Tottenham's troubles persist as Vicario, midfield gaps, and academy shortages test the club's progress

Tottenham Hotspur have struggled to translate upheaval in the boardroom and dugout into consistent results. The club has a new chairman and a new boardroom regime, a new head coach with a different tactical style, and a few new players. Only three players — Pedro Porro, Djed Spence and Archie Gray — are expected to start against the Premier League champions on Saturday from those who started a year ago. Spurs are 11th in the Premier League, and their points in the last 12 months amount to 37 from 37 games, with just 16 points from 18 at home. Fans have not felt satisfied since their Europa League triumph in May. The changes were designed to move the club toward stability after a turbulent period, but the evidence of progress remains limited.

An error-prone goalkeeper has become a focal point. Guglielmo Vicario faced another error-strewn display in the 3-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest on Sunday, following a costly miscue at Fulham earlier in the season. Antonin Kinsky, a 22-year-old signed from Slavia Prague in January, has been waiting for a chance, but coach Thomas Frank has resisted, perhaps unsure if Kinsky is ready. The leadership and voice Vicario provides in a young dressing room remains valued by the manager, who has to balance trust in his goalkeeper with the need for more dependable decisions under pressure. Vicario can produce brilliant saves and was outstanding in a 0-0 draw with Monaco in October, but he is often exposed by high balls and by crowded defences at set-pieces. A January upgrade in goal remains a possibility as Spurs reassess their options.

Midfield and the defense are under similar scrutiny. The back four has become a fragile platform for a team built around attacking intent. Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven have established themselves as the team’s most important figures, delivering aggression and forward momentum but not offering a consistently solid base. Romero can be erratic, concedes free-kicks, and has a string of suspensions, while Van de Ven is dynamic but also rides the disciplinary line. The duo’s leadership is praised, yet their vulnerabilities have been exposed by inconsistent support from the rest of the back line and a squad that lacks a clear central stabilizer. The full backs, in particular, have not shown reliable defensive instincts, and Frank has yet to find the perfect balance in midfield to shield the defense.

The midfield balance remains a major issue. When elite players like Declan Rice or Moises Caicedo were linked with moves to London, Spurs did not have the resources to recapture that top-tier ballast. Joao Palhinha, signed on loan from Bayern Munich, is a reminder of what the club might need—tenacious ball-winners with better ball retention—but his strengths are not a panacea for a squad that also lacks finesse in tight spaces. Rodrigo Bentancur has poise and vision but does not offer the defensive cover the team requires; Pape Matar Sarr runs all day but can be untidy in possession; Lucas Bergvall shows promise but remains a risk in deep midfield. Yves Bissouma, once a centerpiece, has struggled to recapture his best form. Archie Gray, the latest homegrown hope, has shown glimpses against Brentford and Slavia Prague, but his error in conjunction with Vicario at Forest underscored how far he still is from seasoned operating at this level. Spurs’ midfield is a mishmash of talent that hasn’t yet added the elite balance needed to control games.

Attack has not matched the levels of previous seasons. The club’s goal threat has been blunted by injuries and departures among last season’s double-figure scorers. Dominic Solanke (16), James Maddison (12) and Dejan Kulusevski (10) have been unavailable or out of the lineup for extended periods, Son Heung-min (11) has been moved on from his peak, and Brennan Johnson’s status has fluctuated. Mohammed Kudus arrived for 55 million pounds and has been deployed on the right wing in an attempt to spark the attack, while Xavi Simons has shown signs of settling into a No. 10 role. Richarlison has shouldered a portion of the goals, with seven this season, but the team has leaned heavily on set-pieces as a source of scoring when open play proves elusive.

There is also concern about the academy’s contribution to the first team. The brightest homegrown prospect, Mikey Moore, is out on loan at Rangers and making a start to impact there, while the club’s latest pipeline has yet to deliver a consistent Premier League-ready player. The market opens soon, and Frank has signaled they will be active, with a focus on a goalkeeper, a left-sided attacker and a striker, but Spurs have shown they will not compete at the very top with the biggest spenders. Sporting director Johan Lange and the club’s broader recruitment strategy will be under the microscope in January as they try to bridge gaps that a summer of transfer activity could not fully close.

The festive period will test Spurs further. Liverpool have had the measure of Spurs in recent meetings, and the two clubs are about to square off again as part of a demanding run-in. Since the 2018-19 season, Spurs have won just two of 16 meetings with Liverpool, including a 4-0 reverse in a recent league clash. After the Liverpool fixture comes a trip to Crystal Palace, a pair of fixtures that will probe the character and resilience of a squad that has changed significantly in the past year. The club will balance patience with urgency as it weighs January moves and whether the current squad can deliver the improvement the board hopes to see. The test extends to the board’s nerve as much as to the players’ form, and how the club navigates its path back toward the upper end of the table will shape the narrative in the weeks ahead.