'Not Football Manager' - De Zerbi says misfiring Spurs need time

It has been more than half a century since Tottenham have gone this long without a league goal to start the season.

A City Ground stalemate at Nottingham Forest at least gets Roberto de Zerbi's side their first point of the season but not to the extent they would want.

It followed defeats to Brentford and Newcastle which means Spurs have failed to score in their opening three league games for the first time since 1974-75.

Spurs did not play badly - they were the better side - but after their huge summer transfer outlay more is needed and expected.

De Zerbi preached patience and he is right - 10 senior arrivals means his team is still to find an identity.

And they did leave Forest with a point, something they have failed to do for almost three years.

Indeed, the video assistant referee's call to rule out Neco Williams' bundled second-half effort ensured it was not a third-straight Premier League defeat for Spurs.

Yet they have now failed to score in three successive Premier League games for the first time since November 2021, and improvement is needed at misfiring Spurs.