De Zerbi: Spurs a 'not-a-team-yet' disaster after Brentford collapse

Over £300m. That's what Spurs blew in the summer transfer window. Five of their six shiny new toys started against Brentford. Didn't matter. They got absolutely shredded in west London. Outfought. Outclassed. A painful echo, really, of their last two seasons. Back-to-back 17th-place finishes. Remember? They barely dodged the drop last May.

Roberto De Zerbi, the Italian who used to run the show at Brighton, didn't pull any punches after the match. He saw the gaping chasm. 'We are not a team yet,' he flat-out admitted. He pointed to guys being out of shape, some showing up late after international duty. Fair enough. But he wasn't making excuses. This, he figured, is just what happens when you try to build something new. Messy.

The manager didn't mince words about the sheer rubbish performance. Tottenham lost pretty much every tackle. Pressing? Laughable timing errors. Second balls? Forget about it. De Zerbi hammered home a point: You can throw all the money in the world at players, but a real *team* needs more than just fancy names. It needs a bond. Spirit. A way of playing that everyone actually understands.

Jamie Redknapp, the bloke on Sky Sports, was right there with him. Called Spurs 'a team of strangers.' Said they lacked the basic understanding to even function, let alone win. He even questioned some of De Zerbi's picks. Warned that the absolute basics – defending, winning balls – were nowhere to be found. A harsh truth.

So, what's next? De Zerbi reckons they need to find their soul. And a style. Good luck. Tottenham's next outing? Charlton Athletic in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday. Then, a Premier League home game against Newcastle next Saturday. Let's see if the 'not-a-team' can learn to tie its boots.