Tottenham's Struggles: De Zerbi Admits Team is Not Yet Formed

Tottenham’s new era began with a jolt, a 3-0 defeat at Brentford that felt every bit as bruising as the scoreline suggests. By the time the final whistle went at the Gtech Community Stadium, Roberto De Zerbi was not reaching for excuses. He was stripping his side bare.

“We are not a team yet,” the Spurs manager said, his words as stark as the performance. “For a lot of reasons.”

This was supposed to be the reset. After flirting with relegation last season and preparing to spend more than £300m this summer, Spurs arrived in west London talking about progress. They left having been outplayed, outmuscled and, in De Zerbi’s own assessment, outfought.

Brentford ruthless, Tottenham ragged

Keith Andrews’s Brentford did not need long to expose Tottenham’s frailties. Keane Lewis-Potter struck, Vitaly Janelt added another, and Michael Kayode finished the job. Three goals, no reply, and not much sign of resistance.

The home side were sharper in every department. They hunted in packs, won their duels, and snapped into tackles. Spurs, by contrast, looked heavy-legged and disconnected, a collection of individuals wearing the same shirt rather than a functioning unit.

“We lost too many duels today,” De Zerbi said. “We arrived second in the second balls. We didn’t win one second ball, one duel, one tackle.”

The pressure told on the scoreboard. It also told in the body language. Every Brentford challenge seemed to lift the crowd. Every Spurs miscontrol seemed to drain them.

De Zerbi’s brutal assessment

De Zerbi did not hide behind the calendar or the transfer window. He pointed instead to the basics: fitness, cohesion, collective spirit.

“We are not in the right physical condition for a lot of reasons,” he said. “Some players came back late from the World Cup. In Australia we don’t work in the right way but it is not excuses. It is a normal situation when building a new project.”

The pre-season tour, he suggested, had not given him the foundations he wanted. The result was there in front of him: a side unable to match Brentford’s intensity over 90 minutes.

“I don’t want time but we have to pass through these problems,” he added. “I cannot lose confidence in my players. I believe in my players, my club, myself. We are working well. We have to improve quickly.”

On this evidence, “quickly” will have to mean immediately.

New faces, old problems

Tottenham’s starting line-up carried the intrigue of a summer rebuild. Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi, Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali all made their debuts, a flurry of fresh signings thrown straight into the Premier League’s glare.

On paper, it looked like a statement. On grass, it looked like a group still learning each other’s names.

“There are steps to become better,” De Zerbi said. “Now the target is to become a team. You can’t become a team from the transfer market on paper. You become a team when the players find a connection, a spirit, a soul. It’s a project.”

The club are close to adding more attacking firepower, with Omar Marmoush and Savinho expected to bolster the forward line. Yet De Zerbi’s message cut through the noise of the market: recruitment is only the start. The chemistry is missing.

Key absences and thin excuses

The Italian did highlight the players he could not call upon. Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso and Micky van de Ven were all unavailable. Rodrigo Bentancur, who began on the bench, returned late in pre-season and is still playing catch-up.

These are relevant details, but De Zerbi refused to lean on them as a shield. His criticism of the duels, the tackles, the second balls made clear where he felt the true damage lay. Brentford simply wanted it more, and showed it.

Brentford’s bright beginning under Andrews

While Tottenham wrestled with their identity, Brentford looked sure of theirs. This is only their second season under Keith Andrews, but the clarity of their approach was unmistakable: aggressive, organised, and ruthless when chances appeared.

The standout came in midfield. Mamadou Sangaré, the £39m signing from Lens, delivered the kind of debut that justifies a club’s conviction.

“The club deserve a lot of credit for getting that deal done,” Andrews said. “You’ve seen today what he’s capable of, the attributes he has. It adds to a talented midfield. I really enjoyed his performance today. He’s slotted in really well. He’s a humble young man who’s very, very hungry.”

Sangaré’s energy and composure set the tone. Around him, Lewis-Potter buzzed, Janelt controlled pockets of space, and Kayode attacked with purpose. Brentford looked like a side carrying last season’s rhythm into the new campaign.

A project under scrutiny

For Tottenham, this was more than a bad day. It was a reminder of how fragile a “project” can look when it meets a well-drilled opponent. De Zerbi spoke of spirit and soul, of a team yet to be formed. The Premier League will not wait for that process to unfold.

The money will keep flowing, the signings will keep coming. The question, after a 3-0 opening defeat, is whether De Zerbi can turn this expensive collection into exactly what he says they are not yet: a team.