Is Roberto De Zerbi the right man to save Spurs?

Tottenham's calamitous season took another twist this past weekend when the club parted ways with interim boss Igor Tudor following a fairly disastrous 40 days in charge. 

The Croatian failed to win a single Premier League game after replacing Thomas Frank in North London and leaves Spurs just one point above the relegation zone with seven games to play.  

Now, Tottenham looked to have turned to a third managerial appointment of the season and the man they hope will preserve their Premier League status, but is Roberto De Zerbi the knight in shiny armour they need or the latest baffling decision by the club's hierarchy?

De Zerbi so far 

In De Zerbi, they are getting a manager who enhanced his reputation during his first stint as a Premier League boss.

Having coached in Italy and then won a title with Shakhtar Donetsk, he arrived at Brighton to replace Graham Potter in September 2022, somewhat of an unknown and with big shoes to fill following Potter's success on the South Coast. 

Yet, fill them he did, by evolving the Seagulls into a more entertaining and expansive team, and securing European football for the club for the first time in its history - something De Zerbi called "better than winning a title."

His progression with Brighton continued the following season, as he guided them through a Europa League campaign and they remained in the top half of the table domestically.

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But things didn't end well. De Zerbi fell out with the Brighton board over their recruitment strategy, and the damage couldn't be repaired. He left at the end of the 2023-24 season before taking his next post at Marseille. 

Once again, the same pattern emerged. The Italian enjoyed a successful first season in charge, leading the French side to a Champions League place, but things unravelled in his second term.

The manager once again grew frustrated with his employers, baffled fans with team selections and system changes and ultimately underperformed compared to his first campaign in charge. 

He left in February following a 5-0 defeat to PSG, but is now set to return to the Premier League for his biggest test yet. 

The right move? 

It's easy to see why Spurs have gone with De Zerbi. He showed in his two seasons in England a style of football more befitting of Tottenham than what the fans have seen this season from Thomas Frank and Tudor.  

It's a style that has Pep Guardiola in its DNA with its positional play and pressing triggers, but perfected in the 46-year-old's vision. 

However, it's a style that takes time. Something Spurs have very little of if they are to save their Premier League skins. 

Several Brighton players, notably Lewis Dunk, have gone on record, stating how baffled they were when the Italian first arrived and by what he wanted from the squad. Yes, in time, he got his methods across, but seven games without a pre-season are not enough to implement these methods in a squad broken by a farce of a season.

The only saving grace is that Tottenham do not play again until April 12th, away at Sunderland, so there is a window to start working on what he wants and try to turn the sinking Spurs ship around. 
 

A divided character 

Then there's De Zerbi, the character, the personality. He's a manager who doesn't care what people think of him and how he implements his ways. That, for a club like Spurs, who are all over the place, may feel like the ideal profile. 

Yet that fiery nature has backfired on him at every major job he's had. It might be his way or the highway, but that highway is usually the one De Zerbi is driving down after another parting of the ways. Do Spurs really need yet more drama from the dugout? And if, in the worst-case scenario, the club is relegated, will he stick around? After all, it's doubtful his ambitious nature means he would settle for managing a Championship side. 

Perhaps most alarming, there are already several credible Tottenham supporters' groups opposed to his appointment. These are not keyboard warriors, but groups within the fanbase who have concerns about past comments and his perceived beliefs. 

Therefore, it begs the question, wouldn't it be better to make an appointment that unites the club and its fans rather than divide them yet further? 

It's another chapter in what has been a season defined by wrong decisions both on and off the pitch, but now faced with ultimately the biggest decision of them all. Is De Zerbi really the answer? 

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