Tottenham's New Era Starts With A Thud
Tottenham’s season did not just start badly. It started with a jolt that stripped away the summer optimism in 90 bruising minutes at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford 3, Tottenham 0. A scoreline that flattered only one side – and it was not Roberto De Zerbi’s.
A Harsh Welcome In West London
Inside 12 minutes, the warning sirens were already blaring. New Brentford signing Mamadou Sangare drifted into the Spurs box with far too much room, picked his head up and found Keane Lewis-Potter in even more space. Side-foot finish. Simple. Too simple.
Tottenham never really recovered.
Their second concession summed up the chaos. Poor hold-up play from Richarlison invited pressure, Lucas Bergvall then lost the ball cheaply, and Mathias Jensen pounced. Antonin Kinsky could only palm out the Dane’s effort and Vitaly Janelt reacted first to tap in.
Two goals down, Spurs looked nothing like a side that had spent pre-season talking about a bold new project. They looked exactly like what De Zerbi later called them: not yet a team.
Within four minutes of the restart, it got worse. Sangare again caused problems, his shot squeezing through a crowd of bodies. Kinsky saved, but the rebound dropped perfectly for Michael Kayode, who lashed it into the roof of the net. 3-0, game done, statement made.
Tottenham’s only reprieve came from the woodwork. Rodrigo Bentancur brought down Kevin Schade in the box and Brentford had a penalty. Igor Thiago stepped up, went left, beat Kinsky – and smacked the post. On a day of self-inflicted wounds, that was the only real escape.
“We Are Not In The Right Point”
When De Zerbi faced the media afterwards, there was no attempt to sugarcoat it.
“For many reasons. I think we are not a team yet,” he said, returning again and again to that idea. “We are not in the right point in physical condition for a lot of reasons… but they are not excuses. They are the normal situation when you are building a new project, a new process.”
He pointed to a disrupted pre-season, late returns from the World Cup and a long trip to Australia that limited proper work. He also admitted he had seen the warning signs even before the Premier League kicked off.
“I knew after the Hoffenheim game, I said we are not in the right point, we are late for the start of the Premier League. But it’s a step, we have to improve quickly.”
What stung him most was not just the tactical disorganisation. It was the lack of fight.
“Anyway, we could fight stronger than we did today. We lost too many duels, we made too many mistakes in the timing when we wanted to push the pressure higher. We arrived second for the second ball, we didn’t win one second ball, one duel, one tackle, and it’s tough.”
Kids In A Man’s Game
De Zerbi was quick to highlight just how raw some of his players are.
“If you analyse everything, you can find that we played with one [born in] 2007, one 2006,” he said, referencing Mikey Moore and Mathys Tel, and then turning to Bergvall’s costly involvement in the second goal.
“I think he didn’t play bad today, even if I substituted in the half-time. But Lucas Bergvall in the next two years, he will not lose that ball in that moment of the game. But there are steps to become better.”
The Italian made it clear this is a club building for tomorrow as much as today. That philosophy shaped his team selection, even if it hurt them in the here and now.
“In the pre-season we worked with Lucas Bergvall. I think at the beginning of the season, at the beginning of the new project, it was good, it was right to play with Lucas Bergvall,” he said, explaining why Bentancur, nine years older, started on the bench.
“I knew before the game, Lucas Bergvall, in this type of game, maybe he could suffer more than Rodrigo Bentancur… but at the end you have to think. We go, and we try to build something good for the club. We need also Archie Gray, we need also Lucas Bergvall, or we work for today. And tomorrow, I don’t know.”
The defeat hurt him. The direction of travel, he insisted, does not change.
“I don’t want time, but we have to pass through these problems. I couldn’t lose confidence in my players. I believe in my players, I believe in my club, I believe in myself. I think we are working well.”
Soul, Style – And A Brutal Reality Check
De Zerbi had spoken before the game about targets and expectations. He refused to set any until Spurs “become a team”. He doubled down on that after the loss.
“To become a team, in my home, there are two big conditions. The soul and the style of play. And today, we didn’t show the soul, and we didn’t show the quality of the play. With the ball and without the ball.”
Those two missing ingredients, he believes, are the difference between a side that can frighten the league and one that gets swept aside in west London.
“When we find these two conditions, I think we can become dangerous for everyone, every team. Until we don’t arrive, we don’t reach these conditions, we have to suffer. And today, I think it’s important for us, this defeat, because maybe we woke up stronger than we thought, maybe.”
New Faces Everywhere
This was not the same Tottenham that finished last season.
“If you analyse last season, the defensive line, Porro, Danso, Micky Van de Ven and Udogie,” De Zerbi said. “And today, Archie Gray, JP Van Hecke, Senesi and Robertson, four new players.”
The midfield was also rebuilt. Last year it was Bentancur and Palhinha. This time, Bergvall was thrown into the fire.
Archie Gray, asked to fill multiple roles after the departure of Djed Spence, endured a tough afternoon, but his manager refused to judge him – or anyone – on one performance.
“Archie Gray can play as a full-back, as a midfielder. But I think he’s much better than his performance today. But not just Archie Gray, also JP Van Hecke, Sandro Tonali, Richarlison, everyone. We didn’t play a good game.
“But we can’t change our idea on Archie Gray for today, or for Richarlison or Mathys Tel.”
Set-pieces, a major strength last season with Cristian Romero and Palhinha, are another area in transition. De Zerbi was blunt about the challenge.
“Brentford in set-pieces are maybe the best team in the Premier League. So it’s normal to suffer. I think we suffer more the duels, more the second ball than the set-pieces.”
Time – And A Response
Fans will not want to hear about patience after a 3-0 opening-day defeat. De Zerbi knows that. He also knows he cannot accelerate chemistry on command.
“We need time, but I think we are much better than we showed today. So from Wednesday we can show our qualities, and we can show who we are,” he said, pointing towards the midweek fixture and then Newcastle next weekend.
“But anyway, even if we win Wednesday or next Saturday, we need time to become a team. Because to become a team we need time. We need time, we have to analyse the situation, we have to understand the situation. The improvement we have to do, every one of us, because we lose and we win together.”
The project, the kids, the new spine, the demands for soul and style – all of it will be judged not on words but on how Tottenham react from here.
The first blow has landed. Now we find out how quickly De Zerbi’s side can turn a collection of players into the team he keeps talking about.
