Ella Toone WEuro 2025 analysis

Ella Toone Euro 2025 analysis

Introduction 

WEuro 2025 was a bit of a strange tournament for Ella Toone. Toone became a hero for England in the final of Euro 2022 by putting The Lionesses 1-0 up against Germany. A trademark run in behind allowed her to chip the ball into an empty net after getting onto the end of an excellent ball over the top from Keira Walsh put her 1v1, against an on-rushing Merle Frohms.

Walsh sends the ball in behind the German defence.

Toone chips over Frohms.

She then wheels away celebrating.

On top of that, a year later she would continue to step up in another crucial moment as she put England 1-0 up (again) against tournament hosts Australia in the semi final. Appearing unmarked on the left side of the box, Toone managed to curve the ball into the far right corner with outrageous technique. 

Russo holds the ball up in the box.

The ball is played towards Toone in space.

Toone hits the ball towards the top right corner.

The ball hits the top corner and England are 1-0 up.

Circling back to this past tournament, and Toone didn't get her name in the spotlight nearly as much compared to Chloe Kelly, Hannah Hampton and Michelle Agyemang. I still wanted to look into how Toone still made an impact on the tournament and her profile more generally.

All stats are from Sofascore and Fotmob. Apologies for the quality of the images too.

Goal contributions

On the surface 2 goals and 2 assists from 1.94 expected goals and 1.24 expected assists across 6 games seems pretty impressive, although they all came vs Netherlands and Wales (she got 1 goal against the Dutch and 1 goal & 2 assists vs Wales). Her goal against the Dutch was well taken, as she found herself in open space at the top of the box, to receive a pass from Alessia Russo. She was able to run into the space and finish smartly, low to the keepers left side.

Toone arriving late on the outside of the box.

She then finds herself in acres of space as the defence has collapsed near the 6 yard box.

Toone attacks the space and finishes low on her left foot.

Against Wales, Toone's first contribution was to score to make it 2-0. Russo gets to the cross before Olivia Clarke could claim the ball. Russo managed to round the Welsh keeper and then find Toone in space in the box. After her first shot rebounded back to her, Toone was able to fire into the net from close range. 

Toone is on the top of the D waiting to run into the box.

Russo has rounded the keeper and Toone is on the penalty spot in position for a cut-back.

After her first shot rebounded back to her, she smashes the second attempt high into the net.

Her first assist saw her overlap Lauren James on the right flank to attack the space near the byline, in order to deliver a pinpoint cross for Lauren Hemp to head in from close range.

Toone looks to overlap the stationary James who is baiting Wales to press her.

Toone gets on the end of James' pass down the line and looks to cross to the back post.

Hemp finishes off the cross with a header at the back post.

The final assist involved her linking up with James again on the right flank with a 1-2 to get into the box, and lay the ball across for Russo to tap in from 6 yards out.

Toone and James linking up once again on the right flank.

Toone runs in behind the defensive line again anticipating a ball in behind from James.

She cuts the ball across the 6 yard line back to Russo in space.

Russo has an empty net to slot the ball into.

On-ball attacking threat

Toone managed 10 shots across the whole tournament, with 8 out of the 10 shots coming in from inside the opposition's box.

Given that her role within the team was to be a second striker that would crash the box, overlap/run beyond Russo and make the most of England's strategy to create most of their chances from crosses(England were able play 8 successful crosses from 27 per game). The above graphic represents where you'd want Toone to be shooting from (even though she missed 2 big chances and had some of her shots blocked).

While Toone nominally lined up as the number 10 behind Russo she mostly looked to attack the inside right half-space channel (see graphic below), although she was given license to float along to the left wing to create overloads at points. 

Rough representation of the right half-space channel.

Ella Toone's WEuro 2025 heatmap.

Although Georgia Stanway usually plays slightly higher than Keira Walsh in the midfield pivot, in this tournament she was given more license to occupy more advanced on the left side of midfield to mirror Toone's coverage on the right side. 

Georgia Stanway's heatmap for WEuro 2025.

Toone's crossing was surprisingly threatening which, before the tournament, wasn't something I expected her to do much of, as it's not really something you associate with her profile for Manchester United. As mentioned earlier, one of her 2 assists actually from a pinpoint cross to Lauren Hemp against Wales. Even when her crosses didn't find a specific target, they did create chaos for opposition goalkeepers.

Toone recovers the ball on the left flank and looks to cross into the box.

The ball flies dangerously towards the 6 yard box.

Italy clear the ball after it deflects off of goalkeeper, Laura Giuliani. 

I'd still argue that she was unusually passive this Euro's. The best example that I noticed was when she got onto an excellent through ball from Hemp in the latter stages of the quarter-final against Sweden. In a 1v1 situation with Swedish keeper, Jennifer Falk, she chose to square the ball to Stanway who couldn't get to the ball before Nathalie Björn, resulting in a turnover when England were in desperate need of a goal. 

Toone points where she wants the ball in behind the Swedish backline.

She gets on the ball in an advantageous position.

Oddly, she tries to square the ball for Stanway who is blocked off by the Swedish defence.

She did struggle in tighter spaces when she was on the ball and did get dispossessed 5 times and only won 44% of her duels. 

Toone getting barged off the ball by Guijarro (p1).*p=part.

Toone getting barged off the ball by Guijarro (p2).

Toone getting barged off the ball by Guijarro (p3).

However she did have one flashy moment which saw some neat close control allowed her to resist the pressure that Patri Guijarro was putting on her near the right flank.

Toone on the ball with Michelle Agyemang ahead of her, and Guijarro closing her down.

Toone chops the ball to her left to allow Guijarro to fly by her.

She's then able to turn out of pressure.

Ans then lays the ball of for Bronze who has space to receive the ball.

Off-ball attacking threat

It wasn't just in the box where she seemed passive either. One of Toone's biggest weapons is her attacking positioning and understanding of spatial-manipulation off the ball, so seeing her not attack the space behind the midfield line more than she did was a bit odd. This example against Italy stood out.

Toone is alongside Hemp looking to break towards Italy's box.

She peels off into the centre.

Hemp eventually squares the ball to her.

Instead of attacking towards the right side or towards goal, she opts to bring the ball back towards the left flank.

You could argue that because she played as a shadow striker (a number 10 who will look to act as a secondary striker as well as playmake) that her modest 45 touches per 90 isn't too bad, given that England averaged 56% possession (apart from against Spain where they only had 35%). This is where Toone's game usually shines, and while she still was able to find plenty of good attacking positions, she was often overlooked by her teammates (which was understandable in some moments of the game state where they wanted to hold the ball for longer after being on the backfoot). She was still keen to point out when she was in space either in build-up or on the break.

When England were looking to build through the thirds, she'd constantly either drop in or move into open space to provide a passing angle for either a defender, or Keira Walsh to break the lines.

Toone gestures that she wants the ball from Walsh.

She's able to receive with her body facing towards Bronze.

Toone gets the ball back from James and is able to run into the space near the centre circle.

She then plays it out wide for Greenwood as England have moved play from right to left.

Defensive contributions on-ball

Across the tournament she made 3 tackles, 3 interceptions and recovered the ball 21 times - 8 of which were recovered in the final 3rd. Her role as an attacking-minded midfielder wasn't really to put up high defensive numbers off the ball, but any disruption that she was able to cause allowed England to stay higher up the pitch.

Off a loose pass Toone is able to close the space here.

She comes away with the ball and Walsh is able to face towards goal.

Again, Toone is able to cut off Guijarro's drive.

Toone completes her tackle.

 

Defensive contributions off-ball

England's pressing structures meant that Toone either pushed up to form a front 2 , stayed as a 10 behind Russo with James and Hemp holding the width (that sometimes looked like a lopsided 3 bank of 3 in midfield as James dropped back) or in a bank of 4 with Walsh behind and Russo in front.

Toone in a staggered front 2.

England's bank of 3 behind Russo.

England's lopsided lines of 3.

Toone in the bank of 4 with Russo above and Walsh below.

England's general idea was to try to discourage teams from playing through the centre of the pitch too easily, but where Toone excelled was when she was tasked with giving the opposition's midfield pivot minimal space to turn into when their team was in build-up.

Toone sticking closely to Manuela Giugliano in Italy's build-up (a).

Toone sticking closely to Manuela Giugliano in Italy's build-up (b).

As most would've anticipated against Spain, England didn't hold the majority of possession throughout the game. That said, the whole team showed their excellent levels of stamina as they were eventually able to make things more difficult for Spain as they game went on. Toone was able to put a good amount of pressure on Patri and Aleixandri when Spain were on her side.

Toone presses Patri Guijarro high up after Coll tries to work the ball out to Spain's number 12.

After Guijarro laid the ball off to Paredes, Toone looks to shut off the pass back to Guijarro in the centre and give Paredes less time on the ball.

Summary

So Toone wasn't completely unplayable (in a good or bad way) this tournament, but she did put in a shift as a starter - other than when she came off the bench against France but she still added pressing intensity to attempt to get England back into the game. Her knockout stage heroics weren't needed this year, yet she did solidify that she's a nailed on starter in the number 10 role for England. 

My Women's Championship/WSL2 team of the season 24/25

*stats from Sofascore and this xi is purely my opinion.

Lucy Thomas

Tall, quick off her line and good in the air. She would've been on track for the golden glove as she finished with 6 (compared to Emily Orman's 7) before her season ending injury. 82% shots stopped is also very impressive albeit on decent volume. Thomas's long pass completion of 57% on 4 per game is also fairly high.

Mari Ward 

A lengthy and quick wing-back that runs up and down the flank all game. She made 13 league starts and is now a firm member of the senior squad at 19. 2 goals and 3 assists as a wing-back is impressive and has shown good crossing promise, which her low, sweeping, left-footed cross against Portsmouth to set up Ella Powell's goal demonstrated.

Shannon Cooke

Showed the difference in levels between the top division compared to WSL2 after arriving on loan from West Ham. Her goal against Sheffield UTD was ridiculous but she also showed her very good passing range. She didn't get outclassed in any appearance while looking mobile on and off the ball.

Saki Kumagai

I wouldn't usually advocate for having 2 players that joined in January to be in a team of the season list, but Cooke and Kumagai are the exceptions. A maestro on the ball (100% pass completion game vs Sunderland with 132 passes) who functioned equally well in back 3 or 4. She added extra leadership to a defence that was fairly young. 11 ball recoveries per 90 also among the highest in the league.

Jodie Hutton

7 goals and 3 assists for a lwb in the league is frankly ridiculous. Debatably the best set-piece taker in the league and has a good cross delivery from open play as well. 89% dribble success rate on 2.9 attempts per 90 is also impressive as a wing-back.

Lucia Kendall 

A gem on the ball and very good at interpreting space. One of Southampton's best players at ball progression on and off the ball. Her switch to the 10 position gave her skillset a chance to flourish higher up the pitch and not have her as involved in build-up.

Kosovare Asllani

Top assister in the league, suited perfectly to play Izzy Goodwin through on goal with balls in behind. Very difficult to press due to veteran savvy and ball manipulation. Similar to Kumagai, she elevated her teammates.

Mollie Lambert 

Brilliant at running with and without ball, which suits Durham's direct style perfectly. She's very capable of playing as a 10 or out on the left wing. She scored and assisted some crucial goals and was probably Durham's most consistent player over the course of the season.

Shania Hayles

2nd in golden boot race playing between LW and ST. 2 hat-tricks and killer movement in the box made her a handful for back lines. Her 2nd season of scoring double digits in the 2nd tier and could be Newcastle's talismanic number 9 for the foreseeable future.

Isobel Goodwin

Capable of scoring pretty much any goal you can think of, with pace to burn and a near 6 foot frame, Goodwin was a menace to opposing defences in the 2024/25 season. She also got her first England u23 minutes on the back of a top class season. I wouldn't be surprised if she gets close to cracking double figure goals in the WSL next season.

Sophie Quirk

5 goals in her first season with the club as well winning the championship rising star award winner. Probably Portsmouth's best and most consistent player who could go to another level next season. She had 4 games completing over 10 dribbles which is more than any other player in the division. 

Honourable mentions to Ellie Brazil of Charlton who scored 8 goals in her debut season after a torrid 2 seasons with Spurs and Beth Lumsden of Newcastle whose ambipedal play made her a handful for opposing left-backs.

More thoughts on Spurs news/follow up to Spurs 25/26 potential squad changes

It's easy to get wrapped up in narratives and to be reactionary with football news. I've very much fallen foul of both of those pitfalls over the past 24 hours. Although, honestly I've been hoping for a bit of a shake-up since the end of 2024. Unfortunately, some of the early signs coming from Spurs suggest that the club could be in for another subpar season. The contract renewal news concerning Ash Neville and Kit Graham (whom I'm glad extended) along with Olga Ahtinen and Josefine Rybrink (I'm less excited about) having their 1-year extensions triggered was an early surprise, given that Spurs tend to wait until the end of June (the full end of the season cycle) to begin announcing departures and renewals. Spurs also just announced that Martha Thomas signed new 3 year contract which comes as something of a surprise given that her last league goal came in November 2023 and her last goal in all competitions came against West Ham in the Subway League Cup in mid-January as Spurs got knocked out.

Robert Vilahamn led the squad to an incredibly underwhelming season finishing 11th out of 12 teams in the WSL while having, according to Soccerdonna, the 5th most valuable squad in the league (player valuations in the women's game are even more difficult compared to the men's game and even then it's an inexact science). There was quite a bit of turnover in the squad in the summer of 2024, as Grace Clinton and Celin Bizet leaving for Manchester United left massive holes in the attacking midfield lines which Spurs didn't adequately sort out. The players that did come in during the summer window, with the exceptions of Ella Morris and Maite Oroz, failed to make the desired impact.

This excellent article from the Halfway Line along with other FBRef data suggest that Spurs have fairly middling ball progression numbers which may go some way to explain why Spurs couldn't control games and faltered against the top teams. Emma Sanders reported back in mid-May that the club is considering the future of the Swedish coach so it's very possible that he won't get a 3rd season to try to stabilise the club in the WSL.

The two areas where I'm not quite sure who Spurs should look to bring in are CB and RW. Both positions have options there (for now as I wouldn't be surprised if Hayley Raso leaves) so I'm hoping that the recruitment team, which is due extra support, over the summer, as we know that Robert Vilahamn was tasked with trying to bring in players (which shouldn't really be the case in the modern day), is able to comb over the leagues to improve.

Also, I'm under no illusion that the club would be able to attract world beaters as the recruitment strategy has tended to be to get bench players from bigger teams, mixed in with some promising younger players. I think it'd be a good idea to try to look for u23(roughly) players that have good potential for the long term. This is also due to the fact that Spurs' 2 best signings in the last two summers have been scouted/recommended based on England u23 references from now former assistant coach, Vicky Jepson, in Grace Clinton and Ella Morris. 

I can appreciate that Championship/WSL2 players may not sound like ambitious recruiting on the surface, although Morris came into this Spurs team after coming through Southampton's academy and getting big minutes in tier 3 and then tier 2 to star as the starting RB. Sticking with Morris, she unfortunately tore her ACL in England training this week so RB may be another area the club looks to bolster for at least the first half of the season. 

Due the Morris news, I think Spurs should look to Mari Ward from Bristol City as a very good short and long term rival for Morris' starting RB spot. 19 year-old Ward can also cover as a LB effectively and possibly even play higher up on the wings. She still has a good amount of development left to do to adapt to playing in a back 4 after being a wing-back in a back 5 for Bristol this past season. 

I'm of the opinion that Becky Spencer should be allowed to leave this summer - the club also allowed her to join Chelsea on an emergency loan where she got 0 minutes across all competitions. To allow Eleanor Heeps to remain as a 3rd choice keeper, Spurs should look at free agent, Rafaela Borggräfe, to challenge/take over the starting goalkeeper role from Lize Kop, who looked decent but I think would benefit from having to fight for the 1st choice keeper slot. At 25 years old, Borggräfe was one of the best keepers in the Frauen Bundesliga who is excellent on the ball with both feet, has decent box presence to close angles and claim crosses and is an able sweeper to deal with long balls which is something that Spurs could desperately do with. 

The two players I'd look to bring in for central midfield would be Lucia Kendall (21) from Southampton and Jemima Dahou (19) from Blackburn, who, as far as I can tell are both free agents. Although the central midfield area may seem clogged, I'm so high on Kendall that I believe that she could get good minutes across all competitions as she's so technically secure that she'd fit in with the technical levels of the other midfielders in the squad from the 6 role up to the number 10. Dahou (see the link to Mari Ward for my take on her) is much less polished as a player and would definitely need a loan back to the WSL2 to get more minutes and establish herself as a deep lying 6 due to that being a role I think she could flourish in. The former Man City academy midfielder is a great technician but needs to adapt to the physical elements of the senior game in order to live up to her potential.

For the 9 spot, Larissa Mühlhaus would still be an absolute dream signing, who would, admittedly, be very difficult to get over the line due to the interest in her from top German clubs, and because she's only played one season for Werder Bremen. The 22 year-old German is tall at 5'9, has a good physical presence in terms of strength, can carry the ball in isolated situations, hold the ball up to a high level to create chances for teammates, and score goals despite limited service. 

Spurs' academy seems like it's continuing to improve and the recruitment on that front seems quite good. Zara Bailey joined from Oxford United in 2024 to join the u16's and made her first team debut off the bench against Crystal Palace in the Subway League cup in December 2024 and also captained England u16 earlier this year. Persis Oteng scored 15 goals in the PGA league which played a part in RB Leipzig picking her up as a free agent. Mia Endacott is also making waves having scored and assisted over 20 goals in all competitions as a first year winger in the u21's after arriving from Plymouth Argyle in the summer. The talent is pretty clearly there so I really hope that whoever is the head coach over the next few years is willing and able to integrate youth players better into the senior squad. 

Looking into 3 WSL 2 talents who could make a big jump in the 25/26 season.

Mari Ward

Bristol City have been fairly public in wanting to give young players a chance and eventually sell them to WSL teams as their business model. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if 19 year-old wing-back, Mari Ward got a move to a lower mid-table WSL team this season. Ward can fairly comfortably go by her opposing full-back on both flanks with decent pace, on and off the ball with 3.1 successful dribbles per 90 at a 66% success rate in the league. 

She has decent stamina to go up and down the flank. One defensive concern I have is that she needs to track back more consistently to help out in crossing situations as the CB's behind her can end up isolated in transition situations. I could see her adjusting to being a full-back or a winger which would require her crossing to improve as she only registered a 21% success rate in the league. That said, she can comfortably play the ball into dangerous areas on either foot contributing to her 4 assists in all competitions in the 2024/25 season. 

Ward's assist vs Brighton in the League cup group stage back in December.

Ward receives the ball on the left wing and battles past McLaughlin.

After getting by McLaughlin, Ward faces up Carabaly and continues towards the box.

Ward cuts the ball across the box looking for the back post run from her wing-back partner.

Jasmine Bull then finishes from a decent area after getting on the end of Ward's cut-back.

Fallon Connolly-Jackson

This past season was 18 year-old, Fallon Connolly-Jackson's first season of getting minutes at a professional level as a left-sided wing-back. In only 5 starts, and 16 total league appearances, she has shown good defensive tenacity to get into duels. Connolly-Jackson scored her first Scotland u-19 goal against Czechia in April*. She still has quite a bit of work to get up to the technical standards of a WSL2 starter, as her 52% pass success on low volume of 6 successful passes per 90 - in very limited minutes/starts - is an area for improvement. She has a pretty decent long throw which could be useful for her team to create chances if they have good aerial forwards.

I think that her stamina, willingness to track back and create contact without fouling - to either win the ball back or push her opponent off balance - suggest that she can be a useful defender for another WSL 2 club in the near future.

*Connolly-Jackson's goal vs Czechia in April.

Connolly-Jackson gets on the ball in midfield and looks to drive into the centre.

She looks to play a ball in behind the defensive line.

After running onto a poor touch from the defence, Connolly-Jackson carries on towards the box.

She chooses to shoot from just outside the box and scores with her shot going into the right side of the goal.

Jemima Dahou

19 year-old Jemima Dahou is such a good player to watch when she gets on the ball, which is something we've somewhat come to expect from a Man City academy graduate who has made 2 appearances for England's u-19 team. Her main problem is that, in my opinion, she didn't get on the ball nearly enough to make the sort of impact she could, as she averaged 41.75 touches in games that she started. Back to the positives, she's very capable of dribbling out of tight spaces with incisive turns. Her passing range is decent on both feet, given that Blackburn tended to play a fairly direct style which allowed Dahou to try to play long through balls in behind to get the forwards on the ball higher up the pitch.

Dahou seems a bit wasted as an 8 for Blackburn having to cover a lot of distance each game. In my eyes, I think she'd really suit a number 6 role to allow her to focus on ball progression from deeper areas. Her 1st touch, on both feet, is very secure and she's often able to use it to create space by luring her opponent in to press her, allowing her to glide by them. 

There's a lot of uncertainty around Blackburn as to whether they'll even be able to enter in the WSL 2 in the 25/26 season - which is frankly ridiculous that 2 clubs in 2 consecutive seasons could potentially drop out of the 2nd tier, due to lack of interest from their owners. I can really see her suiting Southampton, as either a backup to Chloe Peplow or a potential starter alongside Peplow in a double pivot. 

An example of Dahou's usefulness in deep midfield areas.

Dahou receives the ball from the wing with her back to goal.

She then quickly pushes the ball towards the centre circle and holds off her opponent.

Her opponent goes to ground while Dahou takes a touch to avoid the tackle.

Without rushing, she fakes as if she's going to pass to her nearby teammate before carrying on her dribble and passing out to her wing-back.

A conversation about Werder Bremen's women's team with @comradedarth.bsky.social

The Frauen Bundesliga is a highly entertaining league that maybe doesn't get the plaudits it deserves amongst non-German fans. The title race from January until a few weeks ago between Bayern, Wolfsburg and Frankfurt, was one of the only close races in the top 5 leagues in Europe. From a personal standpoint, I've found watching Werder Bremen a really interesting experience this season. This is due to their young squad with some very promising young players including Swiss number 2 goalkeeper, Livia Peng, as well as Germany u-23 internationals, Larissa Mühlhaus, Sophie Weidauer and Tuana Mahmoud. @comradedarth.bsky.social was nice enough to answer some of my questions about what it's like to be a fan of Werder's women's team.

How long have you been a fan of Bremen's women's team?

I was aware of them for some time, but actively in 22/23 when they played a "highlight game" at weserstadion and "I watch every game" levels after they signed Cata Perez during world cup 23.

What's it like being a Bremen fan?

Sometimes good, sometimes painful, i watch very analytically so I often become annoyed because of subpar decision making or easy mistakes, even though overall we have been on the rise.

Have you got any players that you particularly miss who used to play for Bremen?

Nina Lührßen. Hands down the best wingback in germany, she had 8 goal contributions in 23/24 and we have been struggling to replace her.

Can you recommend any young Werder players and any other Frauen Bundesliga players that people should watch in future?

Tuana Mahmoud from Werder is still under the radar a bit, made an insane jump this year. If HSV manages to go up: Lisa Baum, Mia Büchele, Lotta Wrede. Anna Marques from VFL Bochum had a breakout season this year in 2nd fbl. Feli Sträßer and Mariella El Sherif from Jena, Loreen Bender and Cornelia Kramer from Leverkusen.

How do you feel about how this season has gone?

Torn. Started out really well. I was hyped because of Mühlhaus. Now annoyed because it feels like they threw the towel during winter break (letting Ulbrich, our best defensive player and leader) and not renewing Horsch contract marked a big break.

Do you think the owners do a good job of running the women's team?

Not really. It has been improving, and they are talking about wanting to achieve more but Union Berlin's rise shows whats possible when the club ACTUALLY means it.

If Bremen could sign 1 realistic, and 1 unrealistic player in the summer, who would you want them to sign?

Realistic: we are really lacking in defense and defensive midfield. so a good replacement for Ulbrich would be nice. Landenberger of RB Leipzig or Ihlenburg from jena.

Unrealistic: Georgia Stanway.

Do you follow any other Women's leagues in depth?

Loosely follow WSL and NWSL, but not nearly to the level of Bundesliga.

Do you think the DFB does a good job of broadcasting top league games? 

No not really. they could do and support a lot more.

Do you have any interest in the lower leagues of Women's football?

2nd bl yeah, even though its a pain to watch. Below that I only check results occasionally.

What would you say is the general level of interest in women's football in Germany?

Low-ish especially compared to england and the wsl. But the nordderby or revierderby show that there is interest and its rising. like if the clubs did more to promote it like Union Berlin does there would be more awareness.

How changing to a 442 diamond structure could improve Spurs in 2025/26.

Part of the initial appeal of Vilahamn's 4231 set-up was the balanced width that would be provided by having wingers and 2 deeper midfielders in the buildup while ideally (in theory) being able to quickly play through the thirds with quick short passes. This season has seen Spurs regress both offensively and defensively. They've looked especially poor in defending wide areas as players lose their markers far too easily, and aerial balls continue to be a problem against top strikers. Offensively Spurs look like they're running out of ideas in the final 3rd and are still having trouble in progressing the ball into the final 3rd against top half sides.

On the surface, it might seem a radical change to completely remove wingers from the team after a down season for Spurs. Spurs adapting to a 442 diamond could be a difficult process initially, but would allow Spurs more options centrally when building through the thirds.

My two ideas for how Spurs could use the 442 in and out of possession (the top drawing is out of possession and the bottom drawing would be one version of an in-possession structure.)

Going position by position in the current squad, Spurs already have plenty of players that would suit this set-up.

. In goal, Lize Kop in goal is good enough on the ball, around top 5 league average for cross claiming and - at time of writing - has been about neutral in terms of shot-stopping with her 68% shots saved this season. Eleanor Heeps has shown promise in the few appearances she has made this season and has clearly become 2nd choice keeper as Rebecca Spencer was allowed to leave on an emergency loan to Chelsea. 

. At RB, Ella Morris has been one of the brightest players for Spurs in what's been a really dim 2025. Her speed, ball-carrying and stamina on the right flank would have to facilitate most of the wide threat on that side. Charli Grant hasn't made much of an impact in the year that she's been a Spurs player but could probably do a decent job in this role with her pace off-ball. 

. Right-sided CB is a contentious position for the future. Luana Bühler has put in the best performances on that side, but is on an expiring contract (which is probably likely to be renewed). Clare Hunt was initially the starter in this role for the opening half of the season but failed to instill much confidence. Josefine Rybrink hasn't really had much time in that role and almost certainly won't stay beyond the summer. Amy James-Turner has only made one appearance from the bench this season and hasn't made a teamsheet since playing against Aston Villa in the Conti Cup in late November for unknown reasons. Spurs may look to bring in a starting quality player here in the summer to stem the defensive rot from this season.

. Left-sided CB is a bit easier. Molly Bartrip has been this season's iron woman for Spurs, having played every game in the WSL so far. She's Spurs' best ball-playing defender and one of the vice-captains, who will probably get a new contract in the summer. Piggybacking off of the previous section, it'd be a help if spurs did bring in another defender that could play either side of the CB pairing. It'd also help if they're capable of winning aerial duels at a decent rate and strong enough to not get out-muscled by the stronger 9's in the league.

. The LB slot doesn't have an immediate need for improvement as Amanda Nildén and Ash Neville are both serviceable on that side, even if both are in down seasons. Nildén has been able to pose a decent enough threat overlapping in the final 3rd, and Ash Neville's defensive numbers have been as good as ever, seeing her make a ridiculous 3 successful tackles a game at over 75% success rate. One tweak that Spurs could make is to look to bring in a left footed CB/LB that could create a back 3 to allow Morris to have a higher starting position in settled possession.

. The 6 role would be taken up initially by Eveliina Summanen. She's been one of the most consistent players during Vilahamn's time in charge as the deeper pivot in the midfield 2 so far, and her presence was sorely missed in the games she was absent for due to her injuries. Olga Ahtinen initially formed a good partnership with Summanen in 2023/24. Unfortunately, after her injury early on in her Spurs tenure, she found herself slowly frozen out of the starting XI and even the subs bench. I think it's pretty unlikely that she'll be with Spurs next season, especially after she nearly joined Hammarby in February/March time. Bringing in a backup 6 in the summer would take off some of the initial load the Finn has to carry and, provided Spurs look at u-23 holding midfielders, could get a chance to develop a player for the long term in that role. Someone in the mould of a Katrina Gorry type 6 would actually be ideal to disrupt opposition midfields/forwards and quickly carry the ball upfield.

. The outside 8 roles are where I've had a bit of fun in interpretting. Partly inspired by her performance away against West Ham, Olivia Holdt could fulfil a half-winger role by providing some width but allowing either Morris or Nildén the freedom to stretch the pitch horizontally. She's also shown that she's press-resistant in tight spaces and creative enough to make chances in half-space channels. Maite Oroz would fulfil a deep-lying playmaker role aiming to get the ball up to the forwards and number 10. Whereas Holdt specialises in carrying the ball, Oroz's passing is her main form of press-resistance as she's able to put great disguise on her passes and her passing vision is arguably the best in the current squad. I'd also like to see Matilda Vinberg in the type of role described for Olivia Holdt but on the left side. Drew Spence and Anna Csiki could also play as 8's, as well as the 10, and would be good options on the ball. Kit Graham's contract runs out in the summer, but she has been quite an important player in recent seasons and I'd have no problem with her getting a contract extension so she can hopefully get some minutes when she's finished rehabbing her ACL. 

. The player I want to see for Spurs at number 10 is where I'm willing to put my name on a non-spurs player coming in this summer.

Werder Bremen's Larissa Mühlhaus would be my pick to come in as a 10/9 option for Spurs. At 5'10 she'd give Spurs a good out-ball if they end up needing to play up the pitch directly, as she's good at linking up play both aerially - an area that's a real problem for Spurs at the moment - and in tight spaces. The 22 year-old is capable of scoring from creative areas and can take free kicks, as she's scored 6 goals while providing an assist this season for an up and coming Werder Bremen team. Holdt, Drew Spence and Anna Csiki (although the Hungarian has mostly played as a double pivot this season) can all play the 10 role. 

. The 9 roles would see Jess Naz going into wide channels and looking to run in behind to provide a threat from long balls and knock downs, whereas Beth England would be able to focus solely on getting in the box to get on the end of cut-backs and finish chances. As mentioned earlier, Larissa Mühlhaus can also play as a 9 in a front 2. Young forwards, Lenna Gunning-Williams and Araya Dennis also would be able play as 9's to fulfil the role that Jess Naz would be asked to play. Martha Thomas, Rosella Ayane and Hayley Raso look unlikely to get contract renewals - in the case of the first two - and Raso would struggle to find a role in this system.

This 24/25 version of Spurs' team looks unconfident and a shell of the previous season's team. It's pretty clear that following runners has been a serious problem for quite a bit of the season and should be a fix that Robert Vilahamn could make. As already stated, the initial transition into the 442 diamond could take some time, but I believe it could be a long term solution that could rejuvenate the squad and better fit the Swedish coach's style of play.