Merson Warns De Zerbi Over Public Criticism of Spurs

Paul Merson has sounded the alarm over Roberto De Zerbi’s early-season rhetoric, warning that the Tottenham head coach is already treading on dangerous ground with his public criticism of both his forwards and his medical staff.

Spurs’ 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest left them still waiting for their first Premier League goal of the season and, remarkably, without a single shot on target. The performance was flat. The post-match comments were anything but.

Merson: “Keep that in-house”

De Zerbi did not spare his attacking players after the game, insisting they must make “better decisions” in the final third and show more calm when close to goal. He then turned his fire on the club’s medical department, revealing he was “not happy” at being told Savio and Destiny Udogie could only play 60 minutes – instructions he felt stalled Spurs’ momentum when he obeyed them.

For Merson, writing in his Sky Sports column, that is a red flag.

He felt Spurs were “fortunate” to escape with a point at the City Ground, arguing that if Neco Williams had been “a little bit braver” Forest would have taken all three. But the result itself is not what bothers him most. It’s the way De Zerbi chose to air his frustrations.

“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,” Merson wrote. “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.”

Merson questioned whether the Italian is already trying to protect his own reputation by pointing at the medical team’s influence on substitutions.

“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 – and 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.”

The message is clear: calling out the people behind the scenes, publicly, rarely ends well.

Manager vs medics

De Zerbi, though, sees it differently. He made it clear he felt boxed in by the guidance he received.

“The second half, I’m sorry because the medical staff pushed to change Savinho and Udogie after 60 minutes,” he said. He stressed that while Mohammed Kudus and Andy Robertson “played very well”, making two enforced changes at that moment “was not so good” for the balance of the team.

He accepted the club cannot “take risk to injury again” with key figures like Savio and Udogie, describing both as “crucial players”. But he did not hide his frustration that his pre-game plan was disrupted and framed the management of minutes as something he has to handle “for my advantage, for my business”.

Merson acknowledges the tension. “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?”

Even so, he believes there is a line. De Zerbi, in his view, crossed it.

Forwards in the firing line

If the medical comments raised eyebrows, the criticism of the forwards left Merson simply puzzled.

De Zerbi’s assessment was detailed and unforgiving. He reeled off moments where he felt his side chose the wrong option: Omar Marmoush shooting rather than feeding an overlapping Andy Robertson, crosses from Mathys Tel and Savio flying beyond the back post, Pedro Porro picking out Mateus Fernandes when a move involving Kudus led instead to 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.”

For Merson, that didn’t quite tally with what he watched.

“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.”

The numbers back up the sense of bluntness: no shots on target, no real spell where Forest were hanging on. De Zerbi wants sharper thinking. Merson wonders whether the public scolding is misdirected – and too early.

Spurs’ reality check

Beyond the soundbites, Merson’s bigger concern is the mindset around Spurs.

“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.”

That, more than a goalless draw at Forest, is the context he keeps coming back to. This is a club trying to drag itself out of the bottom half, not one tweak away from a title challenge.

He believes patience is non-negotiable.

“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.”

The targets, in his eyes, are clear and ruthless. Forget romantic notions of gatecrashing the very top.

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

That’s the landscape De Zerbi has walked into: a squad still scarred by back-to-back 17th-place finishes, a fanbase desperate for lift-off, and a manager who has already chosen to challenge his forwards and his medics in public.

If this is week one of the story, the real question is how long Spurs can keep the noise outside the dressing room from swallowing the work going on inside it.