bottom Tottenham facing familiar question after huge error under Roberto De Zerbi
Rock-bottom Tottenham facing familiar question after huge error under Roberto De Zerbi
Tottenham Hotspur spent heavily in the summer to avoid another battle against relegation under Roberto De Zerbi but things appear to have gotten even worse for the North London side
The huge summer spending spree was supposed to ensure it did not happen again. Even the most pessimistic Tottenham fan would struggle to believe things would not improve this season - and yet the Premier League table makes for grim reading.
Surely no-one thought at the start of the season that Tottenham would be in this state after five games. One bookie has them 13/2 to go down.
And it begs the familiar question: are Tottenham too good to go down?
Tottenham have hit a new low because they have hit rock bottom. They are winless, are bottom of the table for the duration of the three week international window. It’s unthinkable. First game back on October 10? Manchester United away. Thanks for that.
After two consecutive 17th place finishes, Roberto De Zerbi was supposed to oversee a major lift in the club’s fortunes.
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Never again. That was the message after last season’s near miss saw them flirt with relegation which, in reality, was never really a possibility the previous year. They finished 13 points above the drop zone in 2024/25.
Last season, it was genuinely too close for comfort. Two points ahead of West Ham and safety was only secured on the final day.
They spent around £380m on huge signings in the summer, proven Premier League players and the vision was that De Zerbi would oversee a dramatic change in fortunes.
Sandro Tonali was the biggest buy, Matheus Fernandes was not far behind but they also brought in Omar Marmoush, Savio, Jan Paul van Hecke, Andy Robertson, Tosin Adarabioyo and Marcos Senesi.
There is a lot of quality there. A complete squad overhaul. And maybe that is part of the problem because it is hard to gel so many new players for them to click straight away.
They deliberately recruited big characters like Robertson and Tosin to address the distinct lack of leadership. Again, smart business.
Tottenham undoubtedly overpaid on some players but, after those back-to-back 17th place finishes, they were always going to have to in terms of contracts and also probably fees.
That is how you persuade selling clubs and players to join a club which is not in Europe and spent the last two years floundering in the lower reaches of the table.
The one thing they did not do was buy an out-and-out forward and went into the season relying on Dominic Solanke. And that has to be an error. Perhaps the biggest of all. Solanke looks so short of confidence.
They have some versatile forwards in there but even Marmoush is not exactly a classic No9. They are creating chances - but are just not putting them away.
Against Aston Villa on Saturday, they should have been 3-0 up at half time. But the lack of confidence, the nerves in the stadium among the fans and the doubts among the players made life so difficult.
You have to question the logic of going to Australia and New Zealand in pre-season and once a club does that you cannot expect too much sympathy when it comes to players being fatigued and tired - especially after a World Cup year.
The fans have backed the team and, even against Villa, they were loud and supportive as Tottenham started well… and then faded away and crumbled again.
They were beset by basic defensive errors. The defending on Nicolas Jackson’s goal was so bad that no wonder it left De Zerbi tearing his hair out.
But while De Zerbi brings passion, attacking ideals and determination to the table, he also brings a history of losing the plot and meltdowns. Nine clubs in 13 years.
Let’s make no mistake about it, if this was a more established manager, they would be facing questions about his future. Tottenham cannot be bottom after five games. At least they scored against Villa.
But De Zerbi was brought in to save an ailing club last season, that was mission accomplished and then they backed him in the market. You have to - and they will - stick with him.
It has, however, exposed a club with more problems than we first thought. There is simply no way Spurs will go down this season. No chance. They have got way too much quality. In answer to the question: too good to go down? Absolutely.
But any idea that they could push for Europe - I had them in the top half and looking upwards - now seems wildly optimistic and naive. But this is a going to be a long and somewhat painful road back to where the club feels it belongs.
