What does it really mean to be the best of the rest in the WSL?
For many years, teams have jostled to try and chase the league’s elite and break into the previously established top four, but ultimately failed. This season, with Arsenal’s poor start and Manchester United’s European push looking unlikely, there finally is an opening for one of the league’s chasing pack to secure a Champions League space, while also pushing out a historically big name.
In part one, we looked at whether London City Lionesses or Manchester United are proving to be the ‘best of the rest’. Now it’s time to look at Tottenham, Brighton and Liverpool.
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur have been an entertaining watch this season. Currently fourth in the table, the club have operated at two extremes this season, scoring and conceding in bulk.
They have scored 23 goals and conceded 17, and the north London derby aside, they have tended to do one or the other in games this season.
They have lost three straight games after a strong start, conceding six in games against Chelsea and London City.
Tottenham moved early in the transfer window this summer, bringing in seven players and bolstering their squad in line with Martin Ho’s vision for attacking football.
They replaced the departing Beth England with Kirsty Hanson and Shekiera Martinez, and added depth to their defensive unit with club-record signing Alice Sombath from OL Lyonnes, who sadly ruptured her ACL in the derby last month. These additions came after the exciting signings of Signe Gaupset and Julie Blakstad in January this year.
Given how well he has been backed in the transfer window, the club believes Ho is the man to carry them to new heights after leading Spurs to their joint-best league finish in the WSL last season.
Style of play evolution
Ho is another disciple of ball-dominant play, building with short passes and finding solutions with wide overloads in the final third. They set up in a 4-2-3-1 and rely on their centre-backs (Tōko Koga and Caitlin Dijkstra) and midfielders (Drew Spence and Gaupset) during the build-up phase, pushing both full-backs high into the attacking third.
The left-back (Blakstad) is usually seen underlapping the winger on the left-hand side, while the right-back holds the width down that flank. Gaupset also moves forward to support possession sequences. Striker Cathinka Tandberg is the focal point of a system built around overloads.
