Spurs Bottom of the League Again After Newcastle Defeat — De Zerbi Calm
Tottenham Hotspur sit bottom of the Premier League after a 2-0 home defeat by Newcastle United, their second loss in two matches to start the 2026-27 season. Goals from Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa, ten minutes apart in the second half, settled it at Tottenham's stadium. Spurs have now scored none and lost both. They are 20th out of 20. BBC Sport
Manager Roberto De Zerbi was measured afterwards. "Not angry," he said. "No panic." He pointed to what he considered the balance of play: "We can improve in the defensive phases but today was an unfair result." BBC Sport
For Tottenham supporters, the familiar chill is already in the air. This is a club that finished 17th — one place above the relegation zone — in each of the past two Premier League seasons, avoiding the drop on the final day of 2025-26. Their home record makes for equally grim reading: only three league wins from their past 23 matches at their own stadium. BBC Sport
And yet, two seasons ago, Tottenham lifted the Europa League, and as recently as March they reached the last 16 of the Champions League, Europe's top club competition. The gap between those nights and a bottom-of-the-table start is not a narrative De Zerbi is leaning into. Back in May, previewing an earlier trip to Aston Villa, he had already acknowledged the table, framing it darkly: "We are unlucky, we are at the bottom of the table." Tottenham Hotspur
The summer was meant to change the story. Spurs spent more than £300 million in the transfer window ahead of this season, backing their manager with the kind of outlay that signals intent rather than patience. BBC Sport
Two games is a small sample. Newcastle are a capable side, and a ten-minute spell of clinical finishing can punish any team on a given afternoon. But Tottenham's broader arc — two consecutive 17th-placed finishes, a home ground that has stopped feeling like a fortress, and now zero goals from 180 minutes of football — means De Zerbi's calm carries a weight it might not at a healthier club.
The season is young. The squad is expensive. The goodwill, though, is being spent.
