Pre-season thoughts of European qualification are already beginning to look bafflingly optimistic for Roberto De Zerbi’s team.
Since then, Spurs have spent a net £175m on improving the squad. The message seemed clear: the fiscal caution of the Daniel Levy era was over and this was a club willing to spend. Yet Spurs go into the first international break bottom of the Premier League table.
To an extent, the issue is confidence. On the opening weekend at Brentford, with a weird mishmash of a side, a team that was undercooked, they were affected 3-0 by much better-prepared opponents. More worrying was what happened the following week as Spurs, starting well before fading, lost 2-0 at home to Newcastle.
Goalless draws against Nottingham Forest and Everton seemed to have steadied the ship. The two goals they managed in their 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday mean Spurs climbed above Coventry to second-bottom of the goal-scoring charts, but they are ninth for shots.
The Villa keeper Zion Suzuki made a string of saves. Andy Robertson, in preventing the ball running out for a corner, gifted possession to John McGinn. A cut-back, a scuffed shot and Johan Manzambi was unmarked in the six-yard box to score.
A long punt not dealt with, Nicolas Jackson bringing the ball down, Van de Ven not getting tight enough, a shot that bounced in off Antonin Kinsky’s hand.
To an extent Spurs were unfortunate.
The sense had been that this season couldn’t be as bad as the last two for Spurs.