Paul Merson Warns on De Zerbi's Criticism After Spurs Draw

Paul Merson has sounded the alarm over Roberto De Zerbi’s early-season rhetoric at Tottenham – and he’s not talking about tactics.

After Spurs’ drab 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest, De Zerbi walked into his post-match interviews and went straight for two targets: his forwards and his medical staff. For Merson, that’s a problem.

‘You keep that in the dressing room’

Spurs failed to register a single shot on target at the City Ground. They are still waiting for their first Premier League goal of the season. It was flat, it was scrappy, and Merson felt they were lucky to escape with a point.

“I thought Spurs were fortunate against Nottingham Forest – if Neco Williams is a little bit braver, then Forest win. But it’s a start for them,” he said in his Sky Sports column.

The performance was one thing. The manager’s reaction was another.

De Zerbi publicly criticised his attackers, insisting they needed to make “better decisions” in the final third and show more composure when the big moments arrived. He then revealed he was “not happy” with his medical staff for insisting Savio and Destiny Udogie could only play an hour, a call he felt disrupted Spurs’ rhythm.

For Merson, that crosses a line.

“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 warning is not theoretical. Merson pointed straight to Enzo Maresca’s brief spell at Chelsea, when the Italian publicly questioned his own medical department over substitution calls. He was gone within weeks.

“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.”

Is De Zerbi protecting himself – or creating a problem?

De Zerbi’s explanation was blunt. The medical staff “pushed” him to take off Savio and Udogie after 60 minutes. He admitted he was “not happy” with that, even while accepting the club could not risk further injuries to two “crucial” players.

Merson can see why a manager might want his side of the story out there.

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

But the former Arsenal midfielder still believes those conversations should never leave the inner circle.

“I don’t know if he’s covering himself there with those comments about the medical staff, because that could be kept quiet.

“He’s having a go at them.”

De Zerbi did at least praise the replacements, Mohammed Kudus and Andy Robertson, saying they “played very well” despite the disruption. Yet he repeatedly returned to the idea that the double change cost Spurs “balance” and “connection” at a key point in the game.

‘I don’t understand having a go at the forwards’

If the medical comments raised eyebrows, the attack on his forwards left Merson baffled.

De Zerbi had been specific. He referenced Omar Marmoush’s shot when Robertson was overlapping, with Kudus waiting at the back post. He listed crosses from Mathys Tel and Savio that sailed beyond their targets. He pointed out a moment when Mateus Fernandes was free to drive through on goal, only for the ball to go elsewhere.

In his eyes, the structure was there. The execution was not.

Merson wasn’t convinced that warranted a public blast.

“I don’t understand having a go at the forwards, though. 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.”

The numbers back him up: this was not a game littered with missed sitters or heroic saves. It was a match Spurs never truly grabbed, and one where creativity dried up long before Forest were hanging on.

Patience, reality – and a mentality shift

Strip away the noise and the table already looks uncomfortable. Spurs are eight points behind Arsenal. The goals column is empty. The optimism of a new era is colliding with the reality of a side that has finished 17th in back-to-back seasons.

Merson’s view is blunt: expectations need to be reset.

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

“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.”

The message is clear. Spurs need stability, not a civil war. They need goals, not public rows. And if De Zerbi keeps aiming his frustrations at his own camp in front of the cameras, the question will come sooner rather than later: is this the spark for a revival, or the start of another slow unravelling in north London?