GTECH COMMUNITY STADIUM – Meet the new Tottenham Hotspur, same as the old Tottenham Hotspur. Roberto De Zerbi needs a little time to get this right, but hey big spender, the Premier League can be an unforgiving place.
This was a poor imitation of the £300m+ squad that took a stun-gun to the transfer market this summer. They did not have their first-choice back line, midfield or front three, but the lack of fight was inexcusable. Spurs looked like they were still milling around on an Oceanian pre-season tour. Is it just possible they “won” the transfer window because they had the most to do and selling clubs saw them coming a mile off?
Superb Brentford bullied their abject midfield. That matters, because it is in those central channels where De Zerbi-ball will live or die. The centre-backs are supposed to play out to two narrow holding midfielders. All four were a shambles and on this evidence, they could be in for a disastrous wake-up call.
It would be premature to panic, and there were plenty of mitigating factors. Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro were unavailable. Xavi Simons, Dejan Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus and Wilson Odobert are long-term absentees; all improve that attack. Mateus Fernandes could be the signing of the summer but for now, that accolade looks more likely to go to Mamadou Sangare. For the Bees, an extraordinary upgrade on Jordan Henderson who is already attracting N’Golo Kante comparisons.
It is easy to see why De Zerbi prioritised such a hefty spend on the likes of Sandro Tonali when so much relies on the anchor they lacked at the Gtech. The game was lost when Fernandes, nursing a calf injury, spent the first half on the bench, placing seismic responsibility on Lucas Bergvall. The Swede spent the summer mulling a £40m move to Newcastle or Nottingham Forest and this was meant to be either his point to prove or his shop-window moment. Defensively, he produced his worst display in a Spurs shirt.
Gallagher’s role was neither here nor there. The midfield three was so utterly lost it was hard to envisage them getting up to speed soon. Brentford overloaded the middle and inevitably worked out De Zerbi’s system.
Joao Palhinha has left big boots to fill after not enough was done to sign him on a permanent deal. Under Ange Postecoglou, it was Rodrigo Bentancur who looked muddled between the No 6 and No 8 roles; now Bergvall is suffering a similar fate. De Zerbi showed a ruthless streak by hauling off both Bergvall and Gallagher for Fernandes and Bentancur. Only then did Spurs begin to enjoy the lion’s share of the ball.
The centre-backs, Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke, were too easily dribbled past and Brentford’s press ensured they offered few of the ball-playing qualities for which they were signed. First, Brentford’s record signing Sangare waltzed into the box to set up Keane Lewis-Potter, before Bergvall lost it again for the second.
Antonin Kinsky blundered Mathias Jensen’s effort towards Vitaly Janelt, and Kinsky parried again from Sangare’s shot for Michael Kayode to bundle in Brentford’s third. Igor Thiago’s missed penalty was the only reprieve. There is already huge scrutiny on Kinsky replacing Guglielmo Vicario as No 1 – not least because there were doubts about him that ignominious night at Atletico Madrid.
There is no suggestion that this is the finished product. Why, for example, was Mikey Moore made to start on the right, missing two 1on1s? Why are Spurs the only major side so far away from fielding the manager’s preferred team? Archie Gray was playing at right-back and named the youngest captain in the club’s history – despite being fifth in the pecking order – by virtue of no one else being fit.
There is hope of an immediate salvage operation in attack. Omar Marmoush will be a welcome addition from Manchester City and will likely replace Richarlison. Savinho, on the other hand, exhibits many of the same limitations as Mathys Tel, who was blocked from running inside to create any tangible end product.
And so the Thomas Frank jokes began, the relegation chants, and just about every other endurance of the last 12 months played on repeat. De Zerbi, starting from the lowest of bars after two successive 17th-placed finishes, spoke beforehand of restoring “pride”. There is no need for hysteria but Tottenham cannot afford to look so eminently beatable and devoid of self-esteem. He has to prove this is not just a reheated, rehashed version of the same haphazard project.
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One of Frank’s final matches as Spurs boss came here in west London and had the away end lamenting a “boring, boring Tottenham”. This was more like downright bizarre. Chief executive Vinai Venkatesham looked on from behind a pair of sunglasses which must have hidden a bemused expression.
Not all of his new signings failed to gel. Andy Robertson made a superb challenge to deny Dango Ouattara. Fernandes looked reasonably tidy after his introduction.
Still, the sense of urgency is not misplaced. Tottenham have gone all in on this. They can describe themselves as half-fit, unready and waiting to hit top gear. Those excuses will only get them so far.