Here for the vibes – and the points.

Rachel Cohen

Spurs Women won 4-3 at West Ham. It was dark. The wind blew and the rain swirled. The ball bobbled and blew sideways. On the pitch it was a chaotic back and forth: twice Spurs went ahead as Grace Clinton oozed class, netting the first and third goals, Celin Bizet took her chance for the second, perfectly judging the keeper and Eveliina Summanen controlled midfield (at least up until she was moved to Center Back). But twice West Ham responded, equalising at one all and then again to pull it back to three all.

Then, five minutes later, in the 75th minute Spurs went ahead again for the third time, as Jess Naz, from the substitute’s bench drove the ball into the net. And this one stuck. There was no further comeback.

It is hard not to think that there was something symbolic in this victory. After all, it was Robert Vilahamn’s Spurs against Rehanne Skinner’s West Ham. This year’s manager against last year’s. Not that the (relatively) free-scoring West Ham bore too much resemblance to Skinner’s Spurs of last year. But there were glimpses. And in the post-match interview when Skinner praised her team’s “work ethic” and “grit” and said they “dominated big chunks of the game” the memories came flooding back.

Because last year is not very long ago. In January 2023 Spurs were almost halfway through a nine-game losing run. If the experience was scarring for supporters it must also have been for staff and players.

So, when Robert Vilahamn says that “fans love to see goals and not actually clean sheets”; when he previously said that he’d rather his team win 3-2 than 1-0; and when he describes the game against West Ham as “enjoyable” and “how we want to play” as a supporter I am with him.

Because, like Ange Postecoglou on the men’s side, Vilahamn gets what it is to support a team. Vibes matter. It is undoubtedly more fun to have the ups and downs of a seven-goal thriller than the nervous intensity of a 1-0. Which is not to say that in its place a tense 1-0 cannot be beautiful (the North London Derby being perhaps the best case in point here).

The problem is that if you need a clean sheet to win, defensive mistakes can break a team. And players make mistakes. Spurs gave away cheap goals in this game. And while we can perhaps blame the weather (and Storm Isha) on this occasion it has been similar in previous games. But when a team is confident that they can score goals, conceding is not a disaster. And whereas last season players seemed to crumple if they were culpable for an error this season they do not. Instead, as Vilahamn has said, “we keep playing our way”.

As a consequence supporters also do not give up. In the stands, watching on TV, we know a comeback is possible. That is novel. And fun.

While we are on the subject of defence it is perhaps ironic that Spurs have addressed a longstanding fullback issue (with both Charli Grant and Amanda Nilden joining this month) only to find ourselves in a centre back issue, with just Molly Bartrip fully fit, Amy Turner returning and Luana Bühler still out.

That meant that on 56 minutes when Turner went off there was no defensive substitute. Rather Eveliina Summanen filled in, as she had (for the first time ever) in the first half against Sheffield United a week previously. It was not an unmitigated success. And perhaps it does not work long term. But Vilahamn has a lot of credit in the bank right now. So if he believes that the team can afford to lose Summanen from midfield, even that she can improve the distribution of Spurs’ back line, let’s see. Because, as noted already, as long as Spurs keep scoring goals at the other end, there’s (a little) leeway to experiment. And as Vilahamn has said over and again, the team needs to be brave.  

Meanwhile, Spurs have now – at the midpoint of the season – racked up as many points as they did across the whole of last season (18) and are sitting in sixth, tied on points with the two teams above (Manchester United and Liverpool) and six points above the team in seventh (Aston Villa). All that, plus the prospect of four new signings fully integrating in the team: Matilda Vinberg and Shuang Wang as well as Grant and Nilden.

In other words, the vibes are excellent, but it’s not just vibes. Spurs are in a substantially better place than they were last year. Reason enough to get excited about the second half of the season.

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Read the club’s match report of West Ham – Spurs here.

And find a more extended review of 2023 – and the managerial transition here.