Tottenham hit rock bottom as Wilson warns crisis surpasses last two grim seasons

Spurs bottom after Villa defeat as doubts mount over De Zerbi rebuild

Tottenham go into the first international break bottom of the Premier League table, and Guardian columnist Jonathan Wilson argues the start under Roberto De Zerbi is “as bad as it’s ever been” for a club of Spurs’ stature.

Wilson recalls that in March Tottenham, fearing possible relegation, spent big to bring in De Zerbi. The Italian “will probably never go into a negotiation with a stronger hand”, and the improvement was enough to stay up on the final day of last 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,” Wilson writes. Yet the returns have been poor.

Confidence collapse and costly errors

The opening weekend at Brentford saw a “weird mishmash of a side” hammered 3-0 by better-prepared opponents. A 2-0 home loss to Newcastle followed, with Spurs starting well before fading. Goalless draws against Nottingham Forest and Everton briefly steadied the ship, but a lack of confidence in possession and indecision in front of goal persisted.

The 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday lifted Spurs above Coventry to second-bottom of the goal-scoring charts, but they remain ninth for shots. Wilson says the two goals scored should be “reason for frustration rather than panic; the goals will come eventually”.

More concerning was the mental degeneration on show. Villa keeper Zion Suzuki made a string of saves before Spurs conceded just before half-time. Micky van de Ven was off the pitch receiving treatment when Andy Robertson, in preventing the ball running out for a corner, gifted possession to John McGinn. A cut-back, a scuffed shot and Johan Manzambi was unmarked in the six-yard box to score.

“It was a horrible goal to concede,” Wilson notes. The second was “just as bad”. A long punt was not dealt with, Nicolas Jackson brought the ball down, Van de Ven was not tight enough, and a shot bounced in off Antonin Kinsky’s hand.

The third Villa goal was whipped brilliantly into the top corner by Emi Buendía, but he had space to line it up before James Maddison, who had been marking João Gomes, got out to him. “Perhaps Maddison could have been more aggressive, and the slight turn of his back as Buendía struck his shot is never a good sign, but this was at least as much a failure of structure,” Wilson adds.

De Zerbi spoke of Spurs being “too fragile”, by which he seemed to be talking both of their physicality and mentality. Players are returning from injury, preseasons have been curtailed, and signings were made late.

Summer spending under scrutiny

Where the initial instinct was to be impressed by the numbers and the change of policy, doubts are emerging about the nature of those summer signings.

• Is Sandro Tonali really worth £100m?
• Mateus Fernandes played for a relegated side.
• Jan Paul van Hecke “wouldn’t be the first player to leave Brighton and find his level dip outside that precisely configured environment”.
• Sávio and Omar Marmoush struggled to get into the team at Manchester City. Sávio’s finishing brought just two league goals in two seasons at City and “the evidence of Saturday is that it has not improved”.

Wilson concedes Spurs were unfortunate at times — Robertson might have cleared for a throw-in, Boubacar Kamara’s mishit cross could have gone anywhere, and Buendía will not always pick out the top corner — but “each goal followed some sort of error: the Premier League is full of high-class players who will take advantage of any slip”.

“The sense had been that this season couldn’t be as bad as the last two for Spurs. There is no Europe to distract them. The injury crises couldn’t be as bad again. De Zerbi has proved his worth in the Premier League before. They have spent money. And yet this is as bad as it’s ever been,” Wilson concludes.

With relegation still implausible and another fight unlikely, preseason thoughts of European qualification now look “bafflingly optimistic – and that will inevitably slow the rebuilding of the club”.