Too Good to Be True

The Men's match against Manchester City provided the usual ups and downs that have become characteristic of that fixture. The end result was yet another loss to a top-6 team and more questions around the manager's and individual players' futures with the club.

In this issue:  Manchester City recap | Loan reinforcement for Spurs Women | Leicester preview | Fulham preview

I share the scoreline out of obligation, not pleasure:

Manchester City 4 - 2 Tottenham

It's interesting that it ended up being such a high-scoring game because the initial impression was one of pure boredom. Both teams came into the matchup smarting from embarrassing derby losses and seemed reluctant to be the first to make a mistake, and therefore played quite cagily and conservatively for the first twenty minutes or so.  

City put out a rotated side, including the absence of prized playmaker Kevin De Bruyne. In contrast, Antonio Conte decided to play mostly the same lineup that suffered a defeat to Arsenal, with just four changes and no alteration to the formation. Newly-fit Rodrigo Bentancur replaced Pape Sarr in the midfield, Ben Davies got the start over Clément Lenglet at LCB, and Ivan Perišić returned to LWB in place of Ryan Sessegnon while Emerson Royal started at RWB instead of Matt Doherty. Perhaps more surprising than any of those changes was who remained in the starting XI despite poor performances in the last match:  Hugo Lloris and Son Heung-min.

The match started to pick up after the first twenty minutes, at least from City's perspective. Spurs' defense weathered City's few chances relatively well, including a big block from Eric Dier on a shot from Julián Álvarez and a last-ditch tackle from Cristian Romero on a Jack Grealish counterattack. Hugo even made a save from a long-range shot by Rico Lewis. However, we also picked up a couple of yellow cards and there was concern overall that our players were late to a lot of challenges and playing with fire.

There were some signs that Spurs were starting to grow into the game, though, with Sonny of all players registering a header on target. Dejan Kulusevski was also increasingly involved (obviously in a better place physically than he was heading into the Arsenal match) and was rewarded with the first goal of the game in the 44th minute. It was a gift of goal, with Ederson under-hitting a pass out to Rodri and Bentancur pressing high enough to pounce on the loose ball and knock it into the path of Kulusevski. Deki was in the right place at the right time and perfectly placed his shot into the back of the net. Miraculously (or so it felt), we were able to double our advantage just two minutes later thanks to another error from Ederson. Harry Kane had to pull off a superb offensive tackle in the buildup to the moment, but after his shot was parried and not collected by Ederson, Emerson Royal was there to head it in.  

Perhaps it's a reflection of my general pessimism around the Men's team this week, but at halftime, it felt like the lead was more fortunate than earned. This isn't to say I wasn't happy that we had the advantage; I would never outright hope for a Spurs loss just to create a desired outcome (say, the sacking of a manager). Nope. I'm always going to hope that we do well and pick up all three points. Alas, it was not to be in this game. The second half proved our undoing, in a reversal of the usual trend this season.

It only took six minutes for City to get their first goal, with Hugo failing to collect a loose ball in the box and leaving it to Álvarez to slot into the goal. Perišić attempted to make up for losing Riyad Mahrez down the right flank by attempting a goal-line clearance with his head, but he couldn't connect. City then scored their second goal just as quickly as we had ours, with Erling Haaland finally getting on the scoresheet after a mini-drought. He was basically unmarked for his header, which is frustrating. City took the lead in the 63rd minute after Mahrez once again evaded Perišić and beat Hugo at the near post (an increasingly common occurrence for our keeper). Mahrez completed his brace and put the game away in the 90th minute, capitalizing on a heavy first touch from Lenglet that gave Mahrez a one-on-one with Hugo, whom he easily chipped for the goal.

I don't think any of our subs had a particularly meaningful impact, or not in a positive sense at least. If anything, we were close to giving away a penalty from a Richarlison handball, but luckily VAR did not change the on-pitch call. And then there was Lenglet's involvement in the fourth City goal. I thought Yves Bissouma had a slightly better performance than his last run out, attempting to make some progressive passes and staying calm in possession, but the overall effort from the team in the second half made that a fruitless endeavor. Ryan Sessegnon once again looked in over his head.

In the wider context of the season, losing to the top 2 teams of the PL wouldn't necessarily be a huge cause for concern. We're still in a decent position in the league (albeit losing more and more ground on the top 4 with every match) and still alive in the Champions League and FA Cup. But I think the more pressing issue is that the actual performances haven't looked very good at all since the league resumed after the World Cup, except for one half of the Crystal Palace game.

A few things we have learned in the recent stretch of games:

• our first goalkeeper needs to step down sooner rather than later
• none of our wingbacks are particularly adept at defending
• regardless of who makes up the midfield-2, they aren't controlling games
• key performers from last season (Son, the entire back-3) have regressed
• players returning from injury (Deki, Lolo, Richy) need time to reacclimate

A few of these issues are matters that are outside of Conte's control for the most part (injuries specifically). But there are other aspects that he can influence, such as the tactical issue with the two-man midfield or the wingback-centric formation leaving us vulnerable defensively (with current personnel, at least). Yes, the players have to be held accountable for their lackluster performances of late. But Conte bears a lot of responsibility in reversing the downward trend, too, including decisions like formation choices that the players don't have the final say in—short of a mutiny, I suppose, and there have been many times in recent weeks when I've wondered if Conte has lost the dressing room yet or not.    

Nothing that I saw in the match against City made me think differently about the question of whether to sack or not to sack Conte. I can't ignore the reality that we are actively playing worse this season than last and that is unlikely to change any time soon since Conte is so stubborn in his selection and tactical choices. From my perspective, I fail to see why the club would reward him with a new contract if he's just going to continue making the team's performances more and more one-note, and therefore more difficult to mold into a new style by his inevitable future successor. For the record, I voiced my concern about Conte possibly being a one-trick pony in my 2021/22 season review, when the fanbase was still riding high on the success of securing top 4. The signs were always there that we could hit a dead-end under his management.

I had really hoped he would prove to be more adaptable this season in spite of my fears, but if anything he has doubled down in the last few weeks and continues to imply in his press conferences that he cannot make the team a true contender without massive investment to the squad. I will be the first to admit that there are many areas of the squad where we can and should upgrade, but the fact remains that Conte is getting less out of this team than he was last season, even with the addition of new players and the ostracization (read:  loans) of players he wasn't using regularly anyway. You don't see managers like Roberto De Zerbi, Eddie Howe, or Marco Silva making that excuse, and they have objectively weaker squads than Tottenham. They just get on with it and believe that they can beat any opponent on their day with the right tactics and the right mentality. Frankly, if there isn't a lot of resentment in the dressing room towards Conte at the moment I would be very surprised. The mood around the team overall is one of demoralization, and we are feeling it as fans, too. Where is the hope? Where is the daring to do?

I have hated feeling less excited to watch the team play, but unfortunately, the rare moments of competence under Conte this season have been too few and far between to satisfy me. I just want Spurs to be fun again and play an enjoyable style of football. I want a manager who will get the best out of all his players, not just the ones he favors or the ones that fit into his rigid idea of how to play. For a supposed "serial winner," Conte has proven to be rather lacking in innovation and determination.  

And personally, I'm not okay with this negative stance that top 4 is already gone and this season is a write-off if we don't pull off a January transfer window miracle (again). Such a defeatist outlook is not sustainable from a morale perspective, and it also risks causing serious reputational damage to the club that will have ripple effects far beyond this transfer window and Conte's tenure—however long it ends up being—and could very well lose us our most important player (Kane).

I want to caveat all this by saying that I feel hugely sympathetic to Antonio for the tough time he has been going through on a personal level during the last few months with the death of two close friends and colleagues. It appears that he also made the move to Tottenham without his family, and that cannot be easy. Nobody would blame him for not being fully focused on football at a time like this. It doesn't help the current footballing situation, but it does illuminate the human situation.

So I suppose it might be a bit callous of me to insist that the correct move for the club would be to part ways with Conte, but we do need someone who can be all-in with the team and realistic about what's needed to compete, both now and in the future. I can't imagine that this constant game of chicken between him and the board over transfers and spending has been enjoyable, so I struggle to understand why he hasn't yet walked away himself. If, however, he does truly want to extend his contract and the board wants him to stay as well, they need to all get on the same page immediately so that everyone can move forward. Either give him the mandate to carry out his vision for the club, or bring in someone new whose vision they believe in more fully.

I am going to support the club no matter what, I just want a resolution—preferably before this current transfer window shuts, so some business can be completed in that aspect as well. All of this dithering and pointing of fingers is serving no one. And if it's come down to a scenario of "chicken or egg" with who will commit first—Conte to a new contract or the board to transfer spending—I would suggest that the equation is probably beyond solving with the current variables.

Okay, let's change the focus to the Women's team for a moment for some positive vibes. I was already feeling cautiously optimistic about the direction of Spurs Women since Beth England scored a goal on her debut, and after the latest loan move was announced I'm feeling even better about our attack's prospects.

Spurs signed Mana Iwabuchi on loan from Arsenal for the rest of the season. The 29-year-old has primarily played as an attacking midfielder but also has the ability to play on the wing. Her technical acumen is going to be a big boost to a Spurs team that has sometimes struggled with the basics this season, and she has a very powerful shot on her (if you've been watching Spurs Women for a while, you will, unfortunately, be aware of this from previous matchups against Mana's former teams, which also included Aston Villa in the WSL). She's a great option to provide some creativity in the midfield as we continue to wait for Kit Graham's return.

Another benefit to this loan is that Mana already has familiarity with many of her Spurs teammates from their linkups on previous teams. It's a running joke that Tinni Korpela is our "Agent Tinni," but her old teammates do seem to find their way to us with increasing regularity. I shan't complain!

The only potential downside is that Mana has had even fewer minutes this season with Arsenal than Beth had been getting at Chelsea, so she will need some time to ramp up her fitness—as Rehanne Skinner alluded to in her latest press conference. We're more likely to see her appear as a substitute for her debut, hopefully on Sunday for the Leicester game but potentially in one of the upcoming cup fixtures.

I cannot wait to see the duo of England and Iwabuchi linking up for Spurs. While it's been radio silence this transfer window on the Men's side, the Women's team has undoubtedly strengthened in two key positions of need with top-quality players still in their peak years. It's hard to complain about the transfer activity so far, though I wouldn't say no to another midfield option or a winger, as well as a fullback (preferably right-sided). Still, bringing in a creative midfielder and a proven goal-scorer should set us up nicely to compete better in the second half of the season, if we can just regain some solidity on the defensive side of things, too.

The Women play first this weekend(ish, for the Men) with a home match against Leicester. Finally back at Brisbane Road!

You may recall that we beat Leicester in the first match of the season, but it took two worldie goals from Ash Neville and Drew Spence, and an own goal from the latter nearly put the result at risk.

Leicester are a team that never seem to know when they're beaten, which is why they look poised to make the relegation battle interesting this season after all. Pretty much everyone had put them down as a sure bet to go down to the Championship, but after a stunning 3-0 win over Brighton (who have also been struggling) last weekend there is a glimmer of hope for the Foxes. Brighton, Reading, Liverpool, and even Spurs will be looking over their shoulders with unease.

Leicester have given themselves a fighting chance to stay up thanks to some smart January transfers, including forward Remy Siemsen (from Sydney FC in the A-League) and goalkeeper Janina Leitzig (on loan from Bayern Munich). Bringing in a keeper with Champions League experience is a particularly impressive coup from Leicester's scouting department, and Leitzig proved her value with a clean sheet on her debut. Siemsen is apparently working up to full fitness and won't be featuring until after the matchup with Spurs.

Spurs have the rest advantage over Leicester since the Foxes had a mid-week Conti Cup match to contend with. They limited Manchester City to just one goal but still lost and were eliminated from the cup. Leicester only had three players on the bench for the cup game, including a goalkeeper, so they have clearly also been suffering from an injury crisis like us. Former Spur Josie Green is amongst the injured ranks and won't be able to feature against her old club again.

It doesn't sound like we'll be getting any of our injured players back in time for Sunday, but Rehanne did note that Jess Naz was back in training and Kit Graham is, in fact, the closest to a return out of the long-term injured players, contrary to what the last injury update implied. Since Mana Iwabuchi is more likely to appear as a sub, I would expect her to replace either Drew or one of the wingers, but Rehanne has hinted that she could even be used in a defensive midfield role if needed.  

We obviously want to build on the attacking progress we saw in the second half of the Aston Villa game, but the most pressing issue is tightening up on defense. I would like to see more clarity of roles for the midfielders, because that seemed to be the area of the pitch where we most often gave the ball away. The positioning has been off all across the lineup, though. Part of the issue is also a lack of proactive movement when it comes to meeting passes and making interceptions, which then leaves the defense scrambling to react to an unforced giveaway.

We have to win this match, because the run of WSL games after the cup week is pretty brutal. We need to get some points on the board to avoid truly getting dragged into the relegation picture. No pressure.  

Then on Monday, the Men take on Fulham at Craven Cottage, which is definitely one of those "tough places to go" in Premier League football.

And don't look now, but a Spurs loss would see Fulham leapfrog us into 5th. (Really don't look at the position Brighton are in with two games in hand on us. I said don't look!) I'll be perfectly honest and say that I haven't had the opportunity to watch many Fulham matches this season, but they must be doing something right. From a quick glance at recent results, I suspect that something is keeping it locked down on defense. The last time they allowed an opponent to score more than one goal was pre-WC, in back-to-back 1-2 losses to the Manchester teams (a tough run of schedule). Not exactly encouraging to face for a team that has struggled to break teams down without a true creative midfielder to pick the lock.

As mentioned above, I have zero faith that Conte will switch things up formation-wise to give us a better foothold in the midfield, so I can only hope he at least picks the players who are most in form. Son simply has to be on the bench to start. Richarlison hasn't exactly impressed me in his last couple of short appearances with his lapses in discipline, but he surely deserves a chance to contribute while Son continues to be out of form. If not Richy, I would like to see Bryan Gil get another run out, although I think he may be more effective from the right flank at this point and therefore more of a rotation option with Kulusevski.      

I mean, at this point all we can do is hope the players can work their way out of the collective funk the team has been in and regain some form. If top 4 is still a target (which you would certainly hope was the case), we can ill afford to lose any more ground, with the teams already in the top 4 all having games in hand with which to extend their current points advantage over Spurs. Not great!

But still, we hope.

COYS

Note:  I'm not going to get into the Fabio Paratici news at length because I'm still not entirely clear on whether the suspension handed down is going to be applicable to his work with a Premier League club, not just within Italy. Either way, the board probably needs to be considering if this is the guy they want to continue employing in the long term. The man did work a minor miracle last January with the Bentancur and Kulusevski transfers, but if he can't do business ethically that's a major red flag. We have enough problems as it is without getting the law involved!

And now, we wait for Chelsea to ever suffer any consequences for their out-of-control spending. Waiting, waiting...

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