Four Games, Zero Goals — De Zerbi Says Tottenham Have a Mental Block
GOATIFYTottenham Hotspur have reached the point where a slow start is no longer just a rough patch in front of goal. Four Premier League matches into the new season, Spurs have yet to score, have collected only two points and are sitting close to the bottom of the table after a goalless draw with Everton. The frustration was audible at full time, but the more important question is what is actually producing the drought.
Roberto De Zerbi’s explanation is that Tottenham are dealing with two problems that are beginning to feed each other: a squad that is still building physical condition after a disrupted summer, and a confidence issue that becomes heavier every time another promising attack ends without a goal. That combination helps explain why Spurs can look energetic for a spell and then lose clarity as the match develops.
Four league games without a goal is not just bad finishing anymore
The Everton draw showed why Tottenham’s problem has become bigger than one missed chance or one striker running cold. Spurs started with enough tempo to make the opening half-hour feel encouraging. They moved the ball with purpose, reached useful areas and looked capable of forcing the breakthrough. What they could not do was turn that possession into the kind of decisive action that changes the mood of a stadium.
As the match wore on, the sharpness dropped. De Zerbi pointed to decision-making in the final third, the quality of the last pass and a reluctance to shoot often enough. Those details matter because a team that has already gone several matches without scoring starts to feel every imperfect attack more intensely. A pass that is delayed by half a second, an extra touch on the edge of the box or a player choosing one more combination instead of taking the shot can all be symptoms of the same pressure.
The late opportunity for Lucas Bergvall summed up the night. Jordan Pickford was able to keep Tottenham out again, and the scoreboard stayed at 0-0. Spurs were booed at the end, leaving them with two points from four league matches and no goals. At that stage, the drought itself becomes part of the opposition: players are no longer only trying to beat the team in front of them, they are trying to end a story that grows with every scoreless minute.
The fitness explanation is believable — and the clock is still moving
There is a real football reason for De Zerbi to ask for patience. Tottenham’s preseason was not a clean six-week block in which a new manager could install ideas with the same group every day. The club’s trip to New Zealand and Australia included injuries to important players, among them Micky van de Ven, Dominic Solanke, James Maddison and Mateus Fernandes. Fernandes alone lost around two weeks of work, and several others were trying to recover while the tactical plan was still being built.
The World Cup also distorted the calendar. Players returned at different times, which meant De Zerbi could not simply move from fitness work to tactical work with a settled first-choice squad. On top of that, Sávio and Omar Marmoush arrived only around ten days before the Everton match. Two attackers expected to add speed, creativity and goals were therefore learning teammates, movements and pressing cues while the season was already underway.
De Zerbi said he has effectively had the complete group together for only about two weeks. That context matters. A pressing structure, buildup patterns and attacking rotations are not downloaded instantly, especially when the players expected to finish moves are among the latest arrivals. Tottenham can reasonably expect their physical level and automatisms to improve as those sessions accumulate.
But context does not make the standings disappear. Supporters do not need Spurs to look finished in September; they do need to see progress. More shots, quicker choices around the box and a clearer route to chances would make the patience argument easier to accept even before the results fully turn.
Sávio and Marmoush were meant to raise the ceiling; Spurs first need a floor
The attacking rebuild is one reason the zero-goal start feels so striking. Tottenham did not enter the season accepting a low ceiling. Sávio and Marmoush were added to an attacking group that already included Solanke, while Maddison’s creativity remains important when he is available. There is enough talent there for Spurs to believe the current numbers are temporary rather than a true reflection of what the team can become.
De Zerbi’s concern is that, outside the most established scorers, the squad does not contain a huge number of players with long histories of prolific finishing. That makes collective confidence even more important. If the system is creating only a handful of good moments, Spurs need to be decisive when those moments appear. If the forwards are hesitating, the midfielders and wide players must be willing to take responsibility instead of always searching for a perfect final pass.
This is where the “mental block” description makes sense without turning the problem into something mysterious. Confidence in football often shows up through ordinary actions: shooting earlier, attacking the near post, playing the risky pass before the window closes and making the next run after the previous one was ignored. When those actions disappear together, a team can look passive even if its tactical shape is broadly correct.
Tottenham’s path out is therefore simpler to describe than to execute. The squad needs more training time, the late arrivals need rhythm, injured players need to return to full condition and the attack needs one or two successful moments that remove some of the weight from every possession. The first goal will not solve everything, but it could change the emotional temperature around the team immediately.
Four scoreless league matches have made the start uncomfortable. They have not made the season unrecoverable. De Zerbi still has a credible argument that the project is physically and tactically young, yet the next phase has to turn that explanation into visible improvement. Spurs do not need perfection yet. They need a reliable attacking floor — and, above all, they need the ball in the net.
Football fan gear, parody designs and GOAT-inspired soccer graphics for match days and everyday wear.
