Tim Sherwood has criticised Roberto De Zerbi after Tottenham's 3-0 defeat at Brentford, insisting the manager must take responsibility despite significant investment in the squad over the summer.
Spurs began the Premier League season with a heavy loss at Brentford, dampening optimism among fans following a busy transfer window that saw several high-profile arrivals.
Big Spending and New Signings
Tottenham spent £100 million on Sandro Tonali from Newcastle, £85m on Mateus Fernandes from West Ham, and £52m on Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton. Free transfers Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi also joined, while Savinho and Omar Marmoush are expected to arrive from Manchester City before the window closes.
Despite the investment, Sherwood, who played 118 times for Tottenham and managed the club in 2013/14, said he could not believe how little De Zerbi got from his new-look squad.
Sherwood's Criticism
Speaking to Sky Sports, Sherwood said: 'It's difficult to give the criticism to the hierarchy and the club because they have brought the players in for him [De Zerbi] and they have done the business very early so they could avoid this happening on the first day of the season. He has had plenty of time to work with them, and the players he wanted out, they have done that and have sold them cheaply. So the buck stops with the manager — and the players, by the way.'
Sherwood, generally a fan of the Italian, was shocked by what he saw. He said: 'I like him as a manager, he did wonderfully for Tottenham at the back end of last season and he has absolutely bullied the club to make these signings, and pay over the top for a load of them. The non-negotiables are running hard, fighting, winning second balls, winning your headers, and they didn't do any of that [against Brentford].'
De Zerbi's Response
De Zerbi was critical of his players after the loss, saying they are not yet a team and did not fight enough. He said: 'We are not a team yet for a lot of reasons. Before you become a team you can't say what you can do. We are not in the right physical condition for a lot of reasons. Some players came back late from the World Cup. In Australia we don't work in the right way but it is not excuses. It is a normal situation when building a new project.'
He added: 'I don't want time but we have to pass through these problems. I cannot lose confidence in my players. I believe in my players, my club, myself. We are working well. We have to improve quickly. We could fight stronger than we did today. We lost too many duels today. We arrived second in the second balls. We didn't win one second ball, one duel, one tackle.'
