Life is looking markedly brighter for the women’s team than it is for the men up here on the blue side of north London.
While Thomas Frank is contending with reports that he could soon be shown the door in the wake of another disappointing result, Tottenham Women eased past WSL rivals Leicester to book their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
They were knocked out at this stage of the competition last season, but a clutch of fresh faces and a new manager in the dugout have ensured the shadows of last year are no longer lingering.
If the arrival of the 35-year-old English coach Martin Ho in the summer was intended to kick-start the sputtering engine Tottenham have been over the past few years, then the January arrivals of Signe Gaupset and Maika Hamano could yet prove to be the masterstroke.
‘For both of us, English isn’t our first language, but we can talk with football,’ Hamano said of their promising on-field connection at full time. ‘We don’t need a language – we can connect with just our brains.’
Twenty-one-year-old forward Hamano arrived earlier this month following a frustrating spell on the fringes of Chelsea’s jam-packed squad of superstars. She repaid the faith shown in her first start here, posing a constant threat with her darting runs down the right wing. She almost marked the occasion with a goal, her early glancing header gratefully claimed by Leicester goalkeeper Janina Leitzig, before coming close again late on when her outstretched boot narrowly failed to meet a cross into the box.
Twenty-one-year-old Hamano arrived earlier this month following a frustrating spell on the fringes of Chelsea’s jam-packed squad of superstars and she shone in her first start here
The arrival of the 35-year-old English coach Martin Ho in the summer was intended to kick-start the sputtering engine Tottenham have been over the past few years
Gaupset, meanwhile, is just 20 years old and this was only her second appearance since arriving from Ho’s former side, Brann. The luck of the draw meant both outings came against Leicester, and such was the promise of the midfielder’s bright start against the Foxes in the WSL last weekend that she spent much of this contest trying to shake off a dedicated man-marker.
While Tottenham’s first two goals were credited to other names in the Tottenham squad, in truth both belonged to the Norwegian youngster.
For the first, Gaupset turned her marker before dribbling past three Foxes players and unleashed a shot from the edge of the box, which was parried away by Leitzig. Bethany England was ready and waiting to pounce, nipping in for the perfect poacher’s finish.
The second arrived midway through the second half, as Gaupset burst towards the byline and cut the ball back into the middle. Drew Spence’s effort took a hefty deflection before trickling into the back of the net, eradicating any fears of a late Leicester comeback. Lena Gunning-Williams’ third was added merely for the fun of it.
And it was another positive afternoon in what is shaping up to be an enthralling season under Ho, who rallied and demanded more from his eleven players in white throughout the game.
What is becoming clearer with every passing game is the desire of the 35-year-old to avoid the fate of his recent predecessors.
Those reigns of Rehanne Skinner and Robert Vilahamn were both marked by historic highs: a best-ever fifth-place league finish under the former and a maiden FA Cup final appearance under the latter. Yet both were dismissed after failing to build on those green shoots.
They departed two years apart, with the team flirting with relegation on both occasions. In Skinner’s case, it was left to her assistant, Vicky Jepson, to steady the ship during the closing months of the 2022–23 season.
Gaupset burst onto the scene at this summer’s Euros in Switzerland, but Ho had long been aware of her talent, having coached her at Brann and played a key role in her move to Spurs
Vilahamn, meanwhile, was spared only by a worse-off Crystal Palace side, who were relegated last June after collecting just 10 points from 22 matches – only 10 fewer than Spurs themselves.
As such, the Martin Ho era began amid relative caution. The young Englishman arrived with just two years of senior managerial experience at Norwegian side Brann, having previously served assistant coaching stints at Manchester United and Everton.
Yet these first six months could hardly be going any better. Midway through the season, Tottenham have already amassed more WSL points than they managed across the entirety of the previous campaign. They sit level with Arsenal in the top flight, with only goal difference separating them from a European spot and their noisy neighbours.
And based on this performance, Ho is clearly intent on competing strongly on all fronts, well aware of the value of a strong FA Cup run after being part of the Manchester United staff that helped guide Ella Toone and Co to a Wembley triumph just over two years ago. It is not a question of either/or. It is, hopefully, both.
‘I don’t want to go into any game – whether it’s FA Cup, Subway League Cup, or the league – not wanting to win,’ Ho said at full-time.
‘I don’t want to come into a competition and just allow it to be a development opportunity for players to get minutes. This club wants to be successful, I want to be successful. I want to win.’
And that is where Gaupset and Hamano come in – two young stars ready to ease the burden on captain Bethany England’s shoulders. Ho was keen to stress their youth, yet equally clear about the heights he believes they – and his team – can reach.
Gaupset burst onto the scene at this summer’s Euros in Switzerland, but Ho had long been aware of her talent, having coached her at Brann and played a key role in her choice to move to north London over other European suitors.
Gaupset and Hamano may be able to ease the burden on captain Bethany England’s shoulders
Of her performance here, Ho said: ‘She was probably at times trying to do too much. She always does because she’s that type of player and she wants to take risks. But for both her performances, for someone who’s just come in from off-season, she looks sharp. She’s probably at 30, 40 per cent to be honest.
‘She’s settled in quickly, going about her work really well, and now she’s started to show flashes of what she’s capable of.’
As for Hamano, he added: ‘She’s versatile. She can play in numerous positions. We saw today she was on the left side, right side and in the number 10. She’s a technically wonderful player, very intelligent. Still got lots to learn and she’s still young.
‘She hasn’t had a lot of minutes at this level but she’s a wonderful player and I think we can add so many more layers to her game.’
The jigsaw pieces, it seems, are falling into place at just the right time.
