Rock-bottom Tottenham facing familiar question after huge error under Roberto De Zerbi

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.

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.