Sputtering on Empty
I felt a bit disloyal when we first learned of Beth England's injury a couple of games back, because I didn't have much faith that someone else would step up to score the goals this Spurs Women team desperately needs in her absence. But sadly, I was correct to be so pessimistic. With the exception of perhaps Ella Morris and Lize Kop, nobody has even been playing close to their best, let alone getting on the scoresheet.
In this issue: West Ham recap | Manager talk | Previewing Leicester City | News from around the Lane
I genuinely think that if we don't get a win in our next match (away at Leicester City) we could easily go the rest of the season without picking up a point. Aston Villa are dangerously close to relegation and will be highly motivated to beat us at Brisbane Road, then it's a tough away match at Liverpool, a near-certain loss to Chelsea, and Everton on the road for the final match (where we almost never play well). If we can't pick up some momentum against the Foxes it could be a very bleak end to the campaign.
WSL Matchday 17 recap | West Ham United 2 - 0 Tottenham
Rybrink (OG) 16', Asseyi 90'
It was a fifth-straight WSL loss and the third-straight game without a single goal—well, in Spurs' favor. We did manage a third own goal concession of the season. As is often the case for this team, it was less a case of West Ham being truly dominant and more a case of Spurs beating themselves. In addition to the early own goal, we basically gifted them the second goal in the closing minutes as a long-range free kick from Viviane Asseyi was allowed to trickle in. Usually we put up much more of a fight against our London rivals, so this was an extra disappointing loss.
Starting XI:
Robert Vilahaman stuck with Martha Thomas at striker in place of the injured England, but made a few surprising tweaks elsewhere in the starting lineup. Charli Grant was back at left winger after missing a game with a concussion, while Olivia Holdt made a surprise start at right winger. We also saw a change to the centerback duo, with Josefine Rybrink chosen to partner with the stalwart Molly Bartrip. Perhaps most surprising was the benching of Ash Neville; she didn't end up making an appearance as a substitute, frustratingly.
Vilahamn's inability to make game-changing substitutions has been a constant disappointment this season, and the fact that he often leaves a sub or two unused is even more perplexing.
Top three things:
- Too many changes. This has been a recurring issue in recent weeks, but the constant disruption of relationships in the starting XI is hurting the team. It seems like Vilahaman has been throwing new combinations out there just to see what works, but it's only resulted in a lack of chemistry so far. The lack of clarity on defending the late set piece that West Ham scored from was perhaps the best example of the prevailing confusion.
- New signings drop-off. Not only was Rybrink a noticeable downgrade on Luana Bühler for the defense from the start, we also saw the midfield become much less effective when Maite Oroz was replaced at halftime by Anna Csiki. Oroz herself is a new signing this season, of course, but even she has put up the assist numbers we might have hoped for at the start of the campaign. Holdt needed a longer ramp-up period than expected due to her existing injury at the time of signing. And the two new Aussies have fallen so far down the pecking order that they aren't the locked-on starts we assumed they would be. Only Kop could be said to have truly hit the ground running, hampered as she's been by frequent changes to the backline playing in front of her.
- Beware a mutiny. This is pure speculation on my part, but at least from what I could perceive on the broadcast, Vilahamn appears to be losing the trust and belief of several players. The body language from the incoming substitutes was very telling; a 1-0 deficit against West Ham should not have seemed insurmountable, but the overall mood amongst the players seemed to be along the lines of "let's get this over with." It's also revealing that both vice-captain Bartrip and senior player Neville felt the need to try to rally the team in their pre-game media availability. Needless to say, it didn't work.
SAtP Player of the Match: Ella Morris
I realize I sound like a broken record, but honestly, Morris' development has been the only true silver lining of this season. I still think Vilahamn could be doing more to help her on that journey; youth development hasn't been as marked of a focus this season as it was in his first season at Spurs. More on that in a moment.
Notable & quotable:
• We now have twice as many losses as wins (10 vs 5) in the WSL.
• We also have yet to improve upon a result from a reverse fixture in the first half of the season.
• In fact, of the series we've already completed (excluding newly-promoted Crystal Palace), we have either matched (Manchester City, two losses) or done worse overall against the same teams from last season. In the case of the series with West Ham, we dropped three points compared to last season.
• Rybrink became the third distinct Spurs player to score an own goal this season (all of whom are defenders).
• With Neville benched, Bartrip is now the only player to have played and started all 17 league games (Thomas has appeared in all 17 but only started 11).
• Thomas earned her 100th WSL appearance, ironically against one of her former teams. 36 of those appearances have been with Spurs. She is also nearing 50 games overall for the club.
• Eveliina Summanen commented on the frustration of not being able to score a goal to build some confidence, alluding to her own near-miss from a free kick attempt:
It’s small margins, I wish that free kick goes in and then it’s a different situation for us and we get a little boost from that.
Manager talk: Checking in on Robert Vilahamn's three-year plan
The day after the West Ham defeat, an article was published in The Athletic (written by the always informative Megan Feringa) that gave some insight into Robert Vilahamn's job security and recent changes at the executive level on the Women's side.
Megan Feringa
Vilahaman was more bullish about his job being safe than I would have expected, considering the current losing streak.
I’m not scared of getting fired. Overall, it’s not good enough, but it’s also not the end of the world. I know that the games coming up are the games where we should expect more from us.
But some of his comments were fairly telling. When asked about the potential of being let go in a season that has already seen five WSL managers sacked, he candidly responded:
Everything is connected to the result. If we lose games the way we are, then you can look at me. Or you need to look at the club… Are [the clubs who fired coaches] actually looking at themselves in the mirror or only at the coach? Because I can do good stuff, I can do failure, but I cannot do magic.
That seemed to be an admission that he wasn't being set up for success at Spurs, but he also expressed solidarity with the "patient" approach the club has taken to investing in the Women's team:
Success is connected to the whole project, what we do together. Right now, we’re doing this together as a club. The main thing when you look at how we’re investing is patience. If somebody else feels like this is too slow, then I’ll happily leave because I’m doing what I’m supposed to do and I’m trying to do my best according to that.
Still, I wouldn't say he sounds fully content with the project as it stands.
The article then delved deeper behind the scenes, including "an acknowledgment that this season has taken more steps backwards than forwards." Feringa also revealed that "the word 'decline' is used regularly in meetings" of the higher-ups. Frankly, I would be concerned if the club was in denial about the obvious decline in performance compared to last season.
The state of the squad is a big reason for the regression, in my opinion. Interestingly, the Lize Kop signing was seen from the inside as confirmation of Spurs' outside reputation remaining strong, since Kop was also pursued by Manchester United. However, that ignores the fact that she would have been recruited as a second keeper at United, whereas she's a clear first choice at Spurs with Becky Spencer now out on loan and Eleanor Heeps still largely inexperienced at WSL level. Just because Kop was an improvement for us this season doesn't mean that she tangibly moves the needle going forward.
There were some sobering stats in the article to highlight the decline on the pitch, including the fact that the team's xG dropped from 27.8 last season to 17.9 this season. It's not a coincidence that we've gone several games now without scoring a goal. The chances just aren't being created.
Some key staff have departed during the season, including the head of analysis & recruitment (Zoe Mattheson) to Gotham and performance analyst Alexander Adams to our next opponents, Leicester City. Recall that general manager Alex Zurita also left in recent weeks, a mutual decision with the club. So the back-of-house is in just as much flux at the moment as the starting lineup.
Feringa notes, "What was meant to be a season of building upwards quickly became a season of rebuilding." Vilahamn cited a few reasons for that change in direction:
We did really good work last year in terms of our identity, key players, key staff, young upcoming players like Grace and Celin. They were people I invested in to make sure we all worked together. Then we lost a few of those investments to other clubs. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it takes time again to reinvest in people. I’m still very sure [in] what we’re doing and know what we’re doing, but it feels like we lost one year because of that.
It was quite naive of Vilahamn (and the club) to have banked on a loan player signing a permanent contract, as well as being able to hold on to a player with a release clause. And there did not seem to be a firm contingency plan for Clinton returning to United, since it took until the January transfer window to sign a new #10.
But perhaps the most concerning detail in the article was this one: "A top-four finish is regarded as the trigger for more investment." What a farce. If the club continues to have the attitude that Spurs Women must succeed before receiving further investment, rather than being proactive in improving the playing squad and infrastructure, we'll forever be behind the curve and left in the dust of more ambitious clubs. When Vilahamn was first hired the stated aim was to qualify for Champions League within three seasons. We'll be lucky to still be in the WSL by the end of his third campaign if the status quo is maintained.
Previewing WSL Matchday 18 — Leicester City
It's another six-pointer—for pride—this weekend. Leicester City could also leapfrog us in the table, just as West Ham did last week. And on a concerning note, as we head to the King Power stadium for this fixture, the Foxes have won their last four home matches in all competitions. If we fail to score in yet another game, they will likely extend that streak.
We will still be without Beth England, but everyone else (barring long-term injury absence Kit Graham) is fit to play. The team news update made a point of mentioning that U21s keeper Erin Radbourne has been training with the senior team, so I wonder if she'll be on the bench instead of Eleanor Heeps for this match. The latter has international duty coming up.
For Leicester, Missy Goodwin and Sari Kees are doubtful to play, but they've benefitted from the recent returns of Hannah Cain and Shannon O'Brien.
In the last few seasons, Leicester have adopted a much more attacking style of play, so this could be a good game to have Jess Naz up at the striker position to take advantage of their higher defensive line.
Or for another forward option, it's worth noting that Lenna Gunning-Williams is one of the few active players in the squad that hasn't started a single WSL game yet this season (the other two are fresh-from-loan Rosella Ayane and the elusive Amy James-Turner). It surely couldn't hurt to give her some quality game time and ensure her first full campaign with the senior team wasn't a waste.
News from around the Lane
• Speaking of the Women's Academy U21s, a date has been selected for their Capital Cup semi-final against Dulwich Hamlet, now taking place on Sunday, April 6. It doesn't sound like there are any plans to stream the game, however.
• Three players from the Women's senior team got called up to England U23s for the upcoming friendlies, including a first full call-up for Eleanor Heeps; she had previously only been named as a training player with the U23s. She's joined by returning players Ella Morris and Lenna Gunning-Williams.
• Switching to the Men's Academy, there was a spate of first-time professional contract signings for goalkeeper Sam Archer, attacking midfielder Ronny Moncur, and central midfielder Jamel Beggs. Congrats to all the youngsters!
• I can honestly say I didn't watch much of the Men's international break, but this article from Spurs has a decent roundup of what happened for all of our players who went out on duty.
Tottenham Hotspur
• Sorry to end on a somber note, but Jan Vertonghen announced that he'll be retiring at the end of the season. Thanks for all the memories, Super Jan!
Spurs Men still aren't back in action until Thursday against Chelsea and Spurs Women go on their own international break after this next game, so we're still down to one Spurs game a week for a while. That's probably more of a blessing than a curse at this point of the season.
Nevertheless,
COYS
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