Paul Merson Warns Roberto De Zerbi Over Public Criticism of Spurs Players

Paul Merson has sounded the alarm over Roberto De Zerbi’s public criticism of his own players and medical staff, warning that the Tottenham head coach is already walking a dangerous line.

Spurs laboured to a goalless draw at home to Nottingham Forest, failed to register a shot on target and are still waiting for their first Premier League goal of the season. De Zerbi’s response? Aim both barrels at his forwards and question his medical department on live television.

For Merson, that’s a problem.

“Keep it in-house”

“I thought Spurs were fortunate against Nottingham Forest,” Merson wrote in his Sky Sports column. “If Neco Williams is a little bit braver, then Forest win. But it's a start for them.”

The performance was flat, but it was De Zerbi’s post-match comments that really caught Merson’s eye. The Italian complained about his attacking players’ decision-making in the final third and then revealed the medical staff had told him Savio and Destiny Udogie could only play 60 minutes, forcing him into changes that he felt disrupted Spurs’ momentum.

Merson didn’t like any of that being aired in public.

“Roberto De Zerbi had a go at his forwards after the game. He also had a go at his medical staff for dictating his substitutions. You say that in the dressing room; don't come out and say it. You need to keep that in-house.

“That would worry me as a Spurs fan. De Zerbi does fall out with people.”

The former Arsenal and England midfielder questioned whether De Zerbi was already trying to protect his own reputation by pointing at others.

“I don't know if he's covering himself there with those comments about the medical staff, because that could be kept quiet,” Merson said. “He's having a go at them – and you saw what happened with Enzo Maresca at Chelsea when he started calling out the medical team for dictating his substitutions. He left a few weeks later.”

Manager vs medical team

De Zerbi had been explicit about the influence of his medical staff. He explained that Savio and Udogie were both restricted to an hour as they build fitness, and admitted he was “not happy” at having to change them when he felt Spurs were on top.

“The second half, I'm sorry because the medical staff pushed to change Savinho and Udogie after 60 minutes,” De Zerbi said. “Two substitutions in that moment was not so good.

“But now we can't take risk to injury again. Savio is too important for us. The same Destiny. Maybe we lost some balance, some connection.”

He stressed that Mohammed Kudus and Andy Robertson “played very well” but said it is “not so easy to come in from the bench and adapt immediately” in a game of that intensity.

Merson can see both sides of that argument – but still thinks the manager is treading on thin ice.

“At the same time, if he's being told to take a player off, he's the manager. He's in charge,” Merson wrote. “If it's not up to him how long his players get on the pitch, why shouldn't he cover himself?”

The concern is the fallout. Once you start naming departments and putting them on the hook, tensions usually rise.

Harsh on the forwards?

Where Merson is far less sympathetic is De Zerbi’s decision to publicly call out his attackers after a game in which Spurs barely created anything clear-cut.

“I don't understand having a go at the forwards, though,” he said. “They didn't have 20 chances. It's not as if the Nottingham Forest goalkeeper was man of the match. I didn't see that at all.”

De Zerbi’s analysis had been detailed. He argued that Spurs played well overall but wasted promising positions with poor choices in the final third.

“I think we played well but in the last third we have to improve. We have to take the better decisions,” he said. “We have to keep more calm when we are very close to doing something important in the last third.”

He picked out specific moments. Omar Marmoush chose to shoot instead of sliding in Andy Robertson on the overlap, with Mohammed Kudus waiting at the back post. Crosses from Mathys Tel and Savio sailed beyond their targets. A move where Pedro Porro found Mateus Fernandes ended with a header for Dominic Solanke instead of Fernandes driving through on goal.

For De Zerbi, these were the margins that separated a frustrating draw from a breakthrough win. For Merson, they weren’t enough to justify a very public dressing-down.

Spurs’ mentality and the long road ahead

Beyond the immediate storm around De Zerbi’s words, Merson sees a bigger issue: mindset.

“It's a long way to go for Spurs. But my problem is the mentality,” he wrote. “You don't come 17th two years on the trot and expect to turn it around in a New York minute.”

He urged patience from the fanbase and a dose of realism about where Tottenham stand in the Premier League hierarchy.

“I think people have got to be patient. Spurs shouldn't worry about being eight points behind Arsenal – all they've got to worry about is who's fifth, and how many points they're behind fifth.

“They're not finishing ahead of Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.”

So the message is clear. The table will take time to move. The football will take time to evolve. But if De Zerbi keeps turning his fire on his own forwards and medical staff in public, how long before the real damage isn’t on the pitch, but inside the club walls?