Roberto De Zerbi: Tottenham manager is man to turn Spurs around despite sitting bottom of Premier League

Tottenham are last in the Premier League after five games. They haven’t won a game while scoring just twice, conceding eight times and picking up two points.

It’s the club’s worst start for aa Premier League season after five games, surpassing the 2008-09 campaign when they also had two points but a slightly better goal difference of -3.

They have also lost 22 league games at home since the start of 2024-25, just one less than they had suffered in the previous four seasons combined.

However, the ranking only tells part of the story.

During their first five league games, spurs they have taken 71 shots, with 19 on target, while an average possession of 60.4%. Their 4.47 expected goals are more than double the two goals they have scored. At the other end, they have conceded eight goals of the 9.22 expected goals against.

The attacking output remains poor. An average of 0.89 xG per game is nowhere near the level expected from a team that spent over £300m rebuilding their squad in the summer.

The numbers show a team capable of occupying useful positions.

The first match, a 3-0 defeat at Brentfordhe was poor Spurs managed just nine shots and generated just 0.47xG, while Brentford produced 25 shots and more than four times the expected goal value.

The next three league games produced more encouraging offensive numbers.

Against Newcastle, Spurs lost 2-0 despite having 17 shots and six on target. They had 57.5% possession and created 1.05 xG. At Nottingham Forest, they had almost 60% possession and 11 attempts, but failed to get a single shot on target.

Against Everton, they had 62.3% possession, 14 shots and 37 touches inside the opponent’s area. They didn’t score. Then came Aston Villa.

Tottenham lost 3-2 but had 20 shots and seven on target, controlled 63.8% of possession and won 11 corners.

The problem is the conversion. Tottenham’s first Premier League goal did not come until his 67th shot of the campaign, when Conor Gallagher he finally scored against Villa.

It ended a 492-minute drought that dates back to Joao Palhinha’s strike against Everton on the final day of last season.

This is a serious attacking problem, although it can change quickly with better finishing, a settled first line and the integration of new players.

Reconstructions take time

The scale of Tottenham’s summer overhaul is the main focus of any assessment of their start.

More than £300m was spent, with Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes, Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson, Savio and Omar Marmoush among the arrivals.

Savio and Marmoush were signed after the opening day defeat at Brentford, so two of the most significant attacking additions were unavailable for the first game.

The defensive unit also changed. Robertson, Senesi and Van Hecke arrived while Cristian Romero, Djed Spence and Guglielmo Vicario left. Antonin Kinsky became the first-choice goalkeeper.

This was a fundamental change of direction rather than a routine transfer window, which usually involves adding weapons to an already existing firing squad.

De Zerbi admitted as much after the opening-day defeat at Brentford when he said: “We’re not a team yet.” Four new defenders had started that game and the squad was still being assembled at the time.

Opta’s analysis of the first four games found that Spurs had made 12 changes to their starting eleven from one game to the next, more than they had ever made in the first four games of a Premier League season.

They were also the 12th non-promoted team in Premier League history to hand 20 or more starts in their first four games to players who had not played for the club the previous season.

Of the previous 11, only five improved their league position from one season to the next.

That record doesn’t guarantee the Spurs will improve. This illustrates how unusual their opening weeks have been.

There is another reason to expect the team to look different later in the season: last year’s Tottenham attack was already below the required standard.

Spurs scored just 48 Premier League goals in 2025-26, their lowest total in the previous four seasons, while finishing with a -9 goal difference.

Set pieces carried a large portion of the attacking workload. 36.9% of Tottenham’s expected goals and 39.6% of their actual goals came from set pieces, the highest ratios in the league.

This route has been shortened by the departures of players such as Palhinha and Romero. The new Tottenham are designed to create more through controlled possession and positional play rather than relying so much on set-piece situations.

De Zerbi’s record at Brighton provides some evidence of what Tottenham are trying to build.

Since his first Premier League game in charge in October 2022, Brighton have averaged 1.97 goals per game without a penalty, the best figure in the division over that period at the time.

His first full season ended with Brighton finishing sixth, scoring 72 goals and collecting 62 points, all club records at the time.

There were obvious risks in his approach. Brighton regularly invited pressure in their own half before trying to play it. In almost two seasons under De Zerbi, only three Premier League sides had more turnovers than Brighton, while only two had conceded more turnovers leading to a counter-kick.

This risk has also appeared at Tottenham. The difference is that De Zerbi now has a group recruited specifically to execute his ideas.

Patterns from last season

De Zerbi is not starting from scratch at Tottenham. I was already thirsty Premier League games in charge at the end of last season.

This spell produced three wins, two draws and two defeats. He collected 11 points and kept Spurs in the Premier League on the final day with a 1-0 win over Everton.

So far this term, De Zerbi has picked up two points in five league games, leaving questions about whether his methods are translating into results quickly enough.

He has had a full pre-season, substantial financial backing and a squad strengthened around his tactical preferences. Spurs remain vulnerable when games turn chaotic and have struggled to convert long periods of possession into goals.

Tottenham’s first four league games produced just 2.22 xG from open play, the lowest figure in the Premier League at that stage. His set piece xG was just 1.22, also among the lowest numbers in the division.

That means the argument cannot simply be that Spurs have been unlucky in front of goal.

There are signs of a side still getting used to the new system. James Maddison is a prime example.

Maddison only returned to team training shortly before the Aston Villa game after a long absence and had played just 15 minutes against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup.

His return is relevant because Tottenham have lacked creativity in central areas. An in-form Maddison gives De Zerbi another player capable of dictating the pace and finding passes between the lines.

Tottenham’s next five games will reveal all

The international break gives De Zerbi another period to work with the squad.

Tottenham will not play another Premier League game until October 10 when they travel to Manchester United. They then face Coventry City at home, Chelsea away, Crystal Palace at home and Leeds United away before November.

There is little room for more bad results, but there is time for the team to settle.

Savio has already started four of Spurs’ five league games. Marmoush has played regularly. Tonali has become a central figure in midfield. Maddison returns to the group. Mohammed Kudus is finally fit again.

Spurs are creating more territory than their position suggests, averaging 60.4% possession and 14.2 shots per game through the first five games. They had 37 touches inside the Everton box and produced 20 shots against Villa. His 4.47 xG is not remotely compatible with just two goals unless the final ball and final ball are major issues.

The defensive numbers are no less alarming than the score. Eight goals conceded from 9.22 xGA suggests that Spurs have not been consistently overwhelmed by the quality of chance. Individual errors and mistakes have proved costly.

Five games is also a small sample compared to an entire season. Tottenham itself offers a historical reminder. They were bottom of the Premier League after five games in 2008-09 and eventually finished eighth.

This should not be used as a prediction for De Zerbi’s team as the circumstances are completely different. It shows how quickly an early table can change.

The more relevant question is whether Tottenham’s current squad has the ingredients for substantial improvement.

The offense needs to be much more productive. Two goals from 71 shots cannot continue. The defense must eliminate cheap mistakes. De Zerbi must also prove that his possession-heavy style can survive the physical demands of the Premier League.