When Aston Villa went 1-0 up in north London, it felt inevitable that Tottenham would head into the international break winless in the Premier League. That's because it has been nearly two years since Spurs have won a match after conceding the opening goal in any competition. Last month's 3-2 home loss to Villa was the 47th game in this dismal run (D11 L36).
"It is a worry, certainly at home because that's where you need the minerals," former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood told a special Sky Sports Spurs podcast. "That's where you need the characters and leaders to come forward, and at the moment, they're void of any leaders and characters. "I'm not sure there's anyone really losing their head or galvanising the players to try and arrest [it], which is a poor trend, in not fighting back from losing positions.
He certainly looks like he doesn't lack in any passion. But you need that within the pitch and within the dressing room and within the training pitch every single day, and I'm not sure the characters are there." Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player With Spurs accumulating the fewest points (18) among ever-present Premier League sides in 2026, Sky Sports News' Tottenham reporter Michael Bridge aired his concerns over leadership too. He said: "When Roberto De Zerbi chose his five captains [Micky van de Ven, Pedro Porro, Ben Davies, James Maddison and Archie Gray], and I asked him in the press conference, Andy Robertson wasn't one of the five.
"Archie Gray was, but Archie Gray's not going to be in the team much, so I am a little bit worried about leadership in that camp. "How many of the players are really going to grab each other by the scruff of the neck? "Cristian Romero maybe went too far in terms of aggression, but there were times when you did want him on your side, so I need to see a bit more aggression from some of these players as well." A winless start to the Premier League season has left Tottenham bottom of the table, and their worst start to a Premier League season after five games has already raised questions over Spurs' lavish summer spending.
So, have any of the 10 new players that cost over £330m impressed Sherwood? "No, no one," he insisted. "I can't say anyone's really impressed me, and anyone would have done a better job than anyone who was there last season.
"They've underachieved, they really have. We always judge on results, so I don't look at any individual player and think, 'Well, you're coming out of some credit here', because the team's losing, and I'm not sure there's been any outstanding performers." The lack of success from Spurs' signings before this summer worries Sherwood about the latest recruits. "Probably the last four or five years, the track record of Tottenham signings has not been fantastic," he said.
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