The start to the 2023/24 Women’s Super League season couldn’t have gone much better for Tottenham and Martha Thomas.
The Scotland international completed a move to North London on deadline day from WSL rivals Manchester United and has been a resounding success in the early stages of the campaign. The 27-year-old already leads the league’s goal-scoring charts with six to her name, ahead of Brighton’s Elisabeth Terland in second with four goals.
Spurs themselves sit third in the league standings, with only Manchester City and Chelsea above them. They’ve fallen to just one defeat under new manager Robert Vilahamn - a 2-1 loss against current champions Chelsea on the opening weekend.
Since then, they’ve beaten Bristol City, Brighton and Aston Villa. Saturday’s 4-2 victory against Carla Ward’s side last time out was made possible by a sensational hat-trick from Thomas, along with a goal on the brink of half-time from Ashleigh Neville to put the Lilywhites in front.
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Tottenham’s form is even more impressive given they’re without last season’s taliswoman Bethany England. The Lionesses star joined the club from Chelsea for a domestic record fee of £250,000 in January earlier this year and inspired the team out of a relegation fight, despite the upheaval with managerial changes.
After representing the Lionesses at the World Cup over the summer, England underwent a minor surgical procedure on her hip in September and has been sidelined ever since. The club didn’t put a time frame on her return, but the arrival of Thomas on transfer deadline day was intended to ease the blow of the striker’s absence.
Thomas has done exactly that and then some. It’s fair to say she is absolutely thriving at Spurs and has already matched in just four games her goal tally for the last two seasons at Manchester United.
Her current form may well give manager Vilahamn a huge selection headache when England returns to the fold. Nevertheless, her performances have impressed the boss in recent weeks.
“I haven’t changed too much,” Vilahamn said after Tottenham’s win against Villa over the weekend. “I just let her be on the pitch!
“When you use her in that way and as a nine, she gets a lot of players moving around her. Which means she ends up in a good position all the time.
“She’s so sharp when she gets the chances and scores goals. When you look at her, she’s so dominant right now and she’s scored six goals already. The main thing is how she defends as well.
“That’s the nine I want right now and she’s doing it brilliantly.”
To start the season, Spurs have predominantly played in a 4-2-3-1 with Thomas through the middle and Celin Bizet and Jess Naz on the wings and Grace Clinton in the 10. Once England returns, the manager may be tempted into a slight tactical shift in order to get both forwards on the pitch.
Thomas is confident the pair can form a deadly partnership this season that will instil fear into any opponent they come up against. “(It can be) very lethal,” she told the media on Saturday, speaking on the potential link-up with the club’s new captain.
“She (England) scores a lot of goals as well, so we’re excited for it. She’s doing great in rehab, so I think teams will not be excited to play us.”
Vilahamn himself has previously insisted it won’t be an issue getting both in the team when England returns to full fitness and hinted that he can tweak the formation to utilise the skills of all his players. It’s certainly a happy headache for the manager to have, with the potential of having two of the division’s most prolific strikers at his disposal this season.
If Spurs are to cement their place in the top half of the table, after a pretty underwhelming campaign last term, the striking duo fit and firing on all cylinders could be pivotal this term.
