Tottenham Hotspur spent over £300 million this summer. They signed a club-record midfielder in Sandro Tonali, poached Savinho from Manchester City, and brought in Mateus Fernandes from West Ham. The ambition was unmistakable. The execution? Historic failure.
Four Premier League matches. Zero goals. Two points. The first time in the club’s entire history that Spurs have failed to score in their opening four league fixtures . You read that right. Not since 2006 had they even gone four straight top-flight games without a goal .
Jamie Redknapp didn’t mince words:
“After spending £300m, I didn’t think there would be a problem scoring goals. But to not score in six hours of football is absolutely diabolical. They have not got the right balance in the team.”
Six hours. That’s how long Spurs have gone without a Premier League goal. The last one came from João Palhinha on the final day of last season .
The Everton match was a microcosm of everything wrong.
Tottenham dominated the opening 30 minutes. Jan Paul van Hecke missed a sitter from close range. Mateus Fernandes fired over. Omar Marmoush squandered another decent chance. Then the energy dropped, the confidence evaporated, and the home crowd started booing .
Two shots on target. TWO. Against Everton. At home. The first one came in the 47th minute and was met with ironic cheers from the Tottenham faithful .
Roberto De Zerbi’s excuses aren’t helping.
The Italian pointed to late arrivals in pre-season, claiming he’d only been working with Marmoush, Savinho, Solanke, and Maddison for “two days” before the season started . He admitted the team’s “physical condition is not the best” .
But here’s the thing: every club deals with late arrivals. Every manager wants more time. You don’t get to spend £300 million and then plead for patience in September. That’s not how elite football works.
De Zerbi also insisted he doesn’t feel pressure over the spending . He should. Tottenham finished 17th in each of the last two seasons . This summer was supposed to be the reset. Instead, Spurs sit just one point above the relegation zone, with a worse goal difference than every team except Fulham, Aston Villa, and Coventry .
The stats are damning:
– 0.64 xG against Everton — at home
– 2 shots on target in 90 minutes
– First 0-0 draw ever at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League
– First 4-game goalless run in 20 years
The tension spilled over at full-time, with De Zerbi visibly confronting substitute Mathys Tel on the pitch after the Frenchman managed just 12 passes and one shot in his cameo .
This isn’t bad luck. This is a structural failure.
The balance of the team is wrong. The midfield lacks creativity. The forwards can’t finish. The build-up play is slow and predictable. Everton’s 38-year-old goalkeeper Jordan Pickford barely broke a sweat on his way to a 100th Premier League clean sheet .
De Zerbi says the answer is to “play 90 minutes like we did in the first 30” . But Spurs have been saying that for weeks. At some point, the pattern is the problem.
The bottom line:
Tottenham spent like a title contender and are performing like a relegation candidate. The goalless streak is embarrassing. The boos are justified. And unless something changes fast, the £300 million summer will go down as one of the most spectacular wastes of money in Premier League history.
The pressure isn’t just mounting. It’s already arrived.
