Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O'Hara has ripped into his former side after they made it five Premier League games without a win to start the season on Saturday. Spurs lost 3-2 to an Aston Villa side that had also started the season poorly, and they were 3-0 down until late in the game, when Roberto De Zerbi's men finally scored their first two goals of the league season.
De Zerbi was given more than £300million worth of players, but Spurs look as bad as they did last season, and the new signings are not looking good. That could change, of course, but Sandro Tonali is very poor form, as is Omar Marmoush, who is struggling to have any sort of impact, and a highly-addressed defence looks as though it has never played Premier League football before, and the first Villa goal was a perfect example.
De Zerbi is expected to remain in place for now, but pressure will be building amid the money spent and the awful start, and former midfielder O'Hara has torn into his former team.
"I can't believe how bad we are, genuinely, I can't believe how bad we are," his rant on TalkSPORT began. "Seriously, what has happened to this football club?
"What has happened to Spurs? (Sandro) Tonali £100million, turning his back, Savio looks like he's playing kids' football, [Omar] Marmoush, who's he? Have we signed his brother? He is absolute guff.
"We haven't got a midfield, there's no fight in the team. None. No fight whatsoever, they're strolling about."
Although still very early in the season, some Spurs fans will be concerned about potential relegation, given how close the club came last season. Speaking about that possibility, O'Hara added: "We are so soft...it's the softest team in the Premier League, we're going to go down.
Tottenham's worst five Premier League starts
-1. 2008/09 - 2 points
-4. 2006.07 - 4 points
-4. 2007/08 - 4 points
"I'm looking at the teams and it's like, everyone is better than us, right now, I'm looking at the bottom three and yeah, that is the bottom three right now, it looks like the bottom three. We've spent £400m to get away from the plughole and we're still in it! We're like that bit of food that gets stuck in the plug and you can't get rid of it... We're just in there, around the plughole and then eventually, you're going to go through it."
While it is far too early for relegation fears, Tottenham do need to get their act together before another season is spoiled before it has even begun, and if that happens, De Zerbi knows he may be the first to pay the price.