A staunch critic of Roberto De Zerbi has crawled out of the woodwork following Tottenham Hotspur's disappointing start to the new season
Christophe Dugarry has slammed Roberto De Zerbi's management style following a disappointing start to the new Premier League season. In the summer transfer window, Johan Lange forked out well over £300m on new players to bolster the squad, but Tottenham Hotspur are yet to win a game, let alone score a goal.
The Lilywhites sit fourth from bottom in the English top-flight, with just a point stopping them from falling into the relegation zone. For the first time in the club's history, they have failed to find the net in each of the first four games of the campaign.
Dugarry, a staunch critic of De Zerbi, has since crawled out of the woodwork, accusing him of pulling off a 'heist' at Hotspur Way. During an appearance on French television channel RMC Sport, the former AC Milan, Barcelona, and Olympique Marseille striker described the Italian as 'completely delusional'.
"He signed for five years [at Tottenham], the heist he pulls off, without the balaclava... It’s insane," said Dugarry, as quoted by Sport Witness. "And now they pay you every week in England, so you can go.
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"What he’s doing is magnificent. He’s proven so much in football that he’s incredible," he sarcastically added. Dugarry also doubted whether De Zerbi has what it takes to manage at the very highest level.
"I never understood what this man’s true level was," added the 54-year-old, who enjoyed a couple of years with Birmingham City in the Premier League, scoring six goals in 30 games, during the early 2000s.
"I’m told he did well at Brighton, Sassuolo, and I don’t remember where else. For me, he’s not an absolute benchmark for coaching big clubs; he had his chance. For now, he’s struggling to seize it."
In reference to the Tottenham boss' spell at Marseille, when he left 'by mutual agreement' just months before taking the reins at Spurs, Dugarry then urged a senior official to stop him in his tracks.
The former France international said: "But for me, the turning point came after three months, when things weren't going his way, he said: 'If I'm the problem, I'm leaving.' I realised the guy was off his rocker!"
Dugarry also took a swipe at De Zerbi for his management of Mathys Tel. Following Spurs' goalless draw to Everton at the weekend, the Italian went viral on social media when the television cameras spotted him exchanging a few words with the 21-year-old forward.
In the post-match press conference, De Zerbi explained the incident, claiming that he just wanted Tel to improve his body shape when leading the frontline. The Tottenham gaffer defused the situation, adding that he 'loves' the Frenchman and there was 'not a problem'.
Despite this, Dugarry tore into De Zerbi again. He said: "I can’t even talk about him as a coach, but when you’re still capable of making statements like that, post-match, pre-match. During the match, I saw him; he went after Mathys Tel on the pitch.
"The statements he made about this guy and that, he’s completely out of it. It’s astounding to have so little lucidity about what you say. Isn’t there anyone around him who’s going to tell him, ‘Just shut up!’? He’s completely delusional."