By Rachel Cohen.
16th September 2025.

After Sunday’s two nil away win at Everton you could almost hear the collective exhalation of breath. The previous week’s home victory over West Ham was a relief – the first win and first clean sheet in nearly nine months; an indication that things could be different. But this was something else.

Against West Ham Spurs won courtesy of Bethany England’s penalty, without any other shots on target and were widely criticised for a lack of creativity. Against Everton Spurs were – especially in the first half – dominant. They scored goals from open play – two – and created many more chances – with 19 shots (8 on target), seven corners and four big chances (according to Fotmob). It was almost like things were clicking into place.

Of course, Spurs are not suddenly the best team in the WSL. Nor, despite currently sitting in fourth, are they going to find it easy to remain in the top-half of the table. But two games in there are a few (well, at least eight) things to get a little excited about.  

1.    Tōko Koga.

For a long time Koga was Spurs’ only signing of the summer window and commentators were widely critical that the team had not done more. Now we’ve seen Koga play in two WSL matches (plus three pre-season games) there can be no doubt that she is the real deal. Her positional understanding, intelligence on and off the ball, her calmness under pressure, even her occasional acceleration (something much needed in a relatively slow backline), have been a breath of fresh air. She is not the only reason for the Spurs early defensive solidity (of which more below), but she is a large part of it. At this point most Spurs supporters are just hoping the club can lock her down long-term (she has initially signed until 2029) because even with relatively little English and still a teenager, Koga has a quiet presence and is already a leader on the pitch.

2.    Kathinka (Tinka) Tandberg.

What a difference having her in the centre of the field makes. Spurs’ improvements in attack are not just down to Tandberg. Other players are slotting into Martin Ho’s system with surprising ease. However, Tandberg seems like the missing piece. Her physical game is tremendous. And something that only a few players in the women’s game have – Bunny Shaw, Mayra Ramirez, for instance. That physicality is what makes her unplayable at times. The downside is that Tandberg has already gained two yellow cards (one each game – both relatively early on and both soft). And then there is *that* goal: A lob – struck with barely time to check her position, curving and dipping perfectly, as Courtney Brosnan hopelessly fell backwards into the netting. She is not, however, just a goalscoring unit. We have seen Tandberg’s delicate touch when she played the one-two that led to Olga Ahtinen’s opener at Goodison. There is also her work all over the pitch – coming deep to win the ball, busting a gut to reach (but not quite control) a cross in front of goal, doing unselfish hold-up play when needed. The icing on the cake – after a year of Martha Thomas and Bethany England failing to connect – Tandberg’s on-pitch relationship with the Spurs’ captain and talismanic goal scorer is off to a good start, both playing off one another, including for Tandberg’s goal.

3.    Defensive solidity.

Two games into the season and Spurs are the only team to have not conceded. And, okay, we have not faced a ‘Top Four’ team yet and will play Manchester City at Brisbane Road on Friday so it may all change. That said, the two teams we have faced (West Ham and Everton) managed to score in games against Arsenal and Liverpool respectively, so are far from toothless. And across 180 minutes Spurs have only faced a single shot on target. Remarkably, this is the same team (with a couple of new players only) that conceded 44 last season (an average of 2 per game), while giving up 116 shots on target (an average of 5.3 per game). Full data from FBRef.

It has been unsurprising that Amanda Nildén has been solid. And after a few hiccups last Spring, she is clearly revelling in the freedom Ho has given her to get forward and attack on the left. More surprisingly, Clare Hunt, last season too often hapless and error-prone, is reborn alongside Koga. High on confidence Hunt is racking up tackles and blocks but also displaying growing confidence on the ball. Another surprise is Josefine Rybrink, whose half-season contract back in January seemed a Vilahamn folly and who now finds herself in an unfamiliar role as right back / right centre-back. Despite a few moments in transition where her lack of experience playing out wide has shown, the Swede has done an admirable job. In addition to these four, who have started both games, Charli Grant has been used sparingly, with Ho seeming to recognise and play to her strongpoint (speed) while not relying on Grant for heavy defensive shifts. With Ashleigh Neville and Molly Bartrip both missing (with ‘knocks’) and Luana Bühler and Ella Morris long-term absences, there is reason to hope that Spurs’ defensive depth will continue to build.

The lack of opposition shots on target does not mean that keeper Lize Kop is playing no part. Rather Spurs have relied on Kop’s confidence on the ball to play out or shift play across goal from side to side, to claim high balls, makes occasional stops and generally emit an air of calm. Moreover, the accuracy of Kop’s long passes offers Spurs the option to go long when needed. And with Jessica Naz as a willing runner, and now the introduction of Tandberg, a player with the strength and control to bring down and hold up the ball in a crowded area, the success of these long passes has increased.

The other thing that has helped Spurs’ defence is the pressing work that our attacking and midfield players are doing (about which more below). An effective press has meant the team has won back ball higher up the field and had less backs-to-the-wall defending to do.

4.    Spurs’ Press

The press is working. Both Spurs’ goals against Everton came from pressing defenders on the ball. The previous week, the foul on Eveliina Summanen that produced the game-winning penalty also came straight after the Finnish midfielder won the ball back high up the pitch. For the first twenty minutes against West Ham and most of the first half at Goodison Spurs dominated by pressing high, winning the ball or forcing the opposition into errors. Even in those periods when the press has been used less, for instance in the second half against Everton, when it was used it was effective (as in the build up to Tanberg’s wonder-strike).

Spurs’ press requires the front line to work extremely hard, with England, Tanberg, Naz and Ahtinen (or Araya Dennis) all playing a part. It also requires Summanen and Drew Spence to push up and/or cover attempted passing outlets. That all these players are doing what is required to make the press work demonstrates a level of coordination but also the players’ buy-in to Ho’s methods and their committment and desire to deliver.

5.    Coaching improvements

Ho has spoken about his focus on coaching. And it is clear in numerous ways that this is bearing fruit. Whether that is the efficiency of the press, the defence’s coherence, or simply that players repeatedly talk about knowing what is expected of them and demonstrate this within the game. One part of this is several players suddenly showing improvements over what we saw over the last eighteen months. That includes the defenders discussed above, but also attacking options like Matilda Vinberg, Jess Naz and Oivia Holdt. We have also seen Drew Spence playing with an intensity for all 90 minutes that we have rarely seen at Spurs – where she has often provided a touch of quality but has done so somewhat intermittently.

6.    In-game changes

It has been a while since we have had a manager with a Plan B. Robert Vilahamn rarely did (unless you count throwing a centre-back up top in the last five minutes as a Plan B). Ho, clearly has one – or more than one. Whether this is about how he changes tactics, which @tonaliana has nicely described involves moving from a 4231 into more of a 442 in the latter stages of a game. Or whether it is about using the bench to pose new problems for the opposition. For instance, substituting players with different skillsets into the same position (as was the case when he brought on Lenna Gunning-Williams for Ahtinen or Graham for Naz). This within-game adaptability is likely to prove crucial, especially when – as against Everton and West Ham in different ways – we need to see a game out or break the deadlock.

7.    Minutes for development players.

In the first two games Martin Ho started Dennis, a player who had zero WSL minutes previously, and gave Gunning-Williams an average of 20 minutes per game. Last season Dennis was used in cup games and then sent out on loan, while Gunning-Williams made 12 appearances but averaged just 11 minutes per appearance. Consequently, she rarely made an impact and often seemed off the pace.

Against West Ham Dennis had an excellent first twenty minutes or so, demonstrating her potential especially taking players on. She then faded and seemed spent soon after half-time and was subbed. It is, however, only with more game-time that she will build stamina and grow. Meanwhile coming on in the second half against Everton Gunning-Williams was initially ineffective (losing out on duels and misplacing passes) but within ten minutes found her feet, and created a couple of chances. Ho’s willingness to give both Dennis and Gunning-Williams serious minutes may be partly down to injuries in the squad. But insofar as it also demonstrates a manager seeking to maximise the potential of the squad available to him, that’s got to be positive.

8.    Maybe we didn’t lose the transfer window

Spurs were widely criticised for a lack of action this summer. But at the moment bringing in Ho, Koga and Tandberg seems like pretty clever business. That does not mean we don’t want more investment. Nor less that a (worse) injury crisis won’t expose serious holes. But perhaps it is better to be at a place where you bring in a couple of excellent players (and a quality manager) than – where Spurs were a few years ago – having eight to twelve players leave and join each year. Not only because you get some continuity on the pitch and in relationships between players. But also, because it is hard (as a supporter) to develop attachment to an ever-changing squad.