Appearances can be deceiving in football, and Tottenham Hotspur fans can't help but notice how the media is covering Roberto De Zerbi and Spurs to start the 2026/27 Premier League season. Of course, the media building up a narrative and basking in the schadenfreude of Spurs is nothing new to the Lilywhite faithful, having watched nearly the entire country root for the demise of the club during the relegation fight last season.
But it is quite entertaining to see how De Zerbi is being lampooned as a failure already through the first three games of the 2026/27 Premier League season. Tottenham, despite spending 400 million pounds this summer transfer window, have yet to score a single goal, and they only have one point in three matches while being outscored 5-0 by their opponents.
On the surface, De Zerbi is doing only marginally better than his predecessor Thomas Frank, who was such a media darling that he managed to get puff pieces and avoid real intense criticism until Tottenham Hotspur were literally one of the bottom three teams in the league and seemingly doomed for relegation. Doomed, that is, until the very same De Zerbi rescued them from the trenches without any real reenforcements.
People are already talking about Roberto De Zerbi like he's failing
That same De Zerbi is being lampooned by fans around the Premier League as a failure already, though the amnesia is quite interesting, given, again, this is the same manager who cleaned up the mess Thomas Frank brought to the club only a few months ago.
By results only, Roberto De Zerbi's return of one point in three games seems quite Frankian, and the way Tottenham played on Matchday 1 against Brentford, losing 3-0 and hearing derisory Frank-based chants aimed at them, was indeed reminiscent of the failed Danish manager's reign at N17.
However, all of that conveniently ignores the fact that Tottenham are still learning De Zerbi's real system after playing a version of it designed to get them out of relegation at the end of last season. And more importantly, it ignores all the new signings and key players returning to fitness who have not been integrated into the team. Savio, James Maddison, Mohammed Kudus, and Destiny Udogie have not been able to play much, for example.
Again, appearances can be deceiving, and Tottenham's terrible start to the season is definitely not something to get excited about if you are a rival fan. Because remember, Spurs started hot last season under Thomas Frank, and then look where they ended up in March.
Add us as a preferred source on Google