Tottenham’s move for Roberto De Zerbi reflects the life-or-death situation they find themselves in, due to the fact that, in theory, it could offer either a miraculous best-case scenario or a cataclysmic worst-case scenario for the club.
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De Zerbi, on the surface, is a blow for a team on the brink of the most humiliating relegation in Premier League history. The Italian was a resounding success story at Brighton, arriving with unknown quality in English football only to become one of the continent’s most sought-after managers at the end of his two-season spell, apparently winning admirers at Barcelona and Liverpool.
He took charge of the Seagulls at the start of 2022/23 after Graham Potter was signed by Chelsea, but rather than overseeing a spiral, he took the club to new heights, sealing European qualification for the first time in the club’s history. This demonstrated ability to achieve the improbable will surely have appealed to crisis-stricken Spurs.
Tottenham must also be attracted to De Zerbi’s free-flowing style of football. Traumatized by 44 days of Igor Tudor-ball, a football ideology devoid of inspiration, that tactical revolution is necessary and desired. However, implementing that now is a big risk.
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De Zerbi likes to provoke the press and build. From goal kicks, place the double pivot deep to attract the opponent to the top of the field, which then requires intelligent and quick play to evade attackers and move the ball into the space created. Tottenham, exemplified by their Champions League quarter-final thrashing of Atlético Madrid, is like a child running with scissors when playing from behind. It’s the heart in the mouth.
The Italian then strives for complex possession-based football in the attacking phases, which again does not fit the characteristics of a team that only managed 50 percent or more of the ball twice during Tudor’s reign of error. The puzzle pieces don’t fit.
Tottenham were completely useless playing from the back with Igor Tudor (Action Images via Reuters)
Assuming De Zerbi sticks to his tactical bible, his arrival does not promise a smooth transition when Tottenham cannot afford anything else. The fact that they are winless in their first five games at Brighton will not boost confidence either; Do that at N17 and the Spurs are all but down.
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But this choice brings another problem.
Three weeks after joining Marseille following his departure from Brighton in the summer of 2024, Mason Greenwood followed De Zerbi out the door. Greenwood was charged in October 2022 with one count of attempted rape, one count of controlling and coercive behavior and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm over allegations involving a young woman after images and videos were posted online.
Mason Greenwood was charged in October 2022 with attempted rape and assault (AFP via Getty)
The Crown Prosecution Service withdrew the charges in February 2023 due to a “combination of withdrawal of key witnesses” and there being “no realistic prospect of conviction”. But after Manchester United received widespread backlash for toying with his reinstatement that summer, Greenwood was effectively banished from English football.
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De Zerbi was understood to have pushed hard for Marseille to take Greenwood despite his legal concerns. He finished the 2024/25 season by far the club’s top scorer with 21 league goals, and De Zerbi has been outspoken in his unwavering support for the player.
De Zerbi has been frank in his support of Greenwood (AP)
In November, De Zerbi described Greenwood as a “good guy” who had paid a “high price” and added: “I am saddened by what happened in his life, because I know a totally different person than the one who was described.”
This is what has caused multiple groups of Tottenham fans to speak out against De Zerbi’s appointment. The club’s LGBTQI+ fan group, Proud Lilywhites, along with Spurs Reach, stressed that progress should not come at the expense of “the values the club claims to uphold”. Women of the Lane said defiantly: “This is not an appointment Tottenham Hotspur should make.”
Tottenham’s Tudor gamble failed catastrophically, but one of the few positives was that at least the fans were united in how bad things were. This was evidenced by the boisterous welcome they gave their team bus before the crucial Nottingham Forest match, which aged comically poorly as Tottenham’s players huddled together in a resounding 3-0 defeat.
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De Zerbi, however, runs the risk of completely dividing this fan base at the worst possible moment. You only have to look at the social media comments on Proud Lilywhites’ statement to see the number of “anti-woke” followers who are diametrically opposed to the group’s point of view.
Tottenham have seven cup finals left to save the season. Four of them, including the last game of the season, are at home, where they have not won in the league since December. Infighting among crowds will not change the situation.
Tottenham needs the fans to be united to make a successful attempt at survival (Getty)
And then there is the fear that, unlike Ryan Mason or Harry Redknapp (the “he knows the club” candidates), De Zerbi will not go down with the ship. the independent He understands that he will receive a large bonus for keeping Spurs in the Premier League, but there is no relegation clause written into his five-year contract. Tudor was the short-term solution that burned on arrival. De Zerbi is at the forefront of the long term, stating that he has been attracted by the club’s “ambition for the future”.
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If Spurs stay on top, the ninth richest club in the world will feel well placed to put this heartbreaking episode behind them and climb back up the table. If they sink to the Championship, Spurs could be left without a manager, without hope and with a fractured fan base, with their long-term plans in tatters.