Tottenham Hotspur Women announced today that forward Martha Thomas will depart to Newcastle United Women on a permanent transfer. Martha scored our most famous goal ever in the club’s first league North London Derby victory, and we of course wish her all the best.
Robert Vilahamn signed Martha in 2023 primarily to cover for an injured Beth England. She did this admirably,
tallying up seven goals and one assist in the first half of the campaign. But after that, the goals dried up. Vilahamn was never really able to figure out how to get Martha and Beth on the pitch at the same time, and he didn’t even really seem to know what her best position was, at times telling the press it was at striker, on the wing, or as a number ten. His final act as manager was inexplicably signing Martha to a new three year deal after a season in which she failed to score a single WSL goal. She was unable to find a new lease on life under Martin Ho and ultimately went out on loan at Liverpool where she enjoyed a decent amount of playing time as they climbed out of the basement of the WSL.
Newcastle will play in the WSL 2 this year, which should be a good landing place for Martha. We’ll always remember her fondly for that iconic goal, victory and celebration, and for generally being a hardworking presence around the club even when things weren’t working out. It’s a real shame she never kicked on! In honor of Martha’s time at Spurs, let’s enjoy this one more time:
