Some thoughts post Spurs 3-1 West Ham

 

Some thoughts post Spurs 3-1 West Ham 

There's the famous expression that "comparison is the thief of joy." In this case couldn't be further from the truth when you compare Spurs 1st game of the season this year compared to last year. Today Spurs came out winners once by 3 goals to 1 against West Ham at home in a very confident display compared to the same fixture last season where Spurs narrowly squeaked a 1-0 win. In a way it was kind of perfect that they got the chance to play the same team for the first game, two seasons in a row. This game was the kind of performance that shows how a team can improve when you invest smartly and early so that players have the chance to have a full pre-season. 

The player of the match today was Kirsty Hanson on her competitive debut for The Lilywhites. Maybe somewhat surprisingly she started on the right wing of Martin Ho's base structure of a 4231, which saw give West Ham's back-line hell for the entirety of her time on the pitch as she caused havoc on & off the ball in behind, going down the line and cutting onside on her stronger(?) left foot (which was on full display for her 2nd goal). Compare this to last season where, honestly for half of the season, that right flank was a problem without Ella Morris at Rb & with there not really being a natural right-sided winger (Jess Naz, Olivia Holdt & Olga Ahtinen all got minutes there early last season where they were either not great or serviceable at best) and Spurs look so much more dangerous down that side now. 

The actual starting lineup took most by surprise as one of Spurs' best players from last season in Olivia Holdt was left on the bench to allow Signe Gaupset (who had an involvement in the first 2 goals with 1 goal and the assist for Hanson's first) to start in the number 10 role, which allowed her to flourish today. Gaupset is so confident bringing the ball up the field and receiving between the opposing midfield & defensive lines and her being allowed to be the player that Spurs really look to get the ball to in the 2nd phase of possession and transition.

Spurs opened the scoring with Gaupset getting on to the end of Julie Blakstad's knock down after some effective counter-pressing on the right flank saw Spurs awarded a throw, where Caitlin Dijkstra then found herself in a pocket of space on the right to deliver the ball into the box. This goal basically summed up Blakstad's performance as a flying wing-back seeing her basically act as Spurs auxilliary Lw, as she repeatedly looked to get into the box for crosses and she very nearly got on the scoresheet herself. This also allowed Matilda Vinberg to have a floating number 10 role on the inside left where she had a fairly underwhelming game but still picked up an assist. 

Spurs on-ball structure looked more of a 325, which is really what Martin Ho tried to implement last season with starting Rb Caitlin Dijkstra tucking in as a wide Cb in a back 3. This has a built-in rest defence structure when Spurs have the ball higher up the field with 5 attackers and 5 deeper players. Martin Ho's philosophy involves retaining most of the ball, baiting the press in central areas to move the ball upfield and exploiting gaps between the lines. This also allowed Spurs to make use of the wide areas now with Blakstad and Hanson being incredibly dangerous out there with the help of Gaupset & Vinberg who were able to play in the inside-wide/half-spaces channels and link the play.

Record signing Alice Sombath missed out today due to Martin Ho taking a cautious approach with her due to her injury history but because she can play either as a Rb or at centre-back, she should suit that role quite nicely. Drew Spence and Eveliina Summanen anchored the midfield well as the double pivots ahead of the defensive unit, as they were able to shuttle the ball to the front line and they were generally solid defensively. Cathinka Tandberg was the starting 9 today and had a quiet game but with a seemingly increased emphasis on crosses this season, she should still be ok as the season goes on.

For as well as Spurs played today there are still some defensive concerns which will need to be looked as they will get exploited against bigger teams. Due to Spurs playing with a high defensive line and pressing player-to-player aggressively, West Ham did exploit the Spurs right flank as Dijkstra and, to a lesser extent, Toko Kōga got spun a few times which allowed West Ham into the final 3rd a bit too easily. The goal they conceded came from Asseyi receiving a through ball from newly signed Saki Kumagai, who had too much time and space just ahead of the centre circle to pick out a pass, allowing the Frenchwoman to slot past the onrushing Lize Kop to pick up a consolation goal. 

Overall this was a near perfect start to Spurs' WSL campaign and they'll be looking to continue this momentum next week against Liverpool in St Helens.

 

Under the radar WSL fantasy game picks

Defenders

Ella Morris

This maybe shouldn't come as that much of a surprise because she is one of the best right-backs in the top tier even though she doesn't get the pr that the top 4 teams get. At 4.5m for a starting right back that plays as more of a wing-back, that can score, assist & beat most opposition for pace. Her starting price of 4.5m is largely based on her injury record which, of course, is something to consider, but she has had a full pre-season this summer for the first time in her Spurs career.

Spurs' defence improved last season as they conceded 6 less goals than the season before and the team overall scored 11 more. On a more personal note, Morris was the first women's footballer I wrote about on this blog, and she is one of my favourite players in the Spurs squad, so there is a decent amount of bias in this pick. But if you've ever watched her I don't think she's ever failed the eye test, and she is probably the most important signing of Vilahamn's first season.

Paige Peake

Ipswich's 2nd half of the season was much improved to such an extent that they finished fairly comfortably above the relegation zone having 9 points more than relegated Portsmouth. The key difference in Ipswich's uptick in form was that they managed to shore up their defence in the final 11 games of the season only allowing 12 goals compared to the 30 they conceded in the first half of the season.

Paige Peake is probably the standout pick from their defence due to her (in the case of last season) being on penalties and deep set pieces. 5m is a decent price for player that's likely to start most of their games, has set piece threat with her height and she has a tendency to launch the ball into the box when Ipswich have a free kick near the halfway line. 

Midfielders 

Wilma Leidhammar

Leidhammar is a really priced midfielder that is likely to be involved in most good things that Birmingham will do this season. I've written about her more in-depth recently, so I'll try to avoid re-hashing too much from that. At 6m she's very fairly priced for an exciting number 10 that can contribute to both goals and assists. 

If you like players that can find space in between the opposing midfield and defensive lines, finish on either foot and someone that has an eye for playing the final ball then Leidhammar is a great pick, just maybe not straight away as she has to face last season's champions in Manchester City.

Beth Hepple

I actually changed my mind part way through writing this as I was going to include Mollie Lambert who made a big move to fellow North East team Newcastle. But when I dug into the numbers a bit more, it was hard to ignore just how impactful Hepple was for Durham last season. Hepple is priced at a premium 7.5m but is a massive differential (like everyone on this list) at just 2% ownership at the time of writing.

Last season she put up a very impressive 8 goals & 4 assists as the team's primary source of creativity and joint set-piece taker next to Michaela Foster. Hepple and the aforementioned Lambert, were the best players in what was a pretty dour season for Durham and Hepple is likely to be their main source of goals again this season.

Forwards 

Beatta Olsson

This one is kind of a surprise to me that she has such little ownership since she was an absolute goal machine for Liverpool last season. Beata Olsson managed 6 league goals from 13 league starts in her maiden WSL campaign in what was a slightly injury hit campaign for the Swede. She can pretty confidently finish on both feet, carry the ball to a good level & she has elite movement in the box to find space for herself to finish cutbacks.

6.5m for an established goal scorer, with a near guaranteed starting spot in a team that has recruited well and quickly this summer, should make Olsson an appealing differential for any fantasy manager in need of a mid-priced forward. Her first match this season is against newly promoted Charlton who, for as good as their defence was at times last season, are fairly blunt going forward and a portion of their starting defenders are somewhat untested at the top level.

Poppy Pritchard

This pick is a little more of a wildcard given that Poppy Pritchard hasn't actually scored a league goal for 2 seasons but I am fairly confident that she will show her goal-scoring talents for recently relegated Leicester City. Leicester as a club are a bit difficult to predict this coming season as they have lost an alarming amount of players this summer, but Pritchard looks like a fairly low risk gamble for a young forward. 

Priced at 5m in the game, with a good chance of being a starter & less than 1% ownership at the time of writing (although also at the time of writing she's still listed as a Man City player) Pritchard could be a sleeper hit this season if she's allowed some stability as a starting 9. One of her better games for Durham actually came on the left wing against Southampton which, maybe strangely, showcased just how good her back to goal play is/can be when she was out wide. This aspect of her game could also add to her assist potential if her Leicester teammates can put up better attacking performances in the WSL2.

Abbie Larkin player profile

Abbie Larkin celebrating after scoring against Birmingham City as she points to the Palace bench.

 

Irish attacking-midfielder/forward Abbie Larkin has taken the leap into a starting role for Crystal Palace this season after struggling to break into the first team last season in the WSL. Since then, in Jo Potter's first season as manager, the 20 year-old Larkin has played as a number 10 or as a 2nd striker behind/next to a number 9. Her role as a 10 isn't to be a creator however. At the time of writing, she's the joint top scorer in the WSL 2 on 7 goals which have shown off her excellent ball-striking and her excellent movement in the box to finish off crosses.

Palace are a really well balanced side this season and can create chances from the sides or through the centre and can combine fairly intricate build-up play with longer, more direct balls into feet, which allows Larkin to be a part of moving the ball from the middle 3rd into the final 3rd as one of their key ball carriers. Her dribble success rate currently sits at 78% on a high volume where she completes 4.0 carries per 90. 

It's especially noticeable that when she plays next to Kirsty Howat as 10's behind a number 9, that when one of them shows for the ball, the other will stay higher to either stretch the defensive line by either making a run in behind for balls over the top or to make decoy runs when Palace move the ball quickly through the centre.

In a more conventional part of her role as a number 10 she is keen to offer a passing angle for her teammate on the ball, allowing her to pick the ball up in between the lines with her back to goal and then turn to face goal with space ahead of her. Her ability to take the ball with her back to goal is a massive part of her game as she can then burst into space laterally and give runners the chance to get ahead of her. She often makes use of Palace's central defenders' & midfield pivots ability to play line-breaking passes into central areas to give them an out-ball up the field to allow her teammates to create angles around her, almost like what a traditional target forward would do. She's an intelligent player that can open up play with her link-up when she's near the goal by drawing her defender in towards her before flicking the ball beyond them to a teammate. 

This the sort of area where Larkin plays her best football/tends to operate with her back to goal.

Aimee Everett launches the ball up to Abbie Larkin against Southampton.

Abbie Larkin takes the ball with her back to goal with space behind her and infield.

Larkin spots the run of Annabel Blanchard into space inside and lays the ball off. Nothing comes from the play but she managed to help progress the ball near Southampton's box with her hold-up play.

Larkin really suits Palace when they look to play quickly and in transition moments where she can make good use of her ball carrying and pace to break into space in central and inside right channels ahead of her. She is also often keen to make herself available to her teammates as she can either drop in or tuck in to provide a short passing option when the ball is near the inside channels in the opposition half. Her spatial awareness is a big part of her being able to find space for herself and does mean that she can ghost into pockets of space left by defenders when they retreat back to deal with the ball being progressed in deep areas of the pitch. 

Her defensive work rate when pressing from the front as well as being willing to track back in transitional moments show good signs that she can be an effective front-foot presser that can not allow opposing defenders time on the ball in their own half. She's also very effective when scanning off the ball in defensive situations in her own half to cut off passing angles and not allow gaps to appear behind her when Palace are in a settled defensive shape.

She does play a fairly one-footed style that's fairly reliant on her being able to get past her opponent with her right foot when either going inside or down the line. It's not that she can't use her left foot at all as she can pass out with it and control the ball, it's just that she rarely uses it to shoot, while rarely using it whe she has an opposition player near her. Her pace is notable but she's not explosive and does take a bit of time to get up to her top speed. While she is able to score excellent goals from outside the box, she really needs to clean up her shot map as she can be prone to shooting from range too often when she has other options near her.

Palace still have 6 games to go until the end of the season and look poised to either play in the relegation/promotion play-off game against the bottom team of the WSL. They also have a very real chance to gain one of those automatic promotion spots and Abbie Larkin's goals, as well as her general presence in attacking midfield have given her a real platform this season to make a name for herself this season.
 

The Hellas Verona project

As a relative Serie A newbie (I started in 2022/23), Hellas Verona didn't initially interest me that much as they dont carry the same flashy name appeal that either of the Milanese clubs or Juventus carry.  That said, since the turn of the calendar year, I've actually found the club's project to be quite interesting, as they're very willing to flip players after a short stint with the club.  Over the past decade or so they have also played a part in the development of plenty of top level players such as Jorginho, Destiny Udogie, Sofyan Amrabat and Mattia Zaccagni.

The main player that inspired me to write this is Isak Hien (25).  In August 2022 Verona signed Hien from Sweden's Djurgårdens IF for a reported €4m and just 18 months later he was signed by Atalanta for roughly €8m.  For Atalanta, Hien has looked like a truly top level CB, whose tenacity in aerial and ground duels has helped him bed in perfectly into the centre of Gianpiero Gasperini's 3 man defence.

Hien was sold in the same window as Belgian winger, Cyril Ngonge (24), who had a very encouraging start to the 23/24 campaign for Hellas scoring 6 goals and getting 2 assists in the first half of the season.  This impressive start saw Napoli pay €18m to secure the creative Belgian wide man, although he has struggled to make the same sort of impact for Napoli as he's mostly featured off the bench.  Ngonge was also brought in during the 22/23 season for a mere €500k from FC Groningen, which represents excellent business and is probably the ideal scenario for the club to buy the player cheaply in their early to mid 20's to then flip them to a richer club for a profit in quick fashion.

The other two players that left in 2024 that I wanted to talk about are, Juan Cabal (23) and Tijjani Noslin (25). The Colombian Cabal made quite a high profile move to Juventus for €13m before the start of the 24/25 season despite also being linked to fierce rivals Inter.  Cabal was signed in August 2022 for €3m from Colombian side Atletico Nacional.  He's already become a fixture of new coach Thiago Motta's back 4 as the starting LB.  Noslin made the move to Lazio off the back of scoring 5 times and assisting a further 4 goals in just 17 Serie A games for the Gialloblu.  The Belgian only arrived in Verona in January of 2024 after moving from Dutch side Fortuna Sittard for €3m which meant that when he moved to the Roman giants of Lazio for €8m, Verona made a very quick €5m profit.

In terms of players currently in the squad, Jackson Tchatchoua (22) is arguably the most hyped prospect already reportedly attracting interest from Napoli.  The Cameroonian wing-back/full-back has shown great dribbling qualities whether that's cutting inside from the wing to attack the box or going down the line.  He's also a very competent 1v1 defender winning 3.2 tackles and interceptions per 90 in the 23/24 season.  Tchatchoua was signed permanently in 2024 after initially being on loan from RC Sporting Charleroi in Belgium for what looks to be a bargain €3m. 

Another young prospect in the squad is central-midfielder, Reda Belahyane (20), who arrived from OGC Nice in January 2024 for €500k.  While initially he found game time hard to come by in his first season, he has been given his opportunity by coach, Paolo Zanetti, in the first two games of the Serie A season after an injury to Suat Serdar against Napoli on the opening day.  Early signs are that the young Frenchman has very good ball retention qualities and uses his body very well to win fouls in duels.  He gives off a calm air on the ball and is very willing to drop in deep when in possession to help Verona build in the first phase. 

Verona also saw 3 players (that are still with the club) get minutes at Euro 2024 in Slovakian, Ondrej Duda (29) and Tomas Suslov (22), as well as the Polish defender, Pawel Dawidowicz (29).  

Veteran midfielder Duda has Premier League experience with Norwich City and also had two stints in the German Bundesliga with Hertha Berlin and FC Köln.  Duda's role with Verona is as a more creative number 8 despite how he use to be used as more of an attacking midfield outlet earlier in his career. Duda arrived for €3m from Köln.

His Slovakian international teammate Suslov has inherited the right sided number 10/wing slot vacated by the previously mentioned Cyril Ngonge, who has also has a very promising left foot and an eye for a cutting pass.  Suslov posted an impressive 51% take on success rate last season while attempting just over 3 take ons per 90.  Suslov was signed for €1m from Groningen in January 2024 and has already attracted interest from AS Roma and city rivals S.S Lazio.

Dawidowicz has been operating as the right-sided CB for Zanetti's 3 man back line and cuts a tall figure at 6'2.  Interestingly, the Pole is comfortable moving the ball on with the either foot in the buildup and at first glance it's difficult to tell which is his favoured foot. In the 23/24 season he put up an impressive 2.8 successful 2.8 aerial duels per 90 at a success rate of 69% which was good enough to rank him in the 89th percentile among CB's in Europe's top 5 leagues.  Dawidowicz was signed permanently for €3m from Benfica in 2019.

One other player that's worth mentioning is 20 year-old CB academy graduate, Diego Coppola.  The young Italian defender has lined up as the middle CB in the back 3 in the opening two games, stands at 6'3 and has made 4 appearances for Italy's U-21 side as of writing.  Coppola was actually in the 99th percentile of aerials won per 90 with 4.5 among CB's and is seen as one of Italy's next up and coming defenders.

Overall, Hellas is a really intriguing club with how they operate in terms of picking up young players and giving them the platform to develop and then sell them on to other clubs for efficient profit.