Mass Overhaul or Squad Continuity: What is the Recipe for Premier League Success? Analyst

In an age when fans wants limitless spending on shiny new signings, we ask whether less change can sometimes be more beneficial. If a cautionary tale was needed for a football club assuming the grass is always greener on the other side, Tottenham Hotspur 's experience so far in 2026-27 may well do the job.

After a dismal 2025-26, in which Spurs escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth, the club dived head first into their hopes for a shiny new era on the back of Roberto De Zerbi's insistence the squad needed immediate, severe and costly surgery. After De Zerbi saved the club from the drop, he was handed the keys to a weighty war chest, and he spent big.

Upwards of £300 million was dished out and more or less an entire new team was brought in. Spurs signed 10 new players who have all gone into the first team; just five league games into the new season and all nine of the outfield signings have made at least one appearance in the Premier League, while many of them are already key players.

You don't need a deep data dive to see it hasn't worked yet. Spurs are bottom of the table without a win five games into 2026-27.

It's their worst start to a Premier League season. It might all work out in the end.

Spurs might become world beaters with this squad. Or even if it doesn't go quite that well, they could feasibly become a half-decent team very soon indeed.

This season obviously isn't a complete write-off already. But even if they do turn things around, by making such a poor start, they have given everyone else a head start.

Spurs are playing catch-up with every other team, and now face a 33-game run in which theyhaveto make up a deficit if they are to retain their Premier League status. They need to improve drastically to make the season anything like a success.

In fairness to De Zerbi, the evidence of the last two seasons was pretty strong. Spurs had finished 17th twice consecutively, last season playing some utterly miserable football while suffering a string of serious and debilitating injuries, and the squad clearly needed new additions.