11 Oct 2025 11 min read Men's Team

Tel Me Mo'

Two Spurs Men players finally got off the mark in the Premier League, while Spurs Women passed an early test in the Women's Super League "best of the rest" race.

What is this feeling of calmness and contentment?

Finally, we could head into a Men's international break not only with a win—breaking a longstanding streak of losses ahead of national team action—but also sitting in the top three of the table. The Women's team didn't have a break looming, but got the job done in a tense encounter and likewise ended the week third in the standings. How long either team can stay in that position remains to be seen, but for now, let's enjoy it.

In this issue: Leeds United recap | Brighton & Hove Albion recap | News from around the Lane | Pub chat

This week's issue has the usual recaps and a roundup of club news, then I have some bonus bookmarks to share.

PL MD 7 | Leeds United 1 - 2 Tottenham

Okafor 34' | Tel 23', Kudus 57'

In my time as a Tottenham fan, I have come to learn that there is a wide scope for fixtures that can be considered a "trap game". We definitely seem to have more of them than most clubs, and certainly more than a Top Six team should probably have. Nevertheless, Leeds United (newly promoted but historically significant and strong at their home ground) can definitely count as one, and we didn't fall into the trap this time.

The starting XI huddles before the game.

In fact, we have successfully navigated our first two fixtures against newly promoted sides and gained the full six points. Last season, we dropped eight points overall to those such teams, all of whom went straight back down to the Championship, and only managed to do the double on Southampton.

That doesn't mean it was a perfect effort; we didn't manage to keep a clean sheet and actually allowed more big chances for Leeds than we created for ourselves. And both Spurs goals took deflections, though they count all the same.

The identity of the goal-scorers was perhaps the biggest reason for satisfaction about how the game went. Mathys Tel and Mohammed Kudus both scored their first goals of the season, and Kudus' first for Spurs in any competition. Tel hadn't scored since April during his initial loan stint with the club.

Micky van de Ven draws Mo Kudus in for a hug, rain in the background.

Notable & quotable:

• This was the first time Spurs Men have won a match directly before an international break since 2023, a streak that lasted seven games.

• Leeds United hadn't lost at home at Elland Road in over a year.

• Richarlison reached 250 Premier League appearances; those appearances were split between Watford, Everton, and now Spurs.

• Mohammed Kudus won Player of the Match with his goal and assist effort.

• He also currently leads the Premier League in assists alongside Jack Grealish, with four assists each.

• Spurs currently hold the record for the most number of distinct goal-scorers in the Premier League, with 179. Kudus' goal also meant that players from 43 different nationalities have scored for us in the competition, adding Ghana to the list. Previously, Pape Sarr had made it 42 with Senegal.

• Kudus had a lot of praise for his fellow forward, Mathys Tel:

I want to give big praise to Mathys because I think it's been a tough month, but how he carries himself, training… He's a top, top professional... It shows how professional he is, the way he composes himself, manages himself, trains. He's still young, and with this mentality, it's really going to help him go far. I hope that this first goal he has scored is going to open more doors for even better games and more goals coming ahead. I'm really, really proud of him today.

• Despite his slow start to the season, Tel has maintained confidence:

I always believe, every day. Even if I have bad moments, good moments, I always believe. Today I just took the opportunity to show what I can do, and I'm very happy.

• Tel did limp off when he was substituted, but is apparently okay because he has played with France's U21s over the break and even scored a goal in their first game.

WSL MD 5 | Tottenham 1 - 0 Brighton & Hove Albion

Tandberg 26'

Cathinka Tandberg can't stop scoring.

She notched another first-half goal for her second in as many Women's Super League games, and also has three goals total in the competition so far. The only team she failed to net against was Manchester City.

But as impressive as Tandberg's goal tally has been, it was Jess Naz that got the biggest plaudits for her performance against Brighton—including the official Player of the Match award. She looks like a player revitalized on her return to the wing under Martin Ho. Although Naz's assist for Tandberg's goal was her first goal contribution of the season, she's been heavily involved in the general improvement to the attack this season.

Jess Naz and Cathinka Tandberg leap up to hug each other.

The game could have gotten off to a disastrous start when Tōko Koga made an uncharacteristic mistake and slipped under little pressure inside Spurs' defensive box. Although the replay didn't definitively show handball contact, the referee could easily have called a penalty when Jelena Čanković was tripped up by Koga's follow-up movement. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who breathed a massive sigh of relief that Koga got away with it.

But other than that early scare, the defense showed the same resolute consistency that we've seen in the majority of the games this season. Ash Neville's presence surely made a difference, but Clare Hunt continues to show glimpses of the player we thought we had signed last season before the blowout loss to Manchester City shook her confidence.

The remainder of the game was a close contest, with players from both teams literally holding their heads in their hands in frustration after missing chances, such was the tension. We should have expected a close result, though, since this is a team we are expecting to be challenging for "best of the rest" by the end of the season.

Notable & quotable:

• This was the team's third clean sheet of the WSL season—already bettering our tally from the 2024/25 season of two.

• Ash Neville made her first start of the season.

• We have already gained seven points more than we did from the identical fixtures last season.

• Tinka Tandberg acknowledged Jess Naz for putting the cross exactly where she had asked for it before the game, and remarked on her positive start at Spurs:

I think you can see I’m loving it [at Spurs]. Of course, when I’m scoring goals, that’s what I’m here for.

• Martin Ho was pleased with the grit to see out the win:

[Most] importantly, the team’s done it again—they’ve [ground] out a really tough result, and I think we deserved it.

He also credited the whole team effort in keeping the clean sheet:

The backline and goalkeeper will always get the plaudits, but you defend from the front, and everyone was involved. I think Lize had only two shots to deal with on target all game. That’s what you want—nullify their chances, keep a clean sheet, and score at the other end.

I also wanted to note that captain Bethany England made a statement on behalf of the team about their decision to "stand up against racism" rather than taking the knee, just over a week after one of our own, Jess Naz, was the victim of racist abuse. The squad donned shirts that said "Spurs against racism" before the game, and club staff, including manager Ho, also wore the shirts in support.

The starters and bench players pose together for a photo ahead of the game, all wearing shirts that say "Spurs against racism."

You can read England's full statement here.

I also recommend this article from The Guardian by Kick It Out's chief executive, Samuel Okafor. He calls for more transparency in reporting statistics from governing bodies and other relevant parties to keep pushing for accountability.

News from around the Lane

• The club has announced that three of Spurs Women's WSL fixtures will be moved to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (though the exact fixture dates are still subject to change for broadcasting):

Chelsea - February 8
Everton - March 15
Manchester United - April 26

Fans can purchase a ticket bundle to secure a seat for all three games.

I'm surprised that none of the selected games are in the first half of the season, but it does seem like the main stadium games were an afterthought this year. And while it's good to see that there will be some fixtures there after all, the club still needs to do more to address the stagnating attendance at Brisbane Road.

• Martin Ho's technical and medical staff were finally confirmed.

• Luca Williams-Barnett was named Premier League 2 Player of the Month for September.

• The club has received a £100 million injection of new capital from ENIC.

• In beloved Spurs alumni news, Son Heung-min became the all-time record appearance leader for the South Korea men's national team. Congrats, Sonny!

• And a quick Spurs Men & Academy loan army roundup:

Luka Vušković became the first player to win 18 aerial duels in a single match in Europe’s top 5 leagues over the last five seasons in their hard-fought draw with Union Berlin. Hamburg are undefeated since the loss to Bayern, when Vušković made his loan debut.
Yang Min-hyeok is finally getting some game time and scored his first goal for Portsmouth against Watford, following it up with the game-winner in their 1-0 win against Middlesbrough.
Tyrese Hall is also on a goal-scoring tear at Notts County, netting twice in less than a week in their past two games. He also registered an assist in the most recent match against Oldham.
Jamie Donley has had very limited game time at Stoke recently.

Pub chat: Bonus bookmarks

I never consciously intend for the majority of the bookmarks to be women's football-related; it just happens that way. But let's be real, men's football gets plenty of coverage and conversation as it is.

• Molly Bartrip was a special guest on Upfront podcast ahead of World Mental Health Day, and she continues to be a wonderful advocate for mental health awareness. In this interview, she was very brave about sharing her struggles, including her ongoing panic attacks. I honestly teared up a bit when she described how Beth England has helped her through them, but there's also a great anecdote about Ella Morris from the rehab room that you need to hear.

On the same topic, former Spurs Women manager Rehanne Skinner spoke with GirlsontheBall about coaches needing support with mental health, as well as players, as the women's game continues to grow.

We have lost people in the game and that’s the absolute worst-case scenario. None of us want to be in that position so the more we can shine a light on it the better.

• Friends-of-the-newsletter Hometown Glory have started recording a monthly Spurs Women special episode. I am always here for more Spurs Women podcast content, so make sure you check it out and subscribe to their podcast.

• I enjoyed this club feature on former Spurs Women player Wendy Martin, who apparently transitioned into playing beach soccer after her Spurs career ended, including representing Team GB.

• The Guardian's Suzanne Wrack takes a critical look at the Women's League Cup in her latest column. I agree with Wrack that the inconsistent broadcasting of the group stage games is a major obstacle to getting fans to care about the competition.

• This piece from The Athletic about an innovative new training method is fascinating, and also includes a surprise Spurs mention (Tottenham Hotspur, to be clear, though my San Antonio Spurs also feature prominently).

• Finally, The Athletic has a great profile on Luka Vušković that suggests the Hamburg fanbase is wholly failing to remember the old adage: "Never fall in love with a loan player." They can't keep him!

Up next:

October 12 | Spurs Women @ Chelsea
Team news — Molly Bartrip back in contention; Luana Bühler and Ella Morris still out.

Just the one (very early) Spurs Women game for us this weekend, alongside more international break action on the men's side. Enjoy!

COYS

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