19 starters, zero league goals: Why De Zerbi is asking Spurs fans for time

LONDON - Nineteen different starters, four Premier League games and not a single goal. Tottenham Hotspur are still searching for their best 11 under new head coach Roberto De Zerbi, and for their first league goal of the season.

Two points from four games, following two defeats and two goalless draws, leave them at 17th, the position they finished in each of the past two seasons. Only Coventry City, at the bottom of the table after losing all four games, have also failed to score in the league this season.

"It's something that you don't want to go through as a footballer, especially at a club like this," said striker Dominic Solanke of last season's relegation fight. 

He was speaking to Singapore media at the club's training centre in Enfield, England, on Sept 10, two days before Spurs' match against Everton.

"It's definitely something that we learned from, and something that we never want to experience again. Hopefully, we'll be fighting a lot higher up the table this year," Solanke said.

Much of the squad around him is new, and some of it arrived late. 

Savio and Omar Marmoush joined only after the season had started, while captain Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro, both back to the team late from the World Cup, missed the opener at Brentford. 

Xavi Simons, Dejan Kulusevski and Wilson Odobert remain sidelined.

Marmoush, on loan from Manchester City, said the squad was not dwelling on last season.

"I feel there's a lot of talk of what happened before. It's the past," he said. "Now we're looking forward."

"If we're on our best day and just doing what the coach asks us to do, I think we can beat anyone," he added.

De Zerbi, who took over in March with seven games left and kept Spurs up, is asking for patience while a squad rebuilt over the summer learns his methods.

"I think we can play better. We are working for that," he said. "It's not so fast, because we need time. We need to play games in a row."

The Italian described the current process as "normal improvement when you change many players and rebuild 50, 70 per cent of the squad", adding that his players are "focused on the training, on the games".

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On Sept 12, Spurs were booed off after a goalless draw with Everton, the first 0-0 in the stadium's 140 Premier League matches. The result also meant they had failed to score in their first four league games of a season for the first time in the club's history.

Conor Gallagher did find the net at Anfield on Sept 15, but that came in a 3-1 Carabao Cup defeat by Liverpool. In the league, the drought goes on.

There has been progress at the other end of the pitch. After conceding five goals in their opening two league games, Spurs have kept back-to-back clean sheets.

Their head coach's previous two jobs offer some precedent for patience.

When De Zerbi took over at Brighton in 2022, the Seagulls picked up just two points from his first five league games. His first win, a 4-1 thrashing of Chelsea, came at the sixth attempt.

By the end of that season, Brighton had finished sixth, the highest placing in their history. They set club records for goals (72), wins (18) and points (62), and qualified for Europe for the first time.

At Marseille, he took over a side that had finished eighth and led them to second place in Ligue 1 in 2024-25. Only champions Paris Saint-Germain scored more goals.

A settled side has been hard to find in the meantime. Only three players, goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke and midfielder Sandro Tonali, have started all four league games.

Solanke made his first league start only against Everton, the first time he, Marmoush, Savio and Mateus Fernandes had started a league game together in attack.

With the squad deeper than last season, De Zerbi said no place in his side was fixed.

"It is my work to select the first 11," he said. "If they show they are better than my first 11, I can change my mind without a problem, because I'm here for the good of the club, not for myself."

"At the end of the season, you will see that all the players will have played," he added.

With Mohammed Kudus back in the starting 11 and James Maddison working his way back to full fitness, the competition for places is only getting fiercer.

De Zerbi remains convinced the squad was built for the football he wants to play.

"I think the qualities of the players are specific for my style, for my idea," he said. "The DNA of the club is very close to my DNA in terms of style of play."

He described his summer signings as "very specific to play in a different way" from last season's side.

"He has a very specific style he wants to play, which is great for us," said Solanke. "We enjoy being on the ball, a lot of attacking work."

Defender Marcos Senesi said it was too early in the season for panic, with the players focused on what they can do better each week. He added that De Zerbi pushes the squad "to the limit of performance" every day.

"I think he's the main character of putting that mindset on the group every day, every week," said the Argentine. "I think people will start to see it."

Having signed a five-year contract with Spurs in March, De Zerbi is building for the long term.

"Forgetting the contract, I always work thinking to stay 10 years, five years, 15 years," he said.

Their fifth league game, and the next chance to end the drought, is at home to Aston Villa on Saturday (Sept 19) at 7.30pm Singapore time.

"As a collective, I think we want to fight for everything we can," said Solanke, whose sights are set higher than 17th. "That's where this club should be, fighting for titles and trophies, and that's what we're aiming for."

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AsiaOne's trip was hosted by AIA Singapore.

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shafiq.apandi@asiaone.com