before some rest and recuperation—well, for anyone not called up to their national team, that is.

Previewing WSL Matchday 6 — Liverpool

Spurs Women get another home game, which is nice after having so many away games already in the league. Like the Men's game, it's also a 12:30 pm kickoff (or 6:30 am for my fellow Central time zone strugglers).

Liverpool have had a strong start to the season and are one of the teams tied with us on points currently. Interestingly, they've scored half our number of goals but have a cleaner defensive record so far. Probably not the best scenario for a team that just came off a very profligate finishing performance like Spurs, but I have faith that Martha will have her shooting boots back on properly for this one.

We'll have the rest advantage for this fixture since Liverpool played out a lively 3-4 loss to Manchester City in the Conti Cup midweek. And unlike the Men's team, the Women's team is actually trending in a positive direction as far as injuries go (and no suspensions, thank goodness). If it's looking like we have a result locked down early on, I would love to see Ellie Brazil get some minutes, as well as Zhang Linyan who hasn't featured since her late sub appearance in stoppage time against Aston Villa. But I have to agree with Robert Vilahamn about keeping consistency with the starting lineup for now—if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

From Liverpool's squad, new signing Marie Therese Höbinger is one to watch, as well as Sophie Román Haug. Fuki Nagano has been another important midfielder for them. It looks like Shanice van de Sanden will actually be fit to play this time; she was injured in both fixtures last year if I recall correctly.

In last year's home fixture, we pulled off a narrow 1-0 win. Liverpool have proven to be a little more solid this season, so a win in this campaign would help us create some valuable space over them in the table.

News from around the Lane

Time for a lightning round of news with minimal commentary.

• Martha Thomas won WSL Player of the Month! We still have to wait to hear if she got Goal of the Month honors, as well as the outcome of the Manager of the Month. Martha picked up her award at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Monday at the Men's game, joined by Robert Vilahamn.

• Ange Postecoglou won PL Manager of the Month for the third month in a row! He's the first manager to earn that distinction in the first three months of a PL season.

• Jamie Donley won PL2 Player of the Month! He's likely to be in the matchday squad with the senior team against Wolves, so an exciting time for the lad.

• Several Academy players earned England call-ups, with Alfie Devine and Dane Scarlett joining up with the U20s (I'm sorry, "England Men's Elite League Squad") and a quintet of Luca Gunter, Alfie Dorrington, Ash Phillips, Jamie Donley and Will Lankshear going into camp for the U19s.

And some Spurs alumni news to cap things off.

• This newly unveiled statue of Pat Jennings is one of the best footballer statues I've ever seen, no joke:

• Several former Spurs legends received commemorative shirts with their Tottenham Legacy Numbers:

• Former Spurs Women co-manager Juan Carlos Amorós won NWSL Manager of the Year! Well deserved, and I'll be rooting for Gotham in the final now that my Wave are out of the running.

Now, more than ever:

COYS

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