For £44.99 it it still possible to buy online, should you be so inclined, a giant framed photo of Rehanne Skinner in her Arsenal gear.
The Tottenham head coach has always pointed to her three years on the other side of north London as assistant to Laura Harvey and Shelley Kerr – when the Gunners won the first two Women’s Super League titles – as the inspiration behind her later career.
Spurs may be indebted to their rivals, in some indirect way, to their surprise disruption of the top four but eight years after Skinner left Borehamwood, it is a new regime at Arsenal that they will have to stop in their tracks if they are to improve their woeful record in north London derbies.
If Tottenham are to overcome the old enemy for the first time in the WSL, it will bring to an end a perfect start for Jonas Eidevall’s table-toppers, but they will need to improve drastically on their two derbies under Skinner which they lost 3-0 and more recently, 5-1 in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
Eidevall is adamant that, with Arsenal subsequently reaching the final and also juggling a European push, Arsenal have the depth to be able to cope with fighting on so many fronts. That is despite the early part of the season being interrupted by injuries, most recently with Tobin Heath, Jennifer Beattie, and Viktoria Schnaderbeck all missing out on the trip to Koge on Wednesday night.
“The turnarounds are quick between the games so it requires a lot of hours,” Eidevall said. “And in that case it starts with us as a staff group to do that work – if we fail with our preparation then we give the signal to the players it’s not important.”
What is Women’s Football Weekend?
Across Women’s Football Weekend, every WSL match will be shown on either BBC, the FA Player, or Sky Sports.
Always positioned during the men’s international break to showcase the best of women’s football, it takes on added significance this year, as all its matches were held behind closed doors in 2020. There are derbies between Birmingham City and Aston Villa, Spurs and Arsenal, and a meeting of last season’s top two as Manchester City host Chelsea.
Whether the Champions League is a priority or not, nobody will be taking Spurs lightly with just one WSL defeat all season. That came against Brighton a month ago, though they only narrowly avoided a 1-0 reverse against Manchester United, Ria Percival’s free-kick duping Mary Earps for the equaliser deep into injury time.
Prior to that run, Spurs had kept pace with Arsenal at the summit – but perhaps it is unrealistic to expect to match a side who have not conceded a league goal since the opening weekend of the season against champions Chelsea. Since then, they have scored 20 without reply in just five games.
Skinner will at least have Rachel Williams available alongside Kit Graham in attack, with the forward having returned from suspension against United after her red card at Brighton. Alternatively, Spurs could revert to a 4-2-3-1 again, though they’ve also experimented with a 3-4-3 and a 4-3-3 this term.
However they have lined up, Skinner’s emphasis on possession has typically paid off; in that way, she is the antithesis of Eidevall, who cares little for how much of the ball Arsenal boast. Yet what has differentiated Tottenham under Skinner is their improved fitness, thanks in no small part to their full-time move to Hotspur Way, the club’s state-of-the-art training facility in Enfield.
Saturday’s game will be a test of not only Spurs’ credentials on the pitch, but of their ability to attract fans off it – particularly at The Hive. Twice previously the north London derby has been held at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and with added scrutiny on the relatively low attendances this season – including for England’s recent World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland at Wembley – the latest Women’s Football Weekend will be a big test of the FA’s hopes of increasing matchday numbers.
WSL fixtures
All KO times GMT
Saturday 13 November
- Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal – 1.30pm (BBC One/BBC iPlayer)
Sunday 14 November
- Everton vs Manchester United – 12.30pm (Sky Sports Premier League/Sky Sports Ultra HD.)
- Birmingham City vs Aston Villa – 2pm (The FA Player)
- Brighton & Hove Albion vs Leicester City – 2pm (The FA Player)
- Manchester City vs Chelsea – 3pm (Sky Sports Premier League/Sky Sports Ultra HD)
- West Ham vs Reading – 3pm (The FA Player)
The FA Player will also be broadcasting a number of Women’s Championship fixtures, including Liverpool’s trip to Durham and Crystal Palace’s derby with Charlton.
Manchester City, likewise, will host Chelsea at the Manchester City Academy Stadium rather than the Etihad. The novelty of playing at the larger stadia may have worn off, but Gareth Taylor’s side will hardly be complacent heading into the weekend seventh in the table and having watched Emma Hayes’ outfit sweep aside Servette 7-0 on Tuesday evening.
Taylor is under huge pressure, with reports linking former Barcelona boss Lluis Cortes with his job. As City were swept aside 3-0 in their last meeting with Chelsea in the FA Cup in October, Taylor received huge criticism over his system as the defence – which he had tried to organise in a back three – looked totally disjointed and could easily be exploited by Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby, who ripped apart the Swiss champions in midweek.
Elsewhere, Everton face Manchester United in the other televised game of the weekend (other fixtures are available via The FA Player). The Toffees headed into the new season expecting to be where Spurs are now, making a statement among the elites but instead find themselves scrambling near the relegation zone having lost four from six games. United, meanwhile, have won just one of their last four WSL matches.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3D5cTAg
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