Tottenham Hotspur

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Nottingham Forest and Tottenham.

Here are some of your comments:

Forest fans

Peter: The VAR call was ridiculous but at least we didn't lose. My biggest concern is our poor form at the City Ground. Is it now one win in our past 11 league games? We have to improve at home if we're to progress this season.

Sean: Going forward, our passing was crisp and precise and we should have put more away before the disallowed goal. I've got concerns about our defending, though, as we always seem to leave too much space or get into a situation where it feels like a last-gasp or hanging-on style of defending. A point is a point at least, and the signs are looking a lot better in terms of our performance. Liam Delap could be the signing of the season for us.

Tony: Forest were good enough for three points. Everyone is agreeing that there was no clear and obvious error in the referee's original decision but no-one has mentioned that, when the ball went over the line, neither of the Spurs defenders appealed for handball.

James: Poor VAR decisions throughout. Goal should have stood, we should have had a penalty and Spurs got away with some rough challenges. But we still shuld have done better.

Spurs fans

Trev: Some improvement in defence against an average opposition. Disappointed at the performance in central midfield, where there were very few quick, intelligent passes. Pedro Porro was good as usual. Mathys Tel lacked incisiveness on the left, allowing the opposition too much time.

Neil: Nothing to panic about. Anyone who has objectively watched all three games can see the improvement in each. I'm expecting a win against Everton on Saturday. My son is being born on Tuesday and it will be the first game he watches. That's got to bring us some luck... right?

Ricky: We are in another relegation battle. It's obvious to see on the pitch that none of our expensive new signings are fully committed to the club. We should have saved our money and kept Luke Vuskovic, Mikey Moore and Will Lankshear rather than invest in players that Manchester City, Chelsea and Brighton were more than happy to sell to us!

Edward: We need time. A goalless draw is a good sign and start. Now we need to build on that. Building on scoring and trying to win are the next priorities. Then from there, we start to build a better understanding among the players and then that's when you get the idea of team spirit and structure. All this needs to happen but none of it happens overnight. Please be patient and then good things will happen.

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Last March's 3-0 win for Nottingham Forest at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium provided the platform for the visitors' survival bid while leaving Spurs floundering until the final day.

Since then Spurs have spent over £300m on new players - contributing to the record £3.49bn Premier League outlay this summer.

Sandro Tonali, Jon Paul Van Hecke, Savio and Omar Marmoush were the new signings who started on Saturday, with Roberto de Zerbi remaining calm after another blank.

"We bought very, very good players but you can't just build the team with the names like in Football Manager," he told Sky Sports.

"We are disappointed for the result but for the performance very happy. Considering we started to work together last Thursday for the first time, for the first day.

"We have to improve in every part of football, organisation with and without the ball. Even today I thought we defended very well.

"We have to work because I think we played very well with the ball, we found the solution. I think we can be much better in the final third."

A draw was Tottenham's eighth in the league this year, their most across a calendar year since 2020, and they failed to have a shot on target in a top-flight match for the first time since April 2022 against Brentford under Antonio Conte.

Spurs have had 38 shots in the league this season with an expected goals of 3.3 and former midfielder Danny Murphy agreed with De Zerbi over what the visitors lacked.

"When Spurs did get in really good areas, they just rushed it and shot when they maybe should've passed," he told BBC Sport.

"They made the wrong choice on pullbacks or crosses when they're getting in wide areas, taking men on one too many times when they've already got the space.

"They were just missing that little bit of calmness and composure that you expect from top quality players.

"It takes time for some players [to find chemistry]. You could argue that Marmoush and Savio know each other anyway and bright footballers quickly learn each other's runs and movements.

"From a midfielder to a forward perspective, you're not always sure what they're going to do. Whereas if you played with someone for a while, it comes more naturally. So those relationships will build."

Read more here

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Spurs failed to have a shot on target until the 81st minute and even then Matz Sels could have gathered Pedro Porro's effort with his eyes closed.

With Richarlison, last season's 12-goal top scorer, excluded from the Premier League squad and expected to leave, they need to find goals from elsewhere.

Omar Marmoush and Savio, big-money signings from Manchester City, were unable to inspire the visitors.

Savio was withdrawn on the hour while Marmoush missed his best chance, shooting wide with just Sels to beat - although he was penalised for a foul in the build-up.

Tottenham did not play badly but after the summer spending spree it is not the level which is demanded or expected.

Tottenham boss Roberto de Zerbi speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "In terms of performance I am very, very proud. I'm delighted to watch my players fight like this. We didn't concede risk to concede goals.

"We are working now, because we started last Thursday, very happy for the spirit, the attitude, the behaviour of the players. The players who played 90 minutes, 70 minutes, 20 minutes, 10 minutes. This is our way, great qualities of the players. The human level of the dressing is great, now we have to work and improve in all levels of the football.

"Our mood is to win, to win, to win. But I think we have to stay calm to keep the confidence in ourselves. Then I think we have the players good enough to score many goals like [Dominic] Solanke, Savio, [Omar] Marmoush."

On if he has everything he needs for success: "I'm very happy for the transfer market, I think the club, the sporting director and the CEO worked it very, very well with ambition and clear ideas. Now we have to work because in football you cannot ask for time but without time you can do nothing."

Did you know?

• Tottenham Hotspur failed to have a shot on target in a Premier League match for the first time since April 2022 against Brentford under Antonio Conte.

• Tottenham Hotspur have failed to score in three successive Premier League games for the first time since November 2021, while it is the first time a Roberto De Zerbi side has failed to do so in Europe's big five leagues since Brighton and Hove Albion in January 2024.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Nottingham Forest's performance

What did you make of Tottenham's display?

Reaction and analysis to follow - and come back on Monday for a selection of your replies.

There are seven games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Newcastle v Bournemouth (12:30)

• Brentford v Sunderland

• Brighton v Leeds

• Fulham v Crystal Palace

• Man City v Coventry - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Nottingham Forest v Tottenham - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Hull v Aston Villa (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated.

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Nottingham Forest are waiting for their first win under Oliver Glasner but I felt they were unlucky to lose against Leeds and also to only draw at Liverpool.

I have been very disappointed with Roberto de Zerbi's Tottenham so far, however, and not just because of their poor results.

When he came in at Brighton, De Zerbi built an amazing team in a short space of time and they were great to watch even if they made a few mistakes along the way.

In contrast, we still don't know what his Spurs team are about, even though they have spent an absolute fortune on players.

I think that's on De Zerbi because, although new players take time to gel, his side have put in two really insipid performances so far.

He has put that down to the team not being fully fit and blamed their pre-season schedule, but they should still be doing much better than they are - with no points and no goals so far.

Other clubs, with new managers as well as lots of new players, look much more organised so it is not an excuse.

Still, Spurs have surely got to improve soon, which is why I have got them down to pick up a first point here.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Roberto de Zerbi's Tottenham, who have lost both league games this season without scoring, now face a Nottingham Forest side who have beaten them in each of their last four encounters. BBC Sport takes a look at the key themes ahead of Saturday's meeting at the City Ground (15:00 BST).

"It's the biggest problem, it's the biggest challenge and it's the biggest target to find the right mentality," De Zerbi said as he reflected on Spurs' defeat to Newcastle that left them bottom of the table.

No points or goals from their two league games so far is not the start they envisaged after spending more than £300m on 10 new players this summer, but their beleaguered boss pointedly said: "You can't buy mentality in the transfer market."

Despite their squad being refreshed by nearly a full team of new recruits, scars clearly remain at the club following their back-to-back 17th-place finishes and a dismal record of just 21 wins from 78 top-flight games (D16, L41) since the start of the 2024-25 season.

Another telling statistic that points towards a lack of fight is that it's nearly two years since the last time they won a Premier League game from going 1-0 down. They've lost 28 and drawn eight after conceding first dating back to a 4-1 victory over Aston Villa in November 2024.

De Zerbi's team selections have also raised eyebrows so far. Mitigation comes in the form of a few key players not yet being fully fit, but picking Pedro Porro as an advanced right winger, Conor Gallagher as a 10 against Brentford and chopping and changing his midfield is yet to pay dividends.

They will now attempt to avoid losing their first three league games in a campaign for only the fifth time in their history and for only the second time without scoring since the start of the 1974-75 season.

The Lilywhites will have to rectify their poor recent record against a Nottingham Forest side who are targeting a fifth league win in a row against the north Londoners for the very first time, having won both league meetings 3-0 last season.

After they opened the season with successive defeats to Leeds, Forest steadied the ship with an impressive showing in a 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Anfield in which their xG of 2.3 comfortably outstripped that of the hosts' 1.61.

To the fore in that game was Morgan Gibbs-White, with the former Spurs target scoring his 13th Premier League goal of 2026 - the highest figure of any top-flight player this year.

While the Tricky Trees may not have secured all of their transfer targets, a significantly quieter summer than in recent years still brought in quality to the City Ground.

Following the mega sale of Elliot Anderson, they actually turned in a profit despite spending nearly £120m themselves on the likes of club record signing Liam Delap, Sporting Lisbon defender Ousmane Diomande and one of the Premier League's best right-backs in Daniel Munoz.

Head coach Oliver Glasner will be keen to get the club back to winning ways at home given they've managed just one victory in their last 12 top-flight games at the City Ground.

Following their loss to Leeds on the opening weekend they will also be desperate to protect an impressive record of having not lost their first two home games of a top-flight campaign since 1924-25.

One of the tactical tweaks that's starting to emerge as Glasner moulds his team is them becoming more direct with their passing. Despite a small sample size of two matches, 20.9% of their passes have gone long which is up from last season's average of just 12.5%.

Josh Lobley
BBC Sport journalist

Tottenham boss Roberto de Zerbi has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground (15:00 BST)

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• James Maddison was back in training on Thursday but will not make Saturday's match. Everyone else is available, including Savio and Mykhailo Mudryk, who De Zerbi said is ready to play "part of the game".

• De Zerbi spoke at length about the Ukrainian winger: "We spent one particular season together in Shakhtar and when I spoke about the Ballon d'Or I was very clear, I was speaking about the potential of the player. Until now, he has had many problems. The potential was and is clear. His challenge is to respect all of his qualities because he's a great player."

• De Zerbi said Richarlison - who has been left out of Spurs' 25-man Premier League squad and is expected to exit in the coming days - told him that he wanted to leave the club at the beginning of pre-season, adding: "I only want the players that want to stay here with pride, passion to stay. Then every other problem is not my business, it's the responsibility of the club. I can't say anything because I didn't decide anything."

• On any bids for the Brazil forward: "I don't know if there is an offer from Turkey. I don't know if the club has accepted the offer. I know there was an offer before the end of the transfer market but he didn't accept. For me, nothing has changed."

• He says Mateus Fernandes can play "multiple positions" in his side, adding: "In this moment, Rodrigo Bentancur is very important for this team because he gives balance and order on the pitch with his experience. So we try to play with Mateus in the number 10, where he started his career, and then he was one of two midfielders. He's very young. Like [Lucas] Bergvall, Archie Gray and Savio - they are the future of this club."

• On Saturday's opponents: "Good team. They have a clear style of play - like Crystal Palace and like Eintracht Frankfurt [Forest boss Oliver Glasner's previous two clubs] many years ago. They play well and they have good players, but we also have very good players."

Listen to full match commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds on Saturday

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Tottenham forward Richarlison has agreed to join Turkish club Trabzonspor with his proposed salary three times more than what he earns at Spurs. (Fabrizio Romano, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Steve Sutcliffe, Emlyn Begley and Gary Rose
BBC Sport journalists

Premier League clubs have broke their all-time summer transfer record with spending reaching £3.49bn.

A total of £506.5m was spent on deadline day itself, up from £391m last year.

The total amount spent during the window considerably dwarfs the £1.13bn spent by clubs just five years ago and underlines the power top English clubs have to attract talent, according to figures provided to BBC Sport by Paul Macdonald, founder of FootballTransfers.com.

Three of the 10 most expensive signings in the history of football have happened this summer – with all of them being Premier League signings. In fact, this summer window featured four of the top flight's five most expensive ever deals.

So maybe it is not surprising then that of the 20 most expensive transfers completed, only six were not to clubs in the English top flight.

Indeed, newly-promoted Ipswich have spent more on new signings than the likes of Barcelona, AC Milan, Juventus and reigning European champions PSG.

Premier League clubs as a whole were willing to dip deep into their pockets this summer, as 11 of the 20 clubs broke their transfer records, six of them on more than one occasion.

Coventry, promoted to the Premier League alongside Ipswich and Hull, have done so four times over.

Read more on the Premier League's record-breaking transfer spending

Arsenal have started the new Premier League season with two wins as the transfer window closes, looking in ominous shape to retain the crown they won for the first time in 22 years last season.

Have their main rivals done enough to prevent Mikel Arteta's side winning a second successive title?

And what are the other big issues as the Premier League's transfer business was concluded until January?

Tottenham Hotspur have had a spectacular transfer window as they spent more than £300m - but results so far have been less than spectacular with two league defeats away to Brentford and at home to Newcastle United.

Roberto De Zerbi has been given huge backing, right up until the close of the window when he got his wish to bring in Mykhailo Mudryk, who played under him at Shakhtar Donetsk.

Mudryk resolved a doping case with the Football Association in July, but has not played a competitive match since November 2024.

De Zerbi must mould his host of new faces, 10 with the arrival of Tosin Adarabioyo from Chelsea, into a coherent unit, but this looks like a squad that possesses promise - with De Zerbi's biggest task getting Spurs to ditch the losing mentality that has seen them finish 17th in the last two seasons.

Alex Brotherton and Adwaidh Rajan
BBC Sport journalists

Image source, Getty Images

Mykhailo Mudryk joined Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2023 for an initial £61m, having attracted interest from clubs across Europe including Arsenal.

After impressing in the Champions League with Shakhtar in the first half of 2022-23, Mudryk needed time to adapt to a new country and league.

He had to wait until October 2023 for his first Chelsea goal, and he ended his first full campaign at Stamford Bridge with seven goals and four assists.

By the start of 2024-25, Graham Potter - who signed Mudryk - had been succeeded first by Frank Lampard, then Mauricio Pochettino and finally Enzo Maresca.

Mudryk struggled for Premier League starts in the first months of Maresca's tenure, but he was making an impact in the Conference League when he underwent an out-of-competition test on international duty with Ukraine in October 2024.

Mudryk was provisionally suspended after returning an "adverse finding" for banned substance meldonium.

He was subsequently given the maximum four-year ban by the FA, but he appealed against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).

He became free to return to competition "with immediate effect" on 31 July 2026, after the FA said anti-doping disciplinary proceedings had been resolved and Mudryk had accepted breaking anti-doping rules, also agreeing to a suspension equal to the time already served.

Mudryk, who has always maintained he had "never knowingly or intentionally" taken a banned substance, said he was "grateful" to be able to return to playing after "the most difficult period" of his career.

He will now restart his career at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 11 miles north east of where it appeared to be falling apart.

Read the full article here

Tottenham have done the following business on transfer deadline day:

• Japan international Kota Takai has gone on a season-long loan to Belgian top-flight side Sint-Truidense.

• Midfielder Pape Matar Sarr has joined Juventus on a season-long loan, with the Serie A side having the option to make the move permanent next summer.

• Defender Kevin Danso has joined fellow Premier League side Sunderland on a season-long loan.

• Mansfield Town have re-signed Tottenham midfielder George Abbott on a season-long loan.

• Forward Mykhailo Mudryk has signed on a season-long loan from Chelsea with an option to buy for £75m.

• Tottenham have signed defender Tosin Adarabioyo from Chelsea on a permanent deal.

• Barnet have signed striker Damola Ajayi from Tottenham on a season-long loan deal.

• Academy graduate Dane Scarlett will leave the club to join League One side Leyton Orient on a permanent deal.

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