Winless Start Frustrating for Tottenham but There's No Crisis at White Hart Lane

Tottenham Hotspur have now made their worst start to a season in seven years. 

The goalless draw with Everton, their third consecutive stalemate, was a less than ideal way to lead into the international break. 

Newspapers and blogs, bored by a lack of proper football, will inevitably spend the next two weeks spinning tales of crises at Tottenham. 

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

There will be rumours of pressure on Mauricio Pochettino, mumblings of anger among the playing group and perhaps even talk of Spurs approaching the currently unemployed Jurgen Klopp. Why not? 

Everton are much improved on last season's dismal showing and are something closer to the brilliant side of two years ago. And Tottenham found, to their cost, that rumours of Tim Howard's demise seem greatly exaggerated. 

In their last home game, against Stoke City, they were dreadful and collapsed from an imperious position. Against Everton, they seemingly decided not to bother with building a position from which to collapse and simply get their terrible play out of the way early. 

Roberto Martinez's men were totally dominant in the opening stanza but couldn't cultivate any real chances from their monopolisation of the ball. 

Eventually, Spurs stabilised and even edged a frustrating first half. 

The similarities between the two sides meant they often cancelled each other out. Both press actively and counter quickly. Everton have plenty of willing runners but lack a great deal of intelligence. In the absence of Christian Eriksen, so too do Spurs. 

Rui Vieira/Associated Press/Associated Press

Harry Kane's frustrating wait for a Premier League goal continues.

While his form has hardly dropped this season, his goal drought is beginning to affect his play. He spurned a glorious one-on-one chance in the first-half, seemingly suffering a moment of indecision as Howard advanced toward him. Last season, Kane would surely have rounded the American and tapped in.

He needs a goal more for his own good than Tottenham's.  

Ryan Mason's own pursuit of a league goal seems cursed. Despite getting into great positions, he is consistently thwarted by excellent goalkeeping or the machinations of fate. Not for the first time this season, Mason was repeatedly denied by a 'keeper in fine form. 

Jan Vertonghen even busted out some of his vintage 2012 moves, slaloming out from the back, but still Spurs were kept at bay. 

Nacer Chadli, Dele Alli and Moussa Dembele all had decent opportunities to score. 

The return of Danny Rose at left-back provided desperately needed width and balance to Kyle Walker's presence on the right flank.

This was a team improved on their showing against Leicester City last time out. 

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

Eric Dier's midfield deployment continued. The reviews remain mixed. 

He still lacks a sophisticated understanding of his positional responsibilities. In the opening minutes, Ross Barkley was allowed to drift past him into a dangerous area. Barkley is a vicious attacking weapon and cannot be allowed such easy access to Spurs' soft underbelly. 

He tightened up afterward and tackled with great force and aggression, causing Barkley to mainly operate in wide areas.

Not since the infamous final days of Juande Ramos' reign have Spurs failed to win any of their opening four matches. 

That is, though, where the comparisons must end. 

In those dark days, relegation seemed a genuine possibility. This time around, improvement is inevitable. 

The arrival of both Heung-Min Son and Clinton Njie will inject the directness and pace that Spurs lack. 

Much of Kane's frustration comes from the fact that he is so well marshalled by opposition defenders. They are safe in the knowledge that Tottenham possess no other genuine threats and can focus entirely on him. 

The new arrivals will change that equation. 

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Tottenham could easily have won each of their four matches this season. 

That is not to say that they deserved to do so; individual errors have cost them points against Manchester United, Stoke City and Leicester City. 

From winning positions against both Stoke and Leicester, Tottenham should have been good enough to hold on. Everton and Manchester United are a higher calibre of opposition, but against both, Spurs showed the greater endeavour. 

Of course, there is reason for frustration among the Tottenham fans and their players, but there is no lack of conviction in their play and no great glaring weaknesses that cannot be addressed in the final days of the transfer window.

There is some cause for concern, but it is more through bad luck than bad management that Tottenham find themselves in 15th place after four matches. 

Pochettino remains the right man to lead them, and their spine of Hugo Lloris, Kane, Eriksen and Vertonghen are fundamentally sound.