£300m Spent, Bottom of the Table: Why De Zerbi Is ‘Not Angry’ at Spurs

Roberto De Zerbi is “not angry”. That was the Tottenham manager’s verdict after a 2-0 home defeat by Newcastle left his side bottom of the Premier League with two losses from two games. He also insisted there is “no panic”. The stands told a different story: thousands of Spurs supporters headed for the exits well before full time, and the numbers behind the mood are brutal — roughly £300m spent in the transfer market for a team that currently sits last in the division.

‘No Panic’: What De Zerbi Said After Back-to-Back Defeats

De Zerbi’s message was deliberately calm: he is not angry, and there is no panic inside the squad. It is consistent with how the Italian handled pressure at Brighton and later at Marseille, protecting players in public while pushing hard behind closed doors. His case is that a possession-based, high-pressing model needs weeks of repetition before it clicks.

The difficulty is that the Premier League rarely grants that time, and Tottenham supporters have heard versions of this speech before. When a manager sounds relaxed and the stadium empties early, the gap between dressing room and terraces becomes the story — and that gap is where managerial jobs are usually lost.

Elanga and Wissa Punish a Lacklustre Spurs

The game turned inside a 10-minute second-half spell, with Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa both scoring to secure Newcastle’s 2-0 win. Before that, it was a flat, low-quality contest in which Tottenham created little of note and never controlled the tempo. Two clean transitions decided the afternoon.

That pattern is the recurring weakness of De Zerbi’s system when the press does not function: a high line plus risky build-up leaves acres of space behind the full-backs. Newcastle’s wide runners attacked exactly that space, and Elanga’s pace made the difference the moment Spurs lost the ball in midfield.

£300m Spent, and Home Form That Keeps Sinking

Roughly £300m of transfer spending has produced a side propping up the table — the clearest indictment of Tottenham’s recruitment strategy rather than its budget. Money has never been the club’s core problem; continuity is. Repeated changes of manager and squad profile mean no playing identity has been allowed to mature.

Home form sharpens the anger. Supporters have watched a thin return of league wins at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium across the recent run, which is why the early exodus felt like a verdict rather than a reaction. A stadium that was built to be an advantage has become a source of anxiety for the players.

Jaissle’s First Premier League Win — and What Comes Next for Spurs

For Newcastle, the afternoon delivered Jaissle his first Premier League victory, earned with a clear, disciplined plan: sit compact, deny Tottenham central access, then attack the space in behind. It is a template every visiting side will now study before travelling to north London.

For De Zerbi, the fixes are specific rather than philosophical. He needs a midfield screen that protects the space in front of the back line, cleaner decision-making in build-up, and someone reliably converting the chances his system is designed to create. Two games is a small sample, but a manager who says he is not angry has to show progress on the pitch very quickly, or the calm will start to sound like denial.

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