De Zerbi slammed by ex-Tottenham boss after Brentford debacle – ‘the buck stops with the manager’
Former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood insists that the “buck stops” with Roberto De Zerbi, after he accused his players of lacking “desire and passion” in their shambolic opening day loss at Brentford.
A hugely positive summer of transfer activity, followed by an unbeaten preseason, led to so much optimism in the white half of north London that the days of back-to-back 17th-placed Premier League finishes were a thing of the past.
Those memories all came flooding back on Saturday, however, as Tottenham produced a shocking display against their London rivals – devoid of any fight or quality on the ball.
The fact that Manchester City pair Savinho and Omar Marmoush are on the brink of igniting a frontline that looked devoid of any creativity or finishing power at the weekend does at least offer some hope.
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However, Sherwood, who managed Spurs during the 2013/2014 season, pointed out some glaring issues for De Zerbi from the non-contest at the Gtech Community Stadium.
He told Sky Sports: “It’s difficult to give the criticism to the hierarchy and the club because they have brought the players in for him [De Zerbi] and they have done the business very early so they could avoid this happening on the first day of the season.
“He has had plenty of time to work with them, and the players he wanted out, they have done that and have sold them cheaply. So the buck stops with the manager — and the players, by the way.
“I saw nothing. And to come out after the game and say: ‘We were outfought.’ Wow, outfought? At any level, you cannot be outfought. I thought that is what he was all about.
“I like him as a manager, he did wonderfully for Tottenham at the back end of last season and he has absolutely bullied the club to make these signings, and pay over the top for a load of them.
“The non-negotiables are running hard, fighting, winning second balls, winning your headers, and they didn’t do any of that [against Brentford].
“Forget about the structure, forget about the pretty patterns which De Zerbi is meant to bring to this club. He is known for passion, his desire, and his team should mirror that and they showed nothing of the sort, it was really poor.”
De Zerbi calls out struggling trio
De Zerbi, meanwhile, picked out Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke and Sandro Tonali as three players who are ‘not in the best physical condition’ for the game against Brentford.
In a post-game interview with Match of the Day, De Zerbi said: “Bad game. We lost and suffered the difference in the duels. It was the key of this game. We didn’t fight in the right way. Maybe credit to them because it’s the best quality Brentford have.
“Our physical condition was not at the right level for all players because many came later after the World Cup and there were many new players in the squad and first XI. But we have to analyse this game better because we can’t play this way in this type of game.
“I am surprised by the result and performance. I knew we were not in the right condition. We can’t find an excuse. I am sorry for the result and performance. We are starting a new project and we couldn’t find the principal.
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“Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke and Sandro Tonali are not in the best physical condition. We knew that before the game. We have to improve on that and many other things, like organisation and pressing.
“We can improve quickly but first, we have to understand this game better. I know their physical condition and new players but we have to put something more. We had to fight more. Players know I have a lot of confidence in them and we hope to improve quickly.”
