Guardian writers’ predicted position: 5th (NB: this is not necessarily Suzanne Wracks’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips) Last season Tottenham matched their best Women’s Super League season with a fifth-place finish. However, they ended with four points more than in 2021-22 and closed the gap on fourth from 10 points to four. That is all the more impressive given their 11th place the preceding season.
It’s fair to say then that Martin Ho has rejuvenated the side. That has come with increased support from the wider club. This summer their recruitment strategy has turned heads with top young talents such as the club-record signing Alice Sombath and the goalkeeper Selma Panengstuen added alongside experienced WSL performers such as Shekiera Martinez and Kirsty Hanson.
The club secured their top five targets early in the window too, to give the team as full a pre-season together as possible. They secured three friendly wins, against Granada and Birmingham, which sandwiched a 2-1 defeat against Real Madrid, and Bristol City. Their 5-0 defeat of Bristol City was particularly pleasing for Ho, who said: “As I’ve said to the players, we have a good enough squad with depth in it that we can really compete.” The manager is working his players hard, with many speaking about the intensity of training.
Martinez said: “The intensity is really high, the training has been really tough, so I can’t wait until the league starts.” Players are enjoying the burn, though, because they have bought into Ho’s vision for the way the team should play and his and the club’s ambitions for the short, medium and long term. How well Tottenham will do when other teams are also investing heavily is hard to predict, but many regard Spurs as the dark horses who could frustrate the top teams and big-spending London City Lionesses. Backing for the women’s team has ramped up a gear from top to bottom after the departure of the former chair Daniel Levy.
The arrival of Vinai Venkatesham as chief executive in April 2025 has probably played a part, given his vocal and active backing of the Arsenal women’s team while he was at Tottenham’s rivals. There has been some change this summer, with Andy Rogers departing as managing director of the women’s team after 24 years at the club in various roles. Financially, the club have increased their investment in the women’s team, with turnover up from £3.39m in 2023-24 to £4.41m in the year ending June 2025.
Their next accounts will probably show further investment. In July the club were dealt a blow after a high-court decision to block plans for a new women’s and girls’ football academy in Whitewebbs Park. Ho was patient in his approach to the squad he inherited last summer, keen to not write anyone off despite their flirtation with relegation.
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