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Roberto De Zerbi *OFFICIAL*

Love his passion on the sidelines. Like the way he conducts himself in pressers. Constantly cajoling and looking to change things during games. There was a moment yesterday when he pushed one of his coaches angrily which sums up his personality pitch side. I suspect he will be spending a lot of times in the stands! Not going to put the pressure of expectation on him as he will face the same structural issues as every Spurs manager before him has faced. But you know he will give everything to the job.
 
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Mikey10 said:
Not going all out for him at that point will be the crucial short-term decision when the review is done at the end of season.

The longer term review will centre on Mr Levy primarily, alongside Lange and Vinai and, of course, the Lewis family.
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It was clear very early on that Tudor was not working. We should have ended it after Fulham imo. RDZ in post Vs Palace who were on a bad run would probably have given us a better chance of winning.
 
Mikey10 said:
Not going all out for him at that point will be the crucial short-term decision when the review is done at the end of season.

The longer term review will centre on Mr Levy primarily, alongside Lange and Vinai and, of course, the Lewis family.
Click to expand...
All the in house blame will go to Levy I suspect. Not that he’s without blame but the decisions this season have compounded and sped up after years of mismanagement. Not wanting to derail the RDZ thread but there’s no chance anyone at the club takes any culpability for where we are now. A board of cowards.

Wasn’t a fan of RDZ when we got him but I do like his football. At this stage I’d take any style to avoid relegation and build from there
 
Robspur12 said:
Love his passion on the sidelines. Like the way he conducts himself in pressers. Constantly cajoling and looking to change things during games. There was a moment yesterday when he pushed one of his coaches angrily which sums up his personality pitch side. I suspect he will be spending a lot of times in the stands! Not going to put the pressure of expectation on him as he will face the same structural issues as every Spurs manager before him has faced. But you know he will give everything to the job.
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He's not quite as mad as I thought. Yes I can imagine he can get mad (when your not doing as he asked) but he's not got the Conte look (energy) about him.
In the press conferences I quite like his 'very poised ' manner. Doesn't exaggerate anything. Doesn't over explain. He's confident but keeps everything on a very composed level. (I'd never really seen or remember his press conferences at Brighton). Thought (wrongly) he might be more animated?

And on the touchline, looks like he knows what he's doing...with of course, a dose of passion.
 
ricky2tricky4city said:
He's not quite as mad as I thought. Yes I can imagine he can get mad (when your not doing as he asked) but he's not got the Conte look (energy) about him.
In the press conferences I quite like his 'very poised ' manner. Doesn't exaggerate anything. Doesn't over explain. He's confident but keeps everything on a very composed level. (I'd never really seen or remember his press conferences at Brighton). Thought (wrongly) he might be more animated?

And on the touchline, looks like he knows what he's doing...with of course, a dose of passion.
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Have to say I have been very impressed thus far. He has shown me!!!
 
Just watched the first half v Brighton again, and saw the amazing progress that Dzerbi has made.

Players actually seem not scared of the ball and we look like any mid table EPL team already.

But what happened to the player's physical fitness? Maybe it's players getting used to the system, but we need better endurance to see out games on our terms.
 
Ace Face said:
I’m kinda tinkled with RDZ…

I had come to terms with relegation and that bastard has gone and given me hope again!

Guess I’m never going to learn…🤷‍♂️
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i asked grok to give you a convincing narrative about dezerbi's impact to give you even more hope!

Tottenham Hotspur under Roberto De Zerbi: Early signs of a revival that Spurs fans can get excited about.

De Zerbi was appointed on 31 March 2026 as the club’s third manager of a chaotic season, inheriting a side in the relegation zone (18th, 31 points from 33 games) with no Premier League win since December and a winless streak stretching into 2026. In just two league games so far — a narrow 1-0 loss at Sunderland (12 April) and a thrilling 2-2 home draw against Brighton (18 April) — the Italian has already begun stamping his identity on the team.

While results haven’t delivered maximum points yet, the underlying metrics, eye test, and tactical shifts show genuine improvements across defence, midfield, and attack.
This is the kind of progressive, front-foot football De Zerbi delivered at Brighton — and it’s exactly what Spurs fans have been craving.
With five games left (starting with Wolves away on 25 April), these green shoots offer real hope that Spurs can string together the wins needed to climb out of the bottom three and stay in the Premier League.

Defence: From passive to proactive — resilience building

De Zerbi’s system demands high pressing and a structured build-up from the back, which takes time to bed in mid-season. In the Sunderland game Spurs were still adjusting (conceding a deflected goal), but against Brighton they showed marked progress:
  • Held the lead twice despite Brighton’s quality.
  • Better organisation in transitions — the high line and pressing limited Brighton to just 0.82–0.89 xG despite 58% possession.
  • Late equaliser aside, the backline looked more compact and less error-prone than in recent weeks under previous regimes.
De Zerbi has always viewed attacking as the best form of defence. The increased intensity higher up the pitch is already reducing the “porous” deep defending that plagued Spurs earlier in 2026. Clean sheets will come as the squad buys fully into the philosophy — and in a tight relegation scrap, that defensive improvement could be the difference between survival and the drop.

Midfield: Control and creativity returning

This is where De Zerbi’s influence is most visible already. The midfield is transitioning from reactive to dominant:
  • Xavi Simons has exploded into life — goal + assist vs Brighton, creating more chances than any teammate and showing the vision and technical quality De Zerbi loves.
  • Players like Lucas Bergvall are winning the ball high up the pitch (directly leading to Spurs’ second goal).
  • Possession is more purposeful. While Brighton had more of the ball in the draw, Spurs’ passing networks looked sharper and more progressive, with quick switches and overloads in central areas.
This is classic De Zerbi: technical, brave midfield play that turns defence into attack in a flash. Compared to the blunt, low-block approach of recent months, the midfield is now dictating tempo in patches — and that control is only going to grow as the players get more minutes in the system.

Attack: Goals, shots, and excitement — the X-factor is back

Here’s the most exciting part for fans. Spurs are creating better quality chances under De Zerbi:
  • Sunderland: 0.91 xG (debut game, understandably cautious).
  • Brighton: 1.09–1.12 xG (outperforming their opponents) from 13 shots (6 on target), including 3 big chances.

Pedro Porro’s header and Xavi Simons’ rocket showed variety — set-piece threat plus individual brilliance. The front line is suddenly stretching defences, with more shots inside the box and players expressing themselves. De Zerbi’s attacking philosophy is already delivering more shots, higher xG, and end-to-end entertainment than we’ve seen all season. The strikers (Solanke, Kolo Muani) are getting better service, and the whole team looks liberated.

The bigger picture: Exciting football + survival is realistic

De Zerbi has been crystal clear: “One win will change everything” and the players “have to believe.” After the Brighton draw he praised the performance and said the side deserved the win. That’s not spin — the stats back it up.

With fixtures against Wolves (A), Aston Villa (A), Leeds (H), Chelsea (A), and Everton (H) still to come, there are winnable games. A couple of results like the Brighton performance — or better — and Spurs could easily pick up 10–12 points. That’s enough to leapfrog teams above them.

Tottenham fans have endured a nightmare season of managerial upheaval and poor form. But in these two games we’re seeing the first glimpses of De Zerbi-ball: high-intensity, technical, attacking football that gets the stadium rocking. The defence is tightening, the midfield is controlling, and the attack is finally clinical in patches.

This isn’t blind optimism — it’s data-driven hope. The turnaround has started. Keep the faith — exciting times and Premier League survival are very much on the cards. COYS!
 
clownfoot said:
All the in house blame will go to Levy I suspect. Not that he’s without blame but the decisions this season have compounded and sped up after years of mismanagement. Not wanting to derail the RDZ thread but there’s no chance anyone at the club takes any culpability for where we are now. A board of cowards.

Wasn’t a fan of RDZ when we got him but I do like his football. At this stage I’d take any style to avoid relegation and build from there
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This is a danger for me, big time. Not that Levy doesn't have culpability for our decline since Poch but he's not solely responsible or even primarily responsible IMO for us being in the relegation zone. We saw that weasel Vinai try to shift blame on to him already. If he's allowed to do that, we will not learn from our mistakes - the Lewis family, Vinai and Lange all need to take responsibility and not delude themselves into thinking it was all Levy's fault.

On RDZ, I was in favour of his appointment when it was done as I thought he gave us a chance of staying up. However, in a normal environment where we weren't having to react the biggest clusterfudge in the history of clusterfudges, I wouldn't have wanted him to be honest. I was wrong. I'm loving what he's doing with the team, I love his positive attitude, I love his football and I love his passion. It will spontaneously combust at some point, that's just how things go between a personality like him and a club like us, but I do think if he can keep us up we will have some very good days before that. He 100% is the guy we should have appointed instead of Frank and certainly instead of Tudor.
 
DeanoAustin said:
This is a danger for me, big time. Not that Levy doesn't have culpability for our decline since Poch but he's not solely responsible or even primarily responsible IMO for us being in the relegation zone. We saw that weasel Vinai try to shift blame on to him already. If he's allowed to do that, we will not learn from our mistakes - the Lewis family, Vinai and Lange all need to take responsibility and not delude themselves into thinking it was all Levy's fault.

On RDZ, I was in favour of his appointment when it was done as I thought he gave us a chance of staying up. However, in a normal environment where we weren't having to react the biggest clusterfudge in the history of clusterfudges, I wouldn't have wanted him to be honest. I was wrong. I'm loving what he's doing with the team, I love his positive attitude, I love his football and I love his passion. It will spontaneously combust at some point, that's just how things go between a personality like him and a club like us, but I do think if he can keep us up we will have some very good days before that. He 100% is the guy we should have appointed instead of Frank and certainly instead of Tudor.
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I'm now imagining what Spurs could have looked like if he replaced the Conte/Stellini/Mason circus and came in at that point of our journey. He looks like the first really organised manager we've had for a while.
 
Muttley said:
I'm now imagining what Spurs could have looked like if he replaced the Conte/Stellini/Mason circus and came in at that point of our journey. He looks like the first really organised manager we've had for a while.
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De Zerbi or Iraola with Sonny & Kane up front plus fully fit Kulusevski & Bentancur available would’ve been glorious!

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