“The idea is outdated” – The specific tactic Tottenham manager RDZ must change

Roberto De Zerbi has found that spending big in the Premier League doesn’t mean instant success for Tottenham Hotspur, and his tactical plans need shaking up.

Four games in, Spurs are without a win, without a goal and the pressure is mounting on the Italian coach. He already looks rattled and lost for ideas on how to get his expensively assembled squad clicking.

Outdated tactical idea

It looked like that might happen against Everton on Saturday evening. A bright start to that game, though, failed to materialise into anything concrete and the Toffees left London with a point and Spurs in increasing turmoil.

Their struggles have, naturally, not gone unnoticed. Criticism and questions are coming from all angles. Over in Belgium, they recently covered Tottenham on the latest episode of 90 Minutes.

For Steven Defour, the problem is with Tottenham’s tactics. He thinks the Italian coach hasn’t adapted from his time at Brighton.

“He claimed he’d already be the best coach in Italy just because he’d kept two clean sheets. He’s already starting to become irritating,” he said.

“He did a fantastic job at Brighton, famously having the goalkeeper keep his foot on the ball until the opposition started pressing. Back then, teams actually thought: ‘It’s Brighton, so let’s press high.’ That created space. But now, teams just let the goalkeeper do his thing.

“The idea is outdated because everyone has seen the footage by now. Everyone knows what he’s planning. Guardiola went through a similar phase, but he kept innovating. De Zerbi, on the other hand, just keeps doing the same thing. Whereas all his imitators struggle after a year.”

Impressive hubris

That’s not the only criticism from the panel either. Filip Joost believes that the Tottenham coach has shown a surprising amount of hubris when it’s come to his summer signings.

“It’s disastrous,” Joos assessed, via Sporza.

“Yet they actually started well against Everton last weekend. For ten minutes, they were in full flow, thanks to Gray and Savio. That last one has really come into his own since changing his name from Savinho to Savio.

“But that transfer also reveals De Zerbi’s hubris. You take on two players who failed at City – Savinho and Marmoush – for a huge sum, thinking you can turn them into top-tier players yourself. No way; forget it. When he panics, he really panics,” notes Joos. “And he’s not the easiest person to work with then.”