Tottenham need to step up and compete at the top end of the Premier League table under Roberto De Zerbi this season.
Different season, same old Tottenham. Despite showing immense ambition and intent in the transfer window, the Lilywhites remain winless after three Premier League matches this season. To make matters worse, Roberto De Zerbi’s men have failed to find the back of the net in all three matches so far, becoming one of three teams to have failed to score this campaign. Therefore, the pressure is already mounting on the Italian tactician as the season slowly begins to take shape.
In all honesty, the North Londoners were lucky to escape relegation last year. The players were not performing at the levels expected of them, and there was a lack of urgency in their play for most of the campaign. The constant chopping and changing of managers did not help their cause either, forcing the squad to adapt to different styles of play every few months. However, it is fair to suggest that the club did the right thing by pursuing De Zerbi and bringing him in during the latter stages of the season.
Thanks to the Italian tactician’s constant demands and tactical fluidity, Spurs survived the drop on the final day of the season. As a result, the club’s hierarchy decided to back De Zerbi in the transfer market and sign established players who could make an instant impact at N17 this time around. The Lilywhites were keen to kickstart a new era at Hotspur Way by undergoing a massive squad overhaul and splashing the cash on high-profile names.
Roberto De Zerbi’s Tottenham side need to make some urgent changes
Signing high-calibre players and constantly spending is all well and good if the results are positive and the performances on the pitch are promising. But none of that has happened during the first few weeks of the new season at N17. We are three matches into the new Premier League campaign, and Spurs are still finding their feet, while Roberto De Zerbi is still figuring out his best starting eleven. The time has come for the North Londoners to kick on and build momentum, starting with the clash against Everton this weekend.
Emmanuel Petit has now revealed what Spurs need to change in order to be successful under Roberto de Zerbi this season. Speaking on talkSPORT, Petit said,
“You cannot progress like this. In the last two seasons, they’ve changed so many managers, and so many players have come and been disappointing. You have to change the mentality in this team and the club because I have a feeling that everything that they want to do will always end the same way. You can tell that the players don’t have the confidence for the last two or three seasons and it still goes the same way. My advice would be that if you want change, you need to take responsibility. And you have to show composure on the pitch.”
Emmanuel Petit has delivered a brutal reality check to Spurs, insisting that the club must completely change its mentality if De Zerbi’s project is to succeed. The former Arsenal defender believes the Lilywhites have repeatedly shown the same weaknesses under pressure, regardless of changes at the helm or expensive additions to the squad. After two consecutive 17th-place finishes and another difficult start to the season, Petit argues that talent and spending alone cannot transform the North London club.
As Emmanuel Petit rightly points out, the biggest rebuild needs to happen mentally. The players need to take responsibility on the pitch and show leadership when the going gets tough. There needs to be a winning culture at N17, and Roberto De Zerbi needs to make sure his players know exactly what is demanded of them in the coming months. Failing to do that will only lead to disappointment in the end, and that is not something that the Lilywhites can afford after spending an abnormal amount of money on new players.
