A few thoughts after Spurs’ home 2-1 loss to Manchester City. Plus: Becky Spencer to Chelsea and why we should scrap scrapping relegation.

By Rachel Cohen

4th March 2025

After it was over manager, Robert Vilahamn, was frustrated that his team did not get anything out of this game. And with Spurs and City level on xG (expected goals), at 1.2 each, Spurs were perhaps unlucky to lose. But after the team’s rout at the Emirates last time out, and a season in which Tottenham Women have stacked up big losses against the top four teams, barely threatening to score, this felt like a sea change. So, what was different?

1.    Personnel

The most obvious personnel change involved the return of Spurs’ most consistent defensive midfield pairing in Drew Spence and Eveliina Summanen. Both back from injury and in for Maite Oroz and Anna Csiki. With Summanen and Spence in the team there was more control in the middle of the field, with both able to disrupt the opposition, switch play and link up with the attack.

We also saw a return to the central defensive pairing that was a mainstay of the first half of last season but has only sporadically been seen since: Luana Bühler and Molly Bartrip. In this game Bühler’s return was enforced by Clare Hunt’s suspension following an accumulation of yellow cards. Despite some weaknesses (aerial defence being an ongoing issue) this is Spurs most comfortable on-the-ball centre-back pair. And the calmness in playing the ball out made a welcome change.

Changes to the defence did not end there. Ella Morris came in at right-back, to start only her third WSL game. With that, Ashleigh Neville was switched from right to the left, with Amanda Nildén on the bench. As noted below, that facilitated new relationships on the pitch.

There was also a personnel change on the wing, with Australian full-back Charli Grant replacing Jessica Naz on the left, while the left-footed Matilda Vinberg started on the right for only the second game this season. In the year that Grant has been at Spurs she has not dazzled in defence and is currently fourth choice at full-back, with defensive and on-the-ball skills below that of Spurs’ other defensive options. However, her strength and pace make her an interesting attacking option. And in this position her defensive nous sets her apart, meaning that she provides the cover that the team’s other wingers have notably failed to.

Finally, Spurs January transfer, Olivia Holdt, who had prior to this been used as a late substitute, played sixty minutes, coming on for Martha Thomas after the Scot was withdrawn for an injury – seemingly a twisted ankle. With her first pass of the game the creative midfielder played in England for Spurs goal. Although she at times seemed peripheral when she was involved Holdt made things happen, with four shot creating actions from her 19 touches.

2.    Relationships

Vilahamn often talks about relationships. But this season they have too often been elusive. Against City several were in evidence. This included Bartrip and Neville on the left of defence. The two have now played together for nearly four years and that familiarity is clear on the pitch and an advantage that using Neville on the left brings. On the other side the newer pairing of Bühler and Morris demonstrated an ability to interchange positions that was refreshing – with Bühler at times coming wide or high to press and Morris dropping back into the centre alongside Bartrip.

Defensive relationships were visible elsewhere. Most notably there seemed a nice synergy between Vinberg and Morris down the left-hand side, the players doubling up on the opposition and winning turnovers. On the right we saw Summanen dropping deep to cover Neville. Similarly, in the centre Spence and Summanen worked well, with Bethany England adding strength and giving one of her all-action performances.

3.    Commitment

Against Arsenal Spurs frequently looked bereft of ideas and insipid. Over and again, they were second to the ball and seemed to be working as individuals. Against City Spurs had a strategy to win the ball back. That is most obvious in the number of tackles made (and won). Against Arsenal it was nine, just two of which were won. Against City it was 29, with Spurs winning the vast majority (25) of those. In both games a similar number of clearances were made (38 vs Arsenal and 36 vs City) and Blocks (14 each game), but that last-ditch defending was the only response in the North London Derby, whereas in this game the team pressed much more effectively, winning the ball back across the pitch, including in potentially dangerous positions.

One big result of this was that Bunny Shaw, a player who has tormented Spurs over and again, racking up three hatricks and an average of two goals a game against Tottenham prior to this, was relatively anonymous before being substituted off.

Something to build on

For all that, Spurs did not win, nor even get a point. The team conceded (again) from a cross. And, despite a wealth of shots, only Bethany England scored – the captain’s goals continue to carry the team comprising eight (nearly half) of the 17 Tottenham have scored in the WSL this season. And in the final thirty minutes, with Summanen substituted and City bringing on the in-form Mary Fowler and Jill Roord, the team struggled, conceding a second in the 78^th minute.

Meanwhile, Brighton, our next opponents, drew with league-leaders, Chelsea. So this game may not signal instant transformation. But it augurs well – showing multiple glimmers of progress. And because many of us went into it with low expectations, that is a big plus.

In other news

Let’s scrap scrapping relegation

The Guardian has reported that the Women’s Professional League Ltd is asking clubs to vote on a proposal to scrap relegation until at least 2030 as a way to ‘encourage investment’.

To date, the biggest single investment Spurs have made in their women’s team was the £250k fee the club paid for Bethany England’s transfer in January 2023. That came as the team was getting sucked into a relegation fight. It worked. England went on a goal-scoring spree, Spurs stayed up and Reading, who did not invest, were relegated.

There is no evidence that the Spurs board, nor the board of any other mid-to-lower table team is going to spend money if they do not have to. The threat of relegation, as well as more rewards at the top end – a second tier European competition; a League Cup in which no-one gets a bye into the quarter finals – are what drive expenditure. Not complacency.

The closed US leagues on which this is ostensibly predicated are competitive, but that is because they have numerous mechanisms to ensure resources (players and income) are equalised. Getting anywhere near that would require a much more radical transformation than is being proposed and runs counter to the increasing concentration of wealth that marks European football.

Meanwhile it is past time that the league is expanded. The stop-start nature of the WSL season makes it nigh on impossible for a team like Spurs to get a decent run of games and find form,  nor less expand the squad while guaranteeing game-time to all. But this is what happens when you spread 22 games across eight months. Meanwhile the Championship is becoming ever-more-competitive, with a bottleneck of teams that could potentially be promoted. More teams. More relegation. More promotion. Those are goals worth fighting for.

There is a petition against the WPLL proposals that you can sign here.

There are likely to be other actions undertaken by supporters clubs so contact the THWFCSC  (or your club’s supporters’ club) to get involved.

Goodbye – for now – to Becky Spencer

In a surprise move, Becky Spencer has been lent to Chelsea. The league-leaders’ first keeper, Hannah Hampton, has been having an excellent season and is likely to remain in goal for upcoming games. But their two backup keepers are out (one injured; one pregnant).

The move is confirmation that Spencer had slipped to Spurs’ third choice keeper, after January signing Lize Kop and Academy graduate Eleanor Heeps. And without cup games to play the likelihood that she would get much more game-time for Spurs this season is low.

Spencer has been at Spurs for the club’s entire tenure in the WSL: six seasons. She has, however, previously won the league with Chelsea. Brought in by joint managers Karen Hills and Juan Carlos Amorós, Spencer then shared duties with Tinni Korpela during Rehanne Skinner’s period in charge before returning to Number One last season under Vilahamn, following a strong World Cup for Jamaica. Spencer’s penalty heroics against City were a key part of Spurs’ journey to the club’s first FA Cup Final.

This season, she has, however, struggled, and had a statistically league-poor early season performance. Since her contract was renewed before Christmas this loan will not formally mark the end of Spencer’s time at Spurs, but it makes it less likely that she plays a big role in the future.