Paul Merson Raises Concerns Over De Zerbi's Comments

Paul Merson has sounded an early alarm over Roberto De Zerbi’s handling of Tottenham – and it has nothing to do with tactics or formations.

What worries him is the manager’s mouth.

‘You keep that in the dressing room’

After Spurs’ goalless draw with Nottingham Forest, De Zerbi let rip. He questioned his forwards’ decision-making in the final third and publicly blamed his medical staff for forcing him to take off Savio and Destiny Udogie after an hour.

For Merson, that’s a red flag.

“I thought Spurs were fortunate against Nottingham Forest – if Neco Williams is a little bit braver, then Forest win,” he wrote in his Sky Sports column. “But it's a start for them.”

The performance was flat, but the post-match was explosive. De Zerbi said his attackers must “take the better decisions” and “keep more calm” in key moments. He then revealed the medical team had told him Savio and Udogie could only play 60 minutes, a call he believes stalled Spurs’ momentum.

Merson didn’t like any of that going public.

“Roberto De Zerbi had a go at his forwards after the game. He also had a go at his medical staff for dictating his substitutions. You say that in the dressing room; don't come out and say it. You need to keep that in-house.

“That would worry me as a Spurs fan. De Zerbi does fall out with people.”

Echoes of Maresca – and a manager covering himself?

De Zerbi’s criticism of the medical department struck an immediate chord with Merson, who pointed straight at a recent Premier League example.

“You saw what happened with Enzo Maresca at Chelsea when he started calling out the medical team for dictating his substitutions. He left a few weeks later.”

Merson wonders if De Zerbi is already putting up a shield.

“I don't know if he's covering himself there with those comments about the medical staff, because that could be kept quiet. He's having a go at them.”

At the same time, Merson accepts the manager’s dilemma. If club doctors say a player can’t go beyond an hour, and the manager obeys, who wears it when the result doesn’t come?

“At the same time, if he's being told to take a player off, he's the manager. He's in charge. If it's not up to him how long his players get on the pitch, why shouldn't he cover himself?”

De Zerbi was clear: he didn’t like the timing of the double change, but he wasn’t prepared to gamble with fitness.

“The second half, I'm sorry because the medical staff pushed to change Savinho and Udogie after 60 minutes,” he said. “Maybe we lost some balance, some connection. I'm not happy. But football is like this. Savio has not the best physical condition to play 90 minutes… Destiny is another crucial player for us.”

No shots on target – and a confused attack

The numbers were damning. Spurs finished the game without a shot on target. They are still waiting for their first Premier League goal of the season.

De Zerbi’s frustration with his forwards came pouring out as he dissected specific moments.

He recalled Omar Marmoush choosing to shoot rather than slide in Andy Robertson on the overlap, with Mohammed Kudus lurking at the back post. He highlighted overhit crosses from Mathys Tel and Savio, and a move where Mateus Fernandes, in his view, should have driven through on goal instead of combining for a Dominic Solanke header.

“I think we played well but in the last third we have to improve,” De Zerbi said. “We have to take the better decisions. We have to keep more calm when we are very close to doing something important in the last third.”

Merson didn’t buy the idea that the forwards deserved a public dressing-down.

“I don't understand having a go at the forwards, though. They didn't have 20 chances. It's not as if the Nottingham Forest goalkeeper was man of the match. I didn't see that at all.”

Spurs’ reality check

Strip away the noise and the table tells its own story. Spurs are winless, goalless, and already eight points behind Arsenal. The temptation is to panic. Merson says that would be a mistake – but he’s not sugar-coating where they are.

“It's a long way to go for Spurs. But my problem is the mentality. You don't come 17th two years on the trot and expect to turn it around in a New York minute.”

For him, the target is modest and brutally realistic.

“I think people have got to be patient. Spurs shouldn't worry about being eight points behind Arsenal – all they've got to worry about is who's fifth, and how many points they're behind fifth.

“They're not finishing ahead of Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.”

That’s the landscape De Zerbi has walked into: a club scarred by back-to-back 17th-place finishes, desperate for a new identity, and now already dealing with a manager publicly questioning both his attackers and his medical staff.

The football can be fixed on the training ground. The politics, once they spill out into the open, are harder to put back in the box.