Tottenham were unable to break Everton down and drew 0-0, extending their run without a goal to four Premier League matches. No wins. No goals. Spurs have spent big, backed Roberto De Zerbi, and completely overhauled their attack. Savio, Omar Marmoush and Mykhailo Mudryk were brought in at huge expense. And yet Spurs still look completely toothless.
Spending on the wrong problem
The problem is that Tottenham have spent a fortune trying to fix the wrong problem. Dominic Solanke, once prolific for Bournemouth, was handed his chance from the start but is starved of the service a striker needs. Mohamed Kudus and Mathys Tel were thrown on from the bench, but the few genuine flashes of attacking threat came during the brief 14 minutes James Maddison was on the pitch.
Maddison has been Tottenham's creative heartbeat for years. His influence has inevitably diminished after a series of devastating injuries, but the evidence of what Spurs are missing could hardly be clearer. The same applies to Dejan Kulusevski.
Midfield recruitment questioned
Losing both players to long-term absences has been catastrophic. Failing to properly replace either of them was nothing short of foolish. Eight players arrived for around £300million in a remarkable show of faith in De Zerbi, who had a say in the recruitment process. Yet £185m of that went on Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, while Conor Gallagher had already arrived for £35m in January.
The issue is that those three big-money midfielders all play a similar role and neither of them are creative enough to justify being signed at the same time. Tonali, Fernandes and Gallagher can all be outstanding players, but they need the right pieces around them. They are at their best alongside an enforcer and a genuine creator. Tottenham do not have enough of either.
De Zerbi under pressure
Instead, more money was spent on wingers and attackers who have so far failed to solve the fundamental problem. Spurs have plenty of players capable of running, pressing and attacking space. What they desperately lack is someone capable of unlocking a defence. That missing piece of the puzzle somehow remains missing.
Unless Maddison or Kulusevski can somehow return to the level they were at two years ago, Tottenham are asking a huge amount of two players who have already endured so much during their respective injury rehabilitations. That leaves De Zerbi in an increasingly uncomfortable position. Quite how much influence he had over every transfer decision remains unclear. But when a manager oversees a lopsided squad, he is usually the first person asked to explain it.
Tottenham are now six hours without a goal and counting. Four Premier League matches without finding the net. They have spent hundreds of millions trying to build a new attack, yet when the going gets tough and Spurs need one moment of inspiration, there is nobody obvious to provide it.
