Tottenham just snagged their first league point of the season with a stalemate at Nottingham Forest, but let’s be real, it’s not the start anyone in North London wanted. This team hasn’t gone this long without a league goal to kick off a season in over half a century, and that’s a stat that should make any fan nervous.
Three Games, Zero Goals, and a Half-Century Drought
It’s an ugly truth for Spurs fans: they haven’t scored in their opening three league games this season. You have to go all the way back to the 1974-75 season to find a start this dry for Tottenham. They took losses against Brentford and Newcastle, and while they finally got a point against Forest, it still meant another game with a blank on the scoreboard. That’s three Premier League games without a goal, a streak they haven’t seen since November 2021. The wild thing? They actually put five past Charlton in the League Cup. Where’s that offense when it counts in the top flight? Even the VAR stepping in to rule out Neco Williams’ goal for handball was a silver lining, preventing a third-straight Premier League defeat.
£300m Spent, Identity Still Missing
The club spent over £300 million this summer, part of a record £3.49 billion Premier League outlay. They brought in ten senior players, including starters Sandro Tonali, Jon Paul Van Hecke, Savio, and Omar Marmoush against Forest. That’s a massive investment, so the expectation is high, even this early. Coach Roberto de Zerbi is preaching patience, and you get why. “We bought very, very good players but you can’t just build the team with the names like in Football Manager,” he told Sky Sports, perfectly summing up the situation. He admitted disappointment with the result but was happy with the performance, especially considering they’d only started working together last Thursday. De Zerbi believes they played well with the ball and defended strongly, but the final third is where they need serious work. He called out Marmoush’s decision-making, like blazing over when Andy Robertson was overlapping and Mohammed Kudus was waiting for an easy tap-in.
This team needs to discover some composure in front of goal. De Zerbi is happy with the spirit and organization, and he acknowledged that getting a point at the City Ground isn’t easy. But the simple fact is, after this kind of spending, they need more than spirit. They need goals. It’s an early season challenge, and while the spirit and organization are there, we’ll be watching to see if they can find that missing piece in the final third.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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