Tottenham’s Premier League campaign woes continue, increasing their chances of relegation after their 16th defeat of the season at Sunderland. New boss Roberto De Zerbi has six games to save their season. Their performance at the Stadium of Light did little to inspire confidence that they can climb out of the bottom three.
De Zerbi’s Diagnosis and the Scale of the Task
Roberto De Zerbi diagnosed many of Tottenham’s biggest issues in his first game in charge. Appointing De Zerbi was a high-stakes gamble. Some might argue that keeping Igor Tudor on would have been riskier still.
But whoever the boss – De Zerbi is Spurs’ fourth of the last 12 months – the same problems seem to persist.
Tottenham do not have a style to speak of. De Zerbi clearly offers philosophy, a distinctive way of playing, and as evidenced by his time at Brighton, a high ceiling of performance level. The complication is that this Spurs side in its current configuration is not capable of delivering against De Zerbi’s plans. That much was evident at Sunderland.
Increasing Relegation Probabilities
Nordi Mukiele’s heavily-deflected effort was the nail in the coffin of a tepid offering. The narrative has descended into analysis of increasing relegation probabilities.
What felt like an impossibly shocking consequence of severe underperformance, that had the power to goad but lacked genuine substance, now feels very probable indeed. One point from a possible 24 is desperate.
Spurs’ 14-match winless Premier League run is their worst since 1935. They are increasingly compelling contenders for the drop. Perhaps, as Jamie Carragher hypothesised on Super Sunday, a more convincing case than those around them given recent form and confidence levels.
Tactical Intentions vs. Implementation
De Zerbi explained in his first press conference that he had had little time to implement his tactical ideas to face Sunderland, prioritising “character, the right spirit and the right courage to play”. Barring a bright opening 10 minutes, Spurs were devoid of all three.
Something can at least be made of the theory behind De Zerbi’s set-up, if not the implementation.
He packed central areas with legs and energy as Conor Gallagher and Lucas Bergvall played ahead of Archie Gray – with sound intention – but in trying to dominate the ball they contrived to lose the battle.
Granit Xhaka, Noah Sadiki and Habib Diarra proved a far more accomplished trio. Xhaka controlled the tempo; his touch count (85) was the highest of any player on the park and he generated a game-high 16 passes into the final third.
Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs actually played more final-thi