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The series began with our Legacy Number No 1 and goalkeeper, Joanne Ayre….

First of all, how did you get involved with Spurs?

“In the summer of 2011, I got a call from Karen Hills (Spurs manager at that time) and if an ex-women’s football player of that calibre says ‘I would like you to trial for us’, what more do you say? Well, I did say yes, but I could only train Thursday evenings as Tuesday evenings I used to coach. At that point, I was waiting for the 'you’re not for us' line, but instead she accepted that. I remember turning up for a friendly game at New River Sports Centre on a cold rainy evening ready for the match - and that’s where it began.”

Talk to us about your time with the Club?

“I was brought into the Club as an experienced Southern Premier League goalkeeper at the time, having played in the league for a few years with another club. As 2011 was the first time in the Club’s history playing in the Women's National League pyramid, it was about establishing ourselves in the league and aiming to finish around mid-table. One of the happiest moments for me was in the 2011/12 season, where we won the cup final and I was awarded Manager’s Player of the Season. I spent three seasons at the club playing in the Southern Premier League.”

Recently we announced our Legacy Numbers and you are number one, how does that make you feel?

“I loved being ‘Jo Ayre – number one’ during my years at Spurs and I was happy with just that. As a lifelong Spurs fan, there’s no other shirt I would want to be wearing or representing. There have been many number ones before and after me, and many still to come to experience that feeling. It’s a phenomenal feeling and now, thanks to the Legacy Numbers and the alphabetical order, I get that feeling back and be number one forever in the club’s history. It makes me feel connected to the Club again and the fans.”

You recently had the opportunity to meet our current number one, Lize Kop, do you manage to keep up to date with the current squad and what are your thoughts?

“It was an honour meeting another Spurs number one. I was also introduced to some of the other goalkeepers and discussed senior football with them. Life is busy as I have two young children and although I’m not able to watch many games live, I do make sure I catch up on the match highlights or any televised games. Since the introduction of games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a couple of seasons ago, I have made every effort to get to those, taking my little girl along with me and I love hearing her shout out ‘Come on You Spurs', and this is the year I will start bringing my son too. As for thoughts of the current team, we have laid down good foundations and with the new additions this season with WSL experience, alongside some new young talent into the English league, we are starting to embed our style of play. There is still, as always, learning to be done, but I have high hopes for this season. I love seeing the increased fan base and how every player is inspiring the next generation, while also giving fans the opportunity to experience a fantastic stadium.”

Lastly, what have you been up to since your time at the club?

“Since leaving the Club, I played a further three years at another club before seeing out my retirement from playing as it was affecting my career/day job. COVID hit, and I felt a bit lost having played football from the age of 13, always being in a team, so I began to struggle. I didn’t want to go back to being a goalkeeper, so I focused on taking up a new sport as a forward. I still throw myself around, but this time it’s to score goals and not save them.”

Our captain started each of the four fixtures played across September and October for the Netherlands as his nation continued their unbeaten start in the UEFA Nations League with a 2-1 home win over Serbia in Group A2.

Micky lined up for his 28th cap as Teun Koopmeiners put the hosts ahead on 31 minutes only to be pegged back four minutes later by Serbia's Mihajlo Cvetkovic before Joshua Zirkzee ensured the victory with 15 minutes left to make it two wins and two draws.

The centre-back, however, was forced off in the 90th minute appearing in some discomfort with his hand after bravely challenging Luka Jovic inside the box late on as the Dutch had to see the game out with 10 players having used all their substitutes.

Over in Group A4, Ben Davies captained Wales on his 104th cap but fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat to Denmark in Cardiff.

Goalkeeper Danny Ward had produced two fine close-range saves to deny the visitors in the second half before then conceding a penalty which Rasmus Hojlund converted in the 75th minute. Ben was replaced by striker Kieffer Moore in the 83rd minute as the Welsh chased a late equaliser but it wasn't to be for Craig Bellamy's side.

In League B, Group B3, Kevin Danso - on loan at Sunderland - made his 39th appearance and played the full contest as Austria draw 1-1 in Kosovo to continue their unbeaten start.

Elsewhere, Omar Marmoush also put in a full shift on his 58th cap as Egypt were defeated 1-0 by South Africa in a home friendly in Cairo to conclude his international break.

Monday's action

SPURSPLAY

Our unbeaten start to the 2026/27 campaign ended abruptly at the hands of London City Lionesses as they inflicted our first defeat of the season following a clinical performance in front of goal.

Midfielder Alexia Putellas had a brace by the 34th minute with Kadidiatou Diani scoring in between her goals to give the visitors a three-goal advantage at the break. Danielle van de Donk inflicted more pain seven minutes after the restart to net their fourth and while Victoria Pelova quickly responded with her fifth goal of the season, it was a mere consolation by the end of the game.

Diani grabbed her second of the match on 74 minutes to make it five for London City and in the fourth minute of stoppage time, Delphine Cascarino rounding off the scoring with their sixth.

“We were nowhere near the levels we expect as a team,” Martin told us, speaking to SPURSPLAY after the match. “We know that, the players know that and as a collective, we have to own that.

“But this has to be a wake-up call going into the next block of games after the international break because we need to find those levels again where we're competitive, we are winning first ball, second ball, but then we find that kind of speed of decision-making which weren't there also.

“We were reactive in that moment,” when asked about the early goals from London City. “The concentration levels need to be high against these teams. They have a shot, it's saved, they respond quicker than we did. Putellas then scores and against those types of players, if you don't respond quick enough and when she's in those positions, she scores often.

“They have more physicality than us. That's the honest truth. They have more physicality than us in the duels, 1v1s, central, wide. They have more physicality in those duels to either hold onto the ball or to brush us off it, and we needed to show a more competitive edge in those moments, more intelligence in those moments, and we didn't.”

SPURSPLAY

We’d gone into the game in form and flying high in the table, as had the visitors – it was second v fourth at kick-off – but it was the Lionesses who proved the better side on the day, a brace from Alexia Putellas and a close-range finish from Kadi Diani seeing them sail into a three-goal lead with a little over half-an-hour gone.

We proved more of a match for them after the break but found ourselves out of luck at the back, Danielle van de Donk’s deflected effort squirming in before Diani charged down a clearance from Lize Kop to walk in a fifth with just over a quarter-of-an-hour remaining. Substitute Delphine Cascarino compounded our misery in stoppage time.

Victoria Pelova’s fifth goal in three league games established her as our top scorer this term as well as the WSL’s joint-top scorer, but her strike just after the visitors’ fourth proved merely a consolation as we suffered a chastening defeat going into the international break.

The Lionesses punished our sluggish start and got straight on top, Putellas converting clinically from the left angle inside three minutes after Grace Geyoro’s long-range strike was parried by Kop. We saw a flurry of shots charged down in the box at the other end as part of a brief spell of pressure, but the visitors bagged a second on 22 minutes when Lucia Corrales got to the byline on the left and cut back for Diani to prod home. And it got even worse for us on 34 minutes when, after a corner wasn’t fully cleared, van de Donk got away from Amanda Nilden and teed up Putellas to lash home her second for 3-0. Van de Donk rounded Kop moments later but fired into the side-netting, although we did manage to threaten just before the break, Julie Blakstad’s excellent free-kick tipped onto the crossbar by Elene Lete and Nilden’s goal-bound drive blocked in the wake of a corner.

London City extended their lead seven minutes after the restart, though, as Diani drove the ball low into the mix from the right with van de Donk getting the better of Toko Koga to squirm a shot beneath Kop, but the large crowd was given something to cheer almost straight afterwards as Blakstad got down the left and her delivery eventually found its way to Pelova, who picked out the bottom corner with a precise finish to make it 4-1.

Olivia Holdt drilled just wide later on, but London City were always a threat, Geyoro firing over the bar and substitute Nicole Anyomi sending an acrobatic effort off-target before being denied one-on-one by the advancing Kop within seconds of her introduction. The keeper was unlucky with the visitors’ fifth on 74 minutes, though, as she advanced well clear of her goal to dispose of Putellas’ neat through ball, only for her attempted clearance to canon back off Diani, allowing the forward to simply stroll through and roll into the empty net. Cascarino subsequently added the icing on the cake for the visitors in the fourth minute of stoppage time, blasting in from the right angle with Kop getting a touch but unable to keep it out.

Line-ups

Spurs (4-2-3-1): Kop, Dijkstra (Morris 46), Koga, A Nilden, Blakstad, Gaupset, Spence (c), Holdt, Pelova (Martinez 68), Hanson (Vinberg 46), Tandberg. Substitutes (not used): Panengstuen, Sombath, M Nilden, Gunning-Williams, Wijk, Summanen.

London City Lionesses (4-2-3-1): Lete, Fernandez, Kardinaal, Mapi Leon, Corrales (Thomsen 85), Geyoro (Maria Perez 90+2), Arques, Diani (Cascarino 85), Putellas (c) (Goodwin 90+2), van de Donk, Godfrey (Anyomi 70). Substitutes (not used): Earps, Linari, Parris, Kafaji.

Match data

Goals: Spurs – Pelova 53; London City Lionesses – Putellas 3, 34, Diani 22, 74, van de Donk 52, Cascarino 90+4.

Yellow cards: Spurs – A Nilden 69.

Referee: Megan Wilson.

Venue: Brisbane Road, Leyton.

Weather: Sunny, light winds, 21 degrees.

Attendance: 2,377.

PRATT, John Arthur (1969-86)

Position: Midfield

Height: 5ft 8ins

Weight: 10st 3lbs

Born: Hackney, East London, 26 June,1948

Signed from amateur November 1965

Transferred to Portland Timbers, free

Also played for: Portland Timbers

Spurs Record:

Debut: 24 March, 1969 v Arsenal (FL) (a) lost 0-1

Appearances: League 307(24), FA Cup 23(5), League Cup 27(4), Europe 24(1)

Goals: League 39, FA Cup 2, League Cup 7, Europe 1

John Pratt was a player totally committed to Spurs, a player who, in today’s parlance, ‘played for the shirt’. The fact he played over 400 games for the club just backs up his importance to the cause.

Our former winger, Terry Medwin, spotted Pratt playing for Brentford’s youth team and recommended him to the Club. Initially a centre-half, Pratt never grew big enough to fill that berth but height and build were not so important at wing-half and he soon moved to that position.

He signed professional for us in May, 1965 and made his debut at Highbury in March, 1969, playing alongside Peter Collins as we were hit by injuries to Mike England and Phil Beal. Ray Evans also made his debut and the two youngsters did remarkably well in a makeshift defence, only a thunderous strike from well outside the box giving Arsenal the points. Pratt played most of the remaining games that season but with the new campaign, found himself on the fringes of the first team.

It was only following the disappointing FA Cup exit to Crystal Palace in early 1970 that Pratt got another real chance, Bill Nicholson ringing the changes to the team as a result of that Eagles defeat. Pratt was given the number eight shirt but had to step down with the arrival of Martin Peters.

Pratt continued to work away and eventually got his reward with a regular place in the starting line-up following Alan Mullery’s return to Fulham, only to sustain an injury in the first 20 minutes of the 1973 League Cup Final with Norwich City. Small consolation came in the 1974 UEFA Cup Final when he played in both legs.

The mid-70s to the end of the decade was not the best of times for us but things would have been a lot worse were it not for Pratt’s performances. He was always leading from the front,

working ceaselessly and giving everything he had. Whether it was snapping into a tackle, hustling back to cover in defence or tearing forward to support the attack, he never stopped working.

Often overlooked are the goals he contributed, a stunning, swerving 25-yarder against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final in December, 1972, among the highlights. Pratt was only outscored by John Duncan in the 1975-76 season.

While naturally disappointed by our relegation in 1977, the Second Division campaign that followed was one of his best. Ever-present, he contributed seven goals, his two edge-of-the-box volleys at Notts County in January, 1978 being particularly memorable.

Back in the First Division he found his place taken by Ricky Villa as the season got under way but was recalled after the 0-7 drubbing at Liverpool to add a bit of steel to midfield. Without Pratt doing the dirty work, Ossie Ardiles and Glenn Hoddle would not have been half as effective.

Reaching his 30s, Pratt was released in May, 1980 and spent three years with Portland Timbers before returning to us as youth team coach. Elevated to reserve team coach, he moved up to assistant manager under Peter Shreeves until the pair of them were dismissed in May, 1986.

His association with the club continued as he turned out for the Spurs Legends XI and became a familiar face in the hospitality areas at White Hart Lane and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium working as a matchday host.

That's exactly the situation members of our Boston Spurs Official Supporters’ Club found themselves in on Saturday as they took their places at LongCross Bar and Kitchen ahead of our Premier League clash against Villa.

Xavi turned up for the early kick-off at the popular Spurs bar located in Medford, just north west of downtown Boston, as a surprise whilst he is in the United States on a training camp.

Once there, he was welcomed by Boston Spurs, one of our most established Official Supporters Clubs in the States - and we have more OSCs in the USA than any other Premier League team.

Xavi has travelled to the United States for a training camp as he recovers from the ACL injury he sustained in April.

SPURSPLAY

Oli's goals just kept getting better as she broke the deadlock from close range just after half-time, then fired into the roof of the net to double our lead and rounded off her afternoon's work 17 minutes from time with a stunner from outside the box on her first league start of the season.

Our number 11 became our second player to score a WSL hat-trick - after Martha Thomas against Aston Villa in October, 2023) - and opened the floodgates for what was to follow as we added four more to the scoreline following her substitution on 74 minutes.

Victoria Pelova's brace and one from Shekiera Martinez got them up and running in a Spurs shirt plus a maiden goal of the campaign for Amanda Nilden romped home our advantage over 10-player Palace and moved us up to second place on goal difference after three league games.

Since the start of February, only Manchester City striker Khadija Shaw (12) has netted more goals than Oli (eight) in the top flight. It was also her fourth career hat-trick having done so for former sides Hjorring and twice at Rosengard.

Our creative midfielder took 77 per cent of your Player of the Match vote to win the prize in a poll hosted exclusively on our Official App.

Player of the Match | 2026/27

Liverpool 1-1 Spurs – Lize Kop

Spurs 3-1 West Ham – Kirsty Hanson

Crystal Palace 0-7 Spurs - Olivia Holdt

Player of the Match awards | 2026/27