De Zerbi Already Realises the Major Mistake He Made at Tottenham
Roberto De Zerbi’s Tottenham project is already starting to resemble a nightmare, with each disappointing result making it increasingly difficult for the Italian manager to justify why his team are struggling so badly.
Tottenham finally ended their frustrating wait for a Premier League goal on Saturday, but the excitement was short-lived. Spurs found the net at last, only to suffer a damaging 3-1 defeat at home to Aston Villa — another team that had endured a difficult opening to the campaign.
The defeat has only intensified the questions surrounding De Zerbi’s ambitious Tottenham rebuild. Following a summer transfer window in which Spurs spent more than £300 million on new signings, expectations were understandably high. The club had promised a major transformation aimed at ending their run of bottom-half finishes and putting Tottenham back in contention for European football.
De Zerbi was widely regarded as the right man to oversee Tottenham’s transformation.
The Italian has built his coaching reputation on aggressive, high-intensity football, confidence in possession and a willingness to take calculated risks. Spurs fans expected those characteristics to be evident from the beginning. Instead, Tottenham currently appear to lack confidence, energy and, perhaps most concerning of all, a defined identity.
The growing concern is that it is becoming increasingly unclear what Tottenham are actually getting from De Zerbi.
There is nothing inherently wrong with a manager taking risks. De Zerbi’s tactical philosophy has always demanded a certain level of bravery and risk-taking. However, when a manager expects his players to function within such a demanding system, there must be a clear benefit and reward for doing so.
Right now, however, that reward is proving extremely difficult to find at Tottenham.
Spurs have struggled to maintain consistent attacking pressure, their performances have lacked the intensity many expected, and they have repeatedly looked vulnerable whenever opponents put them under pressure. With the club having invested heavily in the squad, the situation has become even more frustrating for Tottenham supporters.
Injuries have undoubtedly played a role. No team can expect to have its strongest lineup available throughout an entire season, and Tottenham have already been without several important players.
But injuries alone cannot explain the problems Spurs are facing.
Compared with the injury crises Tottenham dealt with during the previous couple of seasons, the current situation is considerably less severe. De Zerbi still has a squad packed with quality, while the club also spent heavily during the summer to provide him with even more options.
That leaves De Zerbi with increasingly fewer explanations for Tottenham’s struggles.
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect is that the Italian manager seemed to already understand what Spurs needed.
At the end of last season, with Tottenham desperately battling to avoid relegation trouble, only a handful of players consistently showed the mentality, character and determination needed to carry the team through difficult matches.
One player who stood out was Joao Palhinha.
The Portuguese midfielder emerged as one of the few reliable performers during an otherwise disappointing campaign. His displays were built around aggression, discipline and experience, while his willingness to handle the difficult, less glamorous aspects of the game provided something many of his teammates struggled to offer.
De Zerbi himself recognised those qualities in Palhinha.
When discussing the midfielder at the time, the Tottenham manager made it clear that he wanted the Portuguese international to remain at the club.
He said: “100 per cent [I want to keep him next season].”
De Zerbi went on to explain why Palhinha was such an important part of his plans.
The Italian stressed that Tottenham needed to build around players with the right character, reliability and mentality — qualities he believed Palhinha possessed in abundance.
“We have to start with [those] types of people. More than players, we need reliable people, reliable players. Palhinha is one of the best, as a player for sure, but as a guy.”
De Zerbi also praised Palhinha’s mentality, explaining that he wanted to see more players showing the same level of “passion”, “attitude”, “spirit” and “personality”.
Those comments now take on greater significance when looking at Tottenham’s current situation.
If De Zerbi truly saw Palhinha as the kind of character needed to help rebuild Spurs, then the decision to allow his future to become less of a priority while exploring other options is certainly worth examining.
Tottenham reportedly had the opportunity to make Palhinha’s move permanent for around £26 million.
Considering Spurs spent more than £300 million during the summer transfer window, that £26 million fee appears relatively modest.
More importantly, Palhinha provided a quality Tottenham badly needed: experience, defensive aggression, reliability and the mentality to compete in difficult situations.
Palhinha is an experienced defensive midfielder who knows how to shield the backline, disrupt opposition attacks and stop dangerous counter-attacks before they develop. His game is built around physical strength, discipline and a strong competitive mentality.
At 31, however, Palhinha was never likely to be a long-term answer for Tottenham. He is also a different profile of midfielder from Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali, both of whom can provide greater versatility and more technical influence when they are performing at their best.
But that is not really the issue.
Tottenham did not simply need another talented midfielder.
They needed balance within the team.
Tottenham needed a midfielder willing to handle the less glamorous side of the game — someone whose defensive work would allow the more creative players to express themselves. They needed a player capable of reading danger, making tactical fouls when necessary, winning physical battles and providing greater protection in front of the defence.
Palhinha could have offered exactly that.
Instead, Tottenham have spent heavily on other areas of the squad while some of their most fundamental weaknesses remain exposed.
The 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa once again brought those concerns into focus. Spurs finally ended their wait for a Premier League goal, but rather than using that moment as a platform to build momentum, they eventually suffered another damaging defeat on home soil.
That is what makes the current situation particularly concerning.
This is not simply about one disappointing result or an isolated poor performance. The bigger concern is the direction Tottenham’s project appears to be heading.
Tottenham invested heavily because the club was looking for an immediate turnaround. De Zerbi was appointed with the expectation that he could establish a clear, demanding style of football and help Spurs become competitive again.
However, spending big does not automatically lead to progress.
New signings have to complement one another, the manager must find the right balance within the squad, players need to understand their roles, and the team must develop a clear tactical identity.
Right now, Tottenham appear to be struggling to bring all of those elements together.
The pressure on De Zerbi and Tottenham will only grow if the results continue to go against them.
There is still plenty of time for the Italian manager to turn things around, and it would be too early to make a definitive judgement on an entire rebuild after only a handful of matches. However, the warning signs are becoming increasingly difficult to overlook.
De Zerbi was brought to Tottenham to transform the team’s mentality, intensity and style of play. Yet those are arguably the very qualities Spurs have struggled to consistently display.
That leaves Tottenham supporters facing an uncomfortable question: after investing more than £300 million and giving De Zerbi significant backing in the transfer market, why does the team still look so far removed from the ambitious side they were promised?
The situation cannot be explained away simply by injuries, bad luck or the argument that the team needs more time to settle.
Eventually, the performances have to show tangible improvement.
For De Zerbi, that moment could arrive much sooner than he anticipated.
