Alanna Kennedy Special.

In our first special we take a look at Tottenham’s new number 18 and ask ourselves who is Alanna Kennedy? Alanna first got into soccer/football at around the age of 5 and would usually play with a ball in the backyard with her brother and sister. Alanna would usually hang out and play soccer/football with friends from the school’s soccer team and first started to play with other females once she joined a competitive team aged 10. During 2008-2009 Kennedy represented Australia at U-17 level making 10 appearances and scoring 6 goals before moving up to the U-20 level in which she represented Australia between 2011-2014 while in between making her senior debut at 17 years of age in 2012. From a young age Alanna knew that she wanted to be a Matilda and that dream was fast becoming a reality.

Alanna made her W-League debut 10 years ago for Sydney FC at the age of 16 where she made 3 appearances and won the W-League Premiership title. Kennedy switched to the Newcastle Jets for the 2011-2012 season making 9 appearances and scoring 1 goal. In 2012 Alanna moved back to Sydney FC where she won another championship before moving to Western Sydney Wanderers (2013-14) then the Perth Glory where she first played with fellow Tottenham defender Shelina Zadorsky (2014-15) and then back to Sydney FC before moving to the Western New York Flash in America.

Alanna Kennedy with the Flash in 2016 📷 by @alannakennedy Instagram

In May 2015 Kennedy was named in the Austrailian roster for the 7th edition of the Women’s World Cup which took place in Canada and was the 2nd youngest player on the roster. Australia were drawn into Group D alongside 2011 runners-up the United States, 2011 bronze medalists Sweden and Nigeria. The Matildas finished 2nd in their group after losing to eventual champions the U.S. 3-1, beating Nigeria 2-0 and drawing their final group game 1-1 with Sweden to qualify out of their group with 4 points. Australia faced the very technical Brazilians in their round of 16 match and booked their place into the quarter finals thanks to a Kyah Simon goal in the 80th minute. Unfortunately for the Matildas thats where their 2015 journey ended at the hands of 2011 champions Japan. The Matildas really held their own against the 2011 champions, Australia did well to soak up Japanese pressure, hit them on the counter and hold the champions 0-0 but they were unable to get the breakthrough goal. On the 87th minute Mana Iwabuchi broke the Matilda’s hearts when she was finally able to crack the Australian defence to give Japan a 1-0 victory.

Alanna Kennedy with the Western New York Flash in 2016 📷 by Sue Bernard.

During the 2016 season Kennedy made 17 appearances for the Flash in her debut season where they managed to grab a 4th place finish in the regular season earning themselves the final playoff spot. Kennedy went on to play every minute of the two playoff games where New York defeated Portland 4-3 after extra time in the semi finals and then defeated friend and future team mate Shelina Zadorsky’s Washington Sprit 3-2 on penalties in the final after the game ended 2-2 after extra time to win the NWSL championship.

Western New York Flash celebrate their 2016 Championship victory against the Washington Spirit 📷 by nccourage.com

At the age of 21 Kennedy made her Olympics debut at the Rio 2016 Olympics playing all of the Matildas games in the tournament. Australia were drawn into Group F alongside Canada, Zimbabwe and eventual tournament winners, 2 time World Champion’s Germany. The Matildas opened their campaign with a 2-0 defeat against Canada. Australia knew they could not lose their second game to 8 time European champions Germany and managed to take a point after letting a 2 goal slip. In the final game of the group stages the Matildas knew that nothing less than a victory against Zimbabwe was good enough and it took Australia just 2 minutes to get on the scoresheet with a goal from Lisa De Vanna. The Matildas went on to win the game 6-1 with our very own Alanna Kennedy grabbing a goal as the Matildas advanced to quarter finals where Australia took on Hosts Brazil in front of 52,000 fans.

Brazil and Australia have shared many battles over the year with the Matildas coming out on top in their last meeting at the 2015 World Cup in Canada winning by 1-0 with a goal by Kyah Simon. The Matildas and Brazil put on a fantastic show with Kennedy being one of the star players of the match but neither team were able to break the deadlock and after extra time the score remained 0-0. The host went on to win the shootout 7-6 but under controversial circumstances. Alanna Kennedy unfortunately missed the final spot kick for the Matildas but Barbara (not for the first time) clearly came off her line and the penalty should have been retaken.

📷 by @mrsydneyfc Twitter.

Unfortunately the officials did not want to know and like many times in the past, poor refereeing cost a team a chance of winning a trophy.

New Club, New Goal.

Kennedy’s next stop took place in 2017 when she was traded by the North Carolina Courage to the Orlando Pride in exchange for Sam Witteman. Kennedy was an instant hit at the Pride and was key in Orlando’s success during the 2017 season. Kennedy has been a key player since her arrival which was demonstrated in her debut season in Orlando. On September 30th Orlando faced the Courage in the final game of the season, locked at 2-2 and into injury time Orlando got a free kick. With so many talented players on the field for the Pride Kennedy stepped up to take a wonderful right footed curling free kick into Katelyn Rowland’s top right hand corner to give the Pride the victory and the 3rd playoff spot.

Video by The Power Of Twenty Youtube.

Hungry for more success Kennedy was looking for her 2nd NWSL championship in a row, unfortunately it just was not meant to be and Orlando were eliminated in the Semi Finals to eventual winners the Portland Thorns.

Back To The Wonderful Land Of OZ.

After the disappointment of crashing out of the NWSL championship Kennedy returned to Australia during the off season joining Melbourne City FC for the 2017-18 season. As usual Kennedy being the winner that she is went on to win the W-League Championship with Melbourne. After suffering a 6 game winless streak midway through the season, Melbourne come back into the final series where they went on to defeat the Perth Glory 2-0 in the 2017 W-League Grand Final and then Sydney FC 2-0 in the 2018 final.

Kennedy 2018 W-League champions 📷 by @alannakennedy instagram.

Back to Orlando

Kennedy with fellow Pride team mates Krieger, Marta, Van Egmund, Chi, Zadorsky, and Morgan 📷 by goal-click.com.

After the W-League concluded Kennedy returned to the Pride for the 2018 season. With a few new additions including Shelina Zardorsky, the Pride were looking to go one better and finally bring the NWSL championship to Orlando. The 2018 season turned out to be a disappointing one for everyone with the Pride finishing in 7th place which lead to the departure of Pride coach Tom Semanni. The 2019 season saw the appointment of former Birmingham coach Mark Skinner but things just went from bad to worse for the Pride who finished last in the 2019 campaign after losing many players to World Cup duty.

Asian Cup 2018.

In April 2018 the Asian Cup took place in Jordan and the Australia the 2010 champions were looking to add another title to their collection. Australia were drawn into Group B the group of death alongside Vietnam, South Korea and Japan. The Matildas opened their campaign with a 0-0 draw with South Korea, in game 2 Australia overcame Vietnam 8-0 with Kennedy grabbing a goal in the 18th minute. Being such a tight group Australia knew that they needed at least a point in their final game against Japan. After a hard fought battle Australia were able to grab a point with Sam Kerr scoring 4 minutes from time. The Semi Finals saw Australia take on Thailand and found themselves 2-1 down in injury time until Kennedy got the equalizer for the Matildas in the 90th minute to take the game into extra time which Australia eventually went on to win 3-1 on penalties. On April 20th the Matildas took on rivals Japan in the Asian cup final. Australia came out the stronger of the two teams and took it to Japan from the start. The Matildas had many chances to go ahead but good goalkeeping by Ayaka Yamashita kept the score 0-0 and Japan in the game. In 14th minute Australia were awarded penalty which Elise Kellond-Knight took but it was saved by Yamashita. The second half saw the Matildas again dominate the world champion’s but they were unable to find the breakthrough needed after hitting the bar and forcing Yamashita into action on more than one occasion. The game looked like it was heading for extra time but in the 84th minute substitute Yami Yokoyama scored to break Australian hearts and give the world champions their 2nd Asian Cup title.

France 2019.

After the disappointment of Canada 2015 and Rio 2016 the Matildas were looking to get their hands on the World Cup that they craved. I was really impressed with Australia in recent years and actually put a bet on Australia to win the 2019 World Cup.

The Matildas at France 2019 📷 by w-league.com.au.

The Matildas were drawn into Group C alongside Italy, Brazil and Jamaica, one of the shocks of the tournament took place on the opening match of Group C when Italy come from behind to defeat the Matildas one of the tournament favorites 2-1. In game 2 the Matildas took on rivals Brazil in a spectacular game coming back from 2 down to win the game by 3-2. In the final group game Australia took on Jamaica knowing nothing but a victory would be good enough. Up stepped Sam Kerr who scored 4 goals to lead the Matildas to a 4-1 victory and securing their place into the last 16. Next the Matildas took on 1995 World Cup Champion’s Norway, in a tight contest it was the Norwegian’s that took the lead through Isabelle Herlovsen but Elise Kellond-Knight came to the rescue in the 83rd minute to drawing the Matildas level. The game ended 1-1- after extra time and Norway went on to defeat the Matildas 4-1 on penalties with Kerr and Gielnik missing in the shootout.

Friends Reunited.

On August 20th 2020 Tottenham Hotspur announced the loan signing of defensive midfielder Alanna Kennedy from the Orlando Pride which would see Kennedy link up again with friend and fellow Pride team mate Shelina Zardorsky.

Alanna Kennedy and Shelina Zadorsky with the Orlando Pride 📷 by shelicks.net

Kennedy arrives to Tottenham having scored 7 goals in 87 appearances for Australia and 22 goals at club level in 181 appearances. Kennedy is a versatile player that can play in defence or midfield and that always leaves 100% on the field and no doubt will bring some much needed toughness in midfield. No doubt Kennedy will be a hit with the Spurs fans, Welcome to Tottenham Alanna, COME ON YOU SPURS!

WSL week 2, Everton vs Tottenham Women (September 13th 2020).

The weekend is finally here which can only mean one thing, the WSL is back. This week our Lilywhites travelled up north to face Everton in the Super League. Tottenham come into the game in 7th place after a draw last week against West Ham. Everton sit in 6th position after winning their opening fixture by 4-0 against Bristol City.

https://youtu.be/wctyHom8roQ
Week 1, Tottenham vs West Ham.

First visit to Walton Hall Park.

Tottenham came into the game looking to build on last weeks home draw with West Ham by getting their first 3 points of the new campaign. Last season Everton ran out 3-1 winners with Pike, Filby (o.g) and Graham (Lucy not Kit) scoring for Everton and Lucy Quinn scoring Tottenham’s only goal. The return leg proved a different story with Tottenham showing their new never die attitude after the Christmas break. Tottenham found themselves 0-2 down with 12 minutes to go before Angela Addison sparked a come back with 10 women to take a point against the toffees.

Line ups.

Tottenham opted for a 4-2-3-1 with Spencer in goal. Leon at right back with Zadorsky, Harrop at the centre of defence and Neville in at left back for Worm. The midfield was occupied by Pervival and Green with Addison, Graham and Kennedy filled the attacking midfield role leaving Williams in the number 9 role. Everton also opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation with Maclver in goal, Wold at right back, with Finnigan, Sevecke in the centre of defence and Turner in at left back. Stringer and Christiansen ahead of the defence with Raso, Graham, Emslie make the attacking midfield with Magill in the lone striker role for the blues.

Match report.

Everton started the game the most dangerous and it took the blues just 7 minutes to call Becky Spencer into action. Hayley Raso latched onto a misplaced ball by Josie Green from a Kerys Harrop pass fell to Raso who’s shot was brilliantly saved by Spencer for an Everton corner. A minute later it was Raso again that was causing Tottenham problems. Everton again catching Tottenham on the counter with Raso running down the left wing onto a Christiansen pass and shooting from outside the area which turned out to be a comfortable save for Becky Spencer in the Spurs goal. In the 18th minute there was a shout for a Tottenham penalty for a foul on Percival but referee Rob Ellis instead gave a free kick to Everton for a foul against Percival. The half played out quite even with both midfields fighting for possession, Tottenham seemed to have learnt to be tougher as both teams were quite physical with one another and Tottenham showing they are no longer the newbie push overs that many teams tried to bully last season. Hayley Raso once again proved to be a handful for Tottenham when in the 35th minute Raso again came close with a run down the left on the counter after what should have been a free kick to Tottenham but Percival got back in time to block in the box as Raso pulled the trigger for an Everton corner. Much of the first half was played in midfield and it wasn’t until the 40th minute that Tottenham had their best chance with a thunderous shot by Josie Green from 25 yards but Maclver made a good save at her top left corner to turn the shot away for a Tottenham corner. Tottenham continued to pressure Everton in the closing moments of the first half and in the 45 minute Kit Graham shot from outside the area which was well saved by Maclver for a Tottenham corner.

Ashleigh Neville (left), Kit Graham (Right) 📷 by Tottenham Hotspur Twitter.

Half time saw Tottenham make 3 changes with Davison, Ayane and Quinn coming on for Addison, Leon and Williams whilst Everton brought Sørensen on for Emslie. I expected the 2nd half to be similar to that of the first with an intense battle of the midfielder’s but instead Tottenham came out the stronger of the two teams. Tottenham run the midfield for the first 5 minute of the restart but on the 50th minute Tottenham were punished when Sørensen latched onto a through ball down right wing leaving Percival behind crossing into the box which was met by Isobel Christiansen’s head to give Everton the lead. This game that we love so much can be cruel at times because just as Tottenham were playing better Everton punished them to take the lead. Chances were minimal for both teams so chances must be taken whenever they come to you or you’ll be punished as Tottenham found out last week to West Ham. Everton had the goal they needed to continue their winning streak in the new campaign and didn’t look like they were going to push forward too much and risk conceding a goal as again most of the play took part in the midfield with very little breakaways falling to either team except for a break by Everton in the 67th minute which saw Simone Magill booked for a dive inside the Tottenham area. Tottenham’s Ayane and Kennedy continued winning the midfield but there was no presence in the final third. Tottenham’s next chance came in the 72 minute when a Davison corner was headed just wide by Kennedy. Tottenham looked to build on the dominating possession because 3 minutes later Tottenham came close again to get the equalizer they needed. A good run by Davison down the right wing who’s centred ball came to Ayane who turned to shoot but her shot was straight at Maclver, any side of the keeper and it would have been 1-1. The more the clock ticked the more it seemed that for a 2nd week in a row it just wasn’t meant to be Tottenham’s day. I feel Tottenham found it hard to do anything with their possession because every time Tottenham got the ball Everton would come in with strong tackles committing fouls and not giving Tottenham time to move the ball how they would like. The 81st minute saw Tottenham make their 4th substitute of the game with youth player Elisha Sulola coming on for captain Josie Green. The last 10 minutes seemed to drag Everton looked like they didn’t want to come out and risk conceding a goal and Tottenham just played too many long balls as they couldn’t get into the Everton area playing shorter balls. The 85th minute saw Tottenham making their final sub of the game with Rianna Dean coming on for Kerys Harrop. The 85th minute saw a wonderful chance fall to Sulola when a miss kick by Maclver fell to Sulola who instead of controlling the ball shot from 30 yards and skied the ball sparing Maclver her blushes. The two teams played out the rest of the half again in midfield before Rob Ellis ended the game leaving Tottenham still searching for their first win of the season.

Player Of The Match.

Picking a player of the match this week was tough as most of the game took place with both midfields battling for possession. For me Angela Addison was the best Tottenham player in the first half. She tracked back, made challenges and attempted to make runs down the left wing. The second half was a different story, Angela was substituted therefore I felt Davison’s introduction was key to Tottenham’s attack. Gemma was the only player trying to create something out of nothing and encouraged a lot of fouls against her therefore it is hard to pick one player of the match so for me I choose Angela for her first half performance and Gemma for her 2nd half display.

Angela Addsion (left), Gemma Davison (Right) 📷 by Tottenham Hotspur Women.

Post Match Analysis.

Where to start, another week and another disappointing result. Tottenham came into this game in search of their first 3 points of the season. We all know it was going to be a tough game but after last week’s performance I expected a little more from Tottenham. I won’t be too harsh on the team as we need to remember that these inspirational women haven’t played competitively for 6 months before last week but they need to start taking advantage of the opportunities that come their way because the month of October will prove to be the toughest any team could wish for. After the FA Cup game away to Arsenal, Tottenham then face Manchester City away, Manchester United at home and Arsenal away which could see Tottenham on 1 point after 5 matches and facing a relegation battle. The only positive to take out of this run of fixtures is that with the exception of Chelsea that would mean that the toughest WSL teams would be out of the way for Tottenham meaning in theory Tottenham should take points in the remaining games before they face the big 4 again. I felt that Tottenham didn’t have much precense in the final third today. Tottenham again dominated possession but didn’t do much with it. I understand that the new players are still adapting and and I feel the coaches are still looking for the right starting 11 but if Tottenaham aren’t careful they will run out of games as Liverpool found out last season. I don’t think Tottenham will be looking at relegation battle but after the month of October if Tottenham do not get something from one of those games it could harm their confidence. Hopefully the arrival of Morgan will spark something in Tottenham but if Tottenham want to better last years fabulous debut WSL season they need to improve and fast.

New Kit.

This week Tottenham also announced the new 3rd kit for the 2020-21 season.

Shalina Zadorsky (Top left), Alanna Kennedy (Top right), Angela Addison (Bottom left), Ria Percival (Bottom right). 📷 By Tottenham Hotspur instagram.

The new 3rd kit is available for purchase at https://bit.ly/32ko2gH from tomorrow Monday September 14th and will retail from £55 for youths and £70 for men’s/women’s Jersey’s however currently you will not be able to get a Jersey to support the women’s team with the WSL patches.

A new signing on the horizon.

This past Friday it was reported that our Lilywhites had pulled out the biggest signing of the transfer window. According to Meg Linehan and many other reliable sources U.S. superstar Alex Morgan had signed a short term deal with Tottenham until the end of the year.

Personally I didnt believe this, I am a HUGE Orlando Pride fan in the states and there was no talk regarding Alex going abroad. Orlando Pride coach Mark Skinner announced earlier this week that Alex will be returning to training Monday after giving birth in May. Now let’s remember that 2020 has been one wild ride of a year so far and with the Rose Lavelle, Sammy Mewis going to Manchester City, Christen Press, Tobin Heath going to Manchester United it may not surprised many that Alex had decided to follow suit to get match fit for next season NWSL and the 2021 Olympics.

Orlando Pride Captain Alex Morgan 📷 orlandocitysc.com.

At 3pm yesterday Saturday September 12th it was announced that Alex Morgan of the Orlando Pride and USWNT has signed for the 2020-21 season and will wear the her trademark number 13. A full statement can be ready at https://bit.ly/2Zum9fo.

Alex Morgan billboard London 📷 by Tottenham Hotspur Twitter.

Alex comes to Tottenham as a x2 World Cup winner and x1 Olympic champion having scored 107 goals in 169 appearances for the U.S. national team and no doubt will add many much needed goals during her time at Tottenham.

FA Cup restart.

There is no WSL matches next week due to a international break but Tottenham are back on Saturday 26th Septmeber against Arsenal in the FA Cup quarter finals which will be broadcast live on BBC Two from 17:15pm.

Tottenham will be hoping to seal their place in the Semi Finals for the first time in their history against city rivals and record FA Cup winners Arsenal at Meadow Park. The FA Cup draw for the Semi Finals took place today and will see the winner of Arsenal/Tottenham travel away to take on the winner of Leicester/Manchester City. Semi Final matches will take place Wednesday September 30th and hursday October 1st. Let hope Tottenham start to find form and are able to overcome Arsenal in the FA Cup quater finals, COYS.

We’re back. Tottenham vs West Ham (September 6th 2020).

The wait is finally over, the new WSL is finally back. Tottenham welcomed London rivals West Ham to the Hive in the first game of the season. I have to say it feels very strange to not be in the stands watching a home game and it’s even stranger watching the game from home and not seeing a single fan in the stands.

Tottenham came into the match with a 100% record against West Ham in the WSL and started the game with a 4-2-3-1 formation with Spencer in goal. Neville at right back, Godfrey along with Harrop in the centre of defence and Worm at left back. Green and Percival filled the two positons in front of the back 4. Quinn, Graham and Addison played just behind lone striker Rianna Dean.

This staring 11 is quote close to my ideal staring 11 for Tottenham only I would have preferred to see Mikalsen in goal, Alanna in place of Percival, Shalina in defence with Davison in place of Graham.

West Ham lined up in a 4-3-3 with Arnold in goal. Pancho at right back Vetterlein, Flaherty in the centre of defence with Fisk at left back. Cho, Dali, Svitková made up the defence with Leon, Kiernan and Lehmann making up the front 3.

Tottenham came into this match with a fantastic record against West Ham beating the east Londoners 3 times last season with Rianna Dean scoring 4 goals in 3 matches for Tottenham meaning Matt Beard’s West Ham would have to find a new plan to contain Rianna Dean and find a way to finally take some points away from Tottenham.

The game started off quite even with both midfield’s battling for possession. West Ham started the game by passing the ball from side to side to try to tire out the Tottenham forwards. It took Tottenham 10 minutes to create their first chance of the game with Rianna Dean intercepting a ball on the edge of the West Ham box but blasted her shot over the bar untroubling Arnold in goal. Two minutes later Tottenham were again threatening the West Ham goal with Angela Addison running down the left wing, twisting and turning but unfortunately her shot went straight at Arnold with little power behind it. A minute later Tottenham again were at it this time Kit Graham hit the crossbar with a header after a wonderful Siri Worm cross from her run down the left wing. Tottenham just kept knocking on the West Ham door and on the 16th minute new captain Josie Green intercepted a ball in the midfield, made a fantastic run before finding Kit Graham who thunderous shot from outside of the box again hit the bar.

One has to worry about all the missed opportunities as that can be the differance between surviving and being religated. I said last season that the one thing missing from Tottenham’s game was that they need to stop missing so many opportunities and today it seemed that the ball just didn’t want to go in for Tottenham. West Ham were very physical in midfield with Josie Green on the end of many hard tackles especially in the 29th minute where a challenge by Dali left Green grounded for a long time stopping play while Josie received treatment. West Ham got their first real chance in the 33rd minute when Kenza Dali’s shot from the left just missed Becky Spencers right hand post. It would have been cruel had West ham taken the lead after Tottenham’s dominance but thats what happens when you do not take your chances. The 36th minute saw what could have been a penality in favour of West Ham with what looked like Adriana Leon being pulled down inside the box but referee Rebecca Welch was not interested and let play continue. The rest of the half ended how it began with both midfields fighting for procession and West Ham finishing slightly on top.

The 2nd half saw Tottenham start the stronger of the two and the 52nd minute saw Angela Addison cut through the West Ham defence but her shot was turned away for a corner by MacKenzie Arnold. Lucy Quinn took the corner which was headed by Grace Fisk into her own goal giving Tottenham a well deserved lead. It was a shame that after the fantastic performance our Lilywhites had put in for almost 55 minutes the reward was an own goal but they all count and the main thing is earning the 3 points. The 54th minute saw Gemma Davison and Rachel Williams come on for Addison and Quinn who I felt both had a good game but it is a long season with a tough away game to Everton next Sunday so we need all players well rested and fit. Two minutes later West Ham equalised with their best opportunity of the game with a fantastic run down the left wing by Adriana Leon who’s shot flew from just inside of the box into Spencers top left hand corner.

The 67th minute saw the introduction of Alanna Kennedy and Lucia Leon in place of Neville and Dean. The rest of the half again seemed to be stuck in a battle of the midfields with very few opportunites for either team. The 77th minute saw Davison again expose the West Ham left wing but unfortunately her shot went just wide of Arnold’s left hand post. From around the 84th minute West Ham again looked to finish the half the strongest out of the two teams winning most of the procession in the middle of the park and in the 5th minute of injury time West Ham substitute Ruby Grant had a chance to win it for the visitors at the death but put her shot wide of Rebecca Spencer’s right hand post from 8 yards out before Rebecca Welch called an end to the game seeing the First London derby of the season ending in a 1-1 draw.

Player Of The Match.

I feel every Tottenham player gave everything today and it will take time for the players to get back into their flow but I feel the player of the match was deserved by new captain Josie Green.

Josie was fundamental in Tottenham’s midfield dominating so much in the first half and was on the end on many tough tackles by the West Ham midfielders but no matter how many times she was fouled and knocked down she got up and demonstrated her professionalism and kept fighting for the team.

Post Match Analysis.

After so much possession, hitting the bar twice and a total of at least 5 clear chances in the first 30 minutes to clearly win the game, a 1-1 draw was a disappointing end to the game. Sometimes you have one of those days where nothing goes your way and today seemed like one of those days for Tottenham and Rianna Dean who have come out on top in all 3 meetings with West Ham last season. We can’t be too critical of the team as we need to remember that this was Tottenham’s first competitive match in 6 months so we need to expect that it will take our Lilywhites a bit of time to get back into the swing of things. Overall we saw flashes of what Tottenham is capable of especially in the first half but made hard work of it in the 2nd half and once again proved you must take advantage of all chances when they come to you. We must also remember that Tottenham made 5 substitutes and this is bound to disrupt the rhythm and flow that Tottenham demonstrated in the first half after such a long hiatus.

Like last season small tweaks need to be made and I’m sure once more games pass the players will find their form again. I was very impressed with Rachel Williams when she came on and will be a fantastic player to have as a back up. It was a shame that we didn’t get to see all of the new signings such as Shalina Zadorsky but it is a long season with 2 FA cups and a whole new campaign ahead but right now it’s about finding the right starting 11 that complement one another and that can get the results that we all know our Lilywhites can achieve and it won’t be long until our Lilywhites are back to winning ways. It was a shame that the only goal to our name today was an own goal but that’s how thing’s go at times. The team must learn from today and work hard on improving before taking on Everton next week.

Contract extension.

If the news of the return of the WSL wasn’t exciting enough this week Tottenham announced that Karen Hills and Juan Carlos Amoros had signed contract extensions keeping the duo at the club until 2022.

Juan Carlos Amoros (right), Karen Hills (Left).

Karen has been at the club since 2007 with Juan joining Tottenham in 2011. The contract extensions are well deserved as Juan and Karen have been fundamental in the rise and growth of Tottenham Hotspur Women winning the Ryman’s Women’s Cup and FA Women’s Premier League Cup in 2015-16, 2016-17, FA Womens Premier League Southern Division in 2016-17, the FA Women’s Premier League playoff in 2016-17 earning Tottenham promotion to the WSL 2 and finally in 2018-19 finishing runners up in the Championship earning Tottenham their first ever promotion to the top flight where Tottenham finished a respectable 7th and reached the quarter finals of the FA Cup for the first time. A full article with Karen and Juan can be read at https://bit.ly/320Y0if.

Skywalk opens.

Tottenham’s Dare Skywalk opened this week with many celebrities being invited to visit the attraction. Among those to visit the attraction were our Tottenham Women’s Team.

If you are interested in visiting the Dare Skywalk you can do so but purchasing tickets at https://bit.ly/2Z5HlYY with tickets starting at £39.60 for adult members.

New Season, New Captain.

Club Captain Josie Green.

This week Tottenham also announced a new club captain. After the retirement of legend Jenna Schillaci it was a given that a new club captain would have to be announced and after standing in most of last season it came as no surprise that vice captain Josie Green was chosen as the new Tottenham Women’s captain which we are happy for and seeing how Josie stepped up to lead the team the majority of last season we welcome this appointment and wish Josie the best of luck as captain. A full club statement can be read over at https://bit.ly/2QV7lSv.

League Cup Draw

This week also saw the draw for the Continental Cup take place which saw our Lilywhites drawn into group B alongside Chelsea, Arsenal and the London Lionesses.

Continental Cup Draw.

2020-21 Full League Schedule.

On Friday September 4th the Football Association announced the full 2020-21 schedule.

2020-21 schedule.

Tottenham now face Everton away next Sunday before the international break. The match can be watched for free on the FA Player via the browser or via the app. More Information can be found at https://faplayer.thefa.com/home/all.

The season is almost here and we welcome 2 new surprise arrivals.

Welcome back, the long awaited WSL season is almost here. In two weeks time our Lilywhites kick off their 2nd season in the top flight by welcoming London rival West Ham to the Hive. Unfortunately this match will be played behind closed doors but with a little luck fans will be allowed back into stadiums for October. This week we fans got a HUGE surprise. With the transfer market closing on September 10th I personally thought we had seen the last of our signings but this Thursday 20th August Tottenham announced the loan deals of Australian international Alanna Kennedy and Canadian defender Shelina Zadorsky.

Alanna Kennedy.
Shelina Zadorsky.

Many of you may not know that I am an Orlando Pride fan in the NWSL and I have been since their inaugural season in 2015 after the rebranding of my former NWSL team Western New York Flash who were bought and rebranded as the North Carolina Courage. Having followed the Pride since the start I was saddened to hear players are leaving but with the Olympics coming up next year I can fully understand and if my beloved Orlando Pride are going to lose players, I’m happy it’s for my beloved WSL team Tottenham Hotspur. I have no doubt that Alanna and Shelina will give everything for Tottenham and will become a instant hit with the fans and succeed at Tottenham.

Alanna Kennedy (Left), Selina Zodorsky (Right).

Alanna Kennedy arrives on loan at Tottenham after having spent 3 seasons at the Orlando Pride scoring 8 goals in 60 appearances and having represented Australia at a senior level 87 times scoring 7 goals. Alanna was part of the 2017 Orlando Pride team that finished 3rd in the NWSL and that reached the Semi finals of the NWSL playoffs where the Pride were beaten by the Portland Thorns who went on to win the playoffs defeating the North Carolina Courage 1-0 at the Orlando City Stadium. Alanna brings some much needed height to the Tottenham defence standing at 5ft9. Alannah is also a versatile player that can also play in midfield and I believe can perfectly fill that hole left by Rachel Furness’s in midfield should she be needed too. Alanna is a versatile player that can play in defence and midfield. My experience from watching Alanna with Orlando and Australia is that she will leave it all on the pitch. Alanna is a quick player that can be scrappy in midfield which is what we are missing currently against physical teams like Brighton and Manchester United. Alanna is a player that is technical but can be physical when needed and that had a never give up or die attitude and I know she will become a fan favourite very quick.

Alanna Kennedy highlights reel.

Shelina Zadorsky is a 2016 Olympic Bronze medal winner and joins Tottenham on loan after spending 2 seasons at the Orlando Pride. Zadorsky has represented Canada 66 times scoring 2 goals and has represented Orlando 33 times scoring 1 goal. Shelina also brings some extra height to the Tottenham defence measuring 5ft8. From my experience of watching Shelina in the NWSL and with canada I can say that she is a solid defender that is quick and fights for every ball with a do or die mentality. Shelina will bring experience and passion to her role and will give all for the Tottenham jersey.

Shelina Zadorsky with her new Tottenham jersey.

I am definately eager to see how Alanna and Shelina will fit into the Tottenham team and whether they will be starters or benchwarmers. Personally I think Juan and Karen will stick to the same team as last year and once the new players settle they will give the rest of the players a challenge for their place. My ideal starting 11 for the upcoming season would be Mikalsen in goal, Neville at right back, Filby and Godfrey in the centre of defence with Zadorsky at left back. In midfield I’d like to see Davison/Graham down the right, Kennedy and Green in the centre of midfield with Addison/Ayane down the left with Quinn and Dean up front. You can watch new Tottenham goalkeeper Aurora Mikalsen’s first sit down interview for Tottenham below.

Pre-season

On Sunday 16th August Totteham played their first pre-season of the 2020-21 season taking on Sheffield United at Hotspur Way. Totteham ran out 2-0 winners with goals from Rianna Dean and Ashleigh Neville and saw new signings Aurora Mikalsen, Rachel Williams and Kerys Harrop all get minutes for their new club. Karen Hills and Juan Armoros also handed Tottenham youngster Elisha Sulola a start in midield alongside Josie Green. A full report on our first very wet pre-season game can be read over at https://bit.ly/3hiKVpP.

Season Tickets.

Just a reminder to Totteham fans that you can now register your interest for 2020-21 season tickets by filling out the form at https://bit.ly/2CMkfi6. If you were a Tottenham Women’s Season Ticket holder for the 2019/20 season just remember to have you Client Reference Number at hand as 2019-20 Season Ticket holders will get money off this years season ticket if they opted for pro rata credit after last season was cut short.

Competition Time.

To celebrate the start of the new season Tottenham are giving away a brand new jersey signed by the Tottenham Women’s 2020-21 squad. This is a must have for any fan and it can NOT be purchased anywhere else. To win simply click on the link https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/win-a-signed-nike-home-shirt/ and fill out the details.

Remember the 2020-21 season kicks off on the weekend of September 5th-6th at home against London rivals West Ham followed by a match away to Everton on September 13th before the WSL breaks for International duty. The rest of the 2020-21 game schedule’s should be released in the next few weeks, I for one am hoping for a few more big matches at the men’s stadiums once fans are allowed back into the grounds. Until then lets keep doing our part in defeating this virus and together we can help get fans back into grounds sooner. Until next time COME ON YOU SPURS!

The 2020/21 season countdown has begun.

The new season is still a month away but things have been hotting up at Tottenham. On Friday 24th July the FA announced that the 2019/20 Women’s FA Cup will commence on the weekend of September 26th-27th.

FA Cup Draw.

We know that these matches will take place behind closed doors until the Government gives the green light for fans to return to stadium which could be as early as October 2020. Should our Lilywhites progress to the Semi-Finals these games will take place September 30 – October 1st with the FA Cup final taking place on October 31st at Wembley Stadium. A full FA statement can be read at http://www.thefa.com/news/2020/jul/24/2019-20-womens-fa-cup-to-resume-240720

FA Cup Schedule.

Even though Tottenham are going into their 2nd season in the WSL, it is still technically their first FA Cup run from their debut WSL season therefore I hope Tottenham can do what West Ham did in their debut campaign and reach the FA Cup Final only I am hoping our Lilywhites can go one better and lift the trophy under the Wembley arch on October 31st and why can’t they. Success doesn’t come easy and Tottenham proved last season that they can go toe to toe with the leagues best. Most of the games that our Spurs Women lost was due to a lack of concentration NOT becasue they weren’t good enough. Success comes with expeience and last season was a learning season. Our inspirational Tottenham women no doubt learnt from minor errors last season and no doubt have worked and are working hard to prevent them from happening again. We must remember that we have a young squad who are still learning each day but with the experinced and very talented Gemma Davison in the squad and now with the additions of Kerys Harrop and Rachel Williams they can pass their expeience and expertise to the younger players. I would still like to see a few more players come in before the transfer window closes on September 10th and I hope to see Tottenham play a few friendlys before the season starts as we need to get the players in sync as well as adapt the new arrivals and get back to our slick passing game if we are going to progress in the FA Cup and carry on the dream of lifting the trophy on October 31st.

New signings.

Friday 24th certainly was a busy day and just after lunch time Tottenham women announced another recruit this time it was 32 year old former Birmingham forwards Rachel Williams. Williams is the 3rd former Blue in the Tottenham team joining Lucy Quinn and Kerys Harrop.

Rachel Williams signed a contract until 2021 with an option to extend for a further year and will wear the number 10 during the 2020/21 campaign. Williams had represented England 13 times as well as representing Great Britain in the 2012 London Olympics. Williams also scored in the 2012 FA Cup final which saw Birmingham beat Chelsea on penalties. A full interview with the new Lilywhite can be read over at https://bit.ly/3fZir3x.

Rachel Williams Interview.

A sit down interview with our first signing of the season Kerys Harrop can also be viewed below.

Morgan departs, Mikalsen arrives.

With the departure of Chloe Morgan Tottenham needed to bring in another goalkeeper and on Monday July 27th Tottenham announced their 3rd signing of the season, this time bringing in Norwegian shot stopper Aurora Mikalsen from rivals Manchester United.

Aurora Mikalsen.

The 24 year old Norwegian arrives at Tottenham after spending 1 year at Manchester United and making just one appearance for the reds in an 11-1 victory in the Continental cup against Leicester. Mikalsen had represented Norway at every level from U15 to U23. In 2018 Mikalsen received her first senior called up to the Norwegian squad for the Algarve Cup and a year later she was part of the Norway squad that went on to win the tournament however Mikalsen is still awaiting her senior debut.

2020/21 opening fixtures

The 2020/21 Women’s Super League opening fixtures were released today and this season’s opener will see a London derby take place with our Lilywhites hosting Matt Beards West Ham at the Hive on the weekend of September 5/6th. Week 2 will see our Lilywhites travel up north to face Everton on the weeknd of September 12/13th.

Week 1 & 2 WSL fixtures.

More dates will be announced soon but it has been confimed that the weekend of September 19/20th is scheduled for an International break with the 2019/20 FA Cup matches set to resume on the weekend of September 26/27th meaning the WSL will return in October. Fans that wish to sync the 2020/21 season fixtures straight to their calendars can do so via https://bit.ly/2Cak0gA which will be automatically updated with new fixture dates and matches as the league/FA cup progresses.

So lets look at the first 2 matches in the 2020/21 season, first up we have what seems to be Rianna Dean’s favourite team to play against with 4 goals in 3 matches. West Ham v Tottenham is always exciting filled with goals and drama. After beating West Ham all 3 times last season Matt Beards Irons will no doubt be looking for revenge on the season opener. Psychologically I think Tottenham have the upper hand, We know the game will be tough but West Ham could be so eager to beat our Spurs Women that rashness can cause West Ham to make mistakes and give the game to our Lilywhites (fingers crossed). Next up for Tottenham will be a trip up north to face Everton, Chloe Kelly may have gone to Manchester City but Everton have been busy strengthening their team and just like last season it will be a tough game at Everton’s new home Walton Hall Park and will come down to the team that has the most desire to win. We showed Everton last season in the 2-2 draw at the Hive that we have desire and won’t go down without fight and even though Everton have made some superb signings I belive our Lilywhites will be more geled together than Everton and hopefully that should give us the upper hand and 3 points.

New Season, New look.

The week also saw the announcement of the NEW 2020/21 Kits

Becky Spencer (left), Kerys Harrop (Middle), Rianna Dean (Right).

The new 2020/21 Jersey’s/kits can now be purchased at https://shop.tottenhamhotspur.com/category/all-spurs-kit with baby kits priced at £40, Youth shirts priced at £55 while men’s and women’s shirts start at £70 each. Personally I really like the Green away kit just as I did last seasons Blue 3rd strip, for some reason I haven’t been keen on the home kits for a few years now but they always tend to grow on me the more I see the team play.

Support Tottenham Women in 2020/21.

Finally with the new season is less than a month away and with fan expepcted to hopefully be allowed back into stadiums for October, Tottenham have opened registration for season tickets for the upcoming season. If you are interested in becoming a Women’s season ticket holder or are looking to renew your membership you can register yor interest at https://bit.ly/2Dxi2aL and the club will be in touch in due course.

Welcome back Tottenham fans.

So much has happened since we last wrote anything but before we get into anything I want to firstly say a huge thank you to all the NHS staff and all key workers in the UK and around the world for their hard work during these unprecedented times. Finally I hope none of our followers, your friends or family have been affected by the events of the last few months and from myself and everyone here we want to wish you all well and hope you are all keeping safe

Pre season is back.

So since we last blogged in March so much has happened at Tottenham Ladies and we want to start by saying a huge thank you to Tottenham Women’s captain Jenna Schillaci who has retired after 12 years at the club.

Jenna Schillaci with her PFA community champion award 2019/20.

Jenna has been at the club since 2009 after returning to Tottenham after 8 years away at QPR, Langford and Enfield Town. Jenna has had a magnificent career at Tottenham which include 8 titles and 3 promotions with highlights, including winning the 2016/17 FA Women’s Premier League Southern Division at White Hart Lane after beating London rivals West Ham, finishing 2nd in the FA’s Women’s Championship earning Tottenham their first ever promotion to the top flight and signing her first professional contract at the age for 35.

Jenna Schillaci with the 2016/17 Southern Division title.

Back in March during our last blog when the season was called off I mentioned how I hoped that Jenna Schillaci would not retiring this way under these circumstances as after everything she has achieved to me it felt it would be a anticlimax to retire without completing a full Barclays Women’s Super League campaign. I for one would have loved to see Jenna play one final game for Tottenham and seen her do one final walk-around the Hive and give us fans an opportunity to thank her for everything she had given to Tottenham. I don’t doubt that this is not the last we have seen of club legend Jenna Schillaci I predict she will come back to a role at Tottenham women and maybe one day even return as the coach. I hope once it’s safe to do so the Club throw Jenna a testimonial game maybe even at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium but until then I would like say thank you for all that you have sacrificed and given to the club you will always be remembered now enjoy your retirement Captain Schillaci.

Highlights of Jenna Schillachi’s 12 year career at Tottenham.

Departures.

With the season over we have seen 5 players leave the club along with Jenna these are loanee Emma Mitchell who I was hoping would be signed on a perminant basis but instead retuned to parent club Arsenal and recently signed for Reading. Along with Emma Mitchell the club has decided to not renew contracts Chloe Morgan, Coral-Jane Haines, Megan Wynne and Sophie McLean.

Chloe Morgan top left, Coral-Jane Haines top rights Megan Wynne bottom left and Sophie McLean bottom right.

This past season we didn’t get to see much from these players due to injury’s, loans and selection but personally I was impressed with Coral-Jane when I watched Tottenham take on Barnsley in the FA Cup so was disappointed that she was let go but as a fan you must have faith in the club and trust their decisions however I think a lot of fans are wondering when our Lilywhites will see their first new signing of the season. Tottenham currently are one of two club’s in the WSL to not have made a single signing and with the departure of 6 players we would have thought the club would have been busy in the transfer market but so far we are at a stalemate and there has been absolutely no movement by Tottenham. Don’t get me wrong I am not criticising the squad I believe we have a very good squad and they demonstrated that last season with finishing 7th in their first season in the WSL which is something to be extremely proud of but in order to complete at the highest level additions must be made. Every club in the WSL with the exception of Birmingham and Tottenham are making additions to make their squad and making their benches stronger so hopefully it will be a matter of time before we start adding players to replace the 6 that we have lost so far.

The new season is rumored to start September 5th so the club still has time to make additions but the longer the club wait the tougher it will be to snap up world class talent. The 2020/21 season will see the Barclay’s Women’s Super League given 3 Champions League places up from 2 so Tottenham will need to strengthen their squad if they want to compete for one of those 3 spots which personally I believe they can achieve with reinforcements as I felt Tottenham weren’t clinical enough in front of goal and maybe the lack of experience cost Tottenham a few games, like the Arsenal game at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in November 2019 where our inspirational Tottenham Women took it to the Champions but a lack of concentration makes it look like Arsenal won that game more comfortably than what the reality was. Therefore I would like to see a few new signings in defence and midfield and of course with Chloe Morgan’s departure a new goalkeeper, I’d take Carly Telford anyday at Tottenham I’m just saying. *Update*. At the time of writing this, Tottenham Women have just announced the signing of Defender Kerys Harrop from Birmingham City who has signed for Tottenham until 2022 and will wear the number 5.

New Tottenham Signing Kerys Harrop.

Harrop joins us after spending 20 years at Birmingham who’s achievements include runner up in the FA Barclay’s Women’s Super League 2011 and 2012 campaign as well as winning the FA Cup with Birmingham in 2012. A full Interview with our new Lilywhite can be read over at https://bit.ly/2ZTZyta we most certainly can not wait to see Kerys out there in a Tottenham jersey.

Contract Extensions.

Gemma Davison top left, Becky Spencer top right, Anna FIlby middle left, Rianna Dean middle right, Josie Green bottom left and Ashleigh Neville bottom right.

June saw the club announce contact extentions for Gemma Davison (2021), Becky Spencer (2021), Anna Filby, (2021) Rianna Dean (2021), Josie Green (2022) and fan favourite Ash Neville (2022). These 6 renewals have been welcomed by the fans as all 6 players were key to Tottenham’s success last season and no doubt will be crucial to Tottenham’s 2020/21 campaign.

End Of Season Awards.

June also saw Tottenham hold a End of Season awards which were voted for by the fans. Results saw the 2019/20 Player of the Season and Juniors Player of the Season go to Defender Hannah Godfrey

The Goal of the Season award as voted for by the fans went to Rianna Dean the goal machine for her goal in the against West Ham at the London Stadium.

Achievements.

What can we say about our Lilywhites this past season, they have most definitely surpassed expectations by comfortably finishing 7th in their debut season (higher I believe had the season not been called off). Coaches Juan Carlos Amoros and Karen Hills won a Manager Of The Month award for October 2019, Tottenham set a WSL attendence record for the November game against Arsenal and recently Karen and Juan were nominated for a Manager of the year award which went to Chelsea Coach Emma Hayes therefore we would like to congratulate Emma for her accomplishments this season with Chelsea but to us Juan and Karen are still winners for all that they have accomplished this season with Tottenham, so we would like to thank you both and may 2020/21 bring us many more happy memories.

Juan Carlos Amoros and Karen Hills at the Hive London.

Conclusion.

So what are the expectations for the 2020/21 season? Well, survival is the first thing that springs to mind after the surprise of seeing Liverpool relegated, no team can take their position in the league for granted as anything is possible. On a more positive note I honestly think with the right signings we can compete with Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City. We already demonstrated that we can go toe to toe with Arsenal, we only lost 1-0 to Chelsea thanks to a superb Beth England long range goal and the Manchester City game was lost due to not being focused enough in the first 20 minutes of the game and when you play a team like City with their world class playeys you have to be on top form as there is no room for errors. I am not saying we can compete for the league this year even though anything is possible but a top 4 maybe top 3 and snatching the 3rd Champions League spot is a possibility.

Finally along with some new signings I would like to see Angela Addison and Lucy Quinn get more playing time, I believe they have both proved themselves last season and believe they have what it takes to be starters alongside Rianna Dean and Gemma Davison in the Tottenham attacking third but until the transfer market we will just have to wait to see if any additions are made, I mean, I for one would welcome Rachel Furness back since Liverpool are now in the championship. I guess for now we just have to wait and see what the club has in store so until then COME ON YOU SPURS!

Debut season concluded.

Tottenham first ever starting XI at the Hive in their first home game of their debut WSL campaign.

In this first blog since February we will look look back at our Lilywhites first season in the Barclays Women’s Super League, what the future holds, and what will happen regarding refunds for any pre purchased tickets and season ticket holders after the WSL was cancelled with immediate effect. So late on Monday afternoon the news that none of us wanted to hear but expected was finally confirmed. The 2019/20 Women’s Super League campaign had been ended with immediate effect. I guess it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to any of us but it is still very disappointing to hear that it has come to an end but we must remember that the most important thing is everybody’s safety. All the players, the staff, volunteers and fans must be kept safe as ones health MUST come first and I believe that good things come to those who wait and I have no doubt that next season will be even better for the women’s game and our Tottenham Hotspur women. The full FA statement can be read on the follwing link https://bit.ly/2ZDugHz

SO what can we take away from this season? Well, I think Tottenham fans can be very proud of the team and all that they have achieved this year. We have demonstrated that we can hold our own with any of the big teams in the WSL and this group of players have created some incredible memories in such a short space of time so lets start by looking back at West Ham Women vs Tottenham Women at the London Stadium.

West Ham women vs Tottenham Women highlights.

On a rainy 29th of September 2019 we saw the the second ever Women’s Super League game take place at a men’s stadium, the iconic London Stadium in Stratford where over 24,000 fans attended to see last years FA Cup finalists West Ham and newcomers our Lilywhites Tottenham Hotspur Women setting the second highest record attendence ever for a Women’s Super League match which two months later will be broken by our Tottenham women.

I remember being at the London Stadium for this match and it had a very different vibe to a men’s London derby match. The atmosphere in and around the London stadium was a lot more relaxed and there was more a family feel to the game as opposed to a men’s West Ham v Tottenham game. Considering people claim the women’s game is not popular and the weather was very wet there was a fanastic turn out. 24,000 fans came to the London stadium and Tottenham did not shy away from the big occasion. Many thought Tottenham would get hammered (no pun intended) by last years FA Cup finaists but instead it was Tottenham that came to make a statement and that statement was that they may be new to the WSL but they were here to stay with a 0-2 victory against our London rivals with goals from Rianna Dean the goal machine and birthday girl Lucy Quinn. Personally I feel 0-2 was a bit of a short result, West ham had some opportunities too and Tottenham missed a few chances of their own and this entertaining match should have had a higher score to match.

History makers.

Two months later another piece of history was made in the women’s game and again it involved our very own Spurs women. The weekend of November 16th & 17th saw the first annual Women’s Football weekend and on Sunday the 17th November Tottenham Women welcomed the 2018/19 Women’s Super League champions Arsenal to the shiny new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium which saw over 38,000 fans come out setting a new record attendence for a Women’s Super League match.

Women’s Football Weekend; Tottenham vs Arsenal

What can we say about the first ever WSL North London derby, sometimes things do not go your way. I think 95% expected Arsenal to win comfortably but our Lilywhites made it anything but comfortable for the 2018/19 champions. Anyone who had not seen the game would be surprised to learn that Arsenal were not the better team on the day and Tottenham should have at least gone in 1 up at the break. No one can deny that Kim Little scored a fanatstic goal but had things gone our way just a little that goal should have been nothing more than a consolation for Arsenal and I won’t even speak about the Vivianne Miedema’s goal as I can only put it down to tiredness. We are still learning and we need to learn how to finish teams off espeically teams like Arsenal. Not many teams can make Arsenal look average but our Spurs Women did exactly that but we lack the experience Arsneal have gained over the past 18 years, they have been in top flight football. For a team that had just been in the top flight for 2 months I think we done pretty well and hopefully this game as well as others have taught the ladies a lot in preparation for the 2020/21 season.

Another Hightlight of the season would see a 2-2 draw to Everton back in February after coming from 2 goals down to take a point with a player down after Rosella Ayane was sent off for retaliating off the ball after being hacked down twice.

Tottenham 2 Everton 2.

February 12th was a very cold night under the lights and it most certainly saw our Tottenham Women show what they are made of with once again showing off their never give up spirit which has made them tough to beat this season. As we have seen in other matches Tottenham’s weakness is finishing teams off or taking advantage of opportunities and before seeing ourselves 2 down Tottenham should have been 1 up when Rianna Dean hit the post in the first half and those missed opportunites can cost you matches like we saw in the North London Derby. Everton have much more experience in the top flight and this showed throughtout the game as they gained control of the game with goals from Chloe kelly and Inessa Kaagman but the Lilywhites never give up mentality really showed in the last 20 minutes of this game with goals from Angela Addison and lonee Emma Mitchell gave Tottenham a hard fought point.

This was the first time in a long time that Rachel Furness no longer being at the club was really noticed. I really liked Furness and was saddened that she had left and knew she would be a player that would take a long time to replace and so far I don’t believe we have found anyone that has repaced her in her role. Furness was a tough player that brought confidence to the team and was great for physical games like this one, she was able to create and score goals and I believe was dearly missed in this match but we have been really lucky becasue the loan signing of Emma Mitchell has brought much needed organisation and confidence to the team. I saw the defence and midfield much more confident since Emma Mitchell’s arrival and her experince was much needed to nurture this group of players that are still learning everyday. I would love Emma mitchell to remain at Tottenham but honestly I think she will return to Arsenal but who knows anything is possible and I think our team has shown any player out there that we are a club that wants to go places, we want to win trophies and that we are not just here to scrape through and survive by a narrow margin. I personally think we have a fanatsic team but we do need some more experienced players to come in and nurture some of our younger players but overall I think we have done a fantatsic job and had the season played until the final day of the season I think we would have comfortably survived the first year in the WSL.

Ticketing and Refunds.

Now that the 2019/20 Women’s Super League has been officially called off many are asking what will happen regarding refunds for pre purchased game tickets and/or regarding season tickets. On Monday May 25th the club announced that they will issue a pro rota credit to all season ticket holders for the final 4 home matches which can be applied against 2020/21 season tickets. Alternativey if fans would rather a refund this is also possible by filling out all the information at the following link https://bit.ly/3guIu3c before 5pm on Thursday 11th June 2020 and fans will be contacted with further information regarding refunds by Friday 19th June 2020. If fans have pre purchased any tickets for any of the remaining home matches vs Birmingham, Chelsea, Bristol City or Reading fans should email the Hive at tellus@thehivelondon.com to obtain a refund.

If any fans have purchased any tickets for the FA Cup quarter final game away to Arsenal, refunds will be processed in 7-10 days but for any enquires you may email Arsenal at arsenalwomen@arsenal.co.uk.

Player of the season.

This is a strange one because it’s something that we wanted to do but its not really something that we have given much thought to as we didnt’t expect the season to end this abruptly. There have been so many outstanding moments this season from Rianna Dean’s header vs West Ham at the London Stadium, Lucy Quinn’s birthday strike in the same match, Angela Addisions header which sparked the comeback of the season vs Everton to Emma Mitchell’s thunderous goals including the one in the Everton game therefore making it impossible to pick a player of the season therefore as cowerdly as it may seem my player(s) of the season go to all 23 inspirational senior team women which include loanee Emma Mitchell, former player Rachel Furness and Megan Wynne who had been on loan to Bristol City , congraulations team ladies you are all players of the season in our eyes.

Conclusion.

I for one am proud of every single player that has worn the jersey this season and I hope for more of the same next season and expect to see some new faces at the club. I just really hope that no player at Tottenahm or any other club will be retiring under these circumstances. I for one would hate to see a player like Jenna Schillaci who has given so much to the club for the last 11 years to leave the club or retire under these circumstances. Players Like Jenna are keepers and if possible she would be a great inspiration to have around to guide new players and who knows maybe one day in the future even coach the team. Jenna has been around a long time and she has seen the team progress so much over the years and with winning the 2016/17 FA Women’s Premier League Southern Division and in 2019 helping Tottenham gain promotion from the Championship to the Women’s Super League I personally hope she remains at least another season and then who knows.

Captain Jenna Schillaci with the PFA Community Champion Award 2019/20.

Well that is it from us for the 2019/20 season, it’s not the way we or anyone expected the season to finish but on a positive note Tottenham Women have survived their first season in the top flight and even if the season had played out until the end I believe Tottenham were safe from relagation which is a huge achievement for a newly promoted team in the top flight for the first time. What can we expect from the ladies next season? well why not a challenge for a champions league spot or maybe even challenge for the title. Some may say thats a bit optimistic but you know what they say dream big or don’t dream at all and our Lilywhites have shown that they belong in this league and with the same passion the players have shown this season, a few new experienced additions and the guidence of Juan and Karen and Tottenham can be serious title contenders in the next few years.

I hope when the WSL returns and fans are able to attend matches that we see a HUGE attendance at the Hive for the ladies first home game with fans and I hope that the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will again host a ladies match in season 2020/21. Until then if you can stay home, stay safe and save lives.

Match-day 17 Brighton vs Tottenham Women, 23rd February 2020.

What a week it’s been for Tottenham women. Monday night saw our Lilywhites travel to the Midlands to take on non league Coventry United in the FA cup 5th round. Tottenham were favourites going into the game but as we as fans should always know to expect the unexpected in this beautiful game but thankfully for us Tottenham fans there were no shocks on Monday. Tottenham ran out 5-0 winners with goals from Siri Worm, Lucia Leon and a hat-trick by Rianna Dean the goal machine. Unfortunately for fans this game was not shown on the FA player nor was it on the radio so unless fans were at Butts Park Arena the only way to follow the game was through the club’s Twitter page but highlights of our Spurs women’s FA Cup victory can be seen below.

https://youtu.be/5Pc0AD7VVnY
Coventry United v Tottenham Women FA Cup 5th Round.

The FA Cup quarter finals draw took place during the match and the draw saw our Spurs women drawn away to Lewes or Arsenal in the quarter finals on the weekend of the 15th March 2020.

As much as we would like to win a quarter final against Arsenal to make the semi finals we need to play it safe. I for one will be cheering for Lewes because no disrespect to Lewes I feel it would be an easier tie than against the current Super League champions. That being said it doesn’t mean I don’t have faith in our Lilywhites ability to overcome Arsenal at Meadow Park as we already showed at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that we can match the leagues best teams. Lets not forget that we still have a job to do which is surviving our debut season in the Super League and if given the option I wouldn’t want to push our players too hard as there is still a lot of league left but if the prospect of facing Arsenal in the FA Cup arose I know our Lilywhites will rise to the occasion and give 110% in a FA Cup North London Derby. *NOTE* At the time of writing this Arsenal’s game against Lewes has just finished and Arsenal win 2-0 with goals from Caitlin Foord and Danielle Van De Donk setting up a North London Derby FA Cup quarter final on Sunday 15th March.

Back to WSL business.

Before that FA Cup quarter final there was a WSL away match to Brighton to deal with first. Match-day 17 saw our 7th place Tottenham women on 17 points take on 9th place Brighton & Hove Albion on 13 points. Tottenham came into the game on the back of a powerful, inspirational comeback against Everton in the WSL and a 5-0 FA Cup triumph. Brighton come into the game after a 1-1 at home to Manchester United and have been off for over a week as their FA Cup tie away to Crystal Palace was called off due to storm Dennis and will take place this coming Tuesday 25th February.

Line ups.

Tottenham lined up 4-2-3-1 with Becky Spencer in goal, Ashleigh Neville at right back, Hannah Godfrey and Anna Filby in the centre of defence with Lucia Leon at left back. In front of the defence saw Ria Percival and Captain Josie Green, the attacking midfield saw Siri Worm down the left Gemma Davidson in the centre with Angela Addison down the right and Rianna Dean the goal machine in the number 9 position. Brighton lined up a 4-4-2 with Megan Walsh in goal, Kirsty Barton on at right back, Danique Kerkdijk and Victoria Williams in the centre of defence and Maya Le Tissier at left back. The Brighton midfield consisted of Emily Simpkins down the right, Léa Le Garrec and Danielle Buet in the centre with Amanda Nilden down the left. Up front Brighton went with Kayleigh Green and Aileen Whelan.

Spurs starting XI.

Both teams came into this game evenly matched and their positions in the table meant nothing as both teams have had games cancelled therefore the table could be much different. The last time these two met Tottenham came out winners 1-0 after a Victoria Wiliam own goal. Totteham were the better team that day but they had to fight for the 3 points. The game at the People’s Pension Stadium saw an attendance of 965, the game started pretty evenly with both teams fighting to gain control of the midfeld. The first opportunity fell to Léa Le Garrec when she ran through the middle in what looked like a one on one position but Siri Worm got back and made a last second tackle to prevent Le Garrec getting a shot away. In the 13th minute Tottenham had a penalty appeal rejected by referee Louise Saunders when Ashleigh Neville centred a cross and Rianna Dean seemed to be pulled down as she went up for the header. Play continuted and Brighton tried to get the ball out but it fell to Lucia Leon on the edge of the box who’s effort went high and wide not causing Megan Walsh any problems. The match was pretty evenly matched but in the 29th minute Aileen Whelan took a left footed shot which went wide past Becky Spencer’s right post. A minute later saw Brighton go down to 10 women when Léa Le Garrec was sent off with a second yellow card after a heavy challenge on captain Josie Green. Tottenham began to grow a little more in confidence and in the 33rd minute Siri Worm had an opportunity, we all know how well she can hit them from distance by her shot from outside the box went straight into Megan Walsh’s hands making it a comfortable save for the Brighton keeper. Deep in injury time in the 47th minute Tottenham could have taken the lead when Neville’s cross was spilled by Walsh but unfortunately there was no Spurs player around to pick up any loose balls and both teams went intp the break even.

Who will break the deadlock.

Tottenham started the 2nd half as they ended the first by gaining control of the midfield and passing the ball around trying to find the right opportunity to cut Brighton open but a lot of respect has to be given to the home side because they did not sit back and defend the whole game the actually tried to attack Tottenham and took advantage on a couple of occasions of Tottenham’s enthusiastic attacking stragety and caught Tottenham on the counter attack. The 66th minute finally saw twinkle toes Angela Addison work her magic twsting and turning and drawing a foul by Kirsty Barton to give Tottenham a well worked penalty. Rianna Dean the goal machine stepped up to take the penalty and slotted the ball past Walsh (penalty below).

Rianna Dean makes it 1-0.

The 68th minute saw Tottenham’s first change of the game with Lucy Quinn coming on for Lucia Leon. Brighton could have been level in the 72rd minute when Keyleigh Green couldn’t turn in Victoria William’s cross in what should have been the equaliser for Brighton. The 76th minute saw the return of Angela Addison come off for Kit Graham who returned after missing the Everton game through illness and within 1 minute of making her return she came close to putting Tottenham 2 up when a miss-kick by Megan Walsh fell to Kit Graham but her shot went straight to Walsh who saved with her legs. Tottenham’s final change came in the 86th minute when Chloe Peplow replaced Gemma Davidson. The game finished quite even, Brighton pushed forward looking for a equaliser on the counter as Tottenham remained in control of the midfield and after 4 minutes of added time the game ended with a victory for Tottenham who complete the double over Brighton in their debut season in the WSL.

Woman Of The Match.

Tottenham didn’t have their best game but one player that really gave their all again was our captain. She was everywhere and took a few knocks throughout the game, she bosses the midfield and was constantly assisting the defences and the attack therefore our Woman Of The Match goes to Josie Green.

Conclusion.

It was always obvious that it was going to be a tough game against Brighton away from home. The Seagulls really pushed our Lilywhites back in December at the Hive making it one of the hardest fought victories for our Spurs women’s team this season. A lot of credit and respect has to go to Brighton because they played over an hour with 10 players and rather than folding and sitting back like I expected, Hope Powell’s team kept playing with the same intensity and at times put the Tottenham Midfield and defence under pressure and maybe should have had an equaliser in the 72nd minute. To be fair Tottenham didn’t play their best game, but why? I feel the pitch had something to do with it, it was very bobbly making it difficult for Tottenham to execute their game plan, another reason could be that Brighton are just not a bad side. Whatever the reason Tottenham has to fight until the end against a 10 woman Brighton and one has to think what may have been had Brighton not been down to 10. The most important thing is that our Lilywhites have taken all 3 points which moves Tottenham into 6th one point ahead of Everton in 7th.

Next Home Match.

Our next home match is away now with no game at the Hive until Mother Day Sunday 22nd March 2020 where our Lilywhites will take on Lucy Quinn’s former club 11th placed Birmingham City at 2pm.

Tickets for this game are priced at £6.50 for adults and £3.50 for concession in advanced and they can be purchased at tottenhamhotspur.com/wsl as it will be more on the day. Before we welcome our Spurs Women back to the Hive they will be away at Meadow Park on Sunday 15th March in the FA Cup quater finals, hopefully we will be welcoming these inspirational women back to the Hive as semi finalists COYS.

Matchday 16 Tottenham vs Everton, 12th February.

Today should have seen Tottenham play their 2nd out of 3 games in what was supposed to be a busy week but storm Ciara had other plans as every WSL game was prosponed this past Sunday meaning it’s now been 2 weeks since Tottenham have played a game leaving Tottenham now with 2 games in hand. Match-day 16 see’s 5th place Everton visit the Hive for a game under the lights against our 7th place Lilywhites in Tottenham’s first ever midweek WSL game.

Tottenham have had the last two matches prosponed, the first due to a waterlogged pitch against Britol City and then again this past Sunday againt Arsenal at Meadow Park due to Storm Ciara while Everton won by 1 goal to nil away last Sunday away to Brighton. Tottenham come into the game the fresher out of the two and should have the advantage but Tottenham know what a threat Everton can be so the Lilywhites will need to be on top form and clinical in front of goal if they are to overcome the Toffees at the Hive.

Tottenham welcomed Everton on a very cold and wet night at the Hive but you have to give props to the Spurs fans that they came out on a cold February night and made lots of noise to show support for the ladies in the game under the lights. Tottenham lined up with a 4-2-3-1 with Becky Spencer in goal, Ashleigh Neville at right back, Anna Filby and Hannah Godfrey in the centre and Emma Mitchell at Left back. Then in front of the defence sat Ria Percival and Josie Green followed by an attacking midfield consisting Rosella Ayane, Gemma Davidson and Chloe Peplow leaving Rianna Dean up front in the number 9 position. Everton also lined up in a 4-2-3-1 with Tinja-Riika Korpela in goal, Danielle Turner, Gabrielle George, Mayan Finnigan and Esme Morgan in defence. Ahead of backline sat Maéva Clemaron and Inessa Kaagman. The Everton’s attacking midfield consisted of Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah, Chloe Kelly and Lucy Graham with Simone Magill up front.

Tottenham’s starting XI versus Everton.

Everton started the strongest out of the two teams dominating possession from the start but didn’t cause Tottenham no real danger except for making\ the Lilywhites chase the ball trying to win back possession. The game started to liven up in the 22nd minute when Everton created the first real chance of the game when Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah shot from the left forcing Becky Spencer into making a fine save but needing the assistance of Anna Filby to clear the ball off the line to prevent Chloe Kelly reaching the lose ball which would have surely given Everton a deserved lead. Everton’s pressure and chance in the 22nd minute woke Tottenham up because in the 29th minute Ria Percival stole the ball in midfield playing Rianna Dean though who’s shot from just inside the area struck Korpela’s left hand post as Everton were let off the hook. Football can be cruel as a minute later Everton found themselves 1 up after Chloe Kelly scored with a low shot hot from just inside the 18 yard box beating Becky Spencer on lower right after Anna Filby had the ball stolen off her on the edge of the Tottenham area by Simone Magill who’s ball fell to Inessa Kaagman who set up Chloe Kelly for the first of the game. The rest of the half saw very few cut chances for either team as Everton remained in control of possession giving Tottenham very few opportunities to get back into the game.

The 2nd half saw Angela Addison come on for Chloe Peplow. Everton started the first few minutes of the 2nd half as they finished the 1st by dominating possession and in the 56th minute things got worse for our Lilywhites as a mis-kick by the usually reliable Becky Spencer gave the ball away to Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah who Headered the ball to Magill who found Inessa Kaagman who took a shot for the edge of the Tottenham area and what Becky Spencer at her bottom left post to give Everton their 2nd of the game.

The comeback is on.

Rather than breaking Tottenham there was a sense of belief around the Hive. The fans started making more noise and the Tottenham players began to take control of the midfield and Angela Addison’s addition was causing the Everton backline a major headache and in the 67th Minute Addison and Tottenham got their reward as Angela Addison ran down the wind passed the ball central to Josie Green who found Ria Percival who centre the ball into the Everton area and Angela Addison got in between the Everton centre backs to header the ball past Korpela to give Tottenham hope.

Angela Addison’s first WSL goal.

Tottenham carried on putting pressure on Everton and gaining possession of the midfield as Everton struggled to cope with Angela Addison and Rosella Ayane as they were both brought down numerous times and in the 76th minute Rosella Ayane was brought down twice in 5 seconds by Maéve Clemaron and in a moment of madness after being given the foul Rosella Ayane kicked out at Clemaron and was given a straight red card by the referee. Tottenham were given the free kick but found themselves a woman down with 13 minutes of normal time remaining. The inform Emma Mitchell stepped up to take the free kick and scored with a thunderous shot from 30 yards out to put Tottenham level.

Emma Mitchell makes ot 2-2.

Tottenham most definitely finished the game the strongest out of the two teams despite being a player down. Everton did have a chance to steal all 3 points at the end when Inessa Kaggman balloned a chance in the 87th minute from just 12 yards out which with 10 players Tottenham certainly finished the game the stronger out of the two finishing the game with 51% possesion and taking a point from a very hard fought game.

Post Match Analysis.

Let’s be honest Everton came into this game as favourites but Tottenham have been showing teams that you do not come to their home and take points easily. Everton did start the strongest but the first chance of the game came to Tottenham and they should have been 1 up before Chloe Kelly gave Everton the lead. Personally both Everton goals came from Tottenham errors. First the rock solid Anna Filby lost the ball on the edge of box and later a mis-kick from Becky Spencer so things should have been so different and maybe even could/should have seen Tottenham take the 3 points. I think most teams would have been deflated after finding themselves 2 down but if anything it gave Tottenham strength and belief and the comeback began. I think all the players and fans can be proud of our Lilywhites performance because they did not crumble. Every player gave 110% and nothing was going to break down the teams belief and credit had to be given to our coaches Karen Hills and Juan Carlos Amoros for giving our players that self confidence.

Player of the match.

This one is again very tough I feel there were 3 stand out players from our starters, Ria Percival was instrumental in keeping Everton’s attacking midfielders quiet. Gemma Davidson is just getting better and better with each game and her technique and experience was key in Tottenham’s creative play and finally our captain Josie Green was superb she was involved in everything in the Tottenham midfield. Josie was scrappy, she was creating chances, and cutting many of Everton’s passes and was all over the pitch covering the back and front lines for this reason the woman of the match had to go to Josie Green.

Josie Green pictured above.

Next home match.

Our next home match is not for a while now and will take place on Sunday 22nd March when our Spurs ladies take on Birmingham city. Advanced tickets for the game can be purchased for £6.50 for adults and £3.50 concession over at Tottenham Hotspur.com/wsl

2020-03-22T14:00:00

  days

  hours  minutes  seconds

until

Tottenham Women v Birmingham Women

But before that Tottenham are away to Coventry United in the 5th round FA Cup tie which take place this Monday 17th at 19:45 at Butt Park Arena.

Postponed match update.

Our postponed match against Bristol City on Sunday 2nd February has now been rearranged for Sunday 19th April at the Hive London with a scheduled 2pm kick-off time subject to either team reaching the FA Cup semi-finals.

Rescheduled match.

CANCELLED! Tottenham women vs Bristol City matchday 14

What a week it’s been, so much has happened and therefore this week’s blog will be very different. We will be looking at the FA Cup draw, look over what happened this past Sunday regarding the called off match against Bristol and look ahead to this week’s North London Derby against Arsenal.

Monday January 27th 2020 saw the Women’s FA Cup 5th round take place and the draw saw our Tottenham ladies drawn away to Coventry United and would take place on Sunday 16th February at Butt Park Arena.

Match rescheduled for Monday 17th February at 19:45.

Tottenham later announced that the match originally scheduled for Sunday 16th would be moved to the Monday 17th February with a 19:45 kick off time which may upset some Tottenham fans as this change in schedule may make it difficult for some to make the away match. Hopefully our Lilywhites will continue in the FA Cup and we as fans will get a chance to see the team in the next round as we continue our journey in fulfilling the dream of FA Cup glory under the Wembley arch.

This past Sunday saw Tottenham’s home match against Bristol City called off. I was at home in North London 5 minutes from leaving for the Hive when my phone started buzzing continuously and that’s when I first heard the news that the game versus Bristol had been called off .

To be honest we were all disappointed that the game has been called off. My household enjoy going down to the Hive to cheer on these inspirational women so for us it was strange feeling that there was no game at the ground or an away match on the FA Player and being the first cancelled Tottenham match of the season it made it feel more strange that we wouldn’t be watching the women’s team.

This brings me to this issue of matches being called off, with the exception of Arsenal, Brighton and Manchester City every other WSL team has had at least one game called off. Birmingham have 3 games less than everyone else, Liverpool, Bristol, Everton, Manchester United and West Ham all have 2 games less while Chelsea, Reading and our Lilywhites all have 1 game less.

Women’s soccer/football abroad.

So why is this happening? Should women’s teams play in better prepared stadiums? Should women’s teams play in the home stadium of the men’s team? I guess this is a discussion that can go on and on and everyone will have their own reasons as to why the women’s teams should and shouldn’t play in the mens teams stadium.

I follow the NWSL and my team in the states are the Orlando Pride. I used to support Western New York Flash but in 2016 it was announced that the Flash were bought and would be relocated to North Carolina and become the North Carolina Courage. In their final year the the Western New York Flash they went on to win their only NWSL championship in a fairytale ending. I was left with no team to support since all my family are New Yorkers I wanted to support my local team. Some of my New York family moved to Orlando Florida and in 2016 the Orlando Pride were formed and came into the NWSL. For me personally it felt like a sign that this was the team I know I had to support and even though we have had a lot of downs I am still a very proud fan of Orlando Pride and know better times will come.

The NWSL currently consists of teams after Boston folded in 2018, a expansion to the league is expected in the coming years more teams are due to be added to the league in the coming years. The point here is that NWSL teams that have a men’s team will stadium share with the men. My beloved Orlando Pride play at the Exploria Stadium home of Orlando City SC, Sky Blue play at the Red Bull Arena home of the New York Red bulls, Portland Thorns play at Providence Park home of the Portland Timbers and there are more teams that share with the men’s team.

Can a women’s team sell tickets In a men’s staidum?

One concern teams may have and even fan is can a women’s team sell tickets in a men’s stadium? If you look at the NWSL the Portland Thorns were averaging 20,098 fans, Utah Royals were averaging 10,744 and Washington Spirit were averaging 6,105 fans . A full list of attendance figures for 2019 can be found below.

NWSL 2018/19 attendance.

So would this work in England? Can these figures be achieved in the WSL? MOST DEFINITELY we have already seen teams break attendance records over and over this season for example West Ham hosted Tottenham women at the London stadium and saw 24,790 fans attend, Manchester City women hosted Manchester United women at the Etihad and saw 31,213 fan attend that match, Liverpool women hosted Everton women at Anfield to an attendance of 23,500 and two hours later Tottenham women hosted Arsenal women at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and smashed all previous WSL records with an attendance of 38,262 coming out to see these two women’s team play and let’s not forget the 77,768 fans attended the Lionesses match against Germany at Wembley stadium in November 2019 so these figure can clearly be achieved.

Why is attendance outside of men’s stadiums low?

In October 2019 Tottenham managed to get 38,262 fans through the door for the game in Tottenham but can barely get a 1,000 attendance at the Hive so what is the problem? I think a lot comes down to marketing and the location of where many women’s teams are playing. The distance from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to the Hive is approximately 13 miles. Depending on traffic that’s approximately 35 minutes by car HOWEVER if one doesn’t drive you are looking at a 1 hour 30 train journey which I believe puts off many fans as it can turn into a round-trip of 3+ hours. I believe if teams are not going to play all matches at the men’s stadium then then to follow in the footsteps of Manchester City and their Academy stadium. Tottenham have a brand new staidum and like City could have built a stadium for their academy teams and women’s team or even have staidum at Hotspur way similar to what Barcelona’s women’s team have with the Johan Cruyff Stadium at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper which is the location of FC Barcelona’s training facility.

Barcelona’s 6,000 capacity Johan Cruyff Stadium.

Things will always happen but to see a WSL game called off due to a waterlogged or frozen pitch is becoming too common and should be happening rarely if not at all. The standard in the women’s game needs to go up. Things are improving in the women’s game but at the moment it’s at a slow rate. People often tell me investment, interest and development in the women’s game is due to the women’s game is too slow, or the standard not being as good as in the mens game, or because female goalkeepers are rubbish and more rubbish excuses that result in low investment, low ticket prices and a low wage for female players. I follow the men’s game too and I’ve seen some outstanding goalkeeping by male goalkeepers, I’ve seen some fast paced end to end high scoring men’s games BUT I have also seen some shocking goalkeeping by male keepers and some truly dull big matches such as Liverpool v United, Barcelona v Madrid, Inter v Milan. A high quality game can come at any division and any category. Just like the men’s game you will see good and bad keepers, exciting and dull matches, those that say to me that the women’s game is dull I always recommend to watch the 2017 Tournament Of Nations match between the USA and Brazil and then to tell me that the women’s game is dull and not exciting. That game had it all, goalkeeping errors, drama, end to end energy and comebacks.

2017 Tournament Of Nations USA vs Brazil

You don’t even need to look at the World Champions to see games of this level, our Lilywhites have been involved in some dramatic matches this season most recently Tottenham’s home game to West Ham at the Hive had it all missed chances, end to end attacks, a late equaliser and a deep in injury winner.

https://youtu.be/nL-U43GOExw
Tottenham Women vs West Ham 12th January 2020.

Even though it is fact that these pathetic excuses are to blame for a slow rate development in the women’s game I feel clubs need to do their part to encouraging fans to attend the women’s game. The 2019 World Cup certainly highlighted the game and the fear many had was will the interest still be there after the World Cup. Games that have taken place in big stadiums suggest yes the interest is there so what is happening when games take place as smaller grounds. I can only talk about Tottenham and the Hive and in my experience it can be a pain at times to get to the ground from the Enfield – Tottenham area but I still make it down on Sunday’s because I am a Tottenham Women’s team fan and in general a fan of the women’s game but for someone who is not into the women’s game a 3+ hours round trip can be too much of a headache for some.

I remember a few years back before Barcelona’s women’s moved to the Johan Cryuff Stadium the Women’s game would take place around an hour after the men’s game finished. So fans could watch Barcelona at the Nou Camp and walk over the road afterwards and watch the Women’s team at the Mini Stadium and tickets for the women’s game were included in a men’s match day ticket. Those who just wanted to watch the women play could purchase tickets for a couple of Euro. I felt playing an hour after the men in a stadium next door made it much easier for fans to support both teams. I remember talking to a group of Barcelona fans when I went to see Barcelona in London in the Champions League last year and I asked how they got into the women’s game and they told me that they would go over to the Mini Estadi after a men’s game to let traffic ease up as Barcelona can get very congested after a game. After a while it became more than just an escape from traffic and they started to learn the players names and follow the women’s team and have the passion that they would across the road at the Camp Nou and even began to turn these matches into family days out.

Mini Estadi

Interest for the women’s game grew with each home game and I feel this was good marketing by Barcelona and last year it saw the Mini Estadi sell out over 15,000 tickets for the Women’s Champions League semi final between Barcelona and Bayern Munich which saw Barcelona women’s reach their first ever Women’s Champion’s League Final. my conclusion is that “parent” clubs need to market the women’s game better and need to help develop the women’s game. The WSL is now 100% professional so that is an amazing step forward we just need clubs to invest a little more into their women’s teams, market games better and NOT have women’s teams play so far away from where getting to and from stadiums becomes difficult for some fans meaning the women’s team suffers. This is only Tottenham women’s first season in the WSL and hopefully there will be many more happy years to come, so therefore I give Tottenham as a club the benefit of the doubt for now and hope in the coming years we see more investment into the women’s team #COYSW

North London Derby part 2.

This Sunday 9th February see’s our Spurs women travel away to Meadow Park. I have just seen at the time of writing this that all tickets are sold for this match.

This is good news for the women’s game but I feel this game should have been moved to the Emirates. Meadow Park only has a capacity of 4,500 (1,700 seated) and after the success of the game back in October at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where 38,262 it would have made sense for Arsenal to host this game at their men’s stadium especially since the men’s team is on winter break this weekend. I’ll be honest when I found out the game wasn’t being hosted at the Emirates I was disappointed I think it would have been a memorable occasion for both sets of players and for the fans as well, but hopefully if we remain in the WSL next year’s return game will be held at the Emirates Stadium instead of Meadow Park.

So let’s look at this week’s North London Derby, the last time these two teams met it was back in October where Arsenal came out 0-2 winners HOWEVER it really should have been a different story. Tottenham started off the stronger team and should have been at least 2 up at half time with the clearest chance coming to Kit Graham when she found herself 1 on 1 with Manuela Zinsberger who held her nerves to keep Arsenal in the game. The second half saw Tottenham again come out stronger against the WSL Champions but in the 66th minute an unstoppable shot by Beth Little beat Becky Spencer and gave the visitors a undeserved lead but Tottenham kept looking for the equaliser pushing back the champions but in the 82nd minute tiredness cost our Lilywhites the game when a mix up in defence gifted Vivianne Miedema the ball to score Arsenal’s 2nd goal and give them the 3 points.

*Highlights* Tottenham women v Arsenal women November 17th 2020.

Personally I feel Tottenham should have taken something from that game every fan should have been proud that we had locked horns and went toe to toe with the WSL champions in our first year as professionals. So what can Tottenham have taken from that game to adapt into this Sunday’s game? Well I think the most obvious answer is to be more clinical in front of goal. Had we been more clinical we would have taken those 3 points back in November so now we must go to Meadow Park and be clinical in front of goal and not give Arsenal any chances and not make any mistakes like what lead to Arsenal’s 2nd goal. Not having Rachel Furness will most certainly be noticed on Sunday. Furness was a fighter and was scrappy in midfield and was involved in winning many of the balls in midfield but we have been adapting to life after Furness and I think that either Ria Percival or Coral Jade-Haines in that position gives the Tottenham midfield a much needed toughness. Arsenal have had a tough couple of games facing City in the Conti Cup semi finals and then in the League while our Lilywhites match against Bristol was called off due to a waterlogged pitch so in theory Tottenham should be fresher. I think it’ll be a tough game, Arsenal are not unbeatable and we have shown that we can roll with the best of them, the key will be down to who takes their chances on the day.

Prediction.

As much as I have faith in Tottenham, I think Arsenal will snatch it 2-1.

Next Home Match.

Tottenhams next home match will be against Everton women under the lights on Wednesday 12th Febuary 2020 with a 19:30 Kick-off.

Tickets for the game are priced at £6.50 for adults and £3.50 concession and can be purchased over at tottenhamhotspur.com/wsl for a discount rate.

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