‘Time to deliver’ – Ornstein reveals Tottenham verdict on De Zerbi sack in brutal assessment of Spurs
Respected reporter David Ornstein has revealed Tottenham Hotspur’s current verdict on sacking Roberto De Zerbi following their winless start.
De Zerbi, who was drafted in to save Tottenham from relegation last season, has been backed more than any other Spurs manager this summer, but they are showing little sign of progress.
After Tottenham secured survival on the final day of the 2026/27 campaign, the north London side invested over £300m on signings in the summer to strengthen across the pitch. Sandro Tonali, Matheus Fernandes, Omar Marmoush, Savio and Jan Paul van Hecke were among their big-money additions.
Despite this, Tottenham currently sit just above the relegation zone with two points from their four games, and they are still yet to score a Premier League goal this season.
Tottenham are reportedly ruling out ‘knee-jerk reactions’ regarding De Zerbi’s future, but pressure is already mounting on the head coach and he is already making bizarre statements to the press to divert attention from his struggling side.
When asked “what’s going on at Spurs” on USA Sports, Ornstein said: “It feels like it’s history repeating itself. We’ve just passed the one-year anniversary of Daniel Levy leaving the club after 25 years at the helm and that saw the Lewis family almost reclaim control.
“You could ask what they were doing as ultimate owners in that period – but it set off the most remarkable overhaul we’ve seen in probably modern Premier League history. Where they came along with big promises for more wins, more regularly, huge spending.
“And they’ve certainly embarked upon that. Of course the managerial upheaval at the club led them to Roberto De Zerbi and they went all in on him. A five-year contract, no clause in the event of relegation to depart and a massive salary.
“He’s paid among the very biggest managers in the Premier League and European football. They got going in the market in remarkable fashion, in terms of numbers, in terms of transfer fees, in terms of salaries, which Tottenham had been so spendthrift on in the past.
“At the heart of it was Vinai Venkatesham, the chief executive, Johan Lange, the sporting director. They brought in a director of football operations from Manchester City in Rafael Moersen and also tried to get the former Borussia Dortmund executive Sebastian Kehl to help. That deal fell through but really at the heart of it all has been Roberto De Zerbi.”
David Ornstein reveals Tottenham verdict on sacking Roberto De Zerbi
Regarding De Zerbi’s future, Ornstein has stated that that is not “on the agenda for now”, but he has warned the head coach that there is “very little patience” at the club.
“They’ve given him power in a way that no Tottenham Hotspur manager has seen before and they rebuilt the defence, the midfield, the attack. It’s a team that looks so different in personnel but at the moment not in results,” Ornstein continued.
“Now it’s going to be a really interesting period ahead based on what they are going to do in the next windows because Peter Charrington, the non-executive chairman, has said it will take multiple transfer windows to get to where they want to be.
“As you said at the top, there’s very little patience, they are asking for time and Roberto De Zerbi will be judged ultimately as the man on the touchline.
“It would be very expensive if they were to part with him but I don’t think that’s on the agenda for now. I think it’s all about him getting results on the pitch and extracting maximum performances after the best part of £400m was spent. Now it’s time to deliver.”
