Hotspur HQ

New Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi got it handed to him over the weekend in a 1-0 loss to Sunderland, and while a few media types will excuse him by saying that Spurs were even worse in the game before or that it is difficult for him to win immediately with this team, those true statements don't absolve De Zerbi of the blame. Playing all three of his subpar strikers was a terrible decision, as was benching Xavi Simons. His adjustments stunk, his ideas were not there, and Spurs were badly outplayed.

But yes, De Zerbi does need some time to get things to gel, and Tottenham have no way to go but up - and there were already signs even in another shutout loss to Sunderland that Spurs can make those strides under the Italian manager.

Heading into this weekend's game against his former Premier League employers Brighton, De Zerbi may be getting another option he can insert into his starting lineup. After tearing his hamstring a couple of months ago, center midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur is now joining practice with the rest of his Tottenham teammates.

Rodrigo Bentancur is another choice

It may be too soon for Bentancur to start against Brighton this weekend, but with a few days still left until Saturday's fixture, he should be an option in the squad. And then a weekend later in the most vital fixture of the season thus far against bottom feeders Wolves, Bentancur would almost certainly be ready to start.

Although the reality is that Rodrigo Bentancur is part of the reason why Tottenham are in the predicament they are in because he is yet another overrated, mediocre veteran player, he is better than many of the options Spurs have. It's almost a wash between him and Pape Matar Sarr, while his experience may actually make him a better option in Roberto De Zerbi's eyes than an out of form Lucas Bergvall in a relegation fight. And he's definitely superior to the player Spurs signed after his injury, Conor Gallagher.

It has been a nightmare of a season for Tottenham Hotspur, and what makes things all the more frustrating for the Lilywhites is the sheer amount of big name players who have underperformed this season. Spurs have quite a few players whom the fan base now realizes were overrated by either them or the international media, such as center backs Cristian Romero and, especially, Micky van de Ven.

But when it comes to disappointing and not giving the effort required, few can hold a candle to Randal Kolo Muani. The French international showed off his quality with a hat trick in defeat to parent club PSG, and there was a brief period of time earlier in the season in which he looked like he would be Spurs best striker.

Yet the PSG loanee then decided somewhere around the winter to basically stop trying. He was openly pining for a conclusion to his loan spell, with Juventus highly interested in having him back, and from there is play deteriorated. During this losing streak, Kolo Muani has been horrendous whenever he is on the pitch, leaving Spurs fans wondering why on earth the coaches still even bother playing him.

Randal Kolo Muani is probably going to the World Cup again

Through no effort of his own, though, Randal Kolo Muani is about to be rewarded in a huge way. Because Liverpool star striker Hugo Ekitike, who has been their one bright spot in attack during this disappointing season, went down with a serious injury on Tuesday night in the Champions League defeat to his former club PSG. Ekitike will be out for months, including this summer's World Cup in North America.

And Le Parisien's Harold Marchetti reports that the favorite to go to the World Cup for France in his place at the striker position is the Tottenham Hotspur forward. That does not guarantee Kolo Muani will be the choice, but nobody will be surprised to see this report come to fruition, especially since RKM was at the World Cup in 2022 in Qatar for Les Bleus.

In truth, Kolo Muani has never been good for France, and on the national team with the most overall taletn in world football, this mediocre No. 9 truly sticks out like a sore thumb. He is a mediocre finisher, a fairly average athlete, below average technically for the French national team, and lacking in both effort and footballing IQ. Tottenham fans will loathe to see him rewarded for his futility this season, but, hey, when you are one of Didier Deschamps's favorites, you can get away with anything.

Unfortunately, there is a lot to dislike about this Tottenham Hotspur squad. Many of the players are not good enough, not at all interested in the plight of the club, or are spending their time pointing fingers and blaming others instead of actually improving their own games.

But there are a few Spurs players who still have the respect of the fans despite the team almost sealed in their fate to go down to the EFL Championship. Here are three of them.

CM Archie Gray

Going forward, Archie Gray is going to be the most valuable asset to Tottenham Hotspur, and as Real Madrid and Bayern Munich circle like the birds of prey that they are around Spurs for a potential peck at signing Gray this summer, the Lilywhites know they cannot afford to lose their deep lying playmaker.

Even when Spurs have been objectionably terrible these last several games, Gray has grown more and more in importance and quality. He is the one guy who can make the right moves in the build up phases with the courage to receive and progress in tight spaces.

CB Kevin Danso

Big Kevin Danso is far from the biggest name on the Tottenham Hotspur team sheet, but you can make a strong case that he should be a starter for Spurs and has been better than bigger names Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero this season. With Romero done for the rest of the year, Danso will be right in the mix as a weekly starter.

People seem to forget that before coming to North London, Danso was one of the best players in Ligue 1. He is a great passer, dominant in the air, and a nice character to have in the locker room. Only the most bitter of Spurs fans has negative words for the Austrian international.

LW Mathys Tel

Finally, Mathys Tel has been the attacking version of Archie Gray, and it is a shame that his surrounding forwards are as woeful as they are. Because if Tel had a better striker next to him, he would be registering more goals and assists.

Tel still has consistency to learn and a lot of room to grow, but the young Frenchman is the best attacking player on Tottenham right now with Mohammed Kudus, James Maddison, and Dejan Kulusevski all down for the count. His effort and love for the club are apparent.

A partial tear of his MCL means Cristian Romero won't be around for the relegation scrap. His World Cup had been thrust into doubt, too, hence the emotion on Sunday, but there's an expectation that Tottenham's captain will be fit for the start of Argentina's defence this summer.

There's a very strong possibility that Romero has played his last game for the club, irrespective of whether we go down or not.

His legacy in north London was greatly elevated after last season's run to Europa League glory, and he was Son Heung-min's natural successor as captain. However, the 2025/26 season has been a mess, and Romero has greatly contributed. While obviously talented, the defender hasn't emerged as the leader this young Spurs squad need/needed. Suspensions have rendered him far too unavailable, and concentration lapses have compromised defensive stability.

Nevertheless, he's someone we desperately needed to get us out of this current peril. New manager Roberto De Zerbi was set to lean on him down the stretch, but a cynical Brian Brobbey push at the Stadium of Light means an alternate hero must emerge over these next six cup finals.

Playmakers must come to the fore if Tottenham are to avoid relegation

The perfectly capable Kevin Danso will fill in for Romero. A great character and useful defender, Danso cannot provide what the Argentine does in possession but will at least stay on the field for 90 minutes.

The Austrian's importance alongside Micky van de Ven is obvious, and Spurs need to stumble upon a newfound robustness defensively if they are to secure the necessary points. We didn't learn all that much on De Zerbi's debut, but there's hope that the Italian's possession principles will limit the amount of defending Spurs actually have to do.

If Spurs are to survive, though, De Zerbi must embrace the flawed playmaker at his disposal. Tottenham's midfield is woefully built, with recruitment in this part of the pitch predicated on running rather than passing. We've felt the effects all season.

Rodrigo Bentancur's return should serve as a boost despite his indifference for the previous 18 months, and it may be worth De Zerbi trusting the chaotic but courageous Yves Bissouma in the build-up phase. These two, as well as Archie Gray, will be imperative in Tottenham getting the ball upfield, and serving who simply has to be De Zerbi's most advanced midfielder for the next six games.

Xavi Simons has flattered to deceive for the most part in year one, but whenever Tottenham have had success this season, the imperfect but gifted playmaker has often been at the forefront. It's no coincidence that Xavi has started 11 of the 12 games we've won across all competitions since he joined the club.

The Dutchman was outstanding in back-to-back December wins over Brentford and Slavia Prague, before grabbing home games against Manchester City and Atlético Madrid by the scruff of the neck in a particularly bleak 2026. His showing in the round of 16 second leg was perhaps his best in Lilywhite, yet Igor Tudor benched him for the relegation six-pointer with Nottingham Forest days later.

Xavi, admittedly, has struggled at times since his standout second half performance against the Cityzens, but his recent underutilisation contributed to Tudor's undoing and ensured De Zerbi's reign didn't get off to a productive start.

I know plenty of us like to get caught up in the idea that these players "don't want it enough" or aren't offering the requisite passion to preserve our Premier League status, but Xavi can't be accused of downing tools. He's flawed and may never develop into a Tottenham superstar, but Tottenham have sorely lacked any creative spark in recent defeats.

De Zerbi simply has nothing to lose by trusting the 22-year-old, who, unless James Maddison makes a surprise return before the end of the season, is the most important figure in our scrap against relegation.

After watching West Ham United blow out Wolves 4-0 on Friday night and Leeds United defeat Manchester United on Monday night while Tottenham Hotspur could only muster another shutout loss, the reality is beginning to fully sink in around the Premier League that Spurs can't beat anybody in the English top flight and are good bets to go down. Because now, they are officially one of the three teams in the relegation zone, replacing the Hammers to join Burnley and Wolves.

If Tottenham were to officially go down to the EFL Championship at the end of the 2025/26 season, then these three things are almost certainties.

The entire starting defense will be sold

It sounds crazy to think that all five starters in the back four and the goalkeeper could leave the club in a single summer transfer window, but if Spurs were to go down, there is a great chance that the club end up cleaning house in the back line.

Destiny Udogie should stay, but he may be one of the only sellable assets Spurs have - and it's not like he plays enough to justify keeping him around if Spurs are just going to be in the Championship.

Meanwhile, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven have worn out their welcomes and are probably two of the most overrated players in the Premier League - and Spurs fans have learned their lesson about overrating them.

Pedro Porro is in the same camp as Udogie as a sellable asset, except he doesn't have the injury issues; he's also an overrated player. Guglielmo Vicario is a sure fire sale and seems almost guaranteed to go to Inter Milan, with Antonin Kinsky becoming the default starter.

Tottenham will hire a new sporting director

Vinai Venkatesham is the man Tottenham Hotspur fans most want to see gone, but the former Arsenal executive is probably safe in the eyes of the Lewis Family. Johan Lange's job is more tenuous, especially after he helped lead disastrous coaching searches and made a right mess of the winter transfer window.

But Lange is useful as a scout. His eye for young talent is excellent. What Tottenham could do - and what is currently being kicked around - is bringing back a real sporting director with experience so that Lange can move back into a more scouting role. He's only sporting director because Fabio Paratici left in the middle of the season, in part because of how bad Vinai and Lange are.

Mohammed Kudus will be the only forward older than 23

Mohammed Kudus's injury is a huge blow to the team, and he is going to be the face of the attack next season. Tottenham will hope that Mathys Tel, Wilson Odobert, and young Mikey Moore (on loan at Rangers) join him in stardom next season.

Meanwhile, Randal Kolo Muani won't be brought back on loan, while Richarlison and Dominic Solanke are two struggling players on big wages who are easy to sell and hard to justify in the Championship. Tottenham could move Dejan Kulusevski back to midfield permanently after a serious knee injury, thus leaving Kudus as the only forward not 23 or younger in the squad.

Whlie Roberto De Zerbi's first game as Tottenham Hotspur manager went far from swimmingly, there were enough fluke occurrences in that game that Spurs supporters should not feel that much more discouraged by what they saw against Sunderland in comparison to the futility that Spurs have exhibited throughout the 2025/26 Premier League season.

De Zerbi made a few managerial blunders, like not starting Mathys Tel and Xavi Simons, but Spurs were not worse than before. As long as De Zerbi learns from his mistakes and quickly gets up to speed with the strengths of the squad, he should be able to adjust. But this coming weekend, he will be tested a lot more by his former club Brighton, who do have more firepower to burn what has been a very disorganized Tottenham side.

Beyond the structure of the team, De Zerbi now has a pretty big lineup decision to make that was not quite as big of a controversy before the Sunderland game. With Guglielmo Vicario still recovering from hernia surgery to repair an injury that clearly hampered him throughout the season, Antonin Kinsky got his first start in goal since his slip and slide debacle against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

Antonin Kinsky is making a real push

Kinsky passed his test with flying colors and was the best player on the pitch on a poor afternoon for Spurs, blameless in a 1-0 loss while showing the kind of character that should, if his teammates have any spine left, inspire those around him to play better in this relegation fight.

Now, Roberto De Zerbi has a decision make. Does he start Guglielmo Vicario, the incumbent, because of his experience and what he has done in the past? Or does he roll with Antonin Kinsky and try to see if the Czech goalkeeper is the man for the future? Because even if Spurs survive Premier League relegation, Vicario is almost certainly gone, with Inter Milan on the verge of acquiring him this summer - if they have not quietly agreed to terms already.

Meanwhile, if Tottenham Hotspur do get relegated, then not only will Vicario 100 percent be gone even if De Zerbi wants to keep him, which is probably not going to be the case anyway, but Spurs will also have trouble recruiting the upgrade they want. Nobody really thinks Robin Roefs, Bart Verbruggen, James Trafford, or the other options Spurs want in goal would join a Championship side. Meanwhile, Kinsky could be an excellent goalkeeper in the second division and continue to develop with more starts.

So Kinsky vs. Vicario has become a real question for De Zerbi, and increasingly, with Spurs supporters looking towards building a better future, you may hear a lot more support for the No. 2 in the days leading up to the Brighton match.

If Tottenham Hotspur suffer their first relegation in almost 50 years, the winter transfer window will go down as a major reason why.

Those in charge of the circus, namely Johan Lange and Vinai Venkatesham, later rationalised Spurs' inactivity due to the fact that the players who were then out injured would soon be returning to action.

At the time, it was much easier to commend the hierarchy for not panicking in trying circumstances. Our situation wasn't anywhere near as perilous as it is now.

Still, the overwhelming majority thought we'd left ourselves short in attack after Brennan Johnson was sold and Mohammed Kudus sustained a significant quad injury. Since then, three managers have tried and failed to fit a square peg into a round hole down the right-hand side, with balance proving almost impossible to come by.

The most annoying thing is, there was an obvious solution on the table that surely wouldn't have allowed us to sink into our currently dire state.

Tottenham's Ademola Lookman oversight was criminal

Tottenham weren't completely inactive in the winter. Thankfully, we signed another runner in midfield (Conor Gallagher) and a left back for the future (João Souza). Just what we needed.

Souza has barely featured, while Gallagher has so far been a disaster. He's played plenty since joining the club, yet I'm struggling to recollect a single positive contribution since the second half of the 2-2 draw with Manchester City.

I still believe that utilising him higher up and allowing him to crash the box is the only way to deploy the Englishman effectively.

Signing Gallagher to unnecessarily high wages reflected the board's misguided priorities. He wasn't a player we required, and the move seemingly compromised a swoop for the attacker we so desperately needed.

Ademola Lookman was begging to be bought in January, having failed to secure a move away from Atalanta last summer. We were tenuously linked then, and supposedly boasted an interest midway through the season, but opted against making the £30m move that probably would've saved us from the abyss.

Lookman instead waited until the very end of the window to be scooped up by Atlético Madrid, who'd sold Giacomo Raspadori to Bergamo two weeks prior. They perhaps couldn't believe the Nigerian was still available.

Events since have been incredibly predictable. Tottenham's imbalanced and depleted attack has floundered, while Lookman has thrived in the Spanish capital. His fourth goal contribution of the Champions League knockout stages sent Atléti into the semifinals of the competition for the first time in almost a decade, having teed up the opening goal against the Lilywhites in our infamous round of 16 tie.

Lookman is a star winger who'd have improved us immeasurably. Signing him for £30m amid an injury crisis would've been the complete opposite of a "panic buy", but rather a shrewd and necessary piece of business that any competent recruiters would've overseen.

God, how sweet those three weeks were when Tottenham Hotspur Football Club wasn't ruining everything.

The Lilywhites were back with a vengeance at the weekend, this time with their third different manager of a terrible 2025/26 season, but it wasn't merely a flat Roberto De Zerbi debut that encouraged the idea of the 2019 Champions League finalists and 2025 Europa League winners succumbing to the second tier.

Plenty of supporters have borderline accepted a cataclysmic fate. I've long believed, despite our historically awful run, that we'd somehow find a way to preserve our Premier League status.

Now, though, I think Spurs are done. The number-crunchers agree, too.

Supercomputer predicts Premier League relegation fight

It's worth noting that when Thomas Frank was sacked by the club in February, Tottenham's chances of going down were remote, no more than a few percent.

However, after Igor Tudor's winless 44-day reign and De Zerbi's debut defeat, Spurs have slipped into the bottom three for the first time since the opening weekend of the 2015/16 season.

According to Opta's simulations, Spurs are the most likely team to join Wolves and Burnley in the Championship next season. After a bad, bad weekend, our relegation chances have been boosted to 49.5%.

West Ham had long been the favourite to finish 18th and spend next season (at least) in the second tier, but Nuno Espírito Santo has found a way to embolden the Hammers and render them more than merely competitive. They battered an improving Wolves 4-0 on Friday night to usurp Spurs and ensure the Lilywhites kicked off at the Stadium of Light in the relegation zone.

Admittedly, I thought Leeds United were our best bet of staying in the division. Daniel Farke's side were excellent over Christmas, but haven't won a league game since February and have struggled mightily in front of goal as of late.

Few expected them to claim their first league victory at Old Trafford in 45 years on Monday night, but that's exactly what they did. Leeds are now six points better off than us, with their chances of going down reduced to 1.61%. Home games against the bottom two are on the horizon.

West Ham's run-in is the toughest, while Nottingham Forest haven't pulled away just yet. However, it's absolutely imperative that we beat De Zerbi's former employers, the in-form Brighton & Hove Albion next week, otherwise we could be cut adrift.

Next week, the Hammers visit Crystal Palace off the back of a trip to Florence, while Forest are at home to a Burnley team that's won one league game since October.

It's not looking good...

Tottenham Hotspur are officially in the Premier League relegation zone after their latest shutout loss, but even though they won the Europa League last season, the reality is that Spurs have been terrible for more than just the 2025/26 season.

There are more than just three player who fit this description, but here are three men on Tottenham who have been dreary for two seasons in a row now.

CM Rodrigo Bentancur

Tottenham have not missed Rodrigo Bentancur one bit since his injury, and, in truth, Archie Gray had usurped the Uruguayan as a starting midfielder even under Thomas Frank, who almost seemed to be allergic to starting young players.

While Bentancur did come from a big club in Juventus, there is a reason why Juve were so keen on selling him. Bentancur is a very average player on the ball and in defense. He does not win possession much, his creativity is subpar, and he often plays cowardly and goes missing in the big games.

CB Radu Dragusin

There isn't much of a need to harp on Radu Dragusin, because every Tottenham Hotspur fan can plainly see that he is not good enough for this club. Dragusin is one of the worst center backs in the Premier League, and you could make a strong case for him being Spurs least talented player since he joined the club in 2024/25. But you know what? At least he tries.

CB Micky van de Ven

Dominic Solanke could have easily made it on this list, as he has been poor lately and had only nine goals and a couple of assists in 25 starts last Premier League campaign, but at least he turned it up in the Europa League. Fellow striker Richarlison has also been poor, but at least he has been a source of goals this season, and when he was healthy last season, he was scoring, too.

But more people need to be talking about how dreadful Micky van de Ven has been playing these past two seasons. Honestly, when you dig into the numbers deeper, he was quite bad last season, too. He had 0.8 tackles and 0.8 interceptions per game with 0.5 dribbles completed allowed in 2024/25. That's a terrible ratio of ball winning to getting beat one on one. He looks great in highlight clips with his speed and passing accuracy, but his actual defensive quality and instincts are atrocious. And now, he's just getting exposed for being overrated - part of it is on us for overhyping him.

It was more of the same for Tottenham Hotspur under their third manager in a dire 2025/26 season, with the opening 15 minutes at the Stadium of Light proving to be no more than a false dawn for the Lilywhites.

Roberto De Zerbi made his eagerly anticipated managerial bow for the club on Sunday, with intrigue surrounding his debut piquing as his first Spurs XI was disclosed.

Much of the team picked itself due to injuries, but De Zerbi also made a couple of calls that looked questionable on paper, and ultimately proved to be erroneous.

His exclusions of Xavi Simons and Mathys Tel from his team were a surprise, given what he'd said in the build-up to his first game, and Sunday's outing should've shown that these two need to be at the forefront of our survival bid.

Tel and Simons must play leading roles for Tottenham amid relegation scrap

Neither player was particularly impactful when they entered proceedings at the Stadium of Light, but that's besides the point.

Tel entered the fray right after Nordi Mukiele's opener, with the game's already stodgy rhythm disrupted further by the collision caused by a Brian Brobbey push on Cristian Romero. Tottenham's captain, who clattered into the onrushing Antonín Kinsky, will miss the remainder of the season with a partial tear of his MCL.

De Zerbi said Simons would've come on earlier then he eventually did (84th minute for the woeful Conor Gallagher), but Romero's enforced substitution altered his plans.

The rationale behind De Zerbi's selected front four seemed to be predicated on playing over Sunderland's press and releasing the speedy Randal Kolo Muani in behind. However, Spurs, after a couple of early successful sequences, struggled to play through or over the Black Cats. The technical limitations of Richarlison, in particular, thwarted our ability to get up the pitch, while Dominic Solanke simply didn't offer enough as a focal point.

Tel is raw and imperfect, but I would've much preferred him to have been on the receiving end of the two promising openings Richarlison squandered in both halves. Still, I could at least understand why De Zerbi opted for Richy.

The more confusing decision was the deployment of Lucas Bergvall as the most advanced midfielder. Thomas Frank tried this, and we never saw the best of the young Swede. Bergvall is far more effective when he's able to carry the ball from deep, with his courage and bravery in possession under-utilised by De Zerbi's predecessors.

He doesn't look comfortable receiving ahead of the ball, and merely using him to run around and win second balls seems to be a waste of his talents. While De Zerbi is offering a lite version of his complex principles at this early juncture, it seems bizarre for Tottenham's most creative player not to be on the pitch as much as possible.

Without Simons, Spurs seldom seem like prising any defence open. The Dutchman hasn't yet settled into Premier League life, but he's caught fire in Europe and was at the forefront of our two most impressive performances of 2026 (vs. Manchester City and Atlético Madrid).