Former Tottenham Hotspur Jamie O’Hara was scathing in his assessment of Roberto De Zerbi’s first game in charge of his old club, with striker Dominic Solanke producing an horrific 0/10 performance in the defeat at Sunderland.
The so-called ‘new manager bounce’ proved once again that it does not exist at Spurs as De Zerbi’s first game in charge went the same way as Igor Tudor’s, another demoralising defeat.
Whilst not quite as heavy or embarrassing as the 4-1 home loss former interim manager Tudor suffered against Arsenal in his first outing, De Zerbi’s Tottenham did little to suggest they can avoid relegation at the Stadium of Light.
The 1-0 defeat, courtesy of Nordi Mukiele’s cruelly deflected strike, leaves Spurs two points off 17th-placed West Ham in the fight for survival with only six games remaining for De Zerbi to pull off what is looking increasingly like a miracle.
And reacting to the performance on Wearside, O’Hara did not hold back with his player ratings in what was another dismal Tottenham display.
Writing on X after the game, it was Solanke‘s 0/10 that was the biggest shocker, while fellow forwards Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani did not fare much better as they both received 1/10 ratings.
Antonin Kinsky at least recovered from his disaster in Madrid the last time he pulled on a Spurs shirt, earning a 7/10 as replacement for the injured Guglielmo Vicario, while Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, and Pedro Porro avoided complete humiliation by each being awarded 5/10.
Summarising the performance, O’Hara said: “Absolute horror. Spurs deserved nothing from this match. This fully characterizes Tottenham this season. They did nothing at all, showed nothing.
“There is no performance in any position. Gallagher – terrible. Kolo Muani – terrible. Solanke – terrible. Richarlison – terrible. Udogie –terrible. You can’t fight for survival with only six people actually involved! You need to fight and play properly.”
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Despite the managerial change, O’Hara shifted the blame toward the squad rather than criticising new boss De Zerbi.
He added: “I can’t believe how bad this team is. De Zerbi is a good coach, but he can’t perform miracles. The players have to deliver results for him.”
Next up for Tottenham is a clash with De Zerbi’s old club Brighton in north London on Saturday evening, where nothing less than three points will suffice.