As this new Barclays FA Women’s Super League season dawned, there wasn’t a lot of positive expectation towards the hopes of Tottenham Hotspur from pundits in the game and as a result, the third place that they now find themselves in comes as a big surprise.
Many pundits had Rehanne Skinner’s team finishing in the lower half of the table with some suggesting that newly-promoted Leicester City would finish above them. In the first half of the season though, Spurs have proved the naysayers wrong and have found themselves being talked about as potential qualifiers for the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Three seasons ago, Spurs defied expectations in their first campaign in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League, avoiding any relegation threat and finishing mid-table. Perhaps this very success was part of the reason they were underestimated this term – if they could so easily navigate their first season in the league, how much better would a Leicester City team who had just seen a great injection of support from their club be? Spurs after all made relatively little change between the FA Women’s Championship and Barclays FA Women’s Super League in terms of their backroom situation.
Last season, Spurs encountered the well-highlighted second season drop in form and there were moments where the possibility of being drawn into the relegation battle was very real. There are many reasons why teams dip the second season – no longer being an unknown quantity to their opposition, the loss of the excitement of being part of something bigger, but I would argue a key factor in the results was the fixture list. In the first five games, Spurs played three of the top four teams in the league, a difficult task in any league. With the Barclays FA Women’s Super League still so dominated by those teams, a 4-1 loss to Manchester City and a 6-1 defeat to Arsenal compounded a lack of confidence that comes from earning only one point in your first five games. It was not just the players who didn’t seem to know how to react in this moment, the decisions made by the joint-head coaches Karen Hills and Juan Amoros increasingly looked like they were out of ideas.
Confidence is key in sport and several pundits this season have said that the key difference that they see at Spurs is a team that fights to the end. Fighting to the end is a result of believing that you can get something from the game and when you take a battering in the first part of the season, it can take a long time to lose the memory of that and to have the confidence to believe that you can turn games around, even weeks after you have started to win games.
Two very different seasons, both disrupted to some extent by the pandemic, meant that Spurs started this season as an unpredictable quantity. With 11 players leaving in the summer but no big names coming in, the confidence of players and staff talking about pushing the top three clearly seemed unrealistic to many and yet, as we head into the second half of the season, the team are in third. This is no doubt helped by the poor performances of the Manchester teams in the early part of the season but the draw against an in-form Arsenal was proof that this team have improved and are building momentum. As the teams around them also start to build, it’s going to be a fascinating second half of the season.
A clear improvement this season has been with the Spurs defence. Building on the solid foundations of last season, Molly Bartrip arrived from Reading and has quickly formed an excellent partnership with Shelina Zadorsky. Indeed Bartrip has made an impressive 28 blocks, the joint-second best player with this attribute in the league. Ashleigh Neville has continued to impress, leading the league in tackles made and won and making the most interceptions, clearances and having the highest progressive carrying and passing distances in the team.
A key aspect of the defensive improvement is in goal. For the first time in her Spurs career, Becky Spencer has someone pushing her for a place in the starting XI. Spencer is prone to injury so a competent understudy has long been needed and in Tinja-Riikka Korpela, Spurs have found not simply that but also a player who has proven in her recent run in the team that she has the ability to keep Spencer on the bench. It comes as no surprise that Korpela is second in the league in terms of save percentages (84%) but Skinner will be delighted that Spencer is joint-third (78%). Having a keeper that you trust behind you builds confidence and now Spurs have two of the best in the league.
Spurs have also improved in the middle of the park and it was clear in their two losses how important this area is to them. Maeva Clemaron joined from Everton over the summer and she has proved influential in the centre of the midfield. Not since Rachel Furness left have Spurs felt solidity in this role but Clemaron brings defensive prowess and also attacking ability. She is 10th in the league for tackles made and sixth for tackles won and has made the most passes into the final third of any Spurs player, the ninth most in the league.
Another key player in the midfield is one who receives little attention but who has been excellent this season. Ria Percival joined Spurs in 2019 and initially struggled to find her best position as her attacking instinct and her role as full-back fell foul of ageing legs. This season, she has played solely in the midfield and her commitment is never less than 100%. It was her tackle that led to the passage of play that allowed Jess Naz to score the winner in the game against Everton. Indeed Percival has made the most key passes of anyone at Spurs, the sixth most in the league and despite not featuring in the top 10 tackles made, she is third in the list of tackles won. Furthermore she is second in the league for pressures and joint-10th for blocks.
The second half of the season will be more difficult than the first, the Manchester teams and Reading are finding their form, but as I said earlier, confidence is key and this Spurs team will be feeling that after taking their first league points off Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal. The rumour is Spurs will have money to spend this month and for me, there are three key areas they need to address.
Goals have always been in short supply at Spurs and whilst Rachel Williams is on good form, this season she can’t do it all alone. Summer signings Kyah Simon and Tang Jiali have had moments but neither have yet cemented themselves in the team. A proven Barclays FA Women’s Super League goalscorer may be difficult to come by but it should be high on the list. With Kit Graham out for the rest of the season, Skinner will also no doubt be looking to fill this role. Graham was joint-second in the league for through balls despite not playing since November.
Finally, I think the back-up options at centre-back and full-back need to be considered. Asmita Ale started the season as first-choice right-back but she has fallen down the pecking order with Kerys Harrop being preferred as back-up at both full-back and centre-back. Harrop has put in some excellent performances and has made the third most successful pressures in the league but the experienced player was looking tired against Everton with the ball not quite responding as she would want it to. The days of three matches a week may be behind her and with Spurs progressing in the FA Women’s Continental League Cup for the first time, their fixture list will be heavier than they are used to.
Within the existing squad, there is of course room for improvement and the defensive situation could be dealt with with some judicious use of Ale and Esther Morgan who has also struggled for game time this season but I think one more player with experience would be helpful. In attack, Naz may grow into the Graham role but for all her silky skills, she often lacks a little bit of grit though it has started to show, especially in the game against Arsenal.
Spurs have had a record-breaking season already and now just need to hold their course and keep building. Whether it comes this season or later, that third-place finish may be attainable sooner than many believed.
Statistics: FBREF
About The Author
