If there were a league table based on PR, you suspect Tottenham Hotspur would find themselves in a similar position to the one they occupy in the actual Premier League.
The first thing to say about Roberto De Zerbi is that there is no such thing as a perfect appointment. There is no decision chief executive Vinai Venkatesham and sporting director Johan Lange can make that would not attract the most singeing scrutiny as Spurs move on to a fourth coach in a year.
Accordingly De Zerbi will step into a fanbase that is already divided and toxic. Plans to offer the Italian a five-year deal prompted a backlash before he had even given his answer, not least because of his support of Mason Greenwood during their time at Marseille.
While at Manchester United Greenwood was charged with rape, assault and coercive control, charges which were then dropped. The forward left Old Trafford having not played in over two years and joined Marseille in 2024. De Zerbi said he had paid a “heavy price” for the case, called him “a good person”, one “very different from the one portrayed in England”, and promised to treat him like a son.
Spurs fan group Women of the Lane say those remarks raise “serious questions about [the] judgement and leadership” of the club’s incoming boss, adding: “This is not an appointment Tottenham should make.” LGBT+ group Proud Lilywhites said De Zerbi had “downplayed the seriousness of what happened” with his remarks.
No to De Zerbi pic.twitter.com/7cApCu4QmB
— Women of The Lane (@WomenOfTheLane) March 27, 2026In the muddled morality of a relegation battle, perhaps the suits in the Tottenham boardroom felt they were not in a position to be fussy. In 2021, the old regime under Daniel Levy was dissuaded from hiring Gennaro Gattuso in part because of historic comments about same-sex marriage and racial abuse; but the De Zerbi story was one step removed.
There is no such thing as a unifying candidate but it is remarkable that Spurs have found one inspiring such unpopularity before a ball has been kicked.
It is worth saying the diversity of any club’s fanbase also implies diversity of thought: there will be a spectrum of emotional responses, from outrage to total indifference. De Zerbi’s sympathisers might also suggest there were limits to what he could say about the Greenwood case publicly and professionally.
At the very least, the incident will have forced Spurs to think twice, especially as those are not the only criticisms De Zerbi will face. He has a reputation for hot-headedness and threatening to walk when he cannot get on with owners. Of his first five games at Brighton & Hove Albion, he won none – he has just seven to save Spurs from the drop and a matter of days to instil ideas.
On average, he stays in a job for 16 months and yet has talked his way into a five-year contract. In that he is in good company – Spurs managers since Mauricio Pochettino also last, on average, just 14 months, which would make De Zerbi a bona fide veteran.
The logic behind such a long deal is twofold: it has convinced the club’s No 1 target to take the job now, rather than waiting until the summer as he preferred. That may be what keeps Spurs in the Premier League and saves them a £200m relegation battle – any prospective De Zerbi payout would be small fry by comparison.
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Kat Lucas: Tottenham to offer De Zerbi bumper deal to keep them in Premier League Kat Lucas: The staggering incompetence of Tottenham’s board has reared its head againAnd should it go well. De Zerbi is not just a stop-gap but forms part of Venkatesham and Lange’s vision for the new age, implementing a progressive style once he has had the summer to shape the squad.
What this tells us about the Tottenham Hotspur of 2026 is illuminating nonetheless. Reading the room has not been a strong point; a pre-season tour of New Zealand was announced with the door still swinging from Igor Tudor’s departure. That followed the chief revenue officer boasting about the rise of Spurs as a “global cultural brand” who were “evolving beyond football” as they hurtled towards the relegation zone.
It is impossible to overstate the capacity of the board to make fans angry. Of the many uphill battles De Zerbi will face, the main will be winning over sceptics in the stands.
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