The New York Times

Despite there being no Premier League football last weekend, two notable sporting events were taking place only a few miles apart.

At Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon, the Brazilian men’s national team played a friendly against Senegal in front of 58,657 people. Across north London that night, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium hosted a boxing rematch between Chris Eubank Junior and Conor Benn.

There were around 65,000 people in Spurs’ home ground to witness Benn win by unanimous decision in a fight that fell short as a spectacle when compared to their brutal first bout — won by Eubank Jr — in April.

This Sunday, however, there will be drama aplenty as top-flight football returns to the Emirates, with Arsenal hosting Tottenham, their fierce local rivals.

As the current Premier League table indicates, Arsenal are in the ascendancy out of the two clubs. They have a fantastic manager in Mikel Arteta, a brilliant squad, and have already shown themselves to be the team to beat in the English top flight this season as they attempt to win a first league title since the 2003-04 season.

Although Arsenal are far superior to Tottenham on the pitch, it is no secret that they are playing catch-up off it when compared to their closest neighbours.

Spurs’ state-of-the-art stadium is the envy of the Premier League and has been widely considered one of the best venues in Europe since it opened in April 2019 — after a three-year build — at a cost of £1.2billion ($1.6bn).

The Emirates, now nearly 20 years old, remains a spectacular ground in its own right, and one of the best in England, but it has aged quickly over the past six years due to the competition it faces from the blue-and-white part of north London.

Whether it is hosting the biggest music artists, annual NFL matches, boxing events or housing the F1 Drive — an electric go-karting track — under the South Stand, Spurs’ stadium is light years ahead of Arsenal’s home.

“They (Tottenham) make an awful lot of money (from the stadium),” Frank Warren, a boxing manager and founder of Queensberry Promotions, tells The Athletic. “Look at what they derive from football and compare that to what they get from other events.

“And that is money that Arsenal, for example, won’t be getting.”

As part of their agreement with Islington Council, Arsenal can host six non-football events attended by more than 10,000 people per calendar year. Only three of these are allowed to be music concerts.

Spurs, on the other hand, can host up to 30 non-football events. That is an increase on the 16 Haringey Council’s Planning Committee previously permitted them to stage after the club were granted permission to increase the cap in December last year. Under the original agreement, music concerts were limited to a maximum of six.

This followed on from Spurs, as reported by the BBC, breaching its licence after Beyonce added a fifth show in 2023, meaning the stadium would be hosting seven concerts, not six.

As part of the new agreement between the club and Haringey Council, there is no longer a cap on the number of such gigs they can host, so long as it remains within their limit of 30. When it comes to boxing, however, the stadium is only allowed to stage two events a year.

One other important detail is that the Emirates has a noise curfew of 10.30pm, meaning any event would need to have finished by then, whereas the curfew at Spurs — something that is granted by the local authority — is 11pm.

“I personally think Tottenham is one of the best stadiums in the world,” Frank Smith, the CEO of Matchroom Boxing, told The Athletic. “Hospitality offerings are a key part of the commercials on our events, and Tottenham is unrivalled in that respect.

“An issue we have also always had with Arsenal is their strict curfew of 10.30pm, compared to 11pm at a number of stadiums. This is restrictive for us for the main event times.”

Since opening in 2019, Tottenham have hosted multiple boxing events and NFL matches, as well as some of the biggest names in music, including Guns N’ Roses, Lady Gaga, Travis Scott, Post Malone and Kendrick Lamar.

Beyonce returned there in June for a run of six sold-out shows as part of her Cowboy Carter Tour.

“The groundbreaking series of concerts welcomed over 275,000 fans and grossed over £45,000,000, making it the most tickets and highest gross for any artist in the stadium’s history,” a statement on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium’s website read.

To ensure they attracted the biggest names in music, Tottenham left no stone unturned by hiring an acoustics specialist who had worked with U2 to make sure the sound inside their new home would be great for football and concerts.

The Emirates tends to host a couple of concerts each year after the football season ends in May, having welcomed Robbie Williams this June and previously hosting Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, Green Day and The Killers. Boyzone will play two dates at Arsenal’s stadium next summer.

But an advantage Tottenham have over the rest of the Premier League is that they can host such events during the football calendar, due to their retractable pitch. This is a feat of engineering now replicated by Real Madrid as part of their renovation of the Bernabeu, and a reason why Arsenal have to wait until the summer before hosting non-football shows.

The LED boards at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium are an important factor when hosting other events because, instead of having to take physical posters down and put the relevant ones up inside the ground, it is all done digitally in a matter of seconds.

In this regard, Spurs built their stadium with technology — be it by installing wi-fi or LED boards — in mind. But when the Emirates was being built in the early 2000s, the first iPhone hadn’t even been released, and people weren’t living their lives online to the extent they do today.

The accounts football clubs publish at Companies House do not state how much they are making from hosting non-football events.

But because Tottenham’s ground — via Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Limited — is registered as a separate entity with Companies House, there is a disclosure of the revenues being generated by third-party attractions.

For the financial year ended June 30, 2024, there were revenues of £126.5million, resulting in an operating profit of £29.2m ($38.4m). From Premier League gate receipts alone in 2023-24, the stadium generated £45.1m, with their premium (hospitality) revenue totalling £52.9m. And although not every third-party event is broken down, the collective hosting of NFL matches and concerts led to £25.5m in revenues.

Even though there will be costs associated with putting on these events, they are turning a profit, and that money can be spent on whatever Spurs want to spend it on — including new players for Thomas Frank’s first-team squad.

“We even did a (boxing) show there in December, which is nuts when you think about it because of the weather,” adds Warren. “Hospitality sales are normally retained by the stadium. Food and drink (sales income) is retained by Tottenham, for example. That is normally what happens. We’ve done deals with stadiums where we get a percentage of those sales, but Tottenham want to retain all of the hospitality sales and so on.”

What Spurs have been able to do over the past six years has prompted other clubs to try to go down the same route. Manchester United have unveiled plans for a new stadium, Chelsea have been thinking about moving for some time, and Everton moved into the Hill Dickinson Stadium earlier this year.

The powers that be at Arsenal, most notably their American owners the Kroenke family, have been giving some thought to what could be done at the Emirates from a redevelopment standpoint as they seek to maximise the club’s revenue streams. There will be multiple options on the table in terms of increasing the capacity and modernising and digitising the stadium experience, but, as it stands, there is no formal plan.

The big question for Arsenal on this front is how big and how far they want to go when it comes to redevelopment. They are constrained by the space available at the site so, realistically, they have to either build up or dig down.

But until Arsenal decide on what they want to do, how much they want to spend to do it, and get the required permission from their local authority once they have a plan in place, it all remains theoretical.

“I would love to do it there (put on a boxing show at the Emirates), because I am an Arsenal fan,” Warren adds. “After one stadium is built, you learn from it and they keep improving — and that is what happened with Tottenham.

“It looks like Arsenal are going to get consent to add to the capacity, which will make the Emirates a better proposition, but the problem they have will be what the local authorities do to help them make it more viable.”

Antoine Semenyo started his season with a double against Liverpool at Anfield and has continued on the same goalscoring path.

As we head into the Premier League’s return this weekend, he is the joint-third top scorer in the division, having bagged six in 11 games. Semenyo has also provided three assists (joint-fourth), marking him out as an incredibly effective player in the final third.

It would be no surprise if teams were circling Semenyo, and The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported on Monday that Bournemouth have reluctantly accepted that they might struggle to stop him from leaving the club in the January window.

Semenyo was wanted by Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in the summer. Though the signed a new contract until 2030, there is a limited-time release clause worth £65million, as reported by David. The figure drops even lower in the summer.

Semenyo has recently been linked to Liverpool, Manchester City and Spurs.

Here, The Athletic’s experts explain whether the 25-year-old would fit in at their clubs — and why he might benefit from a longer stint at Bournemouth.

Manchester United

Why would they want him?

Semenyo is an intelligent, two-footed ball carrier with plenty of speed to burn, so he ticks many boxes on Ruben Amorim’s shopping list. The head coach is well acquainted with the goalscoring threat of Semenyo, who scored against United home and away last season.

He would ideally work as the right-sided attacking midfielder in United’s 3-4-3, but can play on either wing and has the defensive acumen to adapt to one of the wing-back positions. Amorim is fond of two-footed wide players, allowing him to coach greater rotations between his front three and wing-backs in the final third and better break down stubborn defences. The Ghana international’s pacey dribbling and much-improved shooting form, as demonstrated in the graphic below, which shows how he has become more selective with his shots, would also make him another excellent counter-attacking option on a team that is at its most dangerous in attacking transitions.

Furthermore, he would fit into INEOS’ recent approach to the transfer market as a young, Premier League-proven football player with a desire to work hard in and out of possession.

Can they afford him in January?

At £65million, a January deal would be difficult. United spent more than £200m on a trio of attacking purchases in the summer, so might have to wait to make another big signing in the forward positions.

United held talks on Semenyo before signing Bryan Mbeumo in the summer, having decided Bournemouth’s £70m valuation was too high.

Amorim will likely be underpowered in attacking areas following Mbeumo and Amad’s departure for the Africa Cup of Nations (Semenyo’s Ghana did not qualify for this year’s edition), but may have to make-do with existing options within his squad, rather than push for another attacker.

That Semenyo’s best position is taken by Mbeumo at United further complicates matters. Semenyo fits within United’s squad, but to properly use him in the starting line-up, the club may first have to solve issues in central midfield, most likely with another expensive signing.

Carl Anka

Tottenham Hotspur

Why would they want him?

Spurs were in the market for a left-winger in the summer, with Semenyo one of their early targets. After he signed a contract extension in early June, their focus was directed toward Manchester City’s Savinho, but their interest could be revived.

Having addressed the right side of their attack by signing Mohammed Kudus, adding an outstanding forward to play on the opposite side should be among their top priorities in the forthcoming window. Semenyo fits into Tottenham’s plan to complement their young talents with international stars coming into their prime years, and would bring an X factor to an attacking line that has relied heavily on Kudus and Xavi Simons, who is adjusting to English football, to create.

Given Spurs’ need for an outstanding left-winger and their longstanding interest, pursuing Semenyo seems a no-brainer.

Can they afford him in January?

Alongside and after the pursuit of Simons, Tottenham were in the market for further attacking reinforcements, eventually completing the deadline-day signing of Randal Kolo Muani on a season-long loan deal.

They are on track to comply with the league’s profit and sustainability regulations, so Spurs could explore a deal to sign Semenyo in January. Due to the pressing need for a left-winger and the opportunity to sign one of the league’s outstanding players at a price many consider to be below market value, Spurs fans will be keen to see their club approach this deal with urgency.

Elias Burke

Liverpool

Why would they want him?

Liverpool only have two senior wingers that head coach Arne Slot trusts — Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah. Opting against signing a like-for-like replacement for Luis Diaz, who was sold to Bayern Munich in the summer, has left them short in wide areas.

Had Salah and Gakpo replicated the form that helped Liverpool win the league last season, then this may be a different debate. Instead, both have struggled and Slot has been reluctant to use Federico Chiesa or 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha. Liverpool played down any links to wide players in the summer as they wanted to avoid blocking Ngumoha’s pathway, but that has been detrimental in the short term.

Summer arrivals Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike could shift to the left, but it is neither player’s natural position.

Slot wants his wide forwards to carry a goal threat and be strong in one-on-one situations, an area Semenyo excels in. His pace would be a welcome addition to Liverpool’s front line, and he is two-footed, so could play on either flank. As the graphic below shows, Semenyo is positionally versatile.

Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth are a pressing side who are strong in transition, and those characteristics were pivotal to Liverpool’s success last season. He would also add another piece to the ‘Life after Salah’ jigsaw Liverpool are putting together.

Can they afford him in January?

Given the club spent just under £450million on new players in the most recent transfer window, you might assume the answer would be no.

However, their attempts to sign Marc Guehi on deadline day showed there were more funds available for the right player. That was helped by what was recouped from player sales, a figure that could rise to £260million.

Liverpool remain in a strong financial position, but the bigger question is whether a winger would be the club’s top priority in January. If they do make a new signing, centre-back depth — especially after Giovanni Leoni suffered a long-term knee injury in September — may be what they decide to address instead.

One of Liverpool’s problems this season is appearing to have changed too much, too quickly. Another big-money addition does not guarantee all of their issues will be fixed.

Andy Jones

Manchester City

Why would they want him?

A hallmark of every Pep Guardiola team has been incisive wide players who can eliminate opponents in one-versus-one situations and contribute double figures in goals.

As much as Jeremy Doku looks to be improving his end product, Guardiola admitted in his press conference after the 3-0 win against Liverpool that it is unlikely the Belgium winger will ever be one of City’s top scorers.

Savinho and Oscar Bobb do not quite have the killer instinct in the final third yet, either. It means City have not quite replaced the output of Riyad Mahrez, or even Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling.

The reliance on Erling Haaland has become pronounced, and Semenyo would offer a direct threat from either wing, improving City on the counter-attack.

City are developing into title contenders. Adding Semenyo would be a statement, the arrival of a peak-age player who could be relied upon to be a match-winner.

Can they afford him in January?

They have spent heavily in the last two windows, but they also allowed some high earners to leave.

It is a younger squad, and there would be enough financial headroom to do a deal. Any addition would likely require a forward to leave to free up space, though, as Guardiola has a wide range of options for his front three positions.

Jordan Campbell

Bournemouth

Why should he stay?

It now seems inevitable that Semenyo will make the step up to a bigger Premier League club in the near future. But how many of the interested parties would offer a better environment for the 25-year-old to thrive?

Semenyo’s thrilling skill set is put to optimal use at Bournemouth. He’s a powerful, two-footed winger who can blast through disorganised defensive structures — no player has scored more goals on the counter-attack this season than Semenyo, while only Liverpool have taken more shots from fast breaks than Bournemouth since Iraola took charge. He is a head coach who places a real emphasis on hard-hitting attacks whenever his team turn over the ball.

That’s not to say that Semenyo can’t help break down a lower block. Take a look at his first goal against Fulham this season; receiving the ball out wide, drawing defenders in with a series of stepovers and shimmies, before bursting through the gap, driving to the byline, and somehow slamming a finish under the goalkeeper at the near post.

Semenyo’s imposing physique and ability to strike the ball cleanly on either side mean he has all the tools to dominate crowded penalty areas, but patience would be required should he move to a more possession-dominant club.

At Bournemouth, Semenyo is the spearhead of an exciting project, working under a coveted manager, with state-of-the-art facilities opened in April. While they don’t (yet) offer the glitz of the Champions League, 60,000-seater stadiums and premium paydays, they do provide a trusted base for Semenyo to get even better, even if it’s just for a couple more years.

Thom Harris

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Thomas Frank has described being interviewed by Manchester United and Chelsea on the same day in May 2024.

The 52-year-old Danish coach, who was still managing Brentford at the time, has described meeting with United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in London before walking across Battersea Park to speak with Chelsea at a hotel in the English capital.

Erik ten Hag was the incumbent United manager at the time, while Mauricio Pochettino was in the Stamford Bridge dugout. Ultimately, Ten Hag stayed at Old Trafford until his sacking in October 2024 — being replaced by Ruben Amorim — while Chelsea appointed Enzo Maresca that summer after parting company with Pochettino.

“Sitting down to talk to two of the ten biggest clubs in the world — two hours apart — is quite unique,” Frank told Danish outlet TV 2, ahead of the release of his forthcoming book that details the meetings.

“I know I didn’t get either job, but it was still huge. I remember walking through Battersea Park between the two interviews and thinking: “Thomas Frank from f***ing Frederiksværk – am I really experiencing this?”

Frank remained at Brentford for the 2024-25 season ahead of his appointment at Tottenham this summer, which he describes as “a crazy job and a crazy challenge”.

He spent seven seasons at Brentford, including overseeing their promotion to the Premier League in 2021, and has won eight of his 18 matches in charge of Spurs so far this term.

Thomas Tuchel spoke to Djed Spence to remind him of the responsibilities of being an England player after the Tottenham Hotspur full-back ignored his club manager Thomas Frank earlier this month.

After Spurs lost 1-0 at home to Chelsea on November 1, 25-year-old Spence and team-mate Micky van de Ven were filmed walking straight past Frank as he told them to go out and acknowledge the home crowd at the end of the match.

Spence and Van de Ven both went to Frank’s office the next day to apologise unprompted, with Frank insisting that there was “no disrespect meant” and that they were “just frustrated”.

Tuchel, 52, has kept faith with Spence, and said on Saturday evening that he did not consider not calling him up for this month’s camp. But Tuchel revealed that he has spoken to Spence about the incident.

“I didn’t like it,” Tuchel said, ahead of Sunday afternoon’s final World Cup qualifier away in Albania. “Because the players know they are not only national players when they are ten days in camp. They are always national players, and the standard of behaviour is always important.”

England have a chance to complete their qualification campaign with an eighth win out of eight in Tirana. But Tuchel has also reminded his players not to pick up any red cards that could leave them facing a suspension when the World Cup starts in June.

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo picked up a needless red card in their qualification defeat in Dublin earlier this week. He is currently waiting to hear the length of his suspension for the offence. Wayne Rooney was banned for the first two games of Euro 2012 after getting sent off in a qualifier against Montenegro in October 2011.

Tuchel will tell his players before the game not to get sent off. “It is important, I’m aware of it and we will talk about it,” Tuchel said. “No red cards please.”

Tuchel even said that because England have already qualified for the World Cup, that it would make more sense to avoid a red card and suspension, even it left England defensively exposed.

“Because we are through, if we are in a position with the last man, and if the player holds the shirt he gets the red card, if there’s a doubt then it would be smarter not to do it,” Tuchel said. “I don’t want to make it too big a subject because then you have a cloud above you. But if you have the choice: don’t do it.”

England will be without Ezri Konsa in Tirana, who has not travelled to Albania after feeling tightness in his calf. Marc Guehi will also miss the game having been unable to shake off a foot injury he sustained before the international camp. This means that Dan Burn or Jarell Quansah will likely partner John Stones at centre-back.

“Last year was the best year ever on reflection,” Andy Rogers, managing director of women’s football at Tottenham Hotspur, tells The Athletic on a sunny, November Friday. He pauses, ventures a wry smile. “Living it was the worst. Obviously.”

That’s the funny thing about crucibles. Knowing it all ends OK requires making it through those hot, putrid flames.

And the flames in the case of Spurs’ women are recent enough that the memories stalk back into the room as he speaks: Rogers as the only member of technical staff on a double-decker coach with the squad in January, riding home after an FA Cup fourth-round defeat at Everton, “six or seven players,” Rogers says, lining up outside a makeshift office on its lower tier voicing angst that something was unravelling; the team then plummeting into a 10-match winless malaise to finish their Women’s Super League campaign — relegation avoided by virtue of Crystal Palace having as good as beaten them to it as early as February.

Sources close to the situation — who asked not to be named to protect relationships — speak of the players losing faith in Robert Vilahamn, the head coach who a year earlier had been the hero of a historic run to the team’s first FA Cup final.

Rogers’ office transformed into a centre of counsel, and he leaned heavily on striker and captain Bethany England to maintain group morale until the end of the season.

Finally, there was the last day of the WSL season, back at Everton, when the full-time whistle blew on a 1-1 draw and players and staff were allowed to collapse. Spurs had finished second-bottom. Tears came, belated and exorcising.

Eight matches into the new campaign, Spurs are fifth in the table, level on 15 points with north London rivals Arsenal, who visit Brisbane Road on Sunday, courtesy of five wins and three losses under Vilahamn’s replacement Martin Ho.

Few, if any, predicted this level of renaissance so quickly.

“People probably predicted we’d have four points by this point,” quips Ho, an Englishman who joined in July after two years in the same role with the women’s team at Norwegian club Brann. “Maybe.”

Ho, too, is smiling, but the journey has not been a fickle twist of fate.

Rather, this is a result of patience and a leadership restructure, most notably the appointment of former Arsenal chief executive Vinai Venkatesham to the same position at Tottenham in April and the hiring of former Everton and Manchester United assistant Ho.

But above all, it has been a journey of gnarled resilience.

Between January and May, the team went into self-preservation mode, says Rogers. Publicly, Spurs backed Vilahamn but Rogers says he knew change was necessary and imminent. The modus operandi was to survive a volatile season, and hope nothing imploded in the process.

At first, Ho thought his agent was kidding.

Nearly two months had passed since Tottenham parted ways with Vilahamn. Given the date was June 29, pre-season was already underway in his mind. But his agent was firm: Spurs wanted to speak. Permission was requested from Brann for them to do so.

Rogers had kept tabs on Ho for over a year. Glowing reviews from players who worked under him while he was at United, as well as former colleagues and competitors, painted a compelling portrait.

There was praise for the 35-year-old Liverpudlian’s blend of tactical nous, commitment to player development and unwavering standards on and off the pitch. The football is front-footed but not dogmatic. “Obsessive” was an adjective used often, endearingly. Defeats came with a post-match ritual: a scribbling of initial thoughts, followed by the game being watched back not once in full but twice. First, non-stop with the commentary on, then with a critical, punctilious eye.

But there was mostly an unyielding respect for Ho’s ability to imbue his players and staff with confidence, even when reading the riot act.

A call from Ho’s former United boss Casey Stoney, now head coach of Canada’s women’s national team, tipped the scales in his favour among the 12 finalists.

“She said, ‘I know Martin’s on your shortlist, and I’m just telling you, from my perspective, he’s simply outstanding’,” Rogers says. “Casey doesn’t give too many references to anyone. I went back to Vinai and said, ‘Even if we were wondering whether Martin was the right candidate — which we did — to get this recommendation from someone like Casey is pretty significant’.”

Put simply: There is no rejuvenation at Tottenham Women without Venkatesham.

His appointment in April was widely viewed as evidence that the club’s vision for a better future included their women’s setup, as one of Venkatesham’s greatest legacies was his influence on Arsenal’s women’s team, having restructured facilities and added a new building at the training ground, while the metered full-time move to playing home games at the Emirates Stadium helped them grow into one of the most successful teams in the world.

The new CEO officially began work in the summer, taking responsibility for all operational matters on and off the field. The women’s team were high on his agenda.

Rogers says Venkatesham’s greatest asset is his understanding and experience in the women’s game itself. “That’s not derogatory to previous leadership,” says Rogers. “Things can move a lot quicker, rather than spending six months explaining what a decision means and why.”

After Brann gave permission for Ho to speak to Spurs, he travelled to London. Four days of talk bled into each other as Ho, his agent, his family, Rogers, Venkatesham, Spurs’ then chairman Daniel Levy and other members of the board thrashed out details and expectations. The intensity and level of granular detail were a baptism for Ho.

Then the calls came.

News of Ho’s appointment broke on The Athletic as toasts were being made over dinner, the club still 24 hours from officially announcing the news. Rogers’ phone rang. Manchester United and England midfielder Grace Clinton, who spent the 2023-24 season on loan at Spurs, was on the other end, asking if the rumours were true.

A full-time technical team was assembled around Ho, with first-team coach Adam Jeffrey joining from the women’s team at London neighbours West Ham United, Ho’s former colleague Lawrence Shamieh coming south from Manchester United as assistant coach and the addition of a new head of analysis in Sara Cullis from Manchester City.

But the scale of the project made itself quickly evident during pre-season. The vestiges of 2024-25 clung on stubbornly. Last season, Tottenham relied on counter-attacks and low blocks. In initial training sessions under Ho, shoulders visibly dropped upon conceding a goal, players subconsciously slipping into timid defensive shapes to avoid letting in more.

“Before, we’d concede a goal and we didn’t show any personality or any character,” Ho says. “You could even see it statistically. Once we’d go one down, our possession stats and entrances into the opposition half and attacking third, they were basically zero last year. But I was like, ‘I’d rather lose 6-0 going on the front foot than not’.”

Ho held conversations with staff, emphasising the need to push players into “a different realm of thinking and confidence”, according to the goalkeeping coach Chris Williams.

“It was all about not going into matches against Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United or Manchester City with fear,” Williams says. “We had to make a real shift technically and tactically, but also mentally.”

Ho chipped away at his players, his efforts eventually manifesting in a pre-season friendly away to Arsenal in August. Three times that day, Spurs hit back after conceding a goal, eventually emerging with a 4-3 win over the new European champions.

“I think everybody after that game looked at each other and said, ‘Oh, we can really build something special here in this group’,” says Olivia Holdt, who signed with Spurs in January but managed only one goal and a single assist in 11 WSL appearances last season. In her eight league matches so far in this one, the 24-year-old Denmark international has already scored more (two goals) and surpassed her 2024-25 shot-creating actions (19 to 17).

“It’s not like we’re a whole new squad, but we played more individually (last season) because we were so broken down as individual players,” Holdt says. “Martin’s come in with a lot of new energy, trying to build our confidence, putting high standards in. It’s been a huge difference.”

But Ho is not a magic elixir. Process requires time on task.

Despite again showing resilience to come from a goal down to 2-1 against visitors Liverpool at the start of this month, defensive lapses against London City Lionesses last weekend saw them suffer a 4-2 away defeat. Defensive naivety, as well as a contrast in individual player quality, exposed them against Manchester City, who they lost 5-1 to at home in September, and reigning champions Chelsea in last month’s 1-0 away defeat.

Recruitment remains a constant conversation point.

Only 19-year-old Japan international centre-back Toko Koga and deadline-day signing Cathinka Tandberg, 21, were brought in over the summer.

Both deals broke the club’s transfer record of £250,000 (set when England joined from Chelsea in January 2023) and have vindicated their price tags. Forward Tandberg, a Norway international signed from Sweden’s Hammarby, has scored four goals and assisted another in eight matches, while Koga has shown herself to be one of the WSL’s best young defenders.

Koga had agreed to join Spurs from Dutch side Feyenoord early last season, but that torrid final 10-match winless run led her to reconsider. When Rogers made a Hail Mary call, he says Koga was already moved into a players’ shared house with another London club. But he and Ho were firm in their sell. By the end of the week, Koga was moving her belongings back out of that house and undergoing a medical with Tottenham.

The January transfer window is expected to be busy, with Rogers keen to ensure there is competition for every position. Another club record transfer fee will likely be paid.

More academy personnel are expected to join over the next year, while long-term stadium plans are being mooted.

Where previous leadership preferred a “one-club” model for marketing and commercial purposes, specific staff members are set to be appointed solely for the women’s team to avoid friction in priorities, Rogers says.

It is not lost on Rogers that Spurs’ women have been here before.

Three years after becoming a full-time setup in 2020, they were staving off WSL relegation on the penultimate day of the season. Twelve months on from reaching the FA Cup final for the first time in 2024, they slumped to finish 11th out of 12, and were on their way to a third managerial appointment in less than five years.

But this time, a three-year plan to break into the Champions League spots is spoken about aloud.

It perhaps explains why the spectre of Sunday’s north London derby at Brisbane Road is not being greeted with the usual whispered anguish — in the 16 previous competitive matches against Arsenal across all competitions, Tottenham have lost 14, drawn one and won one, that 1-0 WSL victory coming in this fixture in December 2023.

“I’m not delusional, we aren’t the finished article,” says Ho. “We’re miles away from where we need to be. But we’ve changed mentality. We’ve changed the competitive edge in the team.

“The thing wrapping all of this up is optimism. It’s my job to make sure we can maintain that from a culture perspective. But that’s a really big thing for me that people can already see where we’re going and where we want to go.”

Joe Lewis, whose family is the majority shareholder of Tottenham Hotspur, is to be given a presidential pardon by President Donald Trump.

Bahamas-based billionaire Lewis pled guilty to insider trading in 2024 and was fined $5million by a New York judge.

Lewis is the founder of ENIC, which owns 87.62 per cent of Tottenham, just over 70 per cent of which is controlled by the Lewis family trust. ENIC first acquired a stake in Spurs in 2000.

The Lewis family have taken an increasingly hands-on role with Tottenham this year, notably since the dismissal of Daniel Levy as executive chairman in September. Joe’s daughter Vivienne Lewis a regular attendee at games, often alongside her brother Charles Lewis and son-in-law Nick Beucher.

Joe Lewis’ pardon will not change either the organisation of the trust or the running of the club. Lewis himself ceased to be a person of “significant control” at Tottenham in October 2022.

Joe Lewis said in a statement: “I am pleased all of this is now behind me, and I can enjoy retirement and watch as my family and extended family continue to build our businesses based on the quality and pursuit of excellence that has become our trademark.”

A source close to the Lewis family added: “Joe and the Lewis family are extremely grateful for this pardon and would like to thank President Trump for taking this action. Over his long business career, Joe has been a visionary, creating businesses across the world which multiple generations of his family are now taking forward. This is why there is so much more to the Joe Lewis story than this one event.”

The Athletic has contacted the White House for comment.

What does this mean for Spurs?

Nothing will change for Tottenham Hotspur. Joe Lewis ceased to be a person of “significant control” in October 2022, according to Companies House, and that will continue to be the case.

He is not a beneficiary of the trust through which the Lewis family has a majority shareholding in the club. The member of the Lewis family most involved in the club will still be Joe’s daughter Vivienne, who has been a regular attender of Spurs matches this season. Her brother Charles Lewis and her son-in-law Nick Beucher have both also gone to games. They will continue their involvement with club matters, which has increased since Daniel Levy’s dismissal as executive chairman in September.

Joe Lewis will not now become involved with the running of the football club.

What did Lewis plead guilty to?

Joe Lewis pled guilty to insider trading in a court in New York in January 2024, or more specifically to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of securities fraud.

At his sentencing in April 2024 he avoided prison but was fined $5million and given three years probation. The case centred on Lewis advising friends on stocks to invest in that were about to increase in value.

Mark Herr, who represented Lewis, said in January 2024: “Mr Lewis is deeply sorry, embarrassed, and apologises to the Court, his family, and all those who have come to rely on him.”

A 19-year-old man has been arrested after allegedly verbally abusing Manchester United midfielder Mason Mount during the Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed in a statement to The Athletic that the individual had been a member of the crowd at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but was removed after it was claimed he had been overheard making the alleged offensive comment by a member of staff, who reported it to the police.

The fan was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of “intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress” and has been bailed pending further enquiries, with the investigation ongoing.

In a statement to The Athletic, Tottenham said they were supporting the police investigation and would take “the strongest possible action” against any supporter found to have used discriminatory language.

“The club is aware of a supporter being arrested for alleged verbal abuse of an opposition player during Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Manchester United,” read Spurs’ statement.

“Prior to the game, all ticket holders received guidance regarding discriminatory chanting and, specifically, homophobic chanting.

“We will now support Met Police in their investigation and, once concluded, any supporter found to have used discriminatory language will be a subject to the strongest possible action in accordance with our Sanctions and Banning Policy. We will also ensure they take part in a fan education programme.

“We work tirelessly with all our supporters’ associations to ensure a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans on matchdays, and have a zero tolerance approach to all forms of discrimination.”

Mount, who was not aware of the abuse, played 19 minutes of the 2-2 draw after coming on for Matheus Cunha with the score 1-0 to the away side.

United have previously addressed offensive chants from fans, particularly those aimed towards players from Mount’s former side Chelsea. In September the club issued a statement outlining their zero-tolerance policy towards “Chelsea rent boy” chants, after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) confirmed in 2022 it considered the term a homophobic slur.

Mount has made 55 appearances for United since moving to Old Trafford from Chelsea in a deal worth up to £60million ($75.7m) in 2023.

“We need Ben to be a better team.”

Ruben Amorim was speaking to reporters after Benjamin Sesko had limped off in the closing stages of Manchester United’s 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. The United head coach saying that Sesko is already an important component in his side may have surprised some given the 22-year-old striker has registered two goals and one assist across 11 Premier League appearances. It has been a mixed beginning to life in England for Sesko, who is finding his feet at a steady, if not spectacular, pace after his €76.5million (£66.4m; $89.1m) arrival from RB Leipzig.

A spell on the sidelines could slow that adaptation and force Amorim to find a way to play without him. Sesko, a second-half substitute at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, went off in the 88th minute after suffering an injury to his left knee following a fine, potentially goal-saving tackle from Spurs defender Micky van de Ven.

The Slovenia striker has withdrawn from international duty and, although United are optimistic the injury is not serious, Amorim will no doubt be considering what his alternatives are before his side return to Premier League action against Everton on November 24.

Amorim suggested in his post-match press conference on Saturday that United could even be active in the transfer market in January but given their significant spending last summer and the need to invest in other areas to improve the squad, spending heavily on an additional striker appears unlikely.

Either way, there are alternatives in the squad already. Sesko has started just six of United’s 11 league games for two reasons. He was a substitute for the first three Premier League games after his arrival, which was late enough in the window for him to miss pre-season at the club.

Amorim has also left him out of his XI for tactical reasons away at Anfield last month and at Tottenham on Saturday, opting to play without a traditional striker in both games. At Liverpool, Amorim did not want the 6ft 5in (196cm) Sesko to provide a focal point for any direct balls, instead prioritising a scrap for second balls in the opponent’s half from Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Mason Mount. It worked and Sesko came on late in the game to vary their play in the 2-1 victory.

At Tottenham, Amad was pushed further forward from wing-back to play as one of Amorim’s attacking midfielders, with Sesko again dropping to the bench, Cunha going through the middle and Mbeumo switching to the left side.

It didn’t work as well. Mbeumo scored from an Amad cross but was less of a threat on the left, while Cunha put in one of his poorer displays since joining from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer. Pushing the Brazilian further forward made it more difficult for him to drop in and carry the ball, or pull defenders out of position.

Mbeumo (Cameroon) and Amad (Ivory Coast) will also be unavailable soon as they head off to the Africa Cup of Nations, which begins in late December with a final on January 18. Noussair Mazraoui, who stood in at right wing-back for Amad, will also head to the tournament, which is being staged in his homeland of Morocco.

Bruno Fernandes could push further forward to play in the No 10 role alongside Mount, with Cunha leading the line. Amorim has frequently said Kobbie Mainoo is competing with Fernandes for the midfield spot alongside Casemiro, so using United’s club captain higher up could open the door to more minutes for the England international. Yet Mount’s ability to stay fit remains in question, and it would limit Amorim’s alternatives on the bench.

The other option is turning to the forgotten striker in the squad, Joshua Zirkzee. The Dutchman has played 90 minutes in total this season across five appearances, including an eight-minute cameo in the Carabao Cup defeat against Grimsby Town back in August.

He has looked understandably rusty and off the pace, given his lack of time in competitive action. With the World Cup to come next summer, the Netherlands international may push for a January move to improve his chances of making Ronald Koeman’s squad, but any hint of a long-term injury to Sesko would close that exit route.

Zirkzee has not scored in the Premier League for nearly 12 months. Since that double in the 4-0 victory against Everton — still the biggest winning margin for United under Amorim — he has started just nine Premier League games. He did score an important goal away at Real Sociedad in the first leg of the Europa League last 16 and against Lyon from the bench in the first leg of the quarter-final before a thigh injury curtailed his campaign. He returned to make a late substitute appearance in the final against Tottenham.

Another injury at the start of pre-season saw him miss most of the summer’s preparations, which will also have contributed to his lack of minutes this term. He is an option but he is less likely to be sharp.

Sesko’s potential absence may open up space on the bench for younger players. Chido Obi, the teenage striker signed from Arsenal in 2024, has been focusing on the under-21s this season to aid his development and has yet to be in a first-team squad. The 17-year-old made eight senior appearances last season, including a Premier League start away in the 4-3 defeat at Brentford. Obi could be promoted to the first-team bench again.

Gabriele Biancheri, another promising striker in the United setup, is playing and has scored for Wales Under-21s but the 19-year-old has yet to break into the first team at Old Trafford.

The Sesko injury could also offer an opportunity for Shea Lacey if more attacking midfielders are on the pitch. The talented 18-year-old, who was born in Liverpool, has overcome injury issues and is regularly impressing for the under-21s and in first-team training. Amorim has kept a close eye on his progression.

When United decided to sign Sesko, they knew Rasmus Hojlund would have to leave for Napoli to balance the books but in doing so, they were also aware their attacking options would be thin.

Amorim will have to hope that their depth, even without a like-for-like replacement for Sesko, can withstand a sustained period of absence. United need to stack up the wins to maintain a push for a European spot.

Tottenham Hotspur striker Randal Kolo Muani will have his jaw injury examined by a specialist on Monday.

Kolo Muani sustained the injury in Tottenham’s 2-2 draw against Manchester United on Saturday, following a first-half collision with Harry Maguire, and subsequently withdrew from the France squad for the November international break.

The striker was substituted at half-time against United and replaced by Wilson Odobert.

Kolo Muani had been called up to the France squad for the first time since June but withdrew from the side on Sunday.

The 26-year-old joined Spurs on loan from Paris Saint-Germain on deadline day and has appeared eight times for the club, recording one assist.

His injury leaves Tottenham without two of their senior strikers, with Dominic Solanke sidelined with an ankle issue. The England international has only played three games this season, coming off the bench in each one, and underwent minor ankle surgery on October 1.

Richarlison is a candidate to lead the line for Spurs, while Mathys Tel is also capable of playing as a central striker. Academy graduate Dane Scarlett could also be in line for more minutes.

Kolo Muani is the latest Tottenham player to be impacted by injury. James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Radu Dragusin remain sidelined with long-term injuries, Yves Bissouma, Ben Davies and Kota Takai are yet to play this season, and Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Mohammed Kudus all missed the United game.

Tottenham return to action after the international break with a north London derby visit to Arsenal on November 23.

Injury adds to Spurs attacking headache

Analysis by Tottenham correspondent Jay Harris

Kolo Muani has endured a frustrating time with Spurs since he joined them on the final day of the summer transfer window. He made his first appearance for the north London side in September’s 1-0 victory over Villarreal in the Champions League but then suffered a dead leg in training which forced him to miss five games.

After recovering from injury, the France international had started four of Tottenham’s last five games and it looked like he had become Frank’s first-choice striker. Kolo Muani has not scored for Spurs yet but impressed in last week’s 4-0 victory over Copenhagen.

Frank will be left in a difficult position if Kolo Muani misses a significant amount of time after hurting his jaw. Tottenham’s club-record signing Dominic Solanke is recovering from ankle surgery which leaves Richarlison and Mathys Tel as the only options upfront. Richarlison has only scored four times in 18 appearances while Tel was left out of the Champions League squad.

Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison are recovering from long-term knee injuries. Mohammed Kudus missed the games against Copenhagen and Manchester United with a knock. Spurs are already desperately low on attacking options. They face Arsenal and PSG straight after the international break and it would be a huge blow to lose Kolo Muani for them both.

“Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good football,” wrote Eduardo Galeano, at the age of 55. “And when good football happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.”

But the great Uruguayan historian, novelist, and sportswriter had more to add.

“The history of football is a sad voyage from beauty to duty,” he went on. “The technocracy of professional sport has managed to impose a football of lightning speed and brute strength, a football that negates joy, kills fantasy and outlaws daring.”

This May marked 10 years since Galeano died, and 30 years since he wrote those words. They still stand as remarkably prescient.

Over the season’s first quarter, the Premier League has appeared to regress, stylistically, from a peak of some five years ago. The table is closer than ever; promoted teams jumping from their seats and bloodying the big boys. But that is the only way in which football has been wide open.

On the pitch — and across the breadth of the league — matches have been defined by long throws, set pieces and gamesmanship. Games are increasingly like a FIFA or UEFA draw — lots of talk, manufactured drama, and a long wait to see any balls in play.

“So many games, especially currently in football, are not, in my opinion, a joy to watch anymore,” Liverpool head coach Arne Slot told Sky Sports before this weekend’s matches. “It’s become more and more time-wasting, more and more things I don’t like about the game, which are very good tools to use to make it difficult for other teams they play against.”

Supporters are making their displeasure known. In several cases, managers whose sides are in the table’s top half are under pressure. There is a sense the sport’s traditional logic is inverting. Are teams’ styles, not their results, making us miserable?

And would travelling to three Premier League games across the weekend provide any answers?

Saturday, 12:30pm: Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Manchester United

“If you don’t take risks, you also take risks,” one-lined Thomas Frank in his Tottenham Hotspur introduction this summer. Through these eyes, Frank is less risk-averse than it might appear.

Spurs finished 17th last season but were sixth entering the Saturday lunchtime kick-off against Manchester United. Their new head coach nevertheless found himself facing down a vast stadium bowl of anxieties.

The previous weekend’s 1-0 defeat by Chelsea had been meek and lifeless; a performance with the ambition of an artist painting a river without reflections. Their xG tally, a paltry 0.05, was their lowest since the data was first collected.

Frank does have excuses. He is not an inherently defensive manager, rather an arch-pragmatist who might blame the team’s style, or lack of it, on the absence of key attackers Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Dominic Solanke. If his team need to play the piano to get a result, great. If they need to push it, also great. Just keep your back straight.

But here, in this situation, that adaptability is thrown in stark relief by his managerial counterparts. Frank succeeded Ange Postecoglou in the role, possibly the most stylistically idealistic coach the modern Premier League has seen. Another contender, Manchester United’s Ruben Amorim, would be in the neighbouring dugout.

It is also fair to observe that, just this May, Postecoglou and Amorim’s teams met in the Europa League final. This was one of the ugliest matches in recent memory; a game that, in isolation, only those fond of trench warfare could love. But of course, that night in Bilbao, for many fans here, was the greatest night of their lives.

Saturday’s match begins with two errors. Manchester United concede a needless corner, Tottenham overhit the subsequent set piece for a goal kick. Already, Amorim is haunched in his technical area like a squirrel holding a nut.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium brings some of these questions into sharper focus. In its sounds, its smoothed edges and its vantage points, this was inescapably built as a cathedral to entertainment, and in many ways, in all but the central one — the lilywhite shirts on the pitch — it has delivered that.

Xavi Simons beats his man with a shuffle and a step before slipping. There is polite applause as Cristian Romero cushions a ball from the sky. Micky van de Ven drives forward, anticipation swelling after Tuesday’s wondergoal, before quickly losing it. At one point, United’s Patrick Dorgu is tasked with following through with the trend and delivering a long throw. It barely reaches the penalty area.

After half an hour, Bryan Mbeumo scores. The Cameroonian runs to a Manchester United away end that has contended with its own promises of ‘style’, shrugging in celebration. Frank is motionless on the sideline, but only for a second, before turning and clapping his team into action.

But the stadium is restless now. There are more boos at half-time as Spurs traipse off with an xG of just 0.07. Results are ultimately what get a football manager sacked. But having a style undoubtedly buys more time; Tottenham are lacking theirs.

There is more urgency at the start of the second half — Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens makes two smart saves, Brennan Johnson has a goal ruled out for offside — but for many fans, it is not enough. They walk out after 75 minutes to the sound of more jeers, this time for Frank’s oncoming substitute Mathys Tel, heading for the trains, their homes and beyond.

Needing to travel across London for the 3pm kick-off, I join them.

Leaving early is rarely the answer, but they have been driven here by exasperation. To this point, the match had been defined by spurious shouts for handball rather than any Tottenham attacking play. They are 19th in the Premier League for shots per match. Does a lack of style make supporters miserable? Really, this had been a lack of anything.

There is a fine line between misery and gallows humour, but it can be found on the 2.15pm overground service from White Hart Lane, where fans shuffle onto the train, over the gap, while glued to phone streams from inside the stadium.

“I never usually leave early, but I just said to my Dad: “It’s just the same s**t again, isn’t it?” said one. He sits, stewing, slumped in his chair, chin tucked into his coat.

Then a call comes down the carriage. Tel has scored. His stream catches up. Up comes the chin, up goes the fist. 1-1.

In stoppage time, moments after the train leaves Seven Sisters, another shout.

“Richarlison!”

“What a finish.”

“He’s crying, he’s crying!”

And still, as they are borne further away from the ground, there is displeasure.

“He should be crying, with how s**t he’s been.”

“The last thing I said as I left that stadium was Spurs aren’t having another shot on target,” laughs another supporter. “I can’t believe we’re ahead.”

Then the kicker.

“They’ve equalised? They’ve equalised?”

Matthijs de Ligt in the final minute, so the message goes.

Saturday, 3pm: West Ham United 3-2 Burnley

One week earlier, after their sparsely-attended win over Newcastle United, West Ham United fans staged a sit-in protest against the club’s leadership.

This time, the final fans scurrying in were met by queues.

“Win one game and you can’t get into the place,” remarks one.

Others are less sanguine.

“Nearly there,” says one supporter to his group, before checking his watch. “Quarter to three. We’ll be leaving in an hour’s time.”

Under former coach Graham Potter, West Ham had attempted to pursue good-looking football. It rarely was.

His replacement, Nuno Espirito Santo, is another pragmatist, but West Ham’s performances had been so muddled as to eradicate hope, the nadir being a 2-0 home defeat by Brentford in which the hosts, despite the cost of their squad, already resembled a Championship team.

It is not accurate to call West Ham rebuilt, but they have appeared remodelled in recent weeks, with the most noticeable change being the establishment of youth academy product Freddie Potts — the third of his family to play for the club — at the base of midfield.

Emerging from the tunnel, the West Ham squad walked across the six-foot-tall writing emblazoned pitchside. “Academy of Football.”

There are results, there is style, but there are other aspects of football that fans derive joy from. Academy players are the optimism of the future, and even if the team provides nothing else, a prospect in themselves brings hope, a reminder that the fabric of the club itself still exists.

Earlier that day, Manchester United recognised the same — shoehorning 18-year-old midfielder Jack Fletcher into the squad to keep alive a record 4,332 successive games which featured an academy graduate in their first-team squad.

“It doesn’t matter about the result,” Amorim explained pre-game. “We will continue with these small details, which are the foundation of our club.”

Here, with Potts dictating West Ham’s tempo, the home team were aggressive and on the front foot early. In a stadium whose design creates issues with atmosphere, the early exchanges were far louder than usual.

West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen beats a defender, loses it, regains it, loses it again. His endeavour is applauded. Burnley fans clap their own commitment. This match is unlikely to trouble the UEFA technical analysts, but for entertainment? Both teams are broadly happy.

Burnley are a side on their own stylistic journey. In their recent Premier League spells, they have been competitive but unadventurous under Sean Dyche, before becoming adventurous but uncompetitive under Vincent Kompany. Despite playing out 12 goalless draws en route to promotion last season — “we bored our way to the Premier League,” said midfielder Josh Brownhill — current manager Scott Parker is somewhere in between.

As Zian Flemming wheels away after heading Burnley into the lead on 34 minutes, onside by the hem of a shirt sleeve, it is clear which version of themselves their fans would prefer to be.

But West Ham, for their part, do not fall apart, just as they came from behind against Newcastle the previous week. A team’s backbone is not reflected in their style, but it is reflected in an identity.

The notion of the West Ham Way is contested amongst the fanbase — and frankly, virtually every team in the Premier League professes to have their own — but is sufficiently established to be the name of the club’s largest fan-based podcast, and mentioned in Mark Noble’s autobiography. There, he defines it through three characteristics: “Work hard, be honest, be aggressive.”

Does effort count as style in the Arne Slot sense? Probably not. Burnley held 56 per cent of possession. But as West Ham claw their way to a win, scoring three of the scrappiest goals that could be seen — a bobbled set piece, a parry into Tomas Soucek’s chest, a rebound — does any of that matter?

Ask the man in his fifties jumping in the air, glasses askew, bobble hat almost falling off, puffer jacket making his joy that of a great, overgrown child. His club are almost out of the relegation zone, and the details of exactly how, like the bubbles above, will fade and die.

Sunday, 2pm: Nottingham Forest 3-1 Leeds United

Entertainment comes in many forms. Outside the City Ground, an armed police officer dances to the Four Tops, his gun swaying as “Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch” blares from the speakers. Dozens of Nottingham Forest fans entering the City Ground join in.

The previous evening, Brian Brobbey scored a stoppage-time equaliser against Arsenal. Fourth-place Sunderland are living a dream they only half-remembered.

But Arsenal, even in dropping two points, are still four points clear of second. Under Mikel Arteta, they have been held up as the archetypes of this anti-style; the best set-piece team in the league, with its stingiest defence. They are no Harlem Globetrotters, but should they ride their best attributes to a first league title for two decades, will supporters dwell for a single moment on whether they could have won better after years of falling short?

Some of the same details apply to Forest, who reached Europe last season, predominantly on the strength of Nuno’s defensive organisation. When he was sacked amidst boardroom disputes in September, owner Evangelos Marinakis lurched in another direction. Postecoglou threw out an identity forged under both Nuno and his predecessor Steve Cooper, forcing a squad which had given supporters the days of their lives to play a system unsuited to their capabilities. Progress? Forest supporters actively railed against it.

As American essayist Gore Vidal once wrote: “Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.” Postecoglou was sacked after 39 days.

Under Dyche, a former youth player and lifelong supporter of the club, there is a sense amongst Forest fans that a form of that style, at least, is back.

Leeds take the lead after winning a succession of 50-50 challenges, Lukas Nmecha finishing well. Forest respond two minutes later after the hosts fail to deal with Dan Ndoye’s cross, Ibrahim Sangare rifling home.

The game, for its first hour, is a scrap. Ethan Ampadu stays down for five minutes before resuming. Morgan Gibbs-White kicks the ball into his own face. Sean Longstaff takes two minutes over a set piece, then passes it straight to a defender before tackling both the Forest player and the ball over the touchline.

But then a moment of quality. Murillo’s diagonal ball elicits audible purrs from the Peter Taylor Stand. Omari Hutchinson checks inside and arcs a hanging, tantalising cross towards the far post. The faintest of touches from Gibbs-White diverts it in. Forest lead 2-1. Elliot Anderson’s late penalty adds gloss to the score.

This is another distinction which needs to be drawn. Style refers to a performance in the collective, a method of playing which is consistent and pursued throughout a match. But is that the sum total of our football-watching experience?

As a neutral, or watching on television, maybe. In that world, football is objective. But in person, between the rows of seats, it is anything but. Moments, and the feelings they give us, are what matter and linger. Style is not a synonym for entertainment here.

It is difficult to say that, to a fan, a 3-0 win featuring three dour goals is somehow worse than one featuring waves of free-flowing intricate football. And perhaps this view is blinkered. Perhaps it was influenced by seeing 13 goals across just three games. (Ten if you discount the ones on the train).

But neither can fan experience be distilled into the result, above everything. Tottenham demonstrated that. Style and substance are not a dichotomy; other factors count, effort and identity matter. The Premier League has been a frustrating product this season. Is its style alone making us miserable? More often than not, it has been lacking some of those other attributes as well.

“Out of all the unimportant things, football is the most important,” Pope John Paul II memorably said. And well, if that is the case, the weekend provided answers; style is just that, a tiny piece of the sport’s glorious, maddening, all-important unimportance.