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This season has seen a marked improvement from Spurs' 11th placed finish 1 year ago. If nothing else they're a more watchable team than they were last season as they have been able to establish more of a threat whenever they enter the final 3rd which was an aspect of their game that was lacking last year. The counting metrics suggest that there's been a sign that the club is moving in the right direction to establish themselves as the best team outside of the top.
Their attacking numbers have improved by 7 more goals compared to last season with 33 (with one game left which is a caveat throughout this). They've also conceded 7 fewer goals compared to last season with 37 compared to 44, but the defence overall has remained leaky and has meant they've been the 4th worst team for goals conceded in the division with 44. Another interesting stat in terms of goals is just how different their home and away form has been as they have so far scored 11 and conceded 12 goals at home compared to 22 scored and 25 conceded away.
Recruiment successes
Spurs recruited excellently in the summer and the winter windows with Toko Koga, Cathinka Tandberg, Signe Gaupset, Maika Hamano and Julie Blakstad all making a meaningful impact in their first season/half-season as Spurs players. The real standouts of the 5 players I've mentioned, though, have to be Toko Koga and Signe Gaupset.
Koga was signed off the back of a stellar debut season in Europe with Feyenoord and was seen as a really exciting prospect in a position that Spurs have struggled to really nail down starters for in the past. Her presence was sorely missed during her time away with Japan at the Asian games from February to March as her and Clare Hunt had been the first choice starters up until that point and Spurs struggled for form. On the ball, she's one of the most exciting defensive prospects I've seen recently, and her level of technicality on the ball is rare for a 20 year-old defender. There have been times where she's either been caught out in terms of pace and strength but these are things that she can still realistically work on in terms of improving her positioning and general conditioning so that she's less likely to get knocked off in 50/50's.
Signe Gaupset was the brightest star in an underwhelming Norway in team in the 2025 Euros and already had a connection with Martin Ho from their Brann days. It was still a huge surprise when her signing was announced in November for a club record fee that's believed to be north of £350k. The Norwegian starlet was immediately placed into the starting xi in January against Leicester. She actually started as a LW and was unplayable with her desire to take on her opponent and attack the box. Ever since then she has been pushed back into a double pivot role where she has seemingly been vocal about the fact that she prefers to be a central player. Alongside Drew Spence, Spurs now have one of the most forward-thinking midfield lines which sees Gaupset look to get on the ball in central and deep areas to slink past opposing midfelders and constantly get Spurs up the pitch.
Olivia Holdt's superstar rise
Staying on the theme of individual levels, Olivia Holdt was able to establish herself as a player of the season candidate on the back of some excellent games despite not always getting the nod earlier in the season. Holdt was really the talisman for Spurs in the run up to December as the team's primary creator, and she became the main example in Spurs' resurgence as a team full of excellent ball-carriers. Her 1.8 successful carries per 90 (Fotmob) is pretty impressive given that she's a pretty high volume carrier on nearly 3 dribble attempts per game. The Dane possesses one of my favourite attributes in football which is that she's equally proficient on both feet when it comes to shooting and passing. Her goal in the 5-1 home loss vs Man City and her assist for Beth England away at Man United (more on this game later) are the best examples of this ease of play from Holdt. Holdt's goal catalogue this season has been really excellent and she's shown that she can score all sorts of goals, from long-range screamers to being able to run in behind/exploit space off the shoulder of her defender to finish 1v1's. When you watch her, you just think that she can make something happen which is why she's the best player that Spurs brought in during the Vilahamn era.
Some key games
The two games against Manchester United in the league feel like pretty big indicators to me that this team can really take the next step this season and be more competitive in the games against the rest of the top 4. Both games against the Reds were significant for different reasons: the first showed just how clinical Spurs could be as they put away 3 goals in 61 minutes before eventually succumbing to a 3-3 draw as the Lilywhites looked like they could've scored from every chance they got before United's late surge; the reverse fixture saw Spurs dominate the possession and create some really good chances towards the end but were let down by some poor finishing which saw them drop 2 points from what was a winnable game. The one thing I didn't mention about the 2nd game was that United still created some dangerous chances and did expose the Spurs back line too easily where they could have scored had it not been for the presence of Lize kop who had one of her most confident performances in a Spurs shirt.
United have cooled off a lot since December but they're still one of 2 teams we're yet to beat in the WSL or any domestic competition. The other team that we haven't beaten is Chelsea and in both of these games, Spurs were arguably unlucky not to at least take a point from either result. In the away game, Spurs defended pretty well and got into the final 3rd fairly well but were massively out-shot and couldn't really trouble Hampton. The home game however was much better despite the scoreline. For 40 minutes it really looked likem Spurs could get something with Gaupset really pushing Spurs up the field. Unfortunately Keira Walsh scored from a corner that wasn't well defended and then Spurs just couldn't really threaten Chelsea enough afterwards. Like United, Chelsea have been worse this season but they're still ahead off us financially and historically so it's a start to actually be more competitive in these games.
The players who have left this season
In terms of players that have left since matchday 1, Spurs have allowed more senior players to leave on loan than they have for quite a while. Anna Csiki has had 2 loans this season to West Ham and Roma, Martha Thomas was allowed to join Liverpool in January on loan and Kit Graham was allowed to join Ipswich for the final 6 months of her contract on loan. Ash Neville being sold in early January was certainly a shock for most, especially since she was among the club's longest serving players and a firm fan favourite. Finally, in the week building up to the final home game against London City Lionesses the club announced the expiry of Charli Grant, Luana Buhler, Amy James-Turner, Josefine Rybrink, Kit Graham (as mentioned earlier), and, most shockingly of all, club captain Beth England.
Now if I'm being a bit brutal the only one here that's a genuine surprise is Beth England. That's not to take away from the contributions of the others mentioned, but they had all either lacked game time due to injuries or players being brought in to take their spots. England's signing back in 2022 was a record fee for a transfer between WSL clubs and she near single-handedly saved the club from relegation in her debut half season. She leaves the club as an icon that has played a huge part in getting Spurs to where they are now.
I think the club in general is also trying to age the squad down, as Drew Spence is now the oldest player still at the club at the age of 33, with the 2nd oldest behind her being Martha Thomas & Molly Bartrip who are both 29. Of the 7 players that have been brought in, Julie Blakstad was the oldest at 24 and I think there's a decent chance that this a theme that will follow in to the summer window.
What I hope to see next season
Spurs really need to improve defensively if they really want to have a chance at cracking the top 4 and going for the Champions League slot. The squad, as it stands when Anna Csiki and Martha Thomas return from their loans, will have 24 senior players going into the summer and there is a decent chance that a few players will either get loaned out or sold. It feels like the recruitment will be very important to add in quality depth that can either immediately go into the starting team or be an able replacement for when injuries pop up.
The main positions I hope Spurs recruit, in order of importance, are a number 6 that can add another layer of solidity in front of the defence and still be a solid ball-progressor, at least 2 centre-backs that are mobile and competent on the ball (ideally one of them would be left-footed), a back-up number 9 that is either at the same level or beyond Cathinka Tandberg in order to maintain attacking threat, and finally I wouldn't be opposed to bringing in a back-up keeper that's more experienced than Eleanor Heeps. Heeps has very little experience at this level, although she has been decent in the few games she has played for Spurs, so just making sure that there isn't a noticeable drop-off if/when Lize Kop isn't able to play seems a sensible move.
Structurally Martin Ho has stuck with the basic formation of a 4231 that has been a constant since his predecessor Robert Vilahamn, but he has developed this team into a team that is capable of pressing high and turning those moments when they do win the ball back into dangerous chances. The framework of the team isn't that rigid either as there's a fair amount of positional freedom for the midfielders and the wide players to drift into areas of space that aren't in their nominal zones to either create overloads or just exploit gaps and move the ball up the pitch quickly. Toko Koga and Clare Hunt have been given licence to be very aggressive when following the player they're marking out of possession which has been exploited against them at times even if they have largely been quite good at it, so finding a compromise to this risk could help put less pressure on their goal next season.
I'd like to see Ho try out a back 3 in bigger games next season - provided that they have adequate centre-back quality and depth - and also look into playing a 3 player midfield in other games, to have that extra player centrally in midfield to screen defensively, and match up to other teams that can look to outnumber Spurs in those midfield areas when they come up against 3 player midfields. Moving to a back 3 would allow Spurs to try out a 3421 where you can make the most of Ella Morris on the right who is incredibly attack-minded and, as we've seen since she's returned from her ACL injury, has left her flank exposed at times so this would allow an extra player further back to cover. Spurs' wingers also don't really flourish in wider areas, so by moving to have 2 players behind the 9 to act as 10's that can play in the inside channels, you allow the wing-backs to have more licence to create from wide while having 2 players infield of them who can have freer roles to exploit spaces in central areas. This might also be a way to move Signe Gaupset higher up the pitch where she can be at her best.
End
To wrap up, this season hasn't been perfect and there have been games where Spurs have won in an ugly fashion, but they have also made themselves a much better team that looks set up for future success. This feels like another really important summer coming up. The worry I have is that because the club has yo-yoed so many times from one season to the next which makes me hope that the club is making sure to try to arrest that trend.
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