Tottenham's Lame Duck Period

Excuse me for the title reference, but it's kind of true. Both Spurs teams are languishing under interim management and not showing many signs of getting anything done before the end of the season. It's hard not to wish the season was already over.

In this issue:  Everton recap | Everton recap pt. 2 | Previewing the Brighton match | News from around the Lane

It feels like three weeks have passed since the last Spurs game, rather than just three days, but I guess that's what supporting Tottenham does to you—ages you prematurely and makes you question the meaning of time. Was it really just four years ago that hope was still alive in the Champions League for the Men's team? Was it really just a year ago that we were disappointed at top 3 falling out of reach for the Women's team? How quickly things change.

Unfortunately, the status quo is very much alive under the interim managers and I'm legitimately wondering when we might see another win for either team. We do get a slight reprieve from the struggle with Spurs Women since it's international break time again (already, somehow). But let's look back at their most recent result first since they were first in action this past weekend. I'm going to keep it short and salty (because there wasn't much sweet about these games).

Everton 2 - 1 Tottenham

Admittedly, I'm a little sparse on the finer details after a few days, but I recall feeling relatively hopeful heading into halftime even at 1-1. That hope was short-lived once I saw the level of effort from most of the team in the second half.

Let me backtrack a little and mention that Becky Spencer got her first start since December, which was... also a loss against Everton. I wish I could say it went well since I'm a big fan of Becky's in general, but she could certainly have done better on Everton's first goal. The second goal I hold her less culpable for because two of her teammates were basically unsighting her for the shot by obscuring the shot from the Everton player. The bigger issue than her lack of shot-stopping was that we also didn't get the best out of her usual strength, playing out from the back. I would be curious to know what the rationale was for finally starting her after such a long span on the bench, but I doubt she did enough to convince Vicky Jepson to start her again next game.

The only other change to the lineup from the previous game was Mana Iwabuchi returning to the starting XI in place of Drew Spence. I can't say she had a huge effect on the game, but neither did Drew when she eventually subbed in, so it's a wash.

We'd conceded another frustrating set piece goal like the kind that was continually causing us trouble in the first part of the season (scored by Nicoline Sørensen in just the 4th minute), but responded with a stunning strike from Eveliina Summanen—her first WSL goal for Spurs, and coming from Beth England's first assist for the club— in the 22nd minute. The buildup for the goal also included a superb through ball from Molly Bartrip; it's good to see her looking confident in her passing range again. There was a big chance to take the lead before halftime when Celin Bizet got a shot on target that Everton's keeper Courtney Brosnan nearly allowed to spill behind her into the goal, but the ball was deemed not to have crossed the line, although several Spurs players were asking the question of the line official. So overall, plenty to provide optimism going into the break!

Alas, the second half was a tale of two substitution strategies. Everton manager Brian Sørensen got his completely right, with two of them combining for the eventual stoppage-time winner (Elise Stenevik assisting Aggie Beever-Jones). Jepson, on the other hand, was too slow in making changes (including only giving Nikola Karczewska the duration of stoppage time to try to make an impact) and didn't utilize the full depth of quality on the bench. I also questioned the reasoning behind removing Celin Bizet before Rosella Ayane; neither could be said to have had a great game, but Celin was at least taking her chances while Ros was heavily involved yet completely ineffective.

The one Spurs substitution I was happy with overall was Jess Naz's entrance in the 77th minute; it was just enough minutes for a player who was just returning from a lengthy injury absence, and she quickly grew into the game and had some bright moments, suggesting she may be able to provide some "x factor" in the remaining games. We were hard done by no to receive a free kick in a dangerous spot just outside the box after a foul on Jess was bizarrely called against her.

Kit Graham, however, did not get any minutes at all to build upon her progress in returning from an ACL injury. We don't know why Asmita Ale has been lacking minutes over the last couple of months, but this game was another match where she never left the bench, despite what she can offer in terms of passing skills, regaining possession, and pace. I would be curious to see if the outcome may have been different if Asmita, rather than Amy Turner, was defending Beever-Jones on that last Everton goal run. It may have been the difference between a valuable point and returning to London empty-handed.  

Overall, Sørensen's substitutions gave his team the second-half edge by ensuring he replaced quality players with equally potent options. The balance for Spurs was completely thrown off, and we left potential difference-makers on the bench uncalled.

Even though Jepson made a couple of minor tweaks to the formation and lineup heading into the game, the performance felt very similar to what we've seen all season. We now have 11 losses in the last 12 WSL games. It's relegation form no matter how you look at it. I had doubts that Jepson was going to cut it for the rest of the season after the narrow win over Leicester and the blowout loss to Arsenal, but this match confirmed that she cannot become the permanent manager for next season if we want to have any hope of progress.

Everton 1 - 1 Tottenham

Even though this was the more recent match, I feel even more forgetful of the details of the Men's game. So much so that I keep forgetting it was, in fact, a draw and not the terrible loss that it felt like. But the truth is, I'm beginning to feel an ambivalence verging on apathy about the Men's team.

What little hope I had that Cristian Stellini (assisted by Ryan Mason) might try something new with the tactics from his predecessor was dashed in this first post-Conte game. Exact same formation, no surprises in the starting XI based on available players, and the same nonsensical substitution strategy that we saw under Antonio Conte. So of course, the result was quite predictable—especially when you consider Everton was highly motivated to get at least a point in their bid for safety (they're still tied on points with the last team in the relegation zone).

Oh, a not-so-fun fact:  Spurs have conceded the same number of goals as Everton so far this season, on the same number of games. I guess this draw keeps us even on that account, too.

This game wasn't without it's drama, even if the football itself was a bit dull. Both teams ended the game down a man—Everton for a wildly uncalled for lunge at Harry Kane's eyes by Abdoulaye Doucouré, and Spurs for an equally uncalled for late tackle by Lucas Moura on Michael Keane. Actually, Keane had big main character energy in this game, because he committed the penalty that Kane converted for Spurs' goal and also scored the equalizer for Everton with a long-range shot. All in a day's work, I suppose.

I should probably mention that Lucas was only on the pitch because yet another manager has insisted on subbing him on before more capable and exciting players—namely, Arnaut Danjuma, who continues to languish on the bench and probably wishes he had been playing for the other side, as he very well could have if the January transfer window had panned out differently. Don't even make me talk about the other sub in this game (yep, only two!) because I'm too mad about it. (Fine, for the record:  Davinson Sánchez for Clément Lenglet to play on the left side of the defense. You couldn't make it up!)

Other things surely occurred during this match, but I don't remember any of them. It's all been repressed for the sake of not growing so disgruntled with this team that I don't even want to watch the next game. I still will... but reluctantly, and under protest of Stellini.

A small note for posterity:  Harry's penalty marked his 250th goal involvement in the PL, which is nothing to sniff at. Even as the season has largely been a disappointment for the team, old Harold has been consistent as ever.

And another small note to put things in perspective:  60% of our draws this season and just over half of the losses have come in the post-WC portion of the campaign, which makes up just under half the matches played to date. The grit to grind out results is undoubtedly falling away.

Top 4 six-pointer

Somehow, that's become a realistic statement to describe a Tottenham vs Brighton matchup. Strange times we are living in, but more power to Brighton for taking this season more seriously than Spurs clearly did!

I'm obviously concerned about our chances of getting any points out of this game, and it's because I genuinely think Brighton are better coached at the moment. On paper, we have the stronger squad (maybe less true with the current injury slate), but Roberto De Zerbi—and Graham Potter before him—has managed to wring every last ounce of effort and skill out of them. This, despite losing several key players in the summer and Leandro Trossard in the January window. Besides Trossard, most of those departing players have been less impactful at their new clubs (including Yves Bissouma at Spurs), lending more evidence to the argument that Potter and De Zerbi were actively improving them under their respective management. It's hard to say that either Conte or Stellini have done that with many of Spurs' players, and definitely not with the squad as a collective.

Heading into Saturday's matchup, we are four points above Brighton but they have two games in hand. That makes picking up all three points against them even more crucial to put a finish above them in our hands. Unfortunately, Brighton are on a seven-game unbeaten streak in all competitions.

There wasn't any good news on the injury front for Spurs, at least as far as availability for Saturday goes; we have the same squad options as we did for the Everton game. Richarlison may be back for the Bournemouth game next weekend, but Ben Davies is still at least a couple of games away from a return.

Stellini has a big call to make with the goalkeeping position. Yes, Hugo is still the captain of the club, but did his shaky performance against Everton warrant another start over Fraser Forster? I personally don't think so. Otherwise, I suspect Stellini will stick with the same outfield lineup and keep hoping that some of the players who've been struggling to find form will finally get it together. The good news is that at least Lucas can't be subbed in, because he's suspended for the next three games.

News from around the Lane

Since the last regular issue of the newsletter, Fabio Paratici has had his ban from working in football in Italy extended worldwide by FIFA, pending appeal. The club put out a very pointless statement that day (March 30) saying that they were blindsided by the news and stressed that neither Paratici nor the club had any knowledge of the decision prior to Paratici recording his message on behalf of the club that had been posted on socials just the day before. It seemed like a strange move to share that video message at the time, because surely the club must have known this was a possibility for months now. Regardless, the next day it was announced that Paratici would be stepping back from his duties (as if he had any choice!) on a leave of absence until his appeal is heard.

What a circus. I think this has brought a lot of reputational damage upon the club and has likely hampered our managerial search for next season. I can't imagine many prospective managers are eager to work with Paratici at this point, nor will they feel secure in signing a contract at Tottenham if there's uncertainty around whether Spurs will even have a director of football at all going forward. Daniel Levy should have acted swiftly to suspend Paratici earlier in the season when the possibility of the sanctions first came up—or not have hired him in the first place if proper due diligence had been made. If you'd like my full rant on this subject, you can listen to a recent Tottenham Depot podcast episode about it. Here's a snippet:  

In happier news, Kerys Harrop set the WSL record for most appearances with 178 by starting in the Everton match, surpassing Gilly Flaherty (retired) and West Ham's Kate Longhurst at 177. Longhurst had the opportunity to regain the joint record but didn't play on the weekend. It will be interesting to see if Kerys can hold on to the top spot until the end of the season—when we play West Ham on the final matchday.

The Women's match against Brighton has now been moved from Brisbane Road to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. This is a crucial game in the relegation race we now find ourselves in, so hopefully there will be a strong home crowd to support the team to safety.

The club is doing a good job of sharing updates from the international break, and you can check out the latest post here. Angharad James scored a goal for Wales!

Finally, we received some clarity on Shelina Zadorsky's absence from Spurs Women's matchday squads in recent weeks. The skipper bravely opened up to reveal the health struggles she has been going through this season, which required her to prioritize rest in order to get back to full fitness. You can see her full statement in the tweets below. It will be great to see Shelina back on the pitch soon—she has been sorely missed in the defense!

All right, let's all hope for a better result for the Men's team this weekend and that everyone out on international duty from the Women's team stays healthy.

COYS

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