Paul Merson Warns De Zerbi About Spurs' Dangerous Ground

Paul Merson fears Roberto De Zerbi may already be treading on dangerous ground at Tottenham – and not because of the league table.

The performance at Nottingham Forest was drab enough. A 0-0 draw, no shots on target, and still no Premier League goal this season. But it was what came after the final whistle that really jolted Merson.

"You keep that in the dressing room"

De Zerbi publicly went after two key areas: his forwards and his medical staff.

He questioned his attackers’ decision-making in the final third, saying they had to “take the better decisions” and show more calm when chances appeared. He even broke down specific moments: Omar Marmoush shooting instead of slipping in Andy Robertson on the overlap, crosses from Mathys Tel and Savio sailing beyond the back post, Mateus Fernandes not being found when he was free to run through and score.

Merson doesn’t like it.

“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,” he wrote in his Sky Sports column.

That, he says, would worry him if he were a Spurs supporter. Not the lack of goals. Not even the slow start. The manager’s willingness to air internal grievances.

“De Zerbi does fall out with people,” Merson added, pointing to a pattern Spurs really don’t need when they are trying to build something stable.

Medical team in the firing line

De Zerbi didn’t hide his frustration with the club’s medical advice either.

He revealed he was “not happy” that the medical staff told him Savio and Destiny Udogie could only play 60 minutes, effectively forcing his hand and, in his view, disrupting Spurs’ rhythm.

“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.”

He accepted the logic – no risks with players returning from injuries, especially when Savio and Udogie are “crucial” to his plans – but he made clear it was not his preferred call. He even admitted Spurs “maybe lost some balance, some connection” after the changes.

Merson can see why De Zerbi might want to protect himself if he feels decisions are being taken out of his hands. But he still believes this sort of dispute should never spill into the public domain.

“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.”

The warning is clear. Once a manager starts drawing battle lines with the medical department in public, the clock can start ticking.

Criticism of forwards doesn’t add up for Merson

If Merson can at least understand the instinct to defend his own authority over substitutions, he’s far less convinced by De Zerbi’s criticism of the forwards.

“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.”

Spurs were blunt, but they weren’t wasteful in the sense of missing a string of clear-cut opportunities. For Merson, that makes the manager’s public rebuke of his attacking players feel harsh, and potentially counterproductive so early in the season.

Spurs’ mentality and the long road back

On the pitch, Merson thought Spurs were “fortunate” to escape the City Ground with a point.

“If Neco Williams is a little bit braver, then Forest win,” he argued. A touch more conviction from the full-back and Spurs would be staring at a damaging defeat instead of a frustrating draw.

Even so, Merson is preaching patience. He keeps coming back to one word: mentality.

“You don't come 17th two years on the trot and expect to turn it around in a New York minute,” he said. This is a team trying to shake off the habits of a relegation fight, not one fine-tuning a title challenge.

That’s why he believes Spurs have to ignore the noise about Arsenal and the top of the table. The eight-point gap to their north London rivals? Irrelevant, for now.

“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,” he wrote.

His view is blunt: “They're not finishing ahead of Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.” The realistic target is the chasing pack, not the established elite.

A fragile start, and a manager under the spotlight

De Zerbi insists his plan is built around careful “management of the players after injuries,” and he praised Mohammed Kudus and Andy Robertson for their impact off the bench, even while lamenting the timing of their introduction.

But the early weeks of a season can harden opinions quickly. Spurs are still searching for their first league goal, still trying to find fluency in the final third, and already their head coach is challenging both his forwards and his medical staff in front of the cameras.

For Merson, that combination is combustible. The football can improve. The finishing can sharpen. The injuries can clear.

If the relationships behind the scenes start to fray, though, how long does any project really have?