The Athletic FC Podcast · March 30, 2026 · 34 min

Is De Zerbi the man to save Spurs?

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Manager appointment controversy

Three Spurs supporters groups, including their LGBTQ+ supporters group and their official women's supporters association, have come out in opposition to De Zerbi and urged the club not to pursue this appointment.

Dan Kilpatrick

Relegation battle

If you actually objectively forget about the size of the club and just look at the form and momentum, Spurs look like the likeliest candidates to go down by a long shot.

Dan Kilpatrick

I think Pep Guardiola would honestly find this difficult to turn around. Let's see, it's like any good drama on the cliff edge.

James Horncastle

Club ownership/management

The failure of this season, the responsibility lies with Johan Lange, [Viktor] Venkatesham, and ENIC. They've clearly made big mistakes this season and Tudor is one of them.

Dan Kilpatrick

Manager search

Spurs have tried with De Zerbi, De Zerbi has initially been very much of the opinion like 'no, I want to wait until the summer,' but Spurs keep going back to him. It's just expressive of the desperation that there is at this football club.

James Horncastle

Premier League title race/Relegation

For that double whammy to happen—for Arsenal to win the Premier League and Spurs to go down—I think that just adds another layer to it, which the Premier League often talks about: unscripted drama.

James Horncastle

Manager sacking

Spurs didn't just lose to one of their closest relegation rivals, they got thrashed at home by one of their closest relegation rivals. That was a disastrous result and I think it made it very difficult for Tudor to continue.

Dan Kilpatrick

He [Tudor] came in and kind of accelerated Spurs' decline and I think made a number of mistakes. The situation is far bigger than him; he certainly didn't start the rot, but I think he probably made it worse.

James Horncastle

Club culture

I cannot remember a time when the fan base has been so disconnected from the club and that's a huge problem for any club. I don't see Spurs being successful and moving forward while that disconnect exists.

Dan Kilpatrick