Martin Ho has overseen a remarkable turnaround at Tottenham. From an 11th-place finish two seasons ago to one of the WSL’s most exciting and progressive teams, and just one of four unbeaten sides this season after three games. How close are Spurs to closing the gap on the division’s elite?
Tottenham Hotspur’s 7-0 victory over Crystal Palace may have been the performance that turned heads in the Women’s Super League this weekend, but the foundations for such a display have been building for some time.
Just over a year ago, Spurs were coming off an 11th-place finish and searching for a new direction. While there had been flashes of progress in earlier seasons, including fifth- and sixth place finishes in 2021-22 and 2023-24 respectively, their slide towards the bottom end of the table in 2024-25 underlined the gap that still existed to the league’s leading clubs.
Since Martin Ho’s arrival in July 2025, however, that trajectory has changed dramatically.
Tottenham collected a club-record 36 WSL points in Ho’s first season in charge, winning 11 matches and returning to fifth place. Indeed, that points tally was the most ever by an English manager in their debut season in the competition.
Since taking the reins, Ho has overseen 13 WSL victories in just 25 matches, with only Manchester City (21), Chelsea (17) and Arsenal (16) winning more games in that period.
And their start to the 2026-27 campaign suggests that progress has continued.
Spurs are one of only four unbeaten teams remaining in the division, and sit second in the table after three matches, just behind Man City.
Tottenham are currently enjoying a six-match unbeaten run in the competition, equalling the longest in the club’s WSL history, and the first since such a six-game streak between October-November 2023. The challenge now is sustaining that momentum.
They face the third-toughest fixture run in the division over their next five WSL games according to the Opta Power Rankings, coming up against London City Lionesses, Chelsea and Arsenal.
That makes their start even more intriguing.
Spurs won four of their opening five WSL games last season, before winning just seven of their remaining 17. This time around, Ho will be hoping his side can bridge that gap to the league’s elite, and, crucially, sustain their strong start across the entirety of the campaign.
The meetings with the ‘big four’ will provide a significant test, but there is growing evidence that Spurs are closer to that level than they have been before.
So, how exactly has Ho transformed them?
Vertical, Aggressive and in Control
Ho’s emphasis on brave, front-foot football combined with defensive discipline is already evident in Tottenham’s early-season performances, none more so than their 7-0 victory over Crystal Palace.
While the visitors were helped by Palace being reduced to 10 players after just seven minutes, scoring seven goals at WSL level is no simple task. After all, this was a Palace side that had drawn 0-0 against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium just a week earlier despite facing 30 shots.
The manner of Tottenham’s dominance was particularly striking. Spurs registered 42 shots, the third-highest total in WSL history, and the most ever recorded by an away side in the competition.
They also amassed 82 touches in the opposition box, the most by Tottenham in a WSL match and the joint fourth-highest total ever recorded in the league. No team had reached that figure since Chelsea managed 82 against Leicester City in December 2024.
On top of that, the game was goalless at the break, with all seven goals coming in a ruthless second half.
There were standout individual performances.Olivia Holdt became just the second Tottenham player to score a WSL hat-trick, after Martha Thomas against Aston Villa in October 2023, while Amanda Nildén‘s late goal perfectly captured the collective nature of Spurs’ attacking play.
Nildén’s 86th-minute strike came at the end of a 37-second move involving nine different Tottenham players, the most players involved in a single WSL goal this season.
The sequence featured 14 passes, with only Kirsty Hanson‘s goal against West Ham earlier this season (15) coming after a longer passing move in the competition. In fact, only one goal in Tottenham’s entire WSL history has been scored following a longer passing sequence, with Jessica Naz’s strike against Manchester United in April 2024 arriving at the end of a 16-pass move.
Those passages encapsulate what Tottenham are becoming under Ho. Possession is not being used merely to control matches. Instead, Spurs are progressing the ball quicker than they did in 2025-26 while maintaining a similar number of passes per sequence, illustrating a style built on patience but also purpose.
The aim is to move opponents, break lines and create overloads in dangerous central and half-space areas around the penalty box; an identity that has become more pronounced across the new season.
The underlying numbers show that evolution. Tottenham are one of only four unbeaten sides remaining in the WSL and currently sit second in the table. Alongside Man City, they have scored a league-high 11 goals while their 72 shots are bettered only by Chelsea (82).
Crucially, Tottenham’s attacking ambition has not come at the expense of control.
Chelsea are the only side yet to trail in a WSL match this season, but Spurs have spent 50% of their playing time in a winning game state, a figure bettered only by London City Lionesses (59%) and Chelsea (81%).
They have also conceded just two goals in their opening three matches, their strongest defensive start to a WSL campaign since 2021-22 (one goal in first three games).
Furthermore, only Chelsea (56), Arsenal (44) and Liverpool (39) have forced more high turnovers of possession – possessions that start in open play and begin 40 metres or less from the opponent’s goal – this season. Only Chelsea (13) have had more shots than Spurs (11) following this high turnovers. This reflects their desire to win the ball back quickly and sustain pressure high up the pitch rather than retreat into a defensive shape.
The sample size remains small and sterner tests await. Yet the early evidence suggests Spurs are not merely beating weaker opponents, but are doing so in a way that increasingly reflects Ho’s footballing philosophy: progressive, proactive and relentlessly attacking.
Closing the Gap
Beyond the stylistic changes, the clearest measure of Ho’s impact can be found in Tottenham’s results.
After guiding Spurs to a club-record 36 points and an immediate return to fifth place in 2025-26, Ho has continued to accelerate the club’s progress.
His 13 league victories in just 25 WSL matches match the total achieved by predecessor Robert Vilahamn in 44 games, while his points-per-game average of 1.72 is the highest of any Tottenham manager in the competition.
The improvement has been reflected across almost every attacking metric.
Spurs scored a club-record 35 goals last season, created a record 43 big chances and accumulated 510 touches in the opposition box, also a club high. Their average possession figure of 51.6% was the highest recorded by Tottenham across a completed WSL campaign, underlining the greater control Ho has sought to establish.
Just as impressive has been the resilience instilled within the squad. Tottenham won four league matches from losing positions in 2025-26, with only Chelsea in 2019-20 (five) ever recording more comeback victories in a single WSL season. Their 12 points won from behind were the most of any side in the division last term.
Individual quality has also become more evident within a stronger collective framework. For the first time in club history, Spurs had two players finish among the WSL’s top 10 goalscorers in the same season, with Holdt (eight goals) and Bethany England (seven) both featuring .
There are still hurdles to overcome nonetheless.
Ho is yet to register a league victory against any member of the WSL’s traditional top four, though the gap is narrowing.
Spurs have averaged 0.38 points per game against those opponents under Ho, almost double their return of 0.20 before his arrival, while their defeat rate has fallen from 88.9% to 62.5%.
Away from those fixtures, however, Tottenham have become considerably more ruthless. Spurs boast a 100% WSL win record under Ho against West Ham, Aston Villa, Brighton, Leicester City and Crystal Palace. Among all teams in the division during that period, only Man City have maintained a perfect record against more opponents (eight).
That progress is reflected in the broader league table since Ho took charge. Tottenham’s 43 points are the fourth-most in the WSL during that period, behind only Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal, while their 13 wins are likewise bettered by only those three clubs.
There is still ground to make up, with Arsenal sitting 13 points ahead over the same timeframe. However, Tottenham’s start to 2026-27 suggests they are moving in the right direction.
A Squad Built for Ho’s Football
If there was one decision that raised eyebrows ahead of the season, it was Tottenham allowing club-record WSL goalscorer England to join Crystal Palace. England’s 32 league goals had made her one of the defining figures of Spurs’ rise in recent years and replacing that output looked a significant challenge.
Instead, Spurs have doubled down on Ho’s longer-term vision with recruitment over the past 12 months being both aggressive and targeted.
Spurs broke their transfer record this summer to sign defender Alice Sombath from OL Lyonnes after investing heavily in Signe Gaupset in January, while Hanson, Shekiera Martinez, Caitlin Dijkstra, Victoria Pelova and Selma Panengstuen have further strengthened a squad that now looks considerably deeper than the one Ho inherited.
The club’s age profile highlights that evolution.
Last season, among players featuring for 60% or more of available WSL minutes, only one had spent less than a year at the club by the end of the campaign. This season, four players who have been at Tottenham for less than a year feature among those playing 80% or more of league minutes.
At the same time, the proportion of minutes played by players in their peak years has risen from 50% to 59%, creating a squad that is both refreshed and entering its prime.
Several of those additions over the past year have become central to Tottenham’s emergence under Ho, and no player has embodied the transformation more than Holdt.
Since Ho’s appointment, no Spurs player has recorded more shots (52), shots on target (20), final-third passes (288) or chance-ending carries (10).
She also leads the club for touches in the opposition box (78) and big chances (7) during that period. Her importance was already clear last season, when her eight league goals were worth 10 points to Tottenham, a figure matched by only Khadija Shaw across the division.
Gaupset has quickly become another key creative outlet. The Norwegian has created more chances than any Tottenham player under Ho (29), while no Spurs player has either attempted more shots (10) nor created more chances (10) than her this season. Only Drew Spence (428) has completed more successful passes in the opposition half than Gaupset’s 333 since Ho took charge.
Pelova has also made an immediate impact following her move across north London from Arsenal. Her brace against Crystal Palace opened her account for the club, while her 24 touches in the opposition’s box are the most of any Spurs player in the WSL this season.
Further back, Toko Koga has become a cornerstone of Tottenham’s build-up play. Since Ho’s arrival, no Spurs player has completed more passes than Koga (1,113), while among players to attempt at least 300 passes, only Clare Hunt (91.0%) has a higher pass completion rate than Koga’s 88.8%. Out of possession, only Amanda Nildén (117) has made more recoveries than Koga (101).
Alongside them, Spence continues to provide the connective tissue in midfield. No Tottenham player has attempted more passes ending in the final third this season (68), while her 86.8% passing accuracy is the highest among Spurs players to have played at least 50 minutes.
The result is a squad that feels increasingly aligned with its manager’s ideas, capable of executing Ho’s high-tempo, progressive style.
Looking Ahead
Whether Tottenham can sustain their impressive start remains to be seen, particularly with a challenging run of fixtures on the horizon. However, the evidence since Ho’s arrival points to a club moving in the right direction.
The style of play is clearer, the performances are more consistent, and the squad is increasingly tailored to the manager’s demands. From record-breaking attacking numbers and greater control in possession to a recruitment strategy focused on players entering their prime years, Spurs look far removed from the side that finished 11th just two seasons ago.
The toughest test will be translating that progress into victories against the WSL’s established elite. Yet with an unbeaten start to the new campaign, Tottenham appear better equipped than ever to challenge the league’s traditional hierarchy.
Enjoy this? Add Opta Analyst as a preferred source by clicking here.