In March, Tottenham, fearing possible relegation, spent big to bring in Roberto De Zerbi, who will probably never go into a negotiation with a stronger hand. There was obvious improvement and they stayed up on the final day of the season. Since then, Spurs have spent a net £175m ($234m) on improving the squad.
The message seemed clear: the fiscal caution of the Daniel Levy era was over and this was a club willing to spend. Yet Spurs go into the first international break bottom of the Premier League table. To an extent, the issue is confidence.
On the opening weekend at Brentford, with a weird mishmash of a side, a team that was clearly undercooked, they were hammered 3-0 by much better-prepared opponents. That was not hugely surprising given how sensible Brentford’s transfer dealing had been and how early they had done it. More worrying was what happened the following week as Spurs, starting well before fading, lost 2-0 at home to Newcastle.
Goalless draws against Nottingham Forest and Everton seemed to have steadied the ship. Their biggest problem seemed to be a lack of confidence. They were tentative in possession, indecisive when chances did come.
The two goals they managed in their 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday mean Spurs climbed above Coventry to second-bottom of the goal-scoring charts, but they are ninth for shots. That should be reason for frustration rather than panic; the goals will come eventually. But there are more concerning things to have come out of Saturday’s game.
The lack of confidence in front of goal seems to have curdled into something worse, a more general mental degeneration. Again, they started well. The Villa keeper Zion Suzuki made a string of saves.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
