Alan Shearer has not held back in his criticism of Roberto De Zerbi after Tottenham failed to win their fifth game of the Premier League season.
Tottenham are set to spend the next three weeks of the international break in the relegation zone after failing to win any of their opening five matches this term. Roberto De Zerbi’s side have endured a difficult start to the new campaign after narrowly avoiding relegation last season.
De Zerbi arrived late in the previous campaign to help Spurs survive their relegation battle and begin building for the future. The club backed the manager with significant spending, bringing in several players, including a number of high-profile names.
However, it took Tottenham until their fifth match of the season to score their first league goal. Conor Gallagher found the net in Spurs’ 3-2 home defeat to Aston Villa, which became their fifth loss in as many Premier League matches.
Alan Shearer criticises Roberto De Zerbi
Pressure is now mounting on the Italian manager to turn things around. Christophe Dugarry recently criticised De Zerbi for Tottenham’s disastrous start, which also included their EFL Cup exit at the hands of Liverpool. Now, former Newcastle United striker Shearer has also criticised the Italian manager. Speaking on the BBC, he insisted that De Zerbi must find a way to change Tottenham’s fortunes.
Shearer said: “He’s signed six of those players who started today. There’s definitely a fragility and weakness about them. In the last 48 games, when they’ve gone behind, they’ve failed to win any of them.”
“That tells you what and who they are at this moment in time and it’s his job to change that. That looks very difficult. It’s incredible. He’s signed six of the ones who started today, so it’s up to him to change it.”
Despite Tottenham’s nightmare start, De Zerbi remains calm under pressure and believes he can turn things around. The international break should give him time to reassess his strategies and tactics in an effort to help Spurs gain a foothold in matches.
However, Shearer’s comments carry significant weight, as Tottenham’s inability to win matches has played a major role in their decline in North London. De Zerbi must turn things around quickly, as the pressure could increase significantly if the Lilywhites continue in their current vein of form.