Time to Rest

After a rare Spurs-less weekend, how is everyone feeling?

My hope is that the players are enjoying some much-needed rest—with the exception of the Women's team players out on international duty, of course. It looked like both teams were in need of a pause in league play to regroup and regain some fitness. There will be plenty for the managers to ponder during the hiatus as well.

In this issue: Wolves recap | Aston Villa recap | News from around the Lane | Pub chat & Bonus bookmarks

Read on for recaps of last weekend's matches, a roundup of news across the club, and some pub chat. No match previews for this weekend since we don't have any injury updates yet; I'll have those in a short issue later this week.

PL Matchday 25 recap | Tottenham 1 - 2 Wolves

Kulusevski 46' | J. Gomes 42', 63'

I think we can largely attribute this loss to a combination of our team still not being at full strength while Wolves are experiencing a pretty decent run of form (they're up into 8th place after matchday 26). Keeping that context in mind, I was surprised to see such polarizing reactions to the result from our fanbase. It certainly wasn't a good performance but I don't think it's time to panic about the overarching Angeball project.

Starting XI:

We had advance notice of the two key absences to the starting lineup, but that didn't make them easier to take. Perhaps if only one of Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro were missing we could have relied on a backup option to get the job done. But Ben Davies and Emerson Royal simply couldn't make up for the attacking threat that Udogie and Porro usually provide (although Davies flubbed a huge scoring opportunity late in stoppage time) and Royal in particular was a defensive liability.

Elsewhere, Yves Bissouma returned to the starting lineup for the first time since AFCON as Rodrigo Bentancur was given a rest (that's how I'm choosing to interpret it, anyway). Captain Son Heung-min also reclaimed his starting spot on the left wing after a super sub moment in the previous game, with Timo Werner dropping to the bench in his place.

Key highlights & takeaways:

• In truth, the defensive performance wasn't a total disaster—there were just two major errors that cost us the game. Micky van de Ven had a particularly strong performance and looks fully back to form post-injury.

• Of the aforementioned errors, the one that led to the first goal concession is a recurring issue in our set-piece defense: leaving a player unmarked at the back or behind the main cluster of opposition. At least make them work for it to get a shot/header off!

• The other was a case where Wolves' attack did have to make a concerted effort to spring on the counter-attack, but Bissouma was at fault for both losing the ball and failing to track the runner (João Gomes, completing his brace) who came to support Pedro Neto's initial run. Royal also could have done a better job of closing down Neto, but that's easier said than done, honestly. There's a reason he's been heavily linked to Spurs for the summer transfer window (though perhaps not at the right price, as rumored).

• On a positive note, our sole goal of the match came from Dejan Kulusevski finally finding his shooting confidence again and creating something out of nothing. I have been hoping to see more of this willingness from him to drive into the congested box (a frequent challenge for Spurs in recent games) and use his strong technical ability to create space for a shot—and then actually take it! This one was of the improvisational toe-poke variety, but they all count. Deki nearly scored again on a shot from outside the box, but José Sá made a superb save to deny him.

• As alluded to, Davies had a chance to equalize right at the death when he got on the end of a cross from Kulusevski, but I genuinely think he forgot what side of the pitch he was on because his header was perfect—for a defensive clearance, not a shot on goal. Alas. You have to admire his efforts to make himself an option in the attack, as Udogie would in the same position, but he's not the player you want taking that last-gasp chance. You could also argue that he's a better fill-in at centerback than at fullback in this system.

• More so than the preventable defensive errors, the ineffectual midfield was a major issue for Spurs. None of the midfielders (including the benched Bentancur) look up to their usual standard at the moment. Giovani Lo Celso had finally made it back into the matchday squad after an injury spell, but only came on for the final five minutes plus stoppage alongside the lately inconsistent Pierre-Emile Højbjerg.

This loss was made more frustrating by fellow top 4 contenders Aston Villa and Manchester United both winning their games this matchday. Missing the next matchday due to Chelsea competing in the League Cup final (well, "competing" might be a stretch in light of the actual performance...) compounded that frustration alongside another Aston Villa win.

But with the extra week of rest for players like James Maddison, Pape Sarr, and the injured fullbacks, there's a good chance we can build up some momentum in March—including a six-pointer against Villa—ahead of the gauntlet of top-half opponents near the end of the season. There are somehow only 13 games left to go!

SAtP Player of the Match: Dejan Kulusevski

This was one of Deki's best performances of the season, for what it's worth. Not only was he getting on the end of chances, but he was also creating them. We need that versatility from the wingers, and Son had a fairly quiet match by comparison.

Notable and quotable:

• The PL scoring streak continues, now standing at 37 matches and counting—the second-longest streak in the competition's history.

• This was just the second game of the season without an assisted goal, and the first since matchday 2.

• With his 6th goal of the season Kulusevski has now reached his best goal total in a season with Spurs.

• Deki on the loss and the increased training time ahead:

If you win or you lose, you have to go on the journey again. We have two weeks to work. I’m looking forward to it, two weeks of training, it’s not usual, so it will be very good. One day, we will rest, then go as hard as possible, and we’ll come back stronger. There are 13 games left and I’m sure we’ll do good.

WSL Matchday 14 recap | Tottenham 1 - 2 Aston Villa

Turner 38' | Leon 23', Nobbs 60'

Another disappointing 1-2 loss, with some similar issues on display for the Women's team, but in reverse order: vulnerability to a counter-attack and careless marking on a set piece. I think I felt a little more down about this result than I did about the Men's game, but only because Aston Villa were fielding a much weaker side than usual and it felt like a must-win (or at least draw!) game for that reason. Still, this is a rebuilding season and there were some valuable teachable moments in this game for Robert Vilahamn to apply to the training sessions during the international break.

Starting XI:

I also think Ash Neville's continued injury absence has been an obstacle to building up some consistent team form, as she's long been one of the squad's most consistent performers.

As for who was able to play in this match, Robert made quite a few changes to the starting lineup from the FA Cup match the previous weekend. Barbora Votíková was back in goal, Amy James-Turner replaced Luana Bühler in the centerback partnership, Kit Graham joined the midfield pivot in place of Olga Ahtinen, and Shuang Wang dropped back to the bench for Martha Thomas to play at the #10. All of these swaps came with tradeoffs.

Key highlights & takeaways:

• One of those tradeoffs is that Graham is a bit less press-resistant than Ahtinen, and gave away the ball for Villa's counter-attacking goal. But Votíková didn't cover herself in glory either; it was a very savable shot from Adriana Leon. Though I will say that Leon is known for taking audacious shots that catch keepers off guard, so perhaps we'll cut Barbora a little bit of slack. Leon also just scored a hat trick in the Gold Cup with Canada, so she's clearly feeling confident at the moment.

• We were able to equalize before halftime thanks to a long-range free-kick assist from Eveliina Summanen. James-Turner headed it home for her first (non-own) goal of the season. If only we could translate our success on offensive set pieces into defending them better...

• ...which was not the case with Villa's second goal, which definitely had the feel of a training ground routine upon second viewing. Leon's corner kick was headed back to Maz Pacheco to square to Jordan Nobbs, waiting unmarked outside the box. This was another shot that Votíková could and probably should have saved, though you can't fault Nobbs' technique.

• With that second conceded goal coming so early in the second half, there was plenty of time for Spurs to try to find an equalizer and get back in the game. That effort was aided by substitutes like Jess Naz (who had a decent shot saved by Daphne van Domselaar), Wang, and Ahtinen. I thought Matilda Vinberg had a decent cameo as well but is still more in the "raw talent" category at this time.

• While I didn't necessarily disagree with Robert's choice of subs (perhaps Rosella Ayane's experience could have been a benefit over Vinberg's unpolished skill advantage), I thought the timing was a bit late for most of them. A halftime swap of Ahtinen for Graham could have helped us regain control of the game sooner—in the end, it came too late to find a decisive equalizing goal. Luana Bühler's limited minutes (nonexistent in this particular match) continue to concern me as well. Is she still struggling with that thigh injury or just falling out of favor?

SAtP Player of the Match: Jess Naz

I'm just going to keep pounding this drum until she finally gets another start. If she's providing such a strong spark off the bench, why not see what she can do with more minutes?

Plus, she's having a strong international shift with the England U23s this week and even got to train with the senior squad.

Honorable mention goes to the spirited fans at Brisbane Road, including a few from close to my neck of the woods. Austin Spurs were in London for the weekend and also caught the Men's game at THS the previous day. My pal Bryce took some great snapshots of the match, including the seemingly ever-present Brisbane Road rainbow:

Notable and quotable:

• We still only have one clean sheet for the WSL season, and the goalkeeper position is not looking as nailed down as it was at the turn of the year. With as strong as Becky Spencer has looked in her recent cup match appearances, I think it would be wise to give her a chance to reclaim her #1 spot.

• James-Turner's goal was just the second of her Spurs career. She became the 9th player to score a goal in the WSL for Spurs this season.

• Her take on the improved yet scoreless attack in the second half:

It's a good thing that we are creating those chances, but I think the next step is the finishing.

• And some thoughts from vice-captain Molly Bartrip:

We all know as players they are standards we want to set and some performances haven’t been up there, but we are learning from them and you need to do that if you really want to progress and move forward.

On the pitch, we have been a little bit more secured defensively, which is obviously positive since the big loss to Manchester City. We all looked at ourselves after that defeat, especially myself, at what we could do better. We weren’t proud of that. But I think as a group, it’s just now about trying to score more goals. The connections will come and sometimes it just takes time.

State of the squad check-in

We got an interesting listener question on this week's Tottenham Depot episode that I thought was worth expanding on a little here. SAtP reader & supporter Sean asked if Spurs Women were improved post-January transfer market. I kind of cheated by equivocating on my answer on the pod, but honestly, there are pros and cons to the current squad makeup.

First and foremost, we have a lot of young talents that still need time to develop alongside the overarching evolution of the team's playing style. Two of our January signings, Amanda Nildén and Charli Grant, have been thrown straight into the starting lineup due to Neville's injury and Angharad James-Turner's surprise departure. When Neville returns one or both of them may find themselves starting less frequently. The aforementioned Vinberg is unlikely to claim a starting spot this season but is one for the future and can still play an important role as an impact substitute.

Then you have a more experienced player in Wang whose start at Spurs was delayed by an injury; she's still working her way back to full 90s and we haven't seen the best of her abilities so far.

Knowing that all of these players will probably come good doesn't make the growing pains any easier. It also hasn't helped that key players like Neville and Drew Spence have been out injured while other important contributors like Beth England and Martha Thomas are in a bit of a form slump.

So in other words, I think it's too soon to judge the January signings in the less-than-ideal context they've been performing in. But theoretically, they should end up being valuable additions when all is said and done.

News from around the Lane

• The Women's Super League has already announced some key dates for the 2024/25 season, including a slightly earlier start than the current campaign and a winter break of one month and two days.

• The Men's Academy announced first professional contracts for two players, James Rowswell and Maeson King. At 17 and 18 years old respectively, both are defenders and feature regularly for the U18 team. I don't think the club usually gives players the fancy signing photo treatment when they sign their first contracts, so maybe they're particularly promising prospects? Time will tell. Quality homegrown defenders don't grow on trees, so we can only hope so.

• Sticking with the Academy-age players, Elkie Bowyer scored her first professional goal over the weekend. She's currently out on loan at Ipswich Town alongside Lenna Gunning-Williams, who scored a brace in the same 4-1 win and provided the assist for Bowyer. Nice to see them both thriving!

• The Men's Academy U21s really showed out in their first game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. I had good intentions of getting up to watch this Premier League Cup match on Saturday and then totally forgot about it since it wasn't showing up on the FotMob calendar (that app only tracks their PL2 games). But the highlights are a great watch on their own. Will Lankshear continued his streak of hot form with an 11-minute hat trick while Dane Scarlett, Nile John, and Yago Santiago also got on the scoresheet for the 6-0 clean sheet win. Jamie Donley contributed four assists, including all three for Lankshear's hat trick. As Lankshear remarked:

We gave them (Fleetwood) no hope.

• In not-quite-Academy but likewise youthful news, Lucas Bergvall scored twice and assisted once in Djugården's last match. Once again, scintillating highlights abound.

• I am fully ensconced in the W Gold Cup this international break, but you can check out the club's recap of what our Women's team players have been getting up to with their national teams. See also: Grace Clinton's goal-scoring debut for England.

• Sorry to end this section on a downer, but Ryan Sessegnon had to undergo surgery for his other hamstring this week. Wishing him a speedy recovery and pain-free playing time in the future.

Pub chat: "Tourist" fans + Bonus bookmarks

If you spend too much time on Twitter, as I do, you will likely have seen the discourse that festered post-Wolves defeat about "tourist fans" at THS. I have three thoughts on this:

1. There is some clear and obvious racism behind who gets labeled as a tourist and not simply a fan. The only way to stamp out this unfair double standard from our fanbase is to be honest and open about it. As far as I'm concerned, if you're in a Spurs shirt and cheering for the team (or even just your favorite player) you're "one of us." There is no need to put a qualifier on that support if a fan is visiting from South Korea. How many of us fell in love with the club through Sonny? I know I did. But I wouldn't be treated with open disdain if I turned up at the stadium in my Son kit. Nor would a fan from Australia wearing a custom Ange kit. Again, let's call it what it is and ensure that xenophobia and racism have no place in our fandom. And let's also call out and report the more egregious cases of racism we see on social media, as I was glad to see SpursREACH do this week.
2. I fully understand the frustration around longtime local fans feeling like they are being priced out of the game by ticketing decisions made by the club and the Premier League. The solution to that frustration is not taking it out on far-flung fans who have traveled at great expense to see the club we all love. Have some respect for the fact that anyone making that journey is doing so out of pure passion.
3. At the same time, I don't actually think it matters that much why any given person is at the stadium for a game. While they are there, they are supporting the club in a literal sense monetarily, and likely boosting the local economy while they are in the area as well. So at the very least, be glad that the club is bringing in future transfer funds. (But also, be kind anyway.) Away fans are accepted as a necessary part of the atmosphere for games, so why wouldn't you extend the same welcome to fans from far away who do support the club?

Perhaps it's the American in me, but it's sad to see this impulse in some British football fans to be so intent on gatekeeping our beloved sport. In my country, the sport is still growing and as it grows, many clubs and supporter communities have made it a top priority to ensure that growth is based on inclusion. It doesn't always work out perfectly in practice (don't even get me started on how sexist my local club's supporter culture has been), but it's the ideal we're working towards. The celebration of the Proud Lilywhites' 10-year anniversary at the Wolves and Aston Villa games was a great example of how vital it is to support that work from the club level down.

Football should be for everyone. We cannot be making exceptions based on how long someone has supported the club, what country they hail from, or whose name is on the back of their shirt. There is no proper litmus test for fandom besides love for the sport. It's not something you can prove, it's something you live. Let people live!

Chris Paouros said it best:

I always say that feeling when the ball is about to hit the back of the net and everyone rises in unison, you don’t get that anywhere else. For that reason I don’t want to deny that for anybody.

That was a little heavy, so let's end with some assorted bookmarks I've enjoyed reading recently.

• This interview with Jermain Defoe is a tough but ultimately uplifting read. He talks about how difficult it was to deal with grieving several family members during his playing career but how he still has a lot of love for the game. It will be interesting to watch his management journey, which he is wisely taking slow (let the likes of Lampard and Gerrard be cautionary tales).

Jermain Defoe: Football was my escape from trauma but it never goes away

The former Tottenham and England striker speaks to i about playing through family tragedy, his friendship with Bradley Lowery, and his dream of becoming a Premier League manager

inews.co.ukKatherine Lucas

• This article from The Athletic by Charlotte Harpur about record-breaking transfer fees in women's football has a bit of a clickbait-y headline, but it's worth a read.

The women’s world transfer record has been broken three times in 18 months. Is that good or bad?

The world record transfer fee for a women’s footballer stood for 18 years — but it has been broken three times in 18 months

The AthleticCharlotte Harpur

I was shocked by this statistic: “92 percent of women’s transfers did not involve a fee in 2023,” despite a “50 percent increase in the number of transfers that included a fee.”

Harpur also notes that there are “concerns regarding the game’s sustainability, especially given the dearth of resources in the foundations of women’s football — ranging from medical support to pitch facilities.” We have to get these basics right now rather than trying to retrofit them later on, especially since the demands on players' bodies from the increasingly congested fixture calendar won't be letting up.

My personal take is that women's football is not yet at the point of needing such strict financial fair play rules as the men's side of the game since it's still firmly in the growth phase. But perhaps there would be more of the investment pie to go around in the first place if men's clubs were curbed more effectively in their (objectively out of control) spending. I also think it's incredibly important to discourage sportswashing in the women's game, although that boat has already left the port in the case of Newcastle United's rapid rise up the women's football pyramid and PSG's entrenchment in Champions League qualification.

• Finally, a very fair and balanced piece by Seb Stafford-Bloor on Harry Kane's awkward start to life at Bayern Munich.

Harry Kane’s six managers in 18 months - is he unlucky or inadvertently complicit?

Harry Kane has seen manager Thomas Tuchel announce his exit from Bayern Munich at the end of the striker’s debut season there

The AthleticSebastian Stafford-Bloor

Like designer luggage, he has become a boutique transitional item.

The most salient part to me was Stafford-Bloor's examination of the conundrum top footballers face in advancing their careers in today's lopsided transfer market.

The transfer market at the summit of the game is dictated not just by the shrinking group of clubs who can afford the very best players, but who has availability and at which position... The cliche was once that a really good player could “have his pick of any club in the world”. Today, at best, that list extends to two or three teams and always — always — involves compromise.

As a Bayern fan, I just appreciate someone being honest about the fact that his transfer diminished the club's ability to properly recruit in other areas of the pitch. He's inarguably one of the best players in the world, but he's not a miracle worker and he can't do it on his own. We've seen that it doesn't work that way at Spurs.

To be fair to Kane, the problems at Bayern go far beyond his transfer. But now it's his mess, too.

Before I sign off, huge thanks to SAtP reader Dustin for becoming a monthly supporter of the newsletter on Ko-fi. Coincidentally, he is also a dual Tottenham & Bayern supporter.

I'll be back on Friday with some quick previews of the weekend fixtures. Until then, enjoy the rest of the international break.

COYS

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