Since their arrival in the FA Women’s Super League, Tottenham Hotspur Women have consistently struggled in one area more than most: scoring goals. In the 2021/2022 campaign, Rehanne Skinner’s side scored 24 goals; by comparison, the top three WSL teams all scored in excess of 60 goals. For added context, Chelsea’s Sam Kerr was the league’s top scorer during that season with 20 goals to her name.
The current campaign initially proved to be much of the same with Spurs only managing to find the back of the net 11 times in the WSL during the first half of the season, eight of which came in a victory against Brighton and Hove Albion. They were slightly more fruitful in front of goal in the cup competitions against lesser opposition, putting five past Coventry United Ladies as well as victories against Reading and Southampton. Looking to put an end to their goalscoring profligacy, the Lilywhites agreed to pay a British transfer record fee of £250,000 to acquire the services of Chelsea forward, Bethany England.
As she had fallen down the pecking order under Emma Hayes, England welcomed the move as she requires regular first-team football to aid her bid to secure a place in Sarina Wiegman’s England squad for the upcoming 2023 World Cup. England, a consistent goalscoring threat throughout her time in the WSL, has already drastically improved the attacking output at Spurs despite her short time at the club.
The xG improvement
England played her first game in a Tottenham shirt on the 14th of January 2023 so the xG map from the start of the 2022/23 season to her arrival demonstrates some of the issues within the Spurs attack. In total, Rehanne Skinner’s side found the back of the net 18 times in their 12 games with eight of them in the aforementioned victory against Brighton.
In contrast, Manchester City, who had played the same number of games during this period, found the back of the net 28 times. As expected, Manchester City also had a significantly higher number of shots, 214 compared to 134. Tottenham’s number of expected goals (xG) throughout this timeframe was 14.65, their 18 goals scored was an over performance on this number indicating they were scoring low-quality chances. Moreover, this was one area in which they outperformed City as Gareth Taylor’s side were underperforming their xG by 4.46.
Prior to England’s arrival, Rehanne Skinner had deployed seven different players in the striker position including Drew Spence, Ellie Brazil and Rosella Ayane, none of whom provided sufficient attacking threat. Looking at the Tottenham Hotspur xG map since England made her debut, they have scored nine goals in five games meaning they have already scored half the number of goals they managed previously in a much shorter time frame.
With nine goals from 38 shots, Tottenham have averaged a goal every 4.2 shots since they acquired Bethany England, whereas previously, they were averaging a goal from every 7.4 shots. This represents a massive upgrade and indicates that England’s recruitment is already proving to deliver a positive influence in the attacking third.
Specifically examining Bethany England’s xG map supports the theory that she is providing an improvement to the attacking phase of Spurs’ play. Having scored four goals in five games from an xG of 2.86, it is clear that England possesses a natural goalscoring ability as she is able to convert low-percentage opportunities which will increase the likelihood of Tottenham scoring goals which of course, will increase the odds of them winning games and therefore increasing their points tally.
Working the channels
The thing about Beth England is that she is so much more than ‘just’ a goalscorer. She has a wonderful ability to drift into wide areas — which creates plenty of space for fellow teammates to exploit down the centre of the pitch. This dispersal is key when a team is transitioning from the defensive phase into the attacking phase of play. Under Rehanne Skinner, Tottenham have looked to defend in a compact shape, by England moving out wide, she offers the team a viable passing option during the transition period and increases the likelihood of Tottenham retaining possession.
England’s touch maps from Tottenham’s two most recent games, against Manchester United and Chelsea, clearly demonstrate that she enjoyed plenty of touches of the ball in the wider areas of the pitch. However, given that Spurs have been using a 5-4-1 formation recently and are set up to defend in compact blocks of 5 defenders and 4 midfielders, England is often isolated especially as her current club does not enjoy the same dominance of possession as she was used to at Chelsea. The images below show how England took the opportunity to make a run from a Spurs throw-in which created space for other players to potentially exploit.
The duels
Beth England provides Tottenham with a great physical presence upfront as she is more than willing to enter into duels for possession both on the ground and in the air. During her time at Spurs, she has engaged in 71 ground duels, coming out as the successor in 33% of them compared with winning 25.6% of her duels during her time at Chelsea this season.
Of course, England would have had to battle less for the ball whilst playing for Emma Hayes’ side as they typically enjoy a higher amount of possession per game than Tottenham. This number is also likely to be affected by the quality of the pass she is receiving, the players at her former club are slightly more technically gifted therefore the passes will be more accurate, so she would not have had to battle for possession as often.
The fact that Bethany England is willing to engage in these duels goes a long way to demonstrate her work ethic and willingness to do the hard work. This will be especially pleasing to manager Rehanne Skinner as her new striker has found herself to be isolated for long periods of the game when Spurs are out of possession, something she would not have been used to at her previous club.
The Tottenham centre-forward frequently uses her physical presence to form a shield around the ball, preventing the defender from making a clearance or interception. This enables teammates to move up the pitch in support and allows there to be more opportunities for the creativity and innovation principle to appear in Spurs’ attacking play. The longer she has to integrate with her teammates, the better they will develop an understanding and the Tottenham attacking players will make the off-the-ball movements that England requires to not only hold the ball up well but to then link up with a teammate.
At Chelsea, England averaged 8.12 defensive duels per game, unexpectedly that number is much higher at Spurs as she is averaging 14.4 per game. Whilst this is certainly not surprising it indicates that she is adapting to the style of play which Rehanne Skinner is currently demanding from her group of players. The new signing can also be found leading the press from the front which is something Tottenham could look to use to their advantage in the future should they be willing to be slightly more adventurous than their sold two banks of 4 and 5 when defending from the front.
Conclusion
Bethany England has only been a Tottenham Hotspur player for a short amount of time but is already proving to be a great acquisition for them. She provides them with a lethal goalscoring threat which is something Rehanne Skinner’s team have been lacking for several seasons. England has an undeniable work ethic which means she is willing to put the time in and do the hard graft, holding the ball up and battling with opponents.
During her tutelage under Emma Hayes at Chelsea, she spent time being deployed as a winger which has clearly enabled her to develop an exceptional knowledge of how to use the space out wide to her team’s advantage. As Tottenham look to cement themselves as a team capable of challenging for a Champions League place, they are improving their recruitment and it appears that Bethany England is the first piece of that puzzle. In order to progress they should look to build a team around their star striker as she has the experience and the ability to fire Spurs up the WSL table.
With Ellen White having opted to retire after the Lionesses Euro 2022 success, there is a place up for grabs as Sarina Wiegman’s starting number 9. Whilst Manchester United’s Alessia Russo may be the favourite to make that spot her own, if Bethany England continues her good form for Tottenham, there is no reason why she cannot put herself in with a chance of leading the line for the Lionesses at the World Cup.
Comments