There’s a lot not to like about Tottenham Hotspur right now, starting with last weekend’s shambolic loss to Nottingham Forest which put Spurs a point above West Ham in the relegation zone with seven matches to play. But if you want to get even ANGRIER, read on — because according to the Daily Telegraph (and our good buddy Matt Law), former Brighton and Marseille manager Roberto De Zerbi is said to be willing to consider becoming Tottenham’s next permanent head coach, if — and that word is doing a lot of heavy lifting right now — Spurs escape the drop.
I feel like I’ve had my say on the possibility of De Zerbi taking over as permanent head coach before, but in case I haven’t said so explicitly, I absolutely loathe the idea. De Zerbi is cantankerous, combative, and generally considered to be a complete asshole. He’s undoubtedly a good tactician, and coaches an attacking, positive style of football, but is also known for being extremely confrontational, and has been red carded from more than one match for his touchline behavior. You might also remember a couple of years ago when, while managing Brighton, De Zerbi got into a physical altercation with then-interim Spurs manager Cristian Stellini, an incident that resulted in £100k fines for both coaches, despite Stellini not actually being involved in the incident himself. De Zerbi has torpedoed relationships at a number of his former managerial stops, leaving Brighton mutually over dissatisfaction over recruitment and player purchases, and also his latest position at Marseille, which he left “by mutual consent” in February.
Oh, and let’s not forget De Zerbi deciding to give a second chance to, and vigorously defending, crediby-accused sexual abuser Mason Greenwood at a time when he was toxic to just about every other club in world football, calling him “a good lad” and that he “paid dearly” during the sexual assault allegations levied against him.
“I don’t get involved in private matters. I just know that Mason is a good lad,” De Zerbi told reporters on Monday. He paid dearly for what happened, and he’s found the environment he needed here...
“I regret what happened in his life because I know someone different from what’s being described, especially in England.”
Remember how outraged Spurs fans got when the club tried to hire Genarro Gattuso? Remember how bad the Jose Mourinho appointment turned out to be? This guy is, in my opinion, a worse human being and absolutely not worth the damage to goodwill it would do to the fan base. It is a non-starter and would be a profoundly tone-deaf appointment from Spurs.
So of course it appears they’re still considering doing it anyway. Thankfully, it doesn’t appear to be a done deal — the Telegraph writes that both Manchester United and Liverpool would prove to be more attractive jobs should United opt not to retain interim boss Michael Carrick, or if Arne Slot leaves Liverpool this summer as has been rumored.
That said, the other tidbit of news from this article is that the other front-runner for the Spurs job is none other than Mauricio Pochettino, who might be tempted to leave his position as head coach of the USA national team after this summer’s World Cup to return to the club he took to the Champions League seven years ago. It’s hard to imagine a more different potential head coaching candidate to Roberto De Zerbi — in a good way — than Pochettino, who is still beloved by the fans seven years after his mid-season departure.
Look — it’s awfully early to be speculating on who Spurs’ next permanent manger is going to be, because I have a feeling it’s going to depend whether they’re playing in the first or second division. We have a long way to go before we find out our fate this season, and there are so many moving parts to make speculation almost pointless. But that said, if Tottenham manage to stay up and then ignore their better angels by appointing Robert De Zerbi, you can bet I and this blog will be at the forefront of the campaign to pressure Spurs to change their mind. It’s full-on #NoToDeZerbi for me, and I will not be dissuaded.