BBC

This is not the first time Tottenham have faced major opposition to a managerial appointment.

In June 2021, following the departure of Jose Mourinho, Spurs were linked with Gennaro Gattuso.

Some fans on social media referenced controversial comments the former Italy midfielder had previously made on subjects such as same sex marriage, external, and women in football.

A #NoToGattuso hashtag began trending on Twitter, and the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust raised the issue with the club.

Tottenham backed away and said Gattuso was not being considered as a candidate.

There are parallels with Roberto de Zerbi.

Trust secretary Tristan Foot told BBC Sport that it had taken on board complaints from supporters about the Italian and had been in touch with the club.

"We had an emergency meeting last night," Foot said on Tuesday. "That resulted in us writing to the chief executive and echoing those concerns and inviting them to reflect on the club's values."

Club sources told BBC Sport that De Zerbi's comments on Mason Greenwood had been considered as part of the process to appoint him and had formed part of discussions.

Women of the Lane is one of a number of official Spurs fans' group to have voiced concerns across social media in recent days.

It was joined by Proud Lillywhites - the LGBTQI+ Supporters' Association, and SpursREACH, which promotes the values of fans from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds.

Ali Speechly, who helped to create Women of the Lane two years ago, said the appointment brought into question the values and integrity of the club.

"He hired him [Greenwood] as a player and then continued to publicly back him and support him, sympathise with him," Speechly said.

"For me, that's just unforgivable. I think that speaks to the character of De Zerbi. I don't want him anywhere near my football club.

"This is about how we feel, this is about values, this is about integrity and, ultimately, it's about safety. It's about women feeling that they are safe around other men.

"Actions speak louder than words. In terms of my relationship [with [the club], it's massively impacted it.

"I don't have any intention now of going to the stadium."

The trust issued a statement, external after De Zerbi's appointment, stating his comments were "unnecessary, ill-judged, and deeply offensive to a significant number of supporters".

"It is concerning that the club would put us in this position right when the team needs fans the most," it added.

"The club must reassert its commitment to the values that fans hold dear - chief among them equality, respect and integrity.

"Our preference would have been for a short-term appointment of an individual or individuals who understand the club."

Tottenham Hotspur have been approached for comment.

Roberto de Zerbi was overwhelmingly Tottenham's number-one choice for the head coach position.

The attraction to the Italian was based on his prior Premier League experience, his tactical acumen and the his reputation for playing attacking football.

Spurs tried to bring him in after Thomas Frank left, but it was deemed too soon given he left Marseille on the same day.

De Zerbi was viewed as the best option for the long term and allows the club to plan for the summer transfer window, and he has time to experience working with the current options.

He was also viewed as the best option for the short term with no other highly credible coach on the market now.

There was also a view taken that it was best for players not to have another interim.

Roberto de Zerbi will only have one priority when he takes over at Tottenham Hotspur: keeping them in the Premier League.

The peril of Spurs' position was why the highly regarded Italian was initially reluctant to take over so late in the season, with the club's future still uncertain as they contemplate the real possibility of dropping into the Championship.

How would De Zerbi view his future if Spurs do not escape? It would not be down to him, but he certainly does not regard himself as a coach who operates in the second tier.

Given Spurs' status and ambitions, relegation is as unpalatable as it gets. Championship football at the magnificent Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would be nothing short of total humiliation.

De Zerbi's firecracker personality, as well as an ability as a coach that has won him widespread admiration from peers such as Pep Guardiola, must inject life into a squad decimated by injuries and stripped of every vestige of confidence.

He has to turn losers into winners. Instantly.

And he has to start at Sunderland in Spurs' next Premier League game.

De Zerbi is fiercely competitive and must transmit that into his players; easier said than done given the timid, defeatist nature of their performances this season.

He would have preferred to start afresh next season - and maybe somewhere else if Spurs are a Championship club - but he is confident, talented and brimming with self-belief.

Opposition is growing among official Tottenham fans' groups to Roberto de Zerbi being named manager because of his controversial support of Mason Greenwood.

The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust held an emergency board meeting on Monday night and has now contacted the club to say it cannot support the appointment.

The group told BBC Sport that it had received "a lot of emails from supporters" lodging complaints.

Ali Speechly, the co-founder of Women of the Lane, said her group also opposed the appointment and she will stop attending matches over the issue.

De Zerbi has said Greenwood "paid in a strong way" after leaving Manchester United for Marseille after charges against him, including attempted rape and assault, were dropped.

Spurs have agreed a long-term deal with the former Brighton and Marseille manager and are expected to name him as Igor Tudor's replacement imminently.

But De Zerbi faces a battle to be accepted as the club fights to preserve its Premier League status.

Greenwood was seen as one of United's most promising young players when, at the age of 20, he was arrested in January 2022.

All charges against the former England international were dropped in February 2023.

Greenwood left Old Trafford to continue his career, initially on loan at Getafe before joining Marseille in July 2024 in a deal worth up to £26.6m.

The transfer was agreed 19 days after De Zerbi was appointed as boss of the Ligue 1 club.

But it was controversial in the French city. The mayor, Benoit Payan, said that signing Greenwood was "unacceptable" and he did not want the club "to be covered in shame".

Marseille went ahead with the signing, and the 24-year-old has scored 47 times in 74 appearances across all competitions.

Alongside Paris St-Germain's Ousmane Dembele, Greenwood was Ligue 1's joint top scorer last season with 21 goals.

The comments which have angered many Spurs fans were made in November.

Before a Champions League game against Newcastle, De Zerbi was asked by an English journalist how things had been for the striker off the pitch.

"I don't want to get involved in anyone's private life. I don't even get into the private lives of my children, because I want to give everyone their freedom," De Zerbi told a pre-match news conference, external.

"All I can see is that Mason seems a good lad, he paid in a strong way for what happened.

"He has probably here found the right environment for him, which gave him affection, and held out its hand to him.

"When I look at him as a person, I feel sad for what happened in his life, without getting into the details.

"Because the person I know here is very different to the one that has been described, especially in England."

De Zerbi is accused of downplaying the allegations and painting Greenwood as a victim.

It is not the first time Tottenham have faced major opposition to a managerial appointment.

In June 2021, following the departure of Jose Mourinho, Spurs were linked with Gennaro Gattuso.

Some fans on social media referenced controversial comments the former Italy midfielder had previously made on subjects such as same sex marriage, external, and women in football.

A #NoToGattuso hashtag began trending on Twitter, and the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust raised the issue with the club.

Tottenham backed away and said Gattuso was not being considered as a candidate.

There are parallels with De Zerbi.

Trust secretary Tristan Foot told BBC Sport that it had taken on board complaints from supporters about the Italian and had been in touch with the club.

"We had an emergency meeting last night," Foot said. "That resulted in us writing to the chief executive and echoing those concerns and inviting them to reflect on the club's values."

Club sources told BBC Sport that De Zerbi's comments on Greenwood had been considered as part of the process to appoint him and had formed part of discussions.

Women of the Lane is one of a number of official Spurs fans' group to have voiced concerns across social media in recent days.

It was joined by Proud Lillywhites - the LGBTQI+ Supporters' Association, and SpursREACH, which promotes the values of fans from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds.

Speechly, who helped to create Women of the Lane two years ago, said the appointment would bring into question the values and integrity of the club.

"The fact is that he hired him [Greenwood] as a player," Speechly said.

"And then continue to publicly back him and support him, sympathise with him.

"For me, that's just unforgivable. I think that speaks to the character of De Zerbi.

"I don't want him anywhere near my football club.

"This is about how we feel, this is about values, this is about integrity and, ultimately, it's about safety.

"It's about women feeling that they are safe around other men."

Speechly added that giving De Zerbi the manager's job undermines the work done by the club to build relationships with minority groups.

"Actions speak louder than words," Speechly added.

"In terms of my relationship with [the club] it's massively impacted it.

"In all honesty I don't have any intention now of going to the stadium if they do appoint De Zerbi."

Foot said that the Trust held the same concerns about the club's integrity.

"We think that our club should reassert values of equality and respect," he added.

"This appointment, out of many that they could have made, seems to be the one that could fly in the face of that.

"We have told the club that if they go ahead with the appointment, that we will issue a formal statement reflecting the serious concerns we have."

Tottenham Hotspur have been approached for comment.

Slow burner - De Zerbi's struggles as mid-season appointment

Tottenham need Roberto de Zerbi to make an instant impact, with the club one place and one point above the Premier League relegation zone and just seven games of the season remaining.

Yet his record at previous clubs suggests De Zerbi has initially struggled to turn teams around.

The Italian has taken over mid-season at three different clubs and his record in the first seven games has not been great.

De Zerbi managed just one win at Palermo in 2016 before eventually getting the sack, and no wins at Benevento the following season as they were relegated from Serie A.

Then, in 2022, he struggled early in his tenure at Brighton as the Seagulls claimed just eight points from his first seven games, but went on to qualify for Europe.

De Zerbi's record in his first seven games at clubs where he has taken over mid-season:

Palermo, 2016

One win

Two draws

Four defeats

Five points

Benevento, 2017

No wins

One draw

Six defeats

One point

Brighton, 2022

Two wins

Two draws

Three defeats

Eight points

De Zerbi's unquestionable impact at Brighton

Roberto de Zerbi had 89 games as manager of Brighton in all competitions, recording a win rate of 42.7%.

His win rate in the Premier League was marginally lower - 37% from 70 games.

But his impact was unquestionable.

After being appointed as a replacement for Graham Potter in September 2022, the Italian's high-pressing style helped the Seagulls to a sixth-placed finish in his first season, taking them into Europe for the first time.

De Zerbi's Premier League record at Brighton:

Games - 70

Won - 26

Drawn - 19

Lost - 25

Points per game - 1.39

Win rate - 37%

De Zerbi's managerial history

Roberto de Zerbi already has a managerial CV spanning eight different teams, despite being just 46 years of age.

After retiring from playing in 2013, De Zerbi immediately went into management with lower league Italian side, Darfo Boario.

From there, he jumped around several Italian clubs before earning his first major move to Ukrainian giants, Shakhtar Donetsk.

He won the Ukrainian Super Cup in his first season and led them to the top of the league before departing the club in July 2022 prior to the conclusion of the campaign as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In September 2022, he succeed Graham Potter as manager of Brighton and led the club to the FA Cup semi-final in his first season, along with a sixth-place finish in the Premier League - securing European football for the first time in the club's history.

His most recent managerial spell came in France with Ligue 1 side Marseille. He led the club to a second-place finish in his first season behind champions Paris St-Germain.

De Zerbi left in February of 2026 following the team's exit from the Champions League league phase. The club were fourth in Ligue 1 at the time.

Spurs tried to bring in De Zerbi after Frank exit

Sami Mokbel

BBC Sport Senior football correspondent

De Zerbi was overwhelmingly the club’s number one choice for the position. The attraction to the Italian was based on his prior Premier League experience, his tactical acumen and the his reputation for playing attacking football.

The club tried to bring him to the club after Thomas Frank left, but it was deemed too soon given he left Marseille on the same day.

De Zerbi was viewed as the best option for the long term of the club and allows the club to plan for the summer transfer window, and he has time to experience working with the current options.

He was also viewed as the best option for short-term with no other highly-credible coach on the market now.

There was also a view taken that it’s best for players not to have another interim.

No relegation clause in De Zerbi contract

Sami Mokbel

BBC Sport Senior football correspondent

Roberto De Zerbi does not have a relegation clause in his Tottenham contract as the Premier League club close in on appointing the Italian as their new head coach.

De Zerbi is finalising a deal to become the club’s new boss on a five year contract with his first target being to lead the club to safety.

Spurs are currently in 17th, one point clear of the relegation zone with just seven matches to play.

But even if Spurs are relegated, sources have told BBC Sport that the deal to take De Zerbi to Spurs does not include a clause that allows the Italian to walk away from the club if they are in the Championship next season.

It is understood De Zerbi is fully committed to rebuilding Tottenham and views the position as long term project regardless of which division they are playing in.

De Zerbi 'overwhelming first-choice' for job

Sami Mokbel

BBC Sport Senior football correspondent

Roberto De Zerbi has been the overwhelming first-choice to become the club’s new permanent head coach and according to well-placed sources, all parties have now struck a deal for the former Brighton manager to become the club’s new manager on a permanent basis with an announcement expected in due course.

BBC Sport reported on Sunday that De Zerbi was the man Spurs wanted to replace Igor Tudor, who officially left the club by mutual consent over the weekend. Talks have been ongoing since Sunday and those discussions have been successful.

While De Zerbi was always open to taking the Spurs position, it is understood he initially showed a reluctance to accept the job before the end of the season.

But the coach, who left Marseille earlier this year, had been persuaded to take the job immediately.

Tottenham are closing in on the appointment of Roberto de Zerbi as head coach.

Should the former Brighton boss agree a deal - as is expected - he would have seven games to save the club from relegation to the Championship.

That means in two months' time, Spurs' third boss of the season would have either secured his place as a hero at the club, or forever connected his name to one of the worst seasons in their history.

Tottenham are 17th in the Premier League, just one point outside of the relegation zone and without a win in the competition in 2026. Should they fail to beat the drop, it would go down as one of the league's most remarkable relegations.

De Zerbi, 46, is set to succeed Igor Tudor, who lasted just 44 days in the post before his spell was mutually ended.

After guiding Brighton to European qualification during his two seasons in the Premier League between 2022 and 2024, De Zerbi took Marseille to second in Ligue 1 before leaving in February.

Should the Italian's appointment be confirmed as expected, his first match as Tottenham boss would be a trip to Sunderland on 12 April, followed six days later by a home game against his former club Brighton. Their remaining fixtures are home matches against Leeds and Everton, and trips to Wolves, Aston Villa and Chelsea.

"He will be having his own way - he's quite a character," former Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"He's a very outspoken manger. He's a manager in a similar way to Jose Mourinho or Antonio Conte that Tottenham have had in the past."

It is well documented that De Zerbi's footballing DNA traces back to the Pep Guardiola tradition, but to leave it there would be restrictive. He has taken the principles - positional play, pressing triggers, control through the ball - and built his own beliefs around them

There are a number of reasons why this appointment could work.

First, De Zerbi doesn't care what people think. He has a clear, unshakeable idea of how he wants to play football and at a club as chaotic as Tottenham right now, that kind of certainty is invaluable.

He has also never managed a club with no expectations and has always delivered under pressure. He knows what it means to have concrete targets and he knows how to meet them.

He brings the added benefit of knowing the Premier League and the timing of the likely appointment gives him scope for preparation. Spurs don't play again until 12 April and that gives him precious time to assess his squad.

Arriving during the international break would give De Zerbi precious days to begin assessing his squad.

The big concern here, though, is less about De Zerbi himself and more about whether those around him will have the discipline to align with his vision.

When that alignment has broken down in De Zerbi's career - when ownership or a director of football has pulled in a different direction - the project has quickly unravelled.

That is precisely what happened at Marseille. The football was often compelling, the city was behind him, but at decision-making level the relationship could not be sustained.

Tottenham have had their own well-documented structural difficulties. If De Zerbi is to thrive, the football operations around him must be stable, communicative and genuinely aligned to his way of working.

That is not a small ask for a club in the midst of a relegation battle.

Marseille fans felt both relief and regret when De Zerbi left midway through his second season.

Relief because the final weeks were desperately poor, but regret too because De Zerbi - a former ultra with immense passion - looked at times a perfect fit for the Mediterranean club.

His first year was promising: Marseille finished as runners-up and returned to the Champions League. A raft of new signings raised hopes, especially after a first home win over Paris St-Germain in 14 years and a six-goal rout of Le Havre sent them top.

Yet there was always a sense Marseille were just a couple of defeats from crisis. The squad almost imploded when Jonathan Rowe and Adrien Rabiot clashed in the dressing room, and De Zerbi's uncompromising style alienated certain players.

He infuriated observers by constantly changing systems and selections, leaving players bamboozled.

For the most part, De Zerbi lined up in a 4-2-3-1 and fans occasionally saw glimpses of the front-footed, attacking style he wanted to implement.

Yet Marseille's midfield pairing - usually Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Geoffrey Kondogbia - lacked the technical skills and mobility to perform in that system against stronger opposition. The defence would be left exposed, while the attack relied too heavily on individual exploits from Mason Greenwood and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

When a flagging Marseille crashed out of the Champions League, losing 3-0 in Bruges, reports emerged De Zerbi had lost the dressing room. A pitiful 5-0 defeat at PSG - the heaviest in Classique history - made his exit inevitable.

De Zerbi left with the highest win percentage of any Marseille coach this century (57%). That Igor Tudor (56%) ranks second suggests Spurs fans should treat that statistic with caution.

Former England captain Steph Houghton and ex-Wales skipper Ashley Williams discuss how quickly Roberto de Zerbi's impact could be seen at Tottenham on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club.

"Results show Spurs are in a mess," said Houghton.

"They should have brought De Zerbi in back in February and given him the time. He's going to be asking the players to do things they are not used to. They probably don't know if they're coming and going after going from [Ange] Postecoglou, to [Thomas] Frank, to [Igor] Tudor and now to something completely new again.

"They have seven games to stay up and they are the team not in form."

Williams added: "He's the type of manager who is very meticulous, very detailed.

"He builds for the future but he's got so little time. I'm not sure how these next seven games will go."

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When it comes to overall win rate in all competitions, Igor Tudor is bottom of the pile for all managers since 2014 at just 14.3%.

Seven games is not a long period of time for a manager to make his mark, but Ryan Mason was in charge for one spell of seven and another for six games, and achieved win percentages of 57.1% and 33.3% respectively.

Mauricio Pochettino had the best win rate of recent long-term managers, with 54.3%.

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