A Loss, a Win ... and a Bomba!

Sorry, no foreword from Jim! Busy week for all of us here at OhSoSpurs. He’ll be back next week!

Until then, keep it Lilywhite.

COYS #OhSo33,
– Jim/OhSoSpurs (wink)

Well, I went into the start of the season with high hopes, only to have them dashed as soon as that whistle blew. Typical Tottenham – always drawing us in and then dangling us over a fire.

But I suppose they redeemed themselves in the Carabao Cup, eh? Let’s dive into this past week.

Spurs kicked off their Premier League campaign against Brentford, where we got smacked 3–0 – because of course we got destroyed by Thomas Frank’s former club. Boo, his ghost continues to haunt us.

Actually, I’ve got to give it to Brentford: their system is spectacular and completely exposed the issues we’re still working through. Plus, we finished 17th last season while they placed ninth. That doesn’t make the performance excusable, though.

The first half felt really disjointed, with the new players looking unsteady on their feet – Van Hecke, for instance – and others simply lacking quality. Defensively, we were shambolic. It honestly felt like we’d started exactly where we left off last season, especially with Archie Gray playing at full-back again. I thought we were past this bullshit of playing him there. Give the kid his midfield space!

Richarlison was terrible with the ball at his feet – again. Gallagher was running around without much purpose. If there was a press, you could count on him being there. In fact, he’d often be the only person pressing – that’s how disjointed the team was. Bergvall was atrocious.

All in all, it was a disappointing performance that stung even more for me because I’d woken up at 6:30 a.m. Like, okay. Thanks for nothing.

The positives from the match definitely included Andy Robertson. His experience at Liverpool really showed, as he was by far our best player on the pitch, both defensively and offensively. His crossing was decent, and he wasn’t misplacing passes. It’s a low bar, but it’s something.

I also want to shout out Mathys Tel and Mikey Moore. I think Tel had a difficult job against Brentford, but his quality continues to shine through time and time again – and I think that’s all that matters. I know a lot of fans want to write him off, but I continually find myself impressed by him. He still has plenty of room to grow, but I’m not unhappy with him on the left wing.

As for Mikey Moore, it was great to see an academy player starting the match. What wasn’t so great was his finishing. Perhaps he was nervous, and the link-up play often wasn’t the best. He had some of our best opportunities but wasn’t able to capitalise. I can think of at least two instances when we should’ve scored, but you live and you learn.

Finally, I want to shout out Archie Gray for becoming Spurs’ youngest-ever captain after leading the team out against Brentford. I’ve had complete faith in him from the beginning, and I hope this marks the start of a long career for him at Spurs.

Okay, we’ve made it through the sad Brentford game. Let’s talk about Charlton and the Carabao Cup.

Charlton at home was great. A 5–1 smacking that featured goals from several players who honestly really needed them – not only to boost their own confidence but also to lift the team. It was just the medicine we needed after the Brentford game.

The first half wasn’t my favourite. It felt like shades of Frank-ball, with a lot of backwards and sideways passing. I think the team is still struggling to work out how to break down low blocks, which has always been an issue for De Zerbi’s sides.

Once the first goal went in, though, the rest followed. Mikey Moore scored an absolute rocket after realising how much time and space he had inside Charlton’s 18-yard box. Dom Solanke then scored with a half-volley in his first game back. Danso came on in the second half and literally scored a header with his first touch – and ended up bloodied after a clash of heads.

Then Savio came on for his debut and dazzled everyone with his attacking drive, scoring just a few minutes after entering the game before assisting – or did he? – Ben Davies for the fifth. Of course, we couldn’t keep a clean sheet and conceded from a corner, but all in all, it was a great day at the Lane.

I will say that it’s frustrating that a team like Charlton were able to keep us at bay for so long. Our first goal didn’t arrive until the 41st minute, following a lapse in concentration from their players. In fact, Charlton had better attempts on goal than we did during the opening part of the match.

I understand that De Zerbi’s style has historically relied on baiting the press, but when the opposition is willing to sit back and absorb pressure, we seem to crumble and run out of ideas about how to score. This definitely needs to be addressed as the season progresses; otherwise, we’ll be stuck in some sort of limbo.

It’s fine to rely on the odd wonder goal or two – individual brilliance is important to any football team. But when that’s all we’re relying on, it becomes a problem.

To conclude this match: we drew Liverpool away in the third round of the Carabao Cup. Gosh, what is our luck? Genuinely.

Sorry – I’m not done yet.

By the time the last newsletter came out, the official news about Savio hadn’t been announced. So, surprise! We signed Savio from Manchester City.

We also signed Omar Marmoush on a season-long loan, further bolstering our attack. Because it’s a loan, he gets to keep his work permit and is available for the match against Newcastle.

It’s genuinely crazy how many players we’ve managed to sign during this window. You could argue that this has been one of Spurs’ best transfer windows of the modern era. Absolute peak.

Because Marmoush arrived on loan, there have also been suggestions that we still have around £50m to spend on Cody Gakpo or another attacking signing. I’m not the best with finances, so hopefully Jim will make a video about it that I can watch. Haha!

It’s been a very topsy-turvy week for Spurs, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m so excited for Newcastle, and I hope Spurs can work out the kinks over the next few games. Although I was frustrated by the Brentford performance, I’m not blaming anyone yet. It’s still very early for this team. Fingers crossed they get it together.

Until next week.

There is no written Analyst section this week but Enya and Jim have dropped a new video.