'A punt I will never forgive the board for, even if we do stay up'
In one final, desperate roll of the dice, the Spurs board has sold its soul to Roberto de Zerbi. As someone who has spent years trying to make football a safer space for women and girls, this is a sucker punch. In purely footballing terms, De Zerbi is not a good fit for Spurs.
[BBC] [Getty Images] In one final, desperate roll of the dice, the Spurs board has sold its soul to Roberto de Zerbi. As someone who has spent years trying to make football a safer space for women and girls, this is a sucker punch. I do not wish to separate the coach from his attitudes because, in my experience, a person's values are also a key indicator as to how they will train, manage and lead players.
Even so, let me attempt to play devil's advocate for one moment. In purely footballing terms, De Zerbi is not a good fit for Spurs. He had a relatively successful spell at Brighton, although he failed to win any of his first five games in charge.
Spurs do not have time or games left to lose. De Zerbi's system takes time to implement and it seems highly unlikely he can achieve this in the midst of a relegation battle. His stint at Brighton ended following criticism of the board over a lack of support in the transfer market.
Even if Spurs promise to back him with suitable investments, it doesn't exactly sound like a match made in heaven, does it? De Zerbi lasted 21 months at Brighton and then 18 months at Marseille. He is not going to want to stick around if Spurs get relegated, but even if we don't, it seems unlikely that he will tolerate the club's board for very long.