Tottenham Hotspur entered the new season with the belief that this campaign would be different. After a series of false hopes in recent years, the club finally appointed a manager who had already proven himself in the Premier League and handed him a war chest exceeding £300 million – the largest amount ever spent by the North London side.
The expectation was that experience and money would combine to lift Spurs out of the relegation mire. Instead, after five league matches, Tottenham find themselves rooted to the bottom of the table, a position they have not occupied for 18 years.
Their only goals have been two late consolation strikes in a dismal defeat to Aston Villa over the weekend. The scoreline may suggest a total collapse, but the performance was not entirely without merit.
Had Spurs converted any of the decent first‑half chances they created against Villa, they would have gone into the three‑week international break with a little more confidence and perhaps silenced some of the relentless criticism. Reality, however, is harsher. Two points from five games and a woeful conversion record have kept the spotlight firmly on the club. While five matches is a small sample, the lack of consistency has now stretched into a third successive season of under‑achievement.
Tottenham have amassed just 18 points in the calendar year 2026, and since the start of the 2024‑25 season they sit one point behind a West Ham side that was relegated at the end of the previous campaign. Since November 2024, the stadium has hosted more Beyoncé concerts than home victories. Roberto De Zerbi, who arrived with a reputation for excellent man‑management and a track record of getting the best out of his players at Brighton, cannot avoid scrutiny for long. He was given almost unrestricted freedom in the summer transfer market, securing a top‑class left‑winger and most of the targets he listed.
Yet he admitted before the Villa game that he would have liked to have handled the window differently, constrained by Financial Fair Play rules and the necessity to keep certain players who were earmarked for sale. That explanation offers little comfort given the size of the outlay. One of the departures, Luka Vuskovic, has flourished at Brighton, while his replacement, Jan Paul van Hecke, struggled against Villa – he was dribbled past three times and bore responsibility for the disastrous second goal.
Money alone cannot instantly reverse the damage inflicted by back‑to‑back 17th‑place finishes, and the list of high‑profile signings – Sandro Tonali (£100 m from Newcastle), Savio (£85 m from Manchester City), Mateus Fernandes (£85 m from West Ham), Jan Paul van Hecke (£52 m from Brighton), Tosin Adarabioyo (£10 m from Chelsea), Mykhaylo Mudryk (loan from Chelsea), Martin Dubravka (free from Burnley), Andy Robertson (free from Liverpool), Marcos Senesi (free from Bournemouth), Omar Marmoush (loan from Manchester City) – illustrates the scale of the investment. Supporters expected more, especially from a coach praised for extracting peak performances from limited resources. Even a single win could have lifted Tottenham out of the current quagmire, and the club will be looking to topple an equally pressured Manchester United side when the Premier League resumes on 10 October, live on Sky Sports.
Nevertheless, several deeper issues need addressing beyond a three‑point gain. De Zerbi’s frustration was evident after the Villa loss when he criticised the lack of leadership on the pitch, pointing to the injury to Micky Van de Ven and an accidental assist from Andy Robertson that led to the opening goal.
He warned that "leaders have to be leaders" in crucial moments and that the team cannot afford such defeats. Yet the question remains: does the squad possess enough natural leaders? The five‑man leadership group named last month – Van de Ven, Pedro Porro, Ben Davies, James Maddison and Archie Gray – are competent players, but none are unequivocal captains who can rally the team by sheer presence. The "Spursy" tag, long associated with the club’s tendency to crumble under pressure, has taken on a new meaning.
Tottenham have not won a league match when conceding first for nearly two years and have managed only nine draws from losing positions in the same period. The departure of Cristian Romero in the summer, whose aggression sometimes crossed the line, left a void that has yet to be filled.
The subsequent exit of combative midfielder João Palhinha – a player De Zerbi publicly wanted to retain – has compounded the midfield’s lack of steel. De Zerbi admitted after the Villa defeat that he had never seen a team as fragile and inconsistent as Spurs in his 14‑year coaching career.
He suggested the solution may lie in the stands, where a passionate fanbase accustomed to disappointment could provide the missing spark. Yet even with Palhinha gone, the club has spent close to £200 million on midfield reinforcements, including Tonali and Fernandes.
Tonali, fresh from a World Cup‑off summer, has yet to recapture the form that made him a fan favourite at Newcastle and justified Tottenham’s record fee. The uncertainty surrounding Richarlison’s future has added another layer of instability, while the lack of goals persists.
Last season’s top scorer remains on a self‑imposed exile, and Dominic Solanke has yet to return to full fitness. De Zerbi even apologised for Solanke’s performance against Villa, stating, "he's much better than this, Dominic Solanke." With Tottenham’s average expected‑goals per shot the lowest in the league and only better than Coventry City, someone needs to step up – whether it’s Solanke, Omar Marmoush rediscovering his scoring boots, or another attacker.
It is still early in this iteration of the Spurs machine. Over half of the starting XI on Saturday had not been at the club the previous season, so teething problems are inevitable.
The current table – two points, two goals – belies a deeper crisis, but the squad still possesses undeniable quality, and De Zerbi’s tactical acumen is well‑known. The hope is that the season’s narrative does not follow the pattern of his previous appointments, which have often ended on a sour note. Fans will be watching closely as Tottenham face Manchester United at Old Trafford when the league resumes on 10 October, hoping that a combination of leadership, sharper finishing, and a bit of luck can finally turn the tide for a club that has invested heavily but has yet to see the returns it deserves.