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While Daniel Levy was still at the helm, Tottenham supporters were adamant that the Executive Chairman was holding the club back.

There's obviously some truth to this, with Levy failing to capitalise at the right moments to potentially evolve excellent Spurs teams into winners.

However, towards the end of his tenure, Levy cannot be accused of failing to get the chequebook out. Sure, his methods were grating and alienating, but the club spent big post-Mauricio Pochettino and there was even evidence of him ditching his stringent wage structure through the signing of Xavi Simons.

Levy left his post soon after, and the new regime has certainly presented a relative brashness in the market. They made Conor Gallagher one of the highest-paid players at the club in January, and appeased Roberto De Zerbi by spending upwards of €400m in the summer overhauling their personnel after a wretched campaign.

The splurge was certainly necessary, and the club's Premier League-exclusive policy forced them to pay premiums.

However, recent history would suggest that Tottenham haven't been able to successfully buy their way out of trouble.

Tottenham have been one of the world's worst transfer market operators

In its 557th post, the CIES Football Observatory has presented a ranking of teams around the world based on the appreciation or depreciation of non-academy players signed over the past five years.

The calculation takes into account the fees for players signed and sold during that time frame, as well as the current values of players clubs have signed in the last five years and are still on their books.

Out of all the clubs included in the ranking, Tottenham Hotspur sit fourth-bottom. Their players have depreciated in value by €188m. Only Al Nassr (-€229m), Manchester United (-€405m) and Al Hilal (-€502m) have performed worse, and we can't compare ourselves to the Saudi Pro League clubs, who have cash to burn. They're not functioning to sell players on, are they?

The only other two Premier League clubs boasting a net negative are the newly promoted Coventry City and Ipswich Town. The rest of the division has seen their players increase in value over the past five years, indicating some form of success in the transfer market.

Eintracht Frankfurt (€526m) lead the way, while Manchester City (€447m) have been the best Premier League performers. They may be financial dopers and ultimately cheats, but City wouldn't have had the success they have over the past 15 years if they weren't any good in the market. They've bought incredibly well, but have artificially allowed themselves to have more leeway than others. If a Tijjani Reijnders doesn't come off, Elliot Anderson arrives the following year.

Unsurprisingly, the revered three B's; Brentford, Bournemouth and Brighton & Hove Albion, have helped the values of their players signed increase by more than €300m.

Going back to Spurs, CIES ranks our value depreciation of players still at the club (-€234m) as the worst in the world. That's staggering, and indicative of our summer overspend (as well as the fortunes of Richarlison and Dominic Solanke in N17). Of players signed and sold, the picture is rosier. We've at least entered the world of appreciation on that front (€46m).

Everything is coming up Tottenham Hotspur, which means the innate pessimist is fretting tirelessly about the upcoming home clash against Crystal Palace.

Pierre Sage is certainly on the hot seat after overseeing back-to-back Premier League defeats, including a 5-0 thrashing at A23 rivals Brighton & Hove Albion. Steve Parish is giving the Frenchman time to turn things around, having inherited a difficult situation at Selhurst Park, and they were unconvincingly victorious at Fulham in the week, meaning a Carabao Cup quarterfinal awaits in December.

This fixture represented one of the lowest moments in Spurs' 2025/26 season. It was the night when a fanbase agreed in frightening unison that relegation was a genuine possibility. But things have changed in N17 since, with successive victories ensuring the mood is much brighter after an unproductive opening.

Roberto De Zerbi's side were outstanding at Stamford Bridge, and it'd be all to Spursy if we toiled without reward against a Palace team that has been incredibly easy to play against so far.

Here's how Tottenham could line up on home soil this weekend.

Defense: GK Antonín Kinsky - RB Pedro Porro - CB Jan Paul van Hecke - CB Micky van de Ven - LB Andy Robertson

Encouragingly, De Zerbi changed tack at the Bridge after overseeing his first Premier League victory of the season against Coventry City five days earlier.

Palace are likely to go down the Coventry route of blocking space and playing on the counterattack, so De Zerbi should be aggressive with his team selection. However, with Pedro Porro back in the mix, I don't think there's a need to go for a back three, matching the visitors.

The Dutch centre-back duo, outstanding last week, will keep their spots, as will Robertson. Destiny Udogie's status remains up in the air.

Midfield: DM Sandro Tonali - DM Mateus Fernandes - AM Omar Marmoush

Tonali was left on an island against Coventry, but utilised higher up the pitch last time out. The pair have to work in tandem again, with Fernandes particularly outstanding in west London.

Palace are unlikely to press high, posing an alternate challenge to Tottenham's midfield. The onus will be on Tonali to break in behind and overload Palace's defence, while Fernandes will be tasked with orchestrating Spurs' possession play from a deeper role and creating amid periods of sustained pressure.

Assuming James Maddison won't be risked due to a groin injury, I'd like to see the versatile Omar Marmoush assume No. 10 duties. We don't need Conor Gallagher from the outset here, and can afford to experiment with the Egyptian.

The technically secure Marmoush won't replicate what Maddison offers as a build-up reliever, but he's such a threat from range.

Forwards: RW Mohammed Kudus - CF Dominic Solanke - LW Mathys Tel

Dominic Solanke will operate as a box presence up against Palace's three so-so centre-backs, and there will be opportunities for the English striker to build his Premier League goal tally on Saturday.

Solanke is set to be supplied by Mohammed Kudus, who played an unsung role in last week's win, from the right, and Mathys Tel on the opposite wing.

Tel's moment at the Bridge will reside in Tottenham folklore in perpetuity, and De Zerbi has to give the Frenchman the chance to build on his performance. Spurs expertly isolated Tel one-on-one last time out, with Robertson proving a big help from left-back.

Conor Gallagher certainly isn't everyone's first choice to start as the No. 10 for Tottenham Hotspur, and with James Maddison potentially injured again after coming into last weekend's win over Chelsea with some missed practices and then coming out with a groin issue in the 50th minute, Gallagher is back on the table as an option this weekend vs. rivals Crystal Palace.

The alternative to Maddison that many Tottenham fans want to see is Omar Marmoush in a hybrid 10 and support striker role behind main No. 9 Dominic Solanke, but against Palace, maybe reverting back to Gallagher isn't such a bad idea.

There is, of course, the element of revenge here, as Gallagher did play for Palace before making his way back to Chelsea. That 2021/22 season with the Eagles was the best of his career with 8 goals and more than 3 combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per game, and he's been looking to get back to that status since.

Conor Gallagher can be the anti-Adam Wharton missile

Tottenham Hotspur have a more compelling, tactical reason to utilize Gallagher against Crystal Palace. While he has scored a couple of goals this season and is still every bit the bulldog he always was with the ball at his feet, Spurs aren't going to start Gallagher because of his attacking prowess. He's a well below par No. 10 in terms of his passing and playmaking, and that has consistently stunted Tottenham this season, too.

But Conor Gallagher is great as an anti-10. Basically, he is a No. 10 who works best when he is playing defensive, pressing and harrying the back line into mistakes that his team can quickly capitalize on. The anti-10 is a somewhat new role in football, and it is often used in specific situations by great managers to basically have a more defensive 10 shadow a playmaking regista in order to block their passing lanes, suffocate their space, and prevent them from controlling the game.

Crystal Palace are 17th in the Premier League and one of the worst teams around, and they have sold a lot of their great players over the last couple of seasons like Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi, and Maxence Lacroix. But they still have young defensive midfielder Adam Wharton, who is arguably the best young deep lying playmaker in the Premier League.

Gallagher can both frustrate him and the Palace back line with players like Chris Richards and Axel Disasi. He can get a below average defense to fumble the ball away into both his and the clutches of forwards Mohammed Kudus, Dominic Solanke, and Mathys Tel. But he will also be crucial in styming Wharton, suffocating the best player on the Eagles. Gallagher makes a lot of sense in that defensive 10 role against a team like Palace, whose best player is that playmaking 6.

With Savio out injured, Tottenham Hotspur right winger Mohammed Kudus has stepped his game up an octave, and he is now coming off two brilliant performances in the first two wins of the team's 2026/27 Premier League season. Kudus grabbed an assist and consistently progressed the ball and got into the box in a 3-1 win over Coventry, and he was honestly even better in a gutsy performance going both ways, pouring his heart out as Spurs won 2-0 against Chelsea to exorcise their demons at Stamford Bridge.

This weekend, Kudus will have an easier individual matchup against Crystal Palace, though Tottenham obviously won't be taking any London rivalry game for granted. Kudus will be going up against Tyrick Mitchell and Axel Disasi on the left side of the Palace defense this Saturday on Halloween, and while Mitchell is a good athlete and ball winner and Disasi is a great center back in theory, there is room out there for Kudus to take advantage of their mistakes.

What Tottenham want to see next from their blockbuster summer 2025 signing is more decisiveness in the final third. Kudus already established himself as one of the best dribblers in world football even when he was a prospect at Ajax, and he only enhanced that reputation in the Premier League both with lowly West Ham United and then last season while doing his best to carry an awful Tottenham Hotspur side.

It's time for Mohammed Kudus to start scoring

This season, Kudus is already off to a good start in terms of assists with two of them, but as an inverted left winger, Roberto De Zerbi and Tottenham want to challenge the Ghanaian international to start scoring goals. He only had two last season, and Kudus has actually only scored eouble digit goals in a season once in his career when he had 11 in the 2022/23 season with Ajax. That led West Ham to spend a lot on him, in the hopes he would keep scoring, and while he did have 8 goals in his first season with the Hammers, he's never had more than 5 since.

Crystal Palace are a great opportunity for Mohammed Kudus to score goals, and Tottenham may need that out of him. The left winger, whether Omar Marmoush or Mathys Tel, will have a good matchup, but Chris Richards will be in the middle marking Dominic Solanke.

Kudus will be facing the rest of the Palace center backs, and they don't have much depth. Mitchell will play more defensive against Spurs than usual, but, still, Kudus will have a lot of chances to score when the the left center back covers him. Tottenham need to see Kudus cutting inside and taking good shooting positions - and shooting accurately. Palace is a good first step for Kudus to move towards the evolution of becoming a complete and goal scoring inverted winger, and he already showed that potential as a U23 player.

Tottenham Hotspur will face another London rival this weekend on Halloween against Crystal Palace, and back at home, Spurs will want to avoid anything less than the full three points against a team that is not only in 17th, but so poor that they are considering sacking their manager and hiring Thomas Frank if they lose to Spurs. So as if Spurs needed any more motivation to take down an incompetently run Palace, then the thought of Frank relegating the Eagles will entice them even more.

But despite Crystal Palace basically getting rid of almost everyone competent in their team over the past couple of years, including Ballon d'Or candidate Michael Olise, they have held onto one absolute gem in Adam Wharton, whom many Tottenham fans viewed as a dream regista of the future.

These days, Tottenham don't need him. They have their own young English regista of the future in Archie Gray, as well as a world class deep playmaker of the present in Roberto De Zerbi's "Chosen One" (my homage to Drew McInfa- I mean, McIntyre). They also have Rodrigo Bentancur, the young Lucas Bergvall, and recently signed a young box to box midfielder who is as young as Wharton but even better in Mateus Fernandes.

Mateus Fernandes will want to boss Adam Wharton

Last weekend, Fernandes finally got to start as a defensive midfielder in his preferred 6/8 role next to Sandro Tonali, and he was the Man of the Match, literally. Fernandes rocked Stamford Bridge with his ability to win the ball and his ability to pass through the defense, showcasing exactly what he did at West Ham United that made Tottenham Hotspur sign him for 85 million pounds ahead of interest from clubs as big as Manchester United and even Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid.

On Saturday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Mateus Fernandes has a chance to boss a Crystal Palace midifeld that is less of a threat to him than Chelsea's under Xabi Alonso. Palace are not nearly as well coached, not nearly as organized defensively, and all they really have is Adam Wharton.

So this is mano a mano warfare for Fernandes against Wharton and the experienced Jefferson Lerma. On the one hand, Fernandes needs to have his way with Lerma on the ball, and he is a smarter player than the Palace starter. And then on the other hand, he needs to be the one to aggressively and actively disrupt Wharton, blocking his passing lanes and bamboozling the young Englishman. If Fernandes can get the better of Wharton after bossing Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson, then nobody can question his transfer fee again.

Xavi Simons has certainly kept himself busy since succumbing to an ACL tear at Molineux in April.

The Dutch playmaker, who's debut season in Lilywhite was laden with promise, has quickly endeared himself to the fanbase, and proven to be quite the human being. In partnership with the Johan Cruyff Foundation, Xavi has funded a brand-new community football pitch in Rojales, Alicante—where he grew up in Spain after moving from Amsterdam when he was three-years-old.

Xavi has also spent time across the pond, visiting the Boston Celtics and Baltimore Ravens as part of his specialist rehabilitation programme. He also enrolled at the prestigious Harvard University while he was at it.

The former PSG and RB Leipzig star is one of several Tottenham players to recently suffer a long-term knee injury, and one his close pals, Wilson Odobert, has been on the sidelines since February as the result of a similar issue. Xavi has a great support system in place, and seems to be coping well.

He was in the changing room after Saturday's rare victory at Stamford Bridge, and must surely be desperate to get back in the mix as soon as possible. For Xavi, a potential return doesn't appear light years away.

Xavi targeting Christmas return from ACL tear

The Dutchman scared a few when he posted a photo of himself wearing a knee brace before some clarified that the photo in question was taken right after he underwent surgery in April.

There have been exclusively positive reports regarding his recovery, and there was another provided by someone we haven't heard a whole lot from since the transfer window slammed shut. @szyexcl proved himself to be reliable enough to trust in the summer, and seeing as his latest report is hugely encouraging, we'll choose to believe it.

They understand that Xavi is targeting a return to first-team in action in late December, perhaps in that wilderness period between Christmas and New Year. Spurs host Bournemouth on Boxing Day and Brighton & Hove Albion on the 29th. A trip to a potentially-sanctioned Manchester City kicks off our 2027.

Szy notes that Spurs are expressing more caution, hoping to have Xavi back in January. That's when our FA Cup campaign will get underway, so perhaps those early-round fixtures would be ideal for the Dutchman to ease his way back in.

Tottenham Hotspur have given their supporters plenty to be frustrated about this season, but their last three performances have offered some much-needed encouragement.

Roberto De Zerbi's side followed up their first Premier League victory of the season against Coventry City with a memorable 2-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening. Spurs have now lost just once in their last six league matches, and there are finally signs that they could be finding their feet under the Italian manager.

Beating Chelsea away from home is something Tottenham supporters have had little opportunity to celebrate over the years. Yet it was the performance, as much as the result, that made Saturday's victory so encouraging. Spurs looked increasingly comfortable playing De Zerbi's football, and there is reason to believe this could be the beginning of something better.

A Rare But Deserved Victory

Tottenham recorded just their second victory at Stamford Bridge in 36 years, and they did so by taking the game to Chelsea rather than sitting back and hoping for the best.

Spurs looked like a proper De Zerbi side. Players were happy to get on the ball, move it confidently and play through Chelsea's press. Tottenham enjoyed almost 70% possession, completed more than 550 passes and registered 15 shots in what was a superb away performance.

The midfield duo of Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali were excellent, helping Spurs dictate the tempo of the game and giving their attacking players the platform to cause Chelsea problems. There was a clear plan for how Tottenham wanted to play, and they stuck to it.

For a while, though, it looked as though Spurs might leave west London wondering how they had failed to win. Tottenham fans have seen that story play out often enough: plenty of possession, promising spells and chances created, only for the final result to tell a different story. Given their record at Stamford Bridge, the prospect of another frustrating afternoon was hardly far-fetched.

Thankfully for Spurs, the breakthrough finally came in the 77th minute when Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders diverted Fernandes' corner into his own net. Mathys Tel then produced a superb individual finish late on to make sure of the three points.

It was a deserved win, and one Tottenham supporters will enjoy for a long time. But perhaps the most encouraging part was how they earned it. Spurs remained patient, continued to play their football and eventually found a way through. That has not always been the case this season.

Signs of Progress?

The Chelsea result was not an isolated moment, either. Tottenham have shown something different across their last three league outings, with each game presenting a different challenge.

At Manchester United, Spurs found themselves behind and then had Rodrigo Bentancur sent off. It would have been easy for the game to get away from them, but they kept fighting and earned a late point through Dominic Solanke's header. It was the sort of response that Tottenham supporters have wanted to see more often.

Coventry presented a different problem. When Jack Rudoni equalised in the second half, Spurs could have allowed the momentum to swing against them, especially given their torrid home record in recent seasons. Instead, they responded and went on to secure their first league win of the season.

The Chelsea game was different again. Tottenham showed they could control a game away from home. They did not need a late comeback to rescue them from a poor performance. They were calm and composed on the ball, eventually getting the goals their display deserved.

That is what makes this recent run worth taking note of. Spurs have shown they can fight back when things go against them and take control when the game allows it. Three matches do not solve all the problems that have held them back in recent times, but they offer more encouragement than a single good result ever could.

De Zerbi's fiery personality may have a part to play. His teams are expected to be brave on the ball, but that bravery has to come with the determination to compete when possession is lost. Tottenham have started to show both.

The Real Test Starts Now

Tottenham cannot afford to get carried away with one memorable win. Crystal Palace visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before Spurs travel to Leeds United ahead of the November international break, and those two games could tell us much more about where this team is heading.

The question is whether Tottenham can bring the same intensity and patience into those fixtures. Beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge is one thing, but following it up against different opposition is another. Spurs have given themselves something to build on, and they need to prove they can reproduce these performances rather than let them become another brief spell of optimism.

The win at Chelsea was a famous result in its own right. Now Tottenham need to back it up.

Being a Tottenham Hotspur supporter hasn't been all that fun over the past couple of years, but boy, has it been a wonderful few days.

In truth, things have never been the same since Lucas Moura scored three in Amsterdam to improbably take us to the Champions League final.

The period between Moura's heroics and the showpiece event in Madrid was magic, don't get me wrong, and although there was hope post-defeat that Mauricio Pochettino would painfully but successfully rebuild, Spurs' most prosperous era of modern times came to a shuddering halt soon after.

There have been surges of optimism amid identity crises and misdirection from the top, culminating in a flirtation with Championship football last season, so soon after Ange Postecoglou's second-season guarantee came true in Bilbao.

For the past 12 months, cynicism and nihilism have never felt so appealing. This looked like a football club meandering towards the abyss until Roberto De Zerbi rocked N17. Our worldviews suddenly appear far rosier. That's what back-to-back Premier League wins, including an ever-so-rare triumph at Stamford Bridge, can do.

Arsenal's Carabao Cup exit caps brilliant few days for Spurs fans

Our plight had arrived hand-in-hand with Arsenal's rise to the very top. Mikel Arteta's project ascended to heights that we all knew deep down the Gunners were destined for despite three consecutive second-place finishes.

They ended their 22-year wait for a Premier League title last season at a time when Spurs were staring down the barrel of a possible demise to the second tier. Such a scenario was enough for any fan to fall out of love with the sport entirely.

But we're still here. Thanks to a combustible Italian and Gabriel's competence from the penalty spot, the world didn't completely cave in at the start of the summer. Stomaching an Arsenal Premier League title lift was hard enough; imagine how insufferable a continental conquest would've been.

While we've had so little to cheer, the neurotic folk from down the road have had so little to despair about. Still, they find a way, and we seize upon their dismay. They've just succumbed to one of the great English cup upsets at Fleetwood Town, with penalties again their kryptonite.

We've got to revel in it, folks. Tribalism compels us to, and those smug Gooners are worthy of some comeuppence.

Plus, there's an emerging swagger emanating from N17 after Saturday's feel-good victory and Harry Kane's Ballon d'Or capture on Monday.

We're in a good moment, and I'm starting to fall in love with De Zerbi's team. I may be falling as swiftly as a bloke who received the most mundane of compliments from a crush, but I'm willing to be hurt. I'm expecting 0-1 against Crystal Palace this weekend.

That's what it's all about. I'm all in on the project, and willing to ride the highs and lows that will inevitably arrive.

There is only one player on Tottenham Hotspur with both one Premier League goal (nobody, by the way, has two) and one assist, and that is striker Dominic Solanke. While one goal and one assist is hardly a return worth bragging about at a club the size as Spurs through 8 league appearances and 378 minutes, the point remains that Solanke has been, in terms of data, the most decisive player on the team.

And obviously, Spurs are going to need more from him, Omar Marmoush, and all the other Spurs attackers. Roberto De Zerbi surprisingly didn't give the forward he named captain against Manchester United, who bounced back from a poor start to grap a last gasp goal to rescue a point at Old Trafford, to build more momentum against Chelsea. But Tottenham managed to get a different hero in a surprise starter, Mathys Tel.

Solanke's spot in the starting 11 is tenuous now, given Marmoush is the better overall player, Savio will be returning soon, and Mohammed Kudus and Tel are both coming off excellent games. But Solanke is the main No. 9 in the squad and, again, technically has the best numbers out of the forwards as the only one with a goal and an assist.

Dominic Solanke needs to become a poacher

What Dominic Solanke needs to do is have a one track mind. His sole goal going forward, including if he starts over the weekend against local rivals Crystal Palace, is to score. That's it. Yes, Solanke was known throughout his career as being more of an all arounder at striker, but the best Premier League strikers at the biggest clubs were all scorers first and foremost. Even the best of them all, his predecessor Harry Kane, was an elite all around player but an elite scorer, obviously.

Solanke is never going to be Kane. Duh. But remember, Tottenham signed him after he scored 19 goals at Bournemouth in a breakout 2023/24 season. Whether or not that was a mistake is an entirely different discussion, but the point is that Tottenham bought him after that season - not after the seasons in which he showed good all around play. They bought him to score goals.

It's not that Tottenham Hotspur don't want Solanke to do more to bring the others into the game or play better on the ball. He needs to do all of that, too, as he has not been as advertised there either. But Tottenham have great creators and dribblers. What they need are goals. Solanke can build and focus on the other stuff later. Right now, they need him to focus on getting into the box, taking up good positions, and getting off high quality shots. That's it. Everything else is secondary to Spurs.

Mathys Tel took center stage for Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday afternoon at Stamford Bridge, creating chances, successfully taking defenders on, and, most importantly, scoring. It was Tel who sealed the game at 2-0 in the 87th minute with an outrageous run from the left side, around the halfway line, to the middle of the pitch where he unleashed an absolute scorcher to the bottom left corner past Mike Penders.

It was a moment of brilliance from a player who had a couple of those moments last season and even in the preseason, though in his previous matches this season, Tel had come nowhere close to replicating them.

And that has been the book on Tel throughout his tenures at both Bayern Munich and now Tottenham. There are pieces of a player who will become world class, but because he cannot put anything together consistently, top teams have a tough time justifying starting him.

Mathys Tel needs to be more direct

After what he did to Chelsea in exorcising Tottenham Hotspur's demons at that venue, Tel looks almost certain to start the next rivalry game against Crystal Palace, especially with star man Savio still on the mend from a recent injury.

What Mathys Tel has to do is realize that the goal was not a fluke and not an accident. Not only did that goal show everyone what Tel is capable of, it also showed something important to himself. And that is the more direct Tel plays, the better off both he and Tottenham are as a football team.

Tel's worst performances this season were not all awful individually, even if the end result for Spurs was objectionable. He was one of the best in the Premier League at taking his man on. But what would happen is he would beat two or three guys, then run it out of bounds or into the corner where he would lose the ball.

Less is more, especially for an inverted forward. Tel is going to do his best work for Tottenham if he realizes that he should only be trying to beat one, maximum two, guys at a time. If there's nothing there, just get rid of the ball to a teammate, and try to get open so he can find you for a better play. And if there is a way to get inside the pitch or green grass in an area where you can get a shot off, take it. If Tel sees what direct play did for him both creatively and as a scorer against Chelsea then locks in next weekend, we could be seeing the beginnings of his breakout.