'A brilliant style' but De Zerbi brings 'risk'
[BBC] [Getty Images] As a Brighton fan, watching Roberto De Zerbi take charge of Tottenham is how I imagine it feels to drive a dependable German family car but still lust a little jealously over the wild Italian sportscar you joyfully swept along in when you were younger. Spurs supporters can expect a brilliant, distinct style of football which is unique in terms of how risky it is. When Brighton mastered DeZerbiBall and were on form, the only team in the Premier League who could live with the Albion were Manchester City .
De Zerbi's Seagulls ended Arsenal's 2022-23 title hopes by thrashing the Gunners 3-0 at the Emirates. When Liverpool came to the Amex, Jurgen Klopp had no answers other than to stare dazed and confused into the distance as Brighton sauntered to a 3-0 win. And no Albion fan will ever forget the 4-1 demolition job De Zerbi carried out on Chelsea , just one month after Graham Potter walked out and took the entire backroom team with him.
But De Zerbi comes with a caveat – and it is a pretty big one for a club in a relegation battle. His tactics take time for players to get their heads around. And time is something Spurs do not really have.
That victory over Chelsea was De Zerbi's first as Brighton boss. In his fifth game in charge. De Zerbi is the only manager in Albion history to have gone his first four matches without a win.
A worse start than even Jeff Wood and Martin Hinshelwood. If Spurs take six weeks and five matches to adapt to DeZerbiBall as Brighton did, they may well find themselves hosting Lincoln City and Stevenage at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next season. That is the risk Spurs are taking appointing De Zerbi at this moment in time – not to mention his combustible personality means a falling out with the board somewhere down the line seems almost inevitable.