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Tottenham: Fan explains club's midfield dilemma

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Tottenham fan explains the club's midfield dilemma - BBC
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Up Next. De Zerbi let us bond over a few beers - Maddison. Video, 00:01:57De Zerbi let us bond over a few beers - Maddison

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Tony Pulis column: Why international break has come at worst time for De Zerbi & Spurs

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Tony Pulis column: Why international break has come at worst time for De Zerbi & Spurs - BBC
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Big spending always means big ambitions, but shelling out so much money on so many players the way Tottenham did this summer produces problems for any manager, and there is no quick fix.

If I was given a bundle of cash and asked to buy an outfit for a wedding, and I spent every penny of it on pink shoes, brown trousers, yellow shirt and orange tie, then I am sure you would all say that just doesn't work.

That is similar to what has happened at Spurs, where the board backed Roberto de Zerbi to the hilt with an outlay on new players of around £400m.

It was an almost unprecedented occurrence from a club that has always been renowned for being careful with investment in their team, and it sent expectations from many Spurs supporters through the roof.

The club had just avoided relegation two seasons running, finishing 17th twice in a row, but suddenly some fans were looking forward to a season competing for trophies and a top-four finish.

Their early results and performances have been disappointing, of course, but fans have to understand all the different factors that affect you when you are building a team - and it is ridiculous to suggest De Zerbi should be under pressure already, especially after he kept them up last season.

Finding a way for your club to win takes a manager in lots of different directions but they all involve time - on the grass or with social interaction with the players.

Not only has De Zerbi not been given that early time and opportunity, the majority of his players have now been taken away from him for another three weeks on international duty.

De Zerbi has many other issues to deal with, from Tottenham's poor home form to their inability to recover from conceding the first goal in games.

But his biggest challenge right now will be to fit those players who have just arrived in with the ones already at the club, into a unit that plays as a team and produces results so that the money the club has spent is justified.

All of this will take time, and patience, and all the kinds of little detail that supporters never see.

In my day, we were given time to create a team, and a family. For today's managers, time seems more limited than ever.

We are only five games into the season but there are already some Spurs fans who seem to think De Zerbi is the worst manager in the world, even though he has proved elsewhere how good he is.

I like De Zerbi's passion, and his approach. That will count for nothing if Spurs don't eventually produce, but let's give him a proper chance.

De Zerbi is a very passionate, straight-talking and ambitious manager who demands total commitment and backing from his board.

He has definitely had that at Spurs, which has left people wondering why he has made such a slow start.

But, before the season started, I thought his biggest challenge with so many different types of players arriving would be to put players together that fit as a team, not as a group of individuals.

I've been in that situation myself, for example in my early days at Stoke, when I signed Gerry Taggart and Michael Duberry to play together, two centre-halves who were complete opposites in relation to how they dealt with space on the pitch.

Gerry always wanted to drop off deeper because he wasn't overly quick, whereas Michael was fast and didn't ever worry about leaving space behind him.

I couldn't make Gerry any quicker, so common sense locked in and I had to convince Michael that he would have to take a step away from his main strengths of pace and power and work along Gerry's lines instead.

We spent a great deal of time on the grass in training until we finally got both working in unison. Both were different, but they understood the importance of working together as a pair for the benefit of the team. Even so, it still took time for it to click.

For any manager trying to build a successful team by developing combinations like that, the main thing you need is time with your players.

It can happen where a lot of new players settle in quickly at the same time and the team starts well - like Sunderland last season, or Brighton pretty much every year when they have lost several key players - but the difference is that while those clubs might also have changed their manager, they have not changed their identity.

Whether it is Sunderland and Brighton, or Brentford and Bournemouth, they all have a set identity so that when they look for a player to fit in a certain position, he has to have certain strengths.

When you don't have that solid base behind you, knowing exactly what is needed for certain positions, then bringing 10 new signings and all in one window like Spurs have just done, is going to create many issues for the coach.

Each player has a different personality and needs different amount of time to settle in, not only to a new environment but also to adjust to the demands of a very single-minded and demanding coach like De Zerbi is.

This settling-in period would have been covered if all the players had had a pre-season together, to get up to speed with their team-mates and what De Zerbi is asking of them, with his front-foot style of play.

That did not happen, and then even after the season started, Spurs were still adding to their squad.

Coaching a team to be a team takes time, patience and a sound idea of the strengths of all your players.

Even when you have got that, trying to knit every player together takes time, and that is still De Zerbi's issue now.

For starters, he was always playing catch-up. Because all of his players were not in place when the season began, he missed the opportunity to assess his squad and impose his own principles on his top group of players.

He is a coach at heart and will want to be out on the training pitch conducting a system of work for the team, in and out of possession, that he believes will bring success to the club. This international break means he cannot do that with all his players.

Another issue De Zerbi has is that he has only been in the job a few months and he is still getting to know the existing players, not just the new ones, on and off the grass.

On it, you need to find out who understands the importance of teamwork and who doesn't, to iron out shortcomings and and see what works and what doesn't.

An example of when you realise something doesn't work was my experience at a club who had just bought a right-back from a top Premier League team, for more than £1m which was big money at the time.

We were struggling at the bottom of the league when I came in and needed a direction on the pitch that would bring better results.

During the defensive work we were doing in training, the full-back kept picking up what were, in my opinion, poor positions while covering from the opposite side to where the ball was.

I must have stopped the session on at least four occasions to remonstrate with him and give my view, but in the end the lad told me that this is not what he believed was right.

I immediately replaced him with a young full-back from the reserves who had been playing for the opposition in the drill, who understood his role was for the team, and not for himself.

Getting things right off the pitch is so important too, and that involves getting to know what your players' characters are like, finding out what they are like as individuals, and understanding their lifestyles.

I had three South American players at West Brom who were fantastic lads but we still had to look after them.

I spoke to my assistant, David Kemp, about taking them and their families out for dinner, and by spending time with them and their children and their wives I believe we won a degree of respect and trust that we would never have had if we had not bothered to meet them all together as a family.

You have to realise that players from different cultures can be used to living a different lifestyle, and this can make a difference to how quickly or how well they fit in.

I had one player in the Premier League whose routine I just could not believe, yet he became such an integral part of keeping a struggling club up.

His 24 hours typically played out like this - training from 8.30am to 1pm, home and bed until 9 or 10pm and then up and out again for dinner and then a casino or whatever, until the early hours.

Then he would be up for training, and he would go again.

It took me a few weeks to get to the bottom of this but, once I confronted him, he was adamant that his routine suited his lifestyle. He certainly knew the best restaurants around town, but his performances were always of the highest quality on the pitch.

Did he heed my advice? I think he did, but he was such a great lad, top player and a great team member that he wasn't a problem anyway.

He had been a bit isolated from the rest of the squad at first, but it just took him some time to integrate.

Again, finding out about him as an individual and making personal contact with him, was important, and it was something I always saw as vital with all my players.

Tony Pulis was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.

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Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United: Women's League Cup stats & head-to-head

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Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United: Women's League Cup stats & head-to-head - BBC
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Tottenham news: 'A recipe for disaster' - but Spurs 'will turn it around' after poor start

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'A recipe for disaster' - but Tottenham 'will turn it around' - BBC
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Former Premier League striker Clinton Morrison has backed Tottenham to "still have a good season", despite their poor start in Roberto de Zerbi's first full campaign in charge.

Saturday's 3-2 defeat by Aston Villa has left Spurs rooted to the bottom of the Premier League going into the international break, but they did score league goals for the first time in 2026-27.

"Spurs were the better team in that first half and [Zion] Suzuki made three or four outstanding saves," Morrison told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast.

"I feel like we've been saying this a lot with Tottenham so far this season - dominating matches, not being clinical enough, and then getting punished.

"The defending is nowhere near good enough and they are conceding too many easy goals at the moment. It is a recipe for disaster.

"But, I do think they will turn it around and I do think they will have a good season.

"When it clicks for them, they are going to give some team a hiding very soon.

"I think they have good attacking players, they will score goals and win games at some point.

"The only thing they have missed is when signing all these midfielders and attacking players, they have missed a centre forward.

"De Zerbi will not put his arm around you - it's his way or the highway and you have to produce for him. The hierarchy has backed him and given him the money, now he has to get results.

"But, their upcoming fixtures don't look too bad. I do think scoring their first two Premier league goals, even in defeat, does help moving forward."

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Tottenham transfer rumours: Morgan Gibbs-White, Jon Aramburu

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Tottenham transfer rumours: Morgan Gibbs-White, Jon Aramburu - BBC
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Tottenham have set their sights on a possible £125m January move for Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, 26, after nearly signing the England international during the 2025 summer transfer window. (Football Insider), external

Spurs, Liverpool, Manchester City and Fulham are among several Premier League clubs monitoring 24-year-old Venezuela and Real Sociedad defender Jon Aramburu. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

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Spurs za ta kashe Fam Miliyan 125 kan Gibbs, United na harin Mesloub

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Spurs za ta kashe Fam Miliyan 125 kan Gibbs, United na harin Mesloub - BBC
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An wallafa Sa'o'i 3 da suka wuce

Lokacin karatu: Minti 1

Tottenham Hotspur ta shirya siyen ɗan wasan Notthingham Forest Morgan Gibbs-White kan fam miliyan 125 a watan January mai zuwan, bayan da da kusa daukar dan wasan a kakar siyen dan wasan a 2025. (Football Insider)

Manchester United na harin ɗan wasan Lens Mezian Mesloub, a yunƙurinsu na ƙara ƙarfin ƙungiyar da matasa masu hazaƙa. (Teamtalk)

United na son ci gaba da riƙe ɗan wasan Ingila JJ Gabriel, da ake ta danganta shi da komawa Real Madrid ko Bercelona, yayin da Chelsea ita ma ta shiga sahum masu zawarci ɗan wasan. (Teamtalk)

Manchester United na sa ido kan Antonio Conte, a mastayin wanda zai maye gurbin Michael Carrick, inda har baa sami wani ci gaba ba kan yadda ya ke tafi da ƙungiyar. (Hard Tackle)

Ac Milan da Juventus su ma na harin Conte da ke jirin tayin d aya kwnata masa, kafin ya bar Napoli a kakar wasannin nan. (Calciomercato - in Italian)

Atletico Madrid sun sabunta aniyarsu na son ɗaukar ɗan wasan Bayer Leverkusen, ibrahim Maza, a yunƙurinsu na karfafa ƴan wasan tsakiyar ƙungiyar. (Goal)

Liverpool, da Manchester City, da Fulham, da Tottenham na cikin ƙungiyoyin da ke buga Firimiya da ke sa ido kan dan wasan Venezula da Real Sociedad Jon Aramburu. (Teamtalk)

Liverpool ta fara tattaunawa da Monaco kan Lamine Camara, 22, don ganin sun siye shi nan da watan Janairu. (Caughtoffside)

Skip Wanda aka fi karantawa and continue reading

Wanda aka fi karantawa

End of Wanda aka fi karantawa

Arsenal na son ɗan wasan Borussia Dortmund Maximilian Beier. (Teamtalk)

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Women's Super League: Crystal Palace 0-7 Tottenham Hotspur - Olivia Holdt on her celebrations

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Women's Super League: Crystal Palace 0-7 Tottenham Hotspur - Olivia Holdt on her celebrations - BBC
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Holdt has 'bit of fun' with Palace fans Video, 00:00:12Holdt has 'bit of fun' with Palace fans

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I feel like I'm in a good place - Isak. Video, 00:02:34I feel like I'm in a good place - Isak

Carrick says Man Utd have enough talent to recover. Video, 00:00:45Carrick says Man Utd have enough talent to recover

'Sometimes it happens for you' - Maresca on VAR fallout. Video, 00:00:35'Sometimes it happens for you' - Maresca on VAR fallout

It's a joy to have Dowman - Arteta. Video, 00:01:47It's a joy to have Dowman - Arteta

Why football rules are 'impossible to understand' Video, 00:03:08Why football rules are 'impossible to understand'

Getting goal decision so wrong is 'baffling' - Rooney. Video, 00:01:20Getting goal decision so wrong is 'baffling' - Rooney

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Football gossip: Tottenham Hotspur eye £125m move for Morgan Gibbs-White

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Football gossip: Tottenham Hotspur eye £125m move for Morgan Gibbs-White - BBC
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Spurs could move for Morgan Gibbs‑White, JJ Gabriel's next step remains unresolved and Antonio Conte may be lining up his next move.

Tottenham Hotspur have set their sights on a possible £125m January move for Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White, 26, after nearly signing the England international during the 2025 summer transfer window. (Football Insider), external

Manchester United are looking at Lens' Portugal youth international midfielder Mezian Mesloub, 16, as they bid to strengthen their young talent pool. (Teamtalk), external

The Old Trafford outfit remain keen to keep wantaway English forward JJ Gabriel, 15, who has been linked with a move to Real Madrid and Barcelona, with Chelsea now joining the battle to sign the teenager. (Teamtalk), external

Manchester United are monitoring Italian manager Antonio Conte, 57, as a possible replacement for current boss Michael Carrick, should the former England international's position at the club become untenable. (Hard Tackle), external

AC Milan and Juventus are also keeping tabs on Conte, who is waiting on the right opportunity to begin his next project after leaving Napoli in the summer. (Calciomercato - in Italian), external

Atletico Madrid have reignited their interest in Bayer Leverkusen's young sensation Ibrahim Maza, 20, as they look to strengthen their midfield. (Goal), external

Liverpool, Manchester City, Fulham, and Tottenham are among several Premier League clubs monitoring 24-year-old Venezula and Real Sociedad defender Jon Aramburu. (Teamtalk), external

Liverpool have held initial talks with Monaco and Senegal midfielder Lamine Camara, 22, over a potential January move. (Caughtoffside), external

Arsenal are interested in 23-year-old Borussia Dortmund and Germany forward Maximilian Beier. (Teamtalk), external

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