Tottenham compounded Liverpool’s woes with a 2-1 victory at Brisbane Road, extending Gareth Taylor’s side’s search for their first points of the season. It was an illustration of the parallels and contrasts between two teams who are, in a multitude of ways, on relatively similar trajectories in the Women’s Super League but who are equally experiencing contrasting fortunes in the opening stages of this season.
With this win, Spurs consolidated their fine start to life under Martin Ho to remain fourth, while Liverpool are rooted in the danger zone. The disparity between the two is underlined by the data – Tottenham are the team who have outperformed their expected points by the biggest margin this season; Liverpool are the ones who have underperformed the most.
The similarities of their journeys are clear, not just in the manner they have yo-yoed up and down the leagues in recent seasons but in the upheaval they have gone through. Both have undergone significant change in leadership over the summer and both were relatively slow to appoint a new manager. Ho came into post in July, a month before Taylor at Liverpool, and neither was given the financial resources or adequate time to recruit significantly. They inherited sides low on confidence after difficult campaigns and in dire need of new energy and direction.
Ho has managed to adjust the quickest to enhancing the capabilities and covering the frailties of his new team. The 35-year-old is known to be an astute tactician and has openly spoken about his desire for his team to play on the front foot and express themselves. Against Liverpool, Olivia Holdt and Drew Spence enjoyed the freedom to roam and find the pockets from which to pull the strings, supported by the marauding runs of Amanda Nilden and Jess Naz.
This energy and creativity were epitomised by a player-of-the-match performance from the former. The young Dane provided the assist for Toko Koga’s equaliser before displaying her passing range, sending Nilden through to set up Bethany England for the winner.
“She’s a wonderful talent,” her manager praised. “You can see her ability. Her talent doesn’t have a ceiling. If we can get her in the right spaces on the ball, she can affect the game much more.”
While clear in how he wants his team to play, Ho is not a manager who is tied to one way of playing. This is the significant contrast with Taylor who has a clearly defined style that he has continued from his days at Manchester City without necessarily possessing the types of player that his system needs.
His problems have been compounded by a series of major injuries – Marie Höbinger and Sophie Román Haug suffered anterior cruciate ligament injuries before the recent international break, for example – which left him with just two fit recognised strikers for this trip. Beata Olsson’s first goal for the club, giving them the lead after 11 minutes, will have come as welcome relief.
His main concern will be, however, the tendency of his team to drop away after bright starts, a frustrating inconsistency that has been one of the themes of their campaign.
While not reflected in their results, there has been evident progress as players get up to speed with what their manager wants and the understanding grows.
Context is also key and Taylor has had to guide his side through one of the most difficult times off the field after the deaths of the former manager Matt Beard and the kitman Jonathan Humble.
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There is no blueprint for that kind of heartbreak and it is understandable that it will have inevitably affected performances.
“It’s tough,” Taylor said. “We all need support at the club because we’ve had a lot that has happened. On the pitch, we’re not getting the necessary results that we want. Of course, we don’t expect to be top of the league. We’re realistic. We’re at the start of a long project. But you want to see some positive moments. We’ve seen glimpses. We’re just not able to sustain it across 90 minutes.”
Taylor would have been hoping that the international break would have acted as a reset for his team but a late injury to Mia Enderby was an added blow. He will now have to wait yet another week to see if his side can find a way to kick their season into life.
