Second Stalemate
Let's look on the bright side. Manchester United didn't beat us once this Women's Super League season. (Ignore the League Cup quarter-final result for now.) The gap is narrowing.
Of course, the negative side is that both league games were there for the taking, and we only have two points to show for it. It's frustrating that what feels like our truest rivalry in the women's game hasn't involved a single Spurs win at the top flight. And now we have to wait another season to try to achieve that milestone.
But the draw did put us one point closer to achieving our best-ever points total in the WSL, so there's still something to play for in the final two games. And it ended the streak of four straight losses in all competitions.
In this issue: Manchester United recap | Transfer talk | News from around the Lane
Spurs Women have their final home match of the season on Sunday. It's the first match at Brisbane Road since January, however, so it will be interesting to see how they do back in their usual home ground. The reverse fixture at London City Lionesses was one of the most dramatic games of the first half of the season, and a tough defeat to stomach at the time, so the team will surely be looking for some more revenge after having already knocked the Lionesses out of the FA Cup a couple of months ago.
I wrote all of the previous and the following match recap in a fairly positive mood, before learning on Thursday that our club captain, Bethany England, is leaving Spurs Women this summer at the end of her contract. Positive mood dissipated. I'm very disappointed and frustrated by the club's decision, which I'll get into in the Transfer Talk section below. Never a moment of peace with Spurs this season, I swear.
WSL MD 20 | Tottenham 0 - 0 Manchester United
No scoreline to report, so what were the big takeaways from the game?
- Ella Morris is picking up right where she left off. In her first start since returning from an ACL injury, she was all over the pitch, contributing to both the attack and the defense. Despite lacking match experience with the many new teammates who joined the club during her injury layoff, she was a big part of one of the team's best passing performances in quite a while, with 87% passing accuracy overall (it was even better in just the first half, at 91%). And she also managed to produce some flair worthy of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium pitch with a cheeky nutmeg on Fridolina Rolfö right on the touchline to execute a give-and-go with Maika Hamano.
- Speaking of Hamano, kindly remember the old adage, "Never fall in love with a loan player." It hurts to think that such an exciting and useful player as her might be moving on at the end of her loan spell, but there's a much greater than zero chance that will be the case. The way I see it, Martin Ho and the recruitment team (because we know there's still overlap there) must do one of two things: either break the bank to pry Hamano away from Chelsea on a permanent transfer, or ensure a player of equal caliber is brought in to replace her next season. The winger positions have mostly been a weak spot for us this campaign, but Hamano has made a noticeable difference when she's been available—which has been frustratingly rare, between the Asian Cup and being ineligible for two games against her parent club in two different competitions. Fingers crossed that we get maximum Maika for the final two games.
- Lize Kop made a statement to her new goalkeeping coach. With Ian Willcock replacing Chris Williams this month in the specialty coaching role, Kop made sure to emphasize how firmly the #1 spot belongs to her. She's had a pretty strong season overall, but she even seemed to take her confidence up a notch in this match, particularly when it came to claiming corners and free kicks. Her strength in the air is a quality we haven't ever really had in our keepers, at least not since I started closely following the team around the start of the decade—though to be fair, for most of that time it was just one keeper starting most of the games, Becky Spencer, and she had other advantages that made up for her lack of verticality, until they didn't. It was also impressive that Kop put in such a valuable performance at the end of the game, making three crucial saves, despite having barely been called into action in the first half.
- Although the chance creation is improving, the team's finishing isn't. It doesn't help that too few of the scoring opportunities are falling to our actual striker, though that's been an issue whether it's Beth England starting or, as was the case in this game, Cathinka Tandberg. It was also noticeable that the players were taking more shots from long range, although we did have some promising set-piece opportunities as well.
- On the United side of things, their top performers were Jayde Riviere, who caused Julie Blakstad some problems in the second half, and Melvine Malard, who thankfully only played 45 minutes as a halftime substitute. Every single time we play United, I wish that Spurs had gone in for Malard when she was available.
- In a stunning show of sportsmanship that is very rare for this fixture, Anna Sandberg tried to help Olivia Holdt stretch out her leg cramp late in the game. We've come a long way from the Eveliina Summanen/Ella Toone incident a few seasons ago.
- Lenna Gunning-Williams had a chance to win the game in stoppage time, but her rushed shot in a one-on-one with the keeper showed that although she's becoming quite accomplished at the international youth level, she still needs to develop her decision-making to the WSL level. Her increased game time this season is an important part of that journey, of course.
Notable & quotable:
• Amanda Nildén won her first Women's Super League Player of the Match award of the season.
• This was the first match we've been held scoreless since the 0-2 loss against Chelsea on February 8—which was also at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
• It's also the first time a Spurs Women match against Manchester United has ended scoreless on both sides.
• The clean sheet was the first for Spurs (and Lize Kop) in WSL play since the 1-0 win against Leicester City on January 11.
• We need to earn two more points to match our best WSL points total (32 points in the 2021/22 season) or three points to exceed it. Our final match is against Brighton, and they've been in a really good run of form, so beating London City this weekend might be our best chance to achieve a new milestone.
• Martin Ho was pleased with the clean sheet result, though he expected three points based on the performance:
We don't go out into any game to want to concede goals or want to concede so many. We go in with the mentality of making sure we keep a clean sheet and we defend the box well. I thought we'd done that very well today. I thought we limited them to some really small chances, not clear cuts, and then we put ourselves in a position to push the game. I thought if one team were going to win, it was probably going to be us.
Transfer talk
Let's just go in order of the Spurs Women departure announcements:
• Kit Graham is leaving the club after six seasons, albeit with the last half-season spent on loan at Ipswich Town. She had been with the club for the entirety of our time in the top flight. In many ways, we did not get to see the best of Graham in a Spurs shirt since she suffered two ACL injuries, both coming at times when she was starting to become an integral member of the squad. Best of luck to Kit wherever she takes her talents!
• The club then announced a quad of departures, including Luana Bühler, Charli Grant, Amy James-Turner, and Josefine Rybrink. While none of these exits are particularly surprising, largely due to extended absences from the matchday squad for each of them, these players all played an important role in the team at different times. Bühler was a key part of Robert Vilahamn's squad, and it's a shame we never got to see what she could do under new manager Martin Ho, since she missed the entirety of this season through an injury picked up ahead of the Euros. James-Turner also missed this season and recently opened up about going through infertility issues. Grant had some memorable cup games but never really broke through in the WSL, while Rybrink had a strong start to this season and fell out of the lineup when Ash Neville returned from injury (only to leave the club herself in January—which I'm definitely still not over, for the record). Wherever life takes these players next, let's wish them all the best.
• The other departures made sense for various reasons, but I simply cannot understand the logic of letting Bethany England go on a free transfer—or letting her go at all, frankly. I say that like it was her decision, but the reporting from Tom Garry, Megan Feringa, and Emma Sanders certainly suggests that it was the club's choice to move on from our captain and leading goal-scorer in order to recruit a younger striker.
I can't help but feel like this is going to be Spurs' loss and another club's gain (in all likelihood, a rival!). We don't know where England will be playing next, but she has a lot left in the tank, not to mention the intangibles of her leadership and experience.
But even outside of my personal respect and admiration for England and what she's done for Spurs Women (let's not forget that she almost single-handedly saved us from relegation, twice!), I'm also deeply concerned about what her exit says about the club's treatment of legends of the Women's team. Similar to Ash Neville before her, she's being ushered out of the club long before she has ceased to be a useful member of the squad, not to mention that both players were fervent fan favorites and arguably the lifeblood of the team. England's departure is also a massive loss for the Tottenham community, where she has been very active as a volunteer with Spurs' own foundation as well as various charities and as an advocate for the Proud Lilywhites supporters association. She has been a leader and a role model through and through, and that kind of character is not easily replaceable in a squad, especially one that is still very much in a period of transition and growth like Spurs Women. You need some continuity and dependability as a younger squad takes shape, and England would have capably provided that.
I believe the club has not fully thought this through, and the decision not to extend England's contract is very shortsighted. And for all the talk of the club being ambitious in the summer transfer window, I will believe it when I see it. Beth deserved better from the club she has fully devoted herself to, and I think fans are well within their rights to be feeling betrayed once again by Tottenham Hotspur, and not for the first time this season.
I was going to rewatch Beth's farewell letter to the fans to pull a quote, but honestly, it's too emotional! You should watch it yourself if you haven't already, just be warned that it's a tearjerker from the start.
• The club also announced that six players are departing the Women's Academy U19s: Grace Breen, Beatrice Cunnison, Blue Bartlett-Antwi, Kendra Brown, Cruz Fuller-Fagan, Faye Fields-Davis, and Ruby Gaitely. Good luck to these youngsters as they continue to pursue professional football.
• In less fraught contract news, James Rowswell has signed a new contract with the club, having made his senior debut earlier this season in the Premier League.
News from around the Lane
• The Men's Academy U16s will be competing against Fulham in the Premier League Cup final tomorrow, taking place at Craven Cottage.
• Meanwhile, the U21s are still alive in the PL2 playoffs after completing a comeback at Chelsea in the quarter-final, advancing with a 1-3 win.
• Time for another loan army update:
- Although Will Lankshear won two end-of-season awards for his loan club, Oxford United (Golden Boot and Young Player of the Year), they were relegated to League One.
- Mikey Moore has been nominated for the PFA Scotland Men’s Young Player of the Year award for his performances with Rangers.
- Oliver Irow scored his first goal for Mansfield Town since netting a brace in his first appearance for them.
• Much like Beth England, Kevin Danso has quickly immersed himself in the local community since joining Spurs and has been honored with the PFA Community Champion award for his efforts. Well done to Kevin!
Up next:
May 3 | Spurs Women vs London City Lionesses
Team news — Beth England could be available for selection; otherwise, it's the same squad availability as last weekend.
Opposition note: Kosovare Asllani is out with a "complex multi-ligament injury, including anterior cruciate ligament."
More organizational changes are afoot at London City, but they've managed to stay well above the relegation playoff spot in their first WSL season, so this budding rivalry will continue to evolve next season.
For this game, they enter the match with a form advantage coming off two 1-1 draws and, most recently, a 5-1 thumping of Leicester City (who have unfortunately clinched the relegation playoff spot with that loss plus West Ham United's win over Liverpool). Interestingly, the Lionesses shared the scoring load, with no player getting a brace. One of those individual scorers was Freya Godfrey, who did complete a brace against Spurs back in November.
There will be a farewell celebration for the departing Spurs players after the game.
It will be an emotional game on Sunday regardless of the result, but hopefully we can close out the Brisbane Road fixtures this season with a win and send the departing players off in style.
COYS
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