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‘Tottenham don’t need to spend as Mikey Moore to lead revolution next season’ – Expert

Tottenham Hotspur have been told they do not need to spend massively, with Mikey Moore set to lead a youth revolution.

The 18-year-old is currently starring for Rangers in the Scottish Premiership, with six goals and three assists in all competitions.

Moore is probably the brightest talent at Hotspur Way, and he may well find himself in Roberto De Zerbi‘s first-team plans for the new campaign.

There are plenty of others who could make an impression on the manager and force their way into contention under the Italian boss.

Tottenham fans will want huge spending to make sure that they do not have another miserable season, but it may not be needed.

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Who could join Moore in Tottenham’s first team?

John Wenham believes that Moore could star for Tottenham next season, and he may not be the only young player to be given a chance.

Speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, he said: “There is some talk that he might win Rangers player of the season. He’s playing really, really well at the moment; they absolutely love him up there.

“For an 18-year-old, could he come in at left wing next year for Tottenham? I think he could.

“I think there’s enough potential there and enough buy-in that, if we can just stay up this year, if you can build a squad around the core of young English home-grown players, Alfie Devine, Will Lankshear, Moore, and maybe Jamie Donley, Ashley Phillips, we’ve got Luka Vuskovic coming back.

“You really don’t need to spend a lot of money; you just need to spend well in the right positions.”

Will De Zerbi adopt a youth approach?

It seems unlikely that De Zerbi would use that many young players as starting players, but there may well be places as depth pieces available.

The likes of Vuskovic, Moore and Devine have looked like genuine options for the senior team, while the others have significant experience under their belts, too.

It would save Spurs from spending extravagant amounts in the market, and the players are more likely to fight for the badge because they have come through the club from a young age, and they are keen to make an impression.

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Dermot Gallagher saw no reason for Brian Brobbey to be sent off against Tottenham Hotspur.

Aside from the fact that it greatly increased Spurs’ chances of relegation, Sunday’s clash at the Stadium of Light left supporters increasingly frustrated, and mainly with the officiating.

Tottenham supporters were adamant that Brobbey should have been sent off, not once, but twice, for fouls on Pedro Porro and Cristian Romero.

The first incident saw Porro go down holding his face after the Spaniard was battling with the Dutchman, with the second incident resulting in what looked to be a serious injury for Romero.

Romero’s World Cup dreams may be over as a result, but Gallagher believes that Rob Jones made the right call on both occasions.

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What did Dermot Gallagher say about Pedro Porro controversy?

The first incident that sparked frustration was in regard to Porro, when the Spaniard was, admittedly, pulling back on Brobbey, before the Sunderland striker attempted to push him off the ball, and appeared to catch his face.

Porro went straight to the ground, and Jones awarded the free kick, but only punished Brobbey with a yellow card.

Having reviewed the footage via Ref Watch, Gallagher believes that Jones made the right decision to ignore Tottenham’s calls for a red card.

Gallagher said: “Brobbey is trying to use his strength. It’s not like he’s a yard away.”

Cristian Romero may have played his last game for Tottenham

The second incident was the one that forced Romero off the pitch, and in tears at that.

The Argentine was looking to shield the ball back to Antonin Kinsky, who also took the full force of the blow, after Brobbey barged into the back of Romero, resulting in a collision.

Having already been cautioned, Spurs were again adamant that Brobbey should have been off, but again, Gallagher disagreed.

He said: “We have to be careful we don’t get seduced by the outcome – the injury. If the goalkeeper’s not there, a little nudge, are you going to send him off for a second yellow card? The answer is most certainly no.

“The goalkeeper comes out, and a collision occurs. That changes everyone’s perspective, but it wasn’t a serious foul.”

However, one thing to note strongly is that neither of the incidents warranted the abhorrent racial abuse that Brobbey suffered via social media after the game.

Sunderland were quick to condemn the discrimination in a statement released on X, and rightfully so.

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Tottenham need star signing Xavi Simons to step up more than ever as relegation worries intensify

Tottenham Hotspur fell to defeat once again, as Roberto De Zerbi took to the dugout for the first time against Sunderland.

It was a match of fine margins at the Stadium of Light on Sunday, with a deflected Nordi Mukiele strike condemning Spurs to a 1-0 defeat on their travels.

Despite De Zerbi arriving with a background of exciting attacking football, similar patterns emerged for the Lilywhites, who struggled to create anything, while failing to take full control of a match once again.

With the winless league run stretching back to the end of last calendar year continuing to extend, De Zerbi’s side have been left languishing in the relegation zone, two points behind West Ham.

Tottenham need difference makers to begin stepping up, while now would be a perfect time for star signing Xavi Simons to begin backing up all the hype surrounding him following his arrival last summer.

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Xavi Simons has not lived up to the hype in a Tottenham shirt

The Dutchman made the switch from RB Leipzig last summer, joining in a £51million deal.

The signing itself was a huge statement for Spurs, after missing out on both Eberechi Eze and Morgan Gibbs-White, the feeling was that they had fallen upwards by adding a genuine star from the continent to Thomas Frank’s squad – though he has not quite hit the heights just yet.

Flashes of quality have been there for the 22-year-old former teenage wonderkid, who had become a famous prospect in his early teenage years at both Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, before cutting his teeth with PSV Eindhoven and RB Leipzig.

Throughout his career, Simons has become known for his ability to carry the ball over long distances, and that hasn’t exactly let up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with 13.2 over the course of the season, with a total distance of 3298.7m.

Though his numbers in terms of output have dried up, with four assists from six big chances created – half of his final figure in the Bundesliga last term, having created 12 big chances by the end of the term, alongside just one goal after scoring 10 times in the league last season.

Spurs themselves have changed identities like the wind this term, with Frank’s more reserved style of play drawing particular criticism from fans.

While Igor Tudor’s short tenure has resulted in the appointment of De Zerbi, simply a complete tactical shift once again when it comes to the ideas of the man at the helm.

Under the Italian, the Lilywhites will be looking to move the ball more quickly and control games more effectively. Though this is a lot easier said than done, and the star players need to begin stepping up, none more so than star signing Simons.

Xavi Simons needs to take on talismanic role as Tottenham strive for survival

Throughout both of his spells with PSV and RB Leipzig, the Dutch midfielder has taken on a talismanic role, often being the man who sparks everything in the final third.

With the ability to carry the ball over large stretches, and a mean strike on him when allowed to let rip in the final third, he looked a cut above in his final months in the Bundesliga, while Leipzig stumbled over the line for a seventh-place finish – their worst since promotion to the top flight in 2016.

Tottenham are looking for a real difference maker, with the recent display at Sunderland once again failing to highlight a player ready to grab a game by the scruff of the neck and make things happen for the struggling Lilywhites.

The talent is absolutely there when it comes to Simons, and it would be unfair to simply disregard that, given his age.

Though he needs to begin impacting games for Spurs, who are crying out for one of their midfielders or attackers to drag them forward, and who better to do that than last summer’s statement signing?

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Roberto De Zerbi thinks Tottenham Hotspur‘s players “don’t need a coach”, rather, they are looking for someone to be a “father” figure.

The Italian took charge of his first game as Tottenham head coach against Sunderland on Sunday, and it was a rude awakening to the job he’s got on his hands in N17.

His Spurs side once again, as they have done far too many times this season, lacked quality in the key moments, and passed up numerous chances to get a result from their trip to Wearside.

In the end, they go back to North London with a deserved 14th-straight Premier League game without a win, and having taken a considerable step closer to the Championship.

Tottenham have six games to save their season, but according to De Zerbi, they don’t need to be coached out of the situation and performances they’re putting in.

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What Roberto De Zerbi said about Tottenham players

Tottenham being in the relegation zone is a reality check for this Lilywhites group, and it should, if it wasn’t blindingly obvious anyway, send a clear message to them that this threat of second tier football is very much real.

Spurs now sit two points behind West Ham in 17th, and have the small task of welcoming Brighton to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next, in a De Zerbi reunion party that, well, may not have much of a party feel about it.

Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls have won five of their last six league games, with their only defeat in this time period coming against current leaders Arsenal, against whom they were only just beaten 1-0 at home.

Tottenham haven’t won a league game in the calendar year of 2026 so far, and have lost seven of their last eight top-flight matches.

However, speaking in a post-match interview via Match of the Day on X, De Zerbi doesn’t believe his players need him to be their coach, and instead, be a fatherly figure to them.

“I can (be) a big brother. A father. They don’t need a coach,” De Zerbi said.

“They don’t need to improve (in terms of) football. They don’t need to play better.

“Okay, they can play better and they will play better when we will reach a different level of confidence (in) ourselves, and these things are crucial for us in this moment.”

Sorry De Zerbi, but Tottenham’s players do need a coach

You don’t go 14-straight league games because you’re unlucky: it’s because you’re not playing well enough, and by extension, not being coached well enough.

As per Sofascore, Tottenham have missed 1.1 of their 1.7 big chances created per league game this season, as well as only keeping seven clean sheets with 40 goals scored and 51 conceded.

Richarlison is Spurs’ top scorer with nine league goals, with the his closest rivals being Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero with four each respectively, whilst Mohammed Kudus tops the assist chart with five.

Against Sunderland, they made just 39 final third entries compared to the Black Cats’ 59, whilst winning 39 per cent of their ground duels and completing just five of their 19 dribble attempts.

Only eight tackles were made by Spurs players in the whole game. Tottenham have already sacked two managers this season, so, it’s pretty clear that coaching has been a major problem this term.

Sure, Tottenham’s players are running low on confidence, and some may need an arm round them, but try telling those Spurs fans that made the long journey up to the Stadium of Light on Sunday that the team they watched don’t need any coaching input.

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Tottenham Hotspur‘s defeat to Sunderland piled on more Premier League worry, but Ben Foster shared that light may be at the end of the tunnel with Antonin Kinsky.

Roberto De Zerbi opted to play Kinsky in the 1-0 loss to the Black Cats at the Stadium of Light this Sunday, despite previous worries about the shot-stopper.

The Czech Republic man could have a big part to play from now until the end of the season, but he, along with many of his teammates, faces the pressure of Premier League relegation.

Spurs are now in 18th on 30 points following the loss, and have lost seven of their last eight league matches.

Kinsky was a positive for Tottenham, and now with De Zerbi here, the Italian will look for at least some aspects to build from as the final six games remain.

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Ben Foster calls Antonin Kinsky’s first-half save ‘fantastic’

Kinsky’s horror display against Atletico Madrid could have been the moment that killed his Spurs career; however, the young keeper seems determined to keep fighting.

The goalkeeper didn’t have much to do in terms of saving attempts on goal, but a first-half save to deny Sunderland’s Brian Brobbey may have given him the lift that he needed.

Kinsky only made one save during the match, but showed his calmness on the ball while boasting a 69 per cent pass accuracy and a 45 per cent long ball success rate.

He was negative in terms of goals prevented, with the stats showing that the department had a minus 0.39 score, but when looking at Brobbey’s chance, he recorded 0.24 for expected goals, as it went down as a big chance missed.

While speaking on Match of the Day this Sunday, former Watford goalkeeper Foster shared how he was happy to see the 23-year-old do well, and he’s spot on with his assessment.

Foster said: “I was one of those people who didn’t think he was going to pull on a Spurs shirt again, but today was all about just getting through it and not making any mistakes.

“His distribution was solid, he didn’t put a foot wrong throughout the game, this here would have done him the world of good, fantastic save [against Brobbey], and he would’ve gone in at half time feeling a million dollars.”

Here’s how Kinsky can be no worse than Guglielmo Vicario

Vicario has suffered an injury that may keep him out until late April, and that could be a blessing for the Lilywhites.

Though Kinsky has had his issues, he is still young and will improve, as an arm around him from De Zerbi may be crucial for the keeper’s confidence.

Vicario has a low FotMob rating of 6.68 and has prevented minus 5.22 goals. He has a low 62.4 per cent save percentage, and doesn’t make up for it with a 31 per cent long ball success rate.

Kinsky had nine accurate long balls against Sunderland and could be crucial for how Tottenham want to play under De Zerbi.

All hope isn’t lost yet with the former Slavia Prague goalkeeper.

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Sunderland defeated Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 on Sunday to pile yet more misery on Spurs in Roberto De Zerbi‘s first game in charge.

Nordi Mukiele’s deflected strike just after the hour mark settled the Premier League contest at the Stadium of Light.

Spurs remain without a win in 2026 and are two points from safety with just six matches remaining this campaign.

De Zerbi would have taken a couple of positives from the match, but the result is all that truly mattered and it was yet another disappointment on that front.

And speaking exclusively to Tottenham News after the match, former FIFA referee Keith Hackett shared his views on what he believes to be underhand tactics used by both Sunderland and Spurs.

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Keith Hackett accuses players of trying to deceive referee Rob Jones

Spurs had a penalty overturned in the first half against Sunderland after Randal Kolo Muani was seemingly felled by Omar Alderete and Luke O’Nien.

Referee Rob Jones initially pointed to the spot, but he was asked by VAR to check the incident back over on the pitchside monitor and reversed his decision.

That was a big call in the grand scheme of things as Mukiele went on to score the only goal of the match for Sunderland in the second half.

There were a number of big calls that Jones got wrong, namely against Tottenham, but the man in the middle was not given an easy time of things in fairness.

Players from both sides regularly went to ground easily in the hope of earning their side a free-kick or potentially a penalty.

And Hackett, who was once the head of PGMOL, believes those who attempted to con the officials deserve to be punished.

“The authorities have to take action to put an end to the increasing amount of acts of simulation to deceive the referee,” he said.

“Players sadly are going to ground far too easily in an attempt to win free-kicks and penalty kicks. It’s a dilemma facing match officials and it tarnishes the image of the Premier League.

“The referee has one view and is making honest judgments. However, when a player clearly has attempted to deceive the referee, and he waives aside the appeal, at that point the game should be stopped and the offending player issued with a yellow card.

“In other situations a review of all games should take place the following day and, where acts of simulation are detected, then let’s see retrospective action.”

Tottenham winless run bordering on historic levels

For those keeping count, it is now 14 Premier League matches without a victory for Tottenham.

That is a remarkable run for any team, let alone one that is supposed to be among the division’s elite.

This is Spurs’ second-longest such run without a win in their entire league history – not just the Premier League – behind a run of 16 matches between December 1934 and April 1935.

If it wasn’t already, next weekend’s clash with Brighton and Hove Albion at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is very much must win.

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Tottenham Hotspur supporters were not buying what Micky van de Ven had to say on the back of yet another disappointing result.

Van de Ven played a full part as Spurs were beaten 1-0 in the Premier League by Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.

Nordi Mukiele’s goal just after the hour mark settled the contest as Tottenham’s winless run in the competition stretched to a 14th game.

Spurs are now in the relegation zone, two points behind 17th-placed West Ham, ahead of facing Brighton and Hove Albion next weekend.

And after a brutal reality check for Roberto De Zerbi in his first Tottenham game in charge, Van de Ven faced up to speak to the club’s official social channels.

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Micky van de Ven rues Tottenham misfortune

Van de Ven was far from his best against Sunderland, albeit the Black Cats’ winner did come with a huge slice of fortune as Mukiele’s shot took a heavy deflection on its way through.

“I’m devastated that we lost today,” Van de Ven said in his post-game interview with the club’s social media team.

“We didn’t play a bad game and created chances, while not conceding many chances. Their goal gets a strange deflection, so we were a bit unlucky.

“We’ve trained really well this week and next week we want it to be the same and hopefully get the points next weekend.

“Nothing is going our way the last couple of months. As I say, a deflected goal and a penalty taken away from us. We just need to find the momentum to turn things around.”

While Van de Ven was clearly speaking from the heart, the same old ‘woe is us’ interviews are no longer being bought by Spurs fans – and they haven’t for a while.

Indeed, when the interview was posted on X on Sunday evening, fans reacted almost universally as they slammed the players for failing to do their talking on the pitch.

“Defeated attitude, so why should any of us feel any different? Put your big boy pants on and do something about it,” one fan wrote.

Another wrote: “Bench the big egos from the squad… Bring in some of the Under-21s… they have a lot more fight in them.”

“Nobody wants to hear it Mickey,” another, perhaps somewhat harshly, wrote. “You are not committed to the club.”

Tottenham could be as good as down in a week’s time

As mentioned by one fan via X above, there is almost a denial among the players right now about just how serious this situation has become.

Tottenham are deep in relegation trouble and the situation is only getting worse, not better.

An ever-improving West Ham won on Friday, while Nottingham Forest picked up a decent point against Aston Villa on Sunday.

Leeds United have a game in hand against Manchester United on Monday to themselves put further distance between themselves and the bottom three.

The worrying thing is, nobody can see a win coming. Brighton and Hove Albion visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next weekend, but taking three points from that seems a pipedream the way things are going.

If the worst happens and Spurs lose again, combined with a West Ham win against Crystal Palace on the Monday, the gap to safety will only grow.

With six games to go, next week’s clash against Brighton is as must win as they come to avoid what seemed an impossible situation becoming a reality.

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Tottenham Hotspur could force Jamie O’Hara to quit his job as a pundit; that’s how bad they’ve been.

Spurs were given fresh hope over the international break when Roberto De Zerbi was brought in as head coach, but that has quickly been dashed.

The Italian took charge of his first encounter with the North London club as his side travelled to face Sunderland on Sunday.

Things certainly didn’t go as hoped with the Lilywhites falling to a 1-0 defeat at the Stadium of Light in a disappointing performance.

It wasn’t truly a surprise that Tottenham lost away to Sunderland, but it still may be enough for O’Hara to throw the towel in.

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Jamie O’Hara rages while watching Tottenham on Sky Sports News

It is the hope that kills you, and any glimmer that the N17 faithful had about their new head coach has already vanished.

There were few positives for the North London club to take from the loss against the Black Cats as the hosts arguably could have had more.

That was the case throughout the 90 minutes, with no reason for the travelling supporters to get on their feet and make some noise.

Just one big chance created, and an expected goal tally of less than one is hardly ideal, especially when Sunderland took two more shots and created three big chances.

That lack of threat has become a characteristic of Spurs, and even with the scoreline at 0-0 at the Stadium of Light, left O’Hara fuming.

Watching the game for Sky Sports News, he made his feelings clear as he said: “This is painful. I’m never doing this again.”

Tottenham were poor against Sunderland, and it is no surprise that former players, pundits and fans are having their patience tested too regularly.

How can Tottenham turn things around?

Spurs are now in the bottom three of the Premier League, and relegation is a firm possibility.

With West Ham winning 4-0 on Friday, as well as the Stadium of Light defeat, Tottenham sit 18th and are two points inside the relegation zone.

They have just six games remaining to change the tide and have clashes against Brighton, Wolves and Aston Villa coming up in their next three.

That will be followed by Leeds United, Chelsea and Everton, a run of games that certainly wouldn’t be easy for anyone.

De Zerbi needs to get his side on the ball, creating more chances and away from conceding so many shots.

If he can do that, he can turn things around at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and potentially save O’Hara’s career as a pundit.

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Jamie O’Hara was off the mark with his claim about Destiny Udogie after Tottenham Hotspur‘s 1-0 defeat to Sunderland.

The Italian defender started at left-back in the Stadium of Light contest on 12 April as Roberto De Zerbi‘s side fell to another loss.

Nordi Mukiele scored the only goal of the contest, a deflected effort off Micky van de Ven, to condemn Spurs to a stay in the relegation zone.

The former Lilywhites midfielder turned pundit labelled Udogie as one of five “shocking” performers from the clash.

Tottenham need more from their top players, but the 23-year-old was not the problem against the Black Cats.

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What did O’Hara say about Tottenham defeat?

Tottenham deserve a lot of criticism for their recent form; they last won a Premier League game against Crystal Palace on 28 December.

However, O’Hara’s was over the top and dramatic, especially the fact that he mentioned Udogie amongst the players that underperformed.

Speaking on Sky Sports (16:08 pm), he said: “Non-existent performances all over the park. Conor Gallagher, shocking. Kolo Muani, shocking. Solanke, shocking. Richarlison, shocking.

“Udogie, shocking. You can’t carry six players when you are fighting relegation! You have to fight and put in a performance.”

Why O’Hara is wrong about Udogie

Udogie should not be the target of O’Hara’s frustration, he was not the problem for De Zerbi’s side on Wearside, in fact, he put in one of the few positive displays for the visitors.

The former Udinese star created one chance, recorded a 75 per cent pass accuracy and made three passes into the final third in the contest, per Fotmob.

While he completed just one cross of the five that he attempted, for a 20 per cent success rate, at least he was trying to make something happen offensively, which can’t be said for some of his teammates.

Defensively, he barely put a foot wrong, making a total of four recoveries, three clearances, one tackle and one interception.

In terms of duels, he won three of the four that he contested on the ground, for a 75 per cent success rate, and he had success in the air, as he won the only one that he tried.

O’Hara is completely wrong, the stats do not back up his claim, and he should not have picked out the 12-cap international after his showing, which was actually impressive, rather than being the negative one that he suggested it was.

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Pat Nevin has described Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison as “weak”, and his performance against Sunderland didn’t disprove that claim.

If he wasn’t before, Roberto De Zerbi will know be totally aware of the size of the task he’s facing as Tottenham head coach.

Spurs travelled to Sunderland on Sunday afternoon hoping that a new era would finally bring an end to their 13-game winless run in the Premier League. Now it’s 14.

The wait goes on for a league victory in the calendar year of 2026, as it does for someone in a Tottenham shirt to step up and be the hero this football club desperately needs.

Alas, it was just more of the same for Tottenham against Sunderland, and the Lilywhites players must again be prepared to take heavy criticism for their showing on Wearside.

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What did Pat Nevin say about Richarlison?

Richarlison could play a big role in Tottenham’s run-in, as his nine goals leave him comfortably leading the scoring charts for Spurs this season, as well as his penchant for late and dramatic strikes.

The 28-year-old is a 54-time Brazilian international, and has enjoyed numerous seasons scoring goals at Premier League level across his time with Watford, Everton and Tottenham respectively.

He’s also been on an improved run of form in recent weeks, scoring against Liverpool and Fulham, as well as bagging an assist against Atletico Madrid in the month of March.

Unfortunately though, he was not at his best against Sunderland, with pretty much all of his three shots on goal being tame and easy efforts for Robin Roefs to deal with.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live via BBC Sport on Richarlison’s performance against Sunderland, former Chelsea and Everton star (among others) Nevin delivered a mixed assessment of the Tottenham stars’ attributes.

“Richarlison has worked so hard there but you knew he’s going to get caught. And he runs out of legs,” the Scotsman said.

“He is a player that gives everything at every single moment, but sometimes he just looks a bit weak when it comes to the last moments.”

Was Nevin fair in his Richarlison assessment vs Sunderland?

It was a very disappointing day at the office once again for Tottenham against Sunderland, with very few, if any, able to come away from the game with much credit for their individual performance.

However, Richarlison was one of the standout players on the pitch for Spurs, but not for the right reasons, as he squandered numerous openings and was bullied out of the game.

As per Sofascore, he made zero tackle attempts, made zero interceptions, won just two of his seven ground duels and gave possession away 16 times against the Black Cats.

He also took just 31 touches in the match, carried the ball only four times, had a passing accuracy of 38 per cent and was inaccurate with his single cross attempt respectively.

So, Nevin’s assessment of Richarlison being “weak” in the moments that matter most was a fair one to make, as his stats from the Sunderland defeat provide significant evidence that this was indeed the case with him on Sunday.

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