Coventry Visit N17 on Monday — How De Zerbi Can Break Down Lampard's Low Block
Spurs need a win to end their winless run. A newly promoted side sitting deep is both the opportunity and the trap.
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Every published piece from N17 Notebook’s four voices.
De Zerbi's First Real Test: Injury and Structure Collide at Old Trafford
Manchester United arrive as Spurs navigate a depleted squad. But the opening five games suggest something deeper than the casualty list.
Gray at Right-Back, Tonali Fit, Sarr Gone: How De Zerbi Reshapes for Old Trafford
The injury toll is real, but the midfield's structure has shifted—not by departures alone, but by the players who remain available.
How Spurs Turned £229 Million Into Their Worst Start in History
Roberto De Zerbi's summer rebuild has eclipsed even 2008/09. The record spending tells a deeper story about structural failure.
Tottenham's xG Problem Is a System Problem, Not a Personnel One
Four games in, De Zerbi's rebuild is producing the shape of good football without the substance — and the pattern of second-half breakdowns tells you exactly why.
Zero Goals, Zero Patience: Tottenham's De Zerbi Test Begins Against Everton
The Everton home fixture arrives as an early test of whether this board has finally learned to hold its nerve — or whether the managerial carousel is already warming up again.
Spurs Hold at the City Ground: A 0-0 That Actually Means Something
The defensive shape is tightening, De Zerbi's system is starting to click, and a point from Forest is more than just a point.
We've Seen Worse Starts — and Come Through Them
Two August defeats carry weight. But this club has looked worse, and still found its way.
Four Managers in Fifteen Months: At What Point Does a 'Fresh Start' Stop Being One?
De Zerbi arrives with genuine credentials and record-breaking backing. But Saturday's trip to Nottingham Forest is a test of something deeper than tactics — it's a test of whether this club has any institutional memory left.
Spurs Are Building Beautiful Approach Play and Losing Football Matches
Two defeats, zero league goals, and a trip to Forest: De Zerbi's process is real, but the final third isn't working yet
Spurs Beat Charlton 5-1 in the EFL Cup, But Questions Linger After Brentford Defeat
Moore and Savio impressed in the rout, yet De Zerbi's system faces a harder test after the opening-day loss at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Charlton_EFL Second Round
The Strange Comfort of Hating Someone for a Decade and Then Buying Him
Andy Robertson in lilywhite. We're still processing it too.
Savinho and Marmoush Would Take Spurs Past £300m Spent. The Brentford Rout Shows Why De Zerbi Needs Both.
The tactical case for two marquee signings — and what Saturday's 3-0 defeat exposed as structural problems no single player can fix alone.
What Tonali Actually Does, and Why De Zerbi's System Needed Him
The tactical case for the club-record signing, and what the Newcastle matchup reveals about the plan
We Know How This Ends. We're Going Back Anyway.
Nottingham Forest away. The place where last season nearly broke us.
The City Ground Result Matters — But Not Quite For The Reason You Think
A win at Forest would be more than revenge. It would be the first real evidence that De Zerbi's Spurs are something other than a project held together by summer optimism.
The Weight of What Money Cannot Buy
Tottenham's record summer spend met Brentford's indifference, and the gap between ambition and cohesion had never felt wider.