Tottenham Hotspur entered the new campaign with high hopes, a manager who had already proven his worth in the Premier League and a staggering transfer budget that topped £300 million – the biggest financial outlay in the club's history. Yet, after five matches they find themselves anchored at the foot of the table, a position they have not occupied for 18 years. Their only goals so far have been two late consolation strikes in a dismal defeat to Aston Villa over the weekend. The raw numbers on the league table paint a bleak picture, but the performance on the pitch tells a slightly more nuanced story.
Spurs created a handful of decent first‑half opportunities against Villa; had they taken any of those chances, they would have gone into the three‑week international break with a sliver of optimism and perhaps silenced some of the relentless criticism that has surrounded the club this season. Instead, they have managed just two points from five games and their lack of cutting edge in front of goal has kept the spotlight firmly on the shortcomings. While five games is a small sample size, the inconsistency that has plagued Tottenham now stretches into a third successive campaign.
The side has amassed only 18 points in the 2026 calendar year, and since the start of the 2024/25 season they sit a point behind a West Ham side that was relegated at the end of the previous term. The pressure on head coach Roberto De Zerbi is mounting, especially after a summer in which he was given near‑complete freedom to reshape the squad.
Apart from a top‑class left‑winger, De Zerbi secured most of the targets he listed. In the lead‑up to the Villa match, De Zerbi admitted he would have preferred a different approach in the transfer window, but the club’s need to comply with Financial Fair Play rules meant that a few players earmarked for sale remained on the books. That explanation is unlikely to earn him much sympathy when the club has already spent over £300 million. One of the departures, Luka Vuskovic, is thriving at Brighton, while his replacement, Jan Paul van Hecke, struggled against Villa and was dribbled past three times.
Money alone cannot reverse the trend that saw Spurs finish 17th in back‑to‑back seasons. The summer signings list reads like a who’s‑who of recent Premier League transfers: Sandro Tonali from Newcastle for around £100 million, Savio Moisés from Manchester City for £85 million, Mateus Fernandes from West Ham for £85 million, Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton for £52 million, Tosin Adarabioyo from Chelsea for £10 million, Mykhaylo Mudryk on loan from Chelsea, Martin Dubravka on loan from Burnley, free transfers Andy Robertson from Liverpool, Marcos Senesi from Bournemouth and Omar Marmoush on loan from Manchester City. Fans expected a swift turnaround from a manager renowned for getting the most out of limited resources during his tenure at Brighton, yet the results have been underwhelming.
Even a single win would lift Spurs out of the current quagmire, and the next fixture against a pressure‑cooked Manchester United side on October 10 offers a chance to do just that. However, several deeper issues remain. In the loss to Villa, midfielder Micky Van de Ven was forced off with injury while Andy Robertson unintentionally set up the opposition’s opening goal.
De Zerbi lamented that "leaders have to be leaders" in such moments, adding that the team cannot afford to lose games in that manner. The question is whether the squad possesses enough natural leaders.
De Zerbi named a five‑man leadership group last month – Van de Ven, Pedro Porro, Ben Davies, James Maddison and Archie Gray – but none of them are the sort of dominant figure who can rally teammates by sheer presence. This lack of commanding personalities has contributed to a pattern that many supporters label as "Spursy": the team has failed to win any league match when conceding first for nearly two years and has managed only nine draws after falling behind. The departure of Cristian Romero in the summer removed a player whose aggression often bordered on reckless, leaving a gap in the defensive midfield that has yet to be filled. The subsequent exit of combative midfielder João Palhinha, despite De Zerbi’s public desire to retain him, has further weakened the middle of the park.
De Zerbi admitted after the Villa defeat that he had never encountered a side as fragile and inconsistent as Tottenham in his 14‑year coaching career. Midfield depth should not be a concern given the near‑£200 million earmarked for Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes.
Tonali, fresh from a summer break after the World Cup, has yet to recapture the form that made him a fan favourite at Newcastle and justified Spurs breaking their transfer record to sign him. Meanwhile, the saga surrounding Richarlison’s future adds another layer of uncertainty, and the team’s goal‑scoring woes persist as last season’s top scorer remains on a self‑imposed exile. Striker Dominic Solanke has still not returned to full fitness, and De Zerbi seemed almost apologetic after Solanke’s muted performance against Villa, saying "he's much better than this Dominic Solanke." With Tottenham’s average expected goals (xG) per shot the lowest in the league and their total shot output only better than relegated Coventry, the onus is on Solanke – or alternatively Omar Marmoush – to rediscover a scoring touch quickly.
It is still early days for this new iteration of the Spurs machine. More than half of the starting XI against Villa were not at the club last season, so some growing pains are inevitable. Yet the sight of a league table showing two points, two goals and Tottenham lagging behind the rest of the division feels disproportionately harsh given the scale of the overhaul.
There remains a belief that the quality within the squad can eventually translate into results, and no one doubts De Zerbi’s tactical acumen. However, his previous appointments have often ended on sour notes, and the hope is that the current situation does not follow that pattern.
The upcoming clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford on October 10 will be a crucial test, broadcast live on Sky Sports, and could provide the first real indication of whether the massive investment will finally start to pay off for Tottenham Hotspur.