EFL Championship Insights and Spurs’ Ambitious September
Fitzie’s back, the window’s shut, and the football calendar is finally starting to take shape. Three strands to pull on today: the early chaos in the EFL Championship, a deceptively light September for Spurs, and a transfer window that screamed ambition in north London.
Let’s start in the second tier, where the table already has a familiar wobble to it.
Hoddle #1: EFL Championship – Early Movers, Early Trouble
Four games in is no time to draw grand conclusions in the Championship, but it is long enough to spot a few patterns that might matter when the nights get cold and the pressure kicks in.
Charlton’s bright start jumps off the page. Ten points in the bank this early can feel like loose change in August, yet it often becomes gold dust when the relegation battle tightens around March. They’ll be grateful for this platform later.
Swansea look sharp. So do QPR. Both have hit 10 points and both carry that early-season swagger you see from sides that know their patterns and trust their manager. The problem in this division? We’ve seen plenty of good August teams disappear by Christmas. The schedule is relentless, and form can vanish in a fortnight.
West Ham, tipped by many for automatic promotion, stumbled badly through their first three matches. Then came Wolves. A convincing win, the kind that settles nerves and restores the sense that they still belong among the favourites for the top two. One result doesn’t fix everything, but it reminded the league what they’re supposed to be.
At the other end, Preston are in freefall before they’ve even taken off: four games, four defeats, no points. Burnley aren’t much better, still winless and already feeling the weight of expectation that comes with being a club that should be nowhere near the bottom.
The early picture at the top:
- Swansea – 10 pts
- QPR – 10 pts
- Charlton – 10 pts
- Wolves – 7 pts
- Boro – 7 pts
- Bristol City – 7 pts
- West Brom – 7 pts
- Birmingham – 6 pts
And down in the danger zone:
- Stoke City – 3 pts
- Burnley – 2 pts
- Preston NE – 0 pts
No one gets relegated in August. But the habits that send you down? They often start right here.
Hoddle #2: Spurs’ September – Points Now or Pain Later
Tottenham face a rare luxury this month: no European football. No Thursday-Sunday grind, no long flights, no desperate rotation. Just a lean schedule and a manager, Roberto De Zerbi, who now has time on the training pitch and a squad that is, finally, mostly settled.
The caveat, of course, is Richarlison. His status at the club still needs resolving, and that decision will shape the attacking options for the months ahead. But the fixtures in front of Spurs are clear enough, and they’re kind.
Tottenham Hotspur men’s schedule:
- Forest (5 September)
- Everton (12 September)
- at Liverpool – EFL Cup (15 September)
- Villa (19 September)
Four games. Three in the league, one high-stakes cup tie at Anfield. This is the window where Spurs have to cash in. They showed flashes of promise against Newcastle, yet walked away with nothing. That can’t become a theme. With a brutal October looming, this month is about banking points, not just playing pretty football.
The women’s side are stepping into a new era of their own. Their season kicks off this weekend, and they do so without some of the biggest names in the dressing room. Beth England has gone. Molly Bartrip too. Big personalities, big absences.
Tottenham Hotspur women’s schedule:
- West Ham (6 September)
- at Liverpool (13 September)
- at Palace (20 September)
- West Ham – League Cup (23 September)
- Villa (27 September)
- at Brighton – League Cup (30 September)
It’s a demanding start and a quick test of depth. A new-look Spurs, stripped of star power, will have to find fresh leaders and fresh goals. We’re about to discover what this group actually is, not just what it used to be.
Hoddle #3: A £300m Statement – and a B+ for Spurs
Fitzie missed the deadline-day noise, but the verdict on Spurs’ transfer window is in. And it’s generous.
The club’s hierarchy didn’t just back Roberto De Zerbi; they launched a full rebuild. More than £300m spent on a side that flirted dangerously with relegation last season. That’s not tinkering. That’s surgery.
Some heavyweights walked out of the door. Cristian Romero left. So did Guglielmo Vicario. Losing that kind of spine usually sparks panic. Instead, Spurs pushed hard in the market and landed Mateus Fernandes, a signing that screamed intent and reset the tone of the summer.
Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson arrived on free deals, the sort of smart, opportunistic business top clubs love to brag about. Then came the big swing: paying a premium for Savio, the winger expected to inject serious quality out wide. There’s risk in that kind of fee, but also a clear plan to raise the technical ceiling of the attack.
Omar Marmoush offers another interesting attacking option, while Mykhailo Mudryk’s arrival feels far less straightforward. The talent is obvious. The fit? Less so. Can De Zerbi unlock him in a way no one else has managed? And if he does, what does that mean for Spurs’ long-term structure and wage bill?
Sandro Tonali’s signing adds yet another layer of quality. On paper, this is the kind of window that transforms a squad’s personality. The money is spent. The excuses are gone. Now it’s on De Zerbi to turn this into a coherent, competitive team.
Not everything hit the mark, though.
Letting Will Lankshear leave looks a misstep. There seemed to be a pathway where he could have been developed through loans, kept in the system, and nurtured into a future option. Spurs did secure a sell-on clause, which softens the blow, but it still feels like a door closed too early.
Then there’s the goalkeeper situation. It doesn’t convince. Martin Dubravka doesn’t look like a serious threat to Antonin Kinsky, and confidence in Kinsky himself remains fragile. For all the aggressive spending elsewhere, Spurs appear to have missed a clear opportunity to upgrade in one of the most crucial positions on the pitch.
The final mark on the window: B+. Ambitious, expensive, and largely impressive. But not flawless.
Now comes the only part that actually counts. Can this new-look Spurs side turn that B+ on paper into something that looks a lot more like an A on the pitch?
