FORGET about three points, long-suffering Spurs fans are begging just to see a single goal.
Roberto De Zerbi‘s side have now gone four straight games, or six hours and 47 minutes, without finding the back of the net after their 0-0 draw with Everton.
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And while Saturday’s stalemate was desperate, Spurs’ lack of cutting edge was glaring long before kick-off.
So much so that two fans rocked up to the stadium with a sign pleading for just one thing: “Please score a goal!”
This chronic drought has dumped the North Londoners right back into familiar territory – languishing 17th and with the dreaded R-word creeping up on them once more.
And having spent over £300 MILLION this summer on new signings, while harbouring an attack that cost £416.8m, fans are understandably frustrated with De Zerbi and his players.
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Two of those attackers, Omar Marmoush and Savio, who both joined this summer from Manchester City, seem to perfectly summarise Spurs’ attacking issues on Saturday.
Both looked exciting and creative in the first half an hour, only to fade so quickly that they were mere ghosts by the full-time whistle.
A shockingly bad pass from Marmoush, which the Egyptian sent into orbit in the first half, is still doing the rounds on social media.
Yet, despite all of the talk around Tottenham being negative, captain Micky Van de Ven insisted it’s not a “problem” that Spurs aren’t scoring any goals.
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After the draw he said: “It was a good performance from us, we were on top of the game, but we need to score a goal.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a problem, because we are creating a lot of chances. Of course we need to score, but I don’t want to call it a problem.”
When asked if the lack of goals is a mental block for the attackers, or a footballing issue, he leaned towards the latter.
Van de Ven added: “I don’t think it’s a mental thing, we need to review things again and see what we can do better in the final third as a group, to make even bigger opportunities to score goals.
“We’ve had some great opportunities and I think more of them can come if we make the right choices at the right times.”
Of all the players on the pitch, De Zerbi seemed to take issue with Mathys Tel at full-time more than anyone else.
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The young French forward was substituted on as Spurs’ left winger in the 63rd minute, before replacing Marmoush as the number nine with 13 minutes to play.
When the full-time whistle blew, De Zerbi embraced his inner Pep Guardiola and remonstrated with Tel on the pitch.
He was caught doing so by the TV cameras, appearing to have an issue with him not looking forward enough as an attacker.
His actions left Spurs supporters less than impressed, with some suggesting he is already losing the dressing room, and one naming him a ‘scam artist’.
De Zerbi has been heavily backed at Brighton, Marseille and now at Spurs, but only ever won a Super Cup and Ukrainian Premier League in his time at Shakhtar Donetsk.
In fairness, winning titles is perhaps not the goal at the clubs he has been with since, and he did take Brighton to their highest ever league finish, as well as taking Marseille from 8th to 2nd, only losing out on the title to PSG.
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He was hailed as a hero for retaining Spurs’ Premier League status at the back end of last season, with a large improvement expected of them this campaign – which so far has been a let down.
The games seem to get tougher for Tottenham going forward, with Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester United their next three opponents.
But Van de Ven insisted that there is still hope for supporters, and that there are positives to take from Saturday’s draw despite a tough run upcoming.
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He said: “We’re feeling good, we played a good game and put in a good performance which is really important, we need to build on that.
“I think there is hope (for Spurs fans), obviously, when we play games like this and we are on top of the opposition most of the time. We need to make better decisions in the final third and start scoring goals – I think there are a lot of positives to take from this game.”