When Roberto De Zerbi arrived at Brighton in September 2022, he was afforded the one luxury few new managers receive: time.
His first five games yielded just two points, and it was not until the sixth match—a 4-1 demolition of Chelsea—that his ideas finally clicked.
By May, Brighton had finished sixth, qualified for Europe for the first time in their history, and delivered one of the Premier League’s great modern managerial stories.
Every optimistic Tottenham supporter is pointing at that slow start right now. They should stop.
Brighton could afford a five-game winless run because they were not threatened by relegation. While players initially found De Zerbi’s philosophy confusing, they had the time and stability to work through it.
Once De Zerbi’s ideas took hold, the transformation was remarkable. He guided Brighton to their highest-ever finish, smashing club records for goals, wins, and points, and delivering a historic European campaign.
The situation at Tottenham could not be more different. De Zerbi now has just six games to save a team sitting 18th, two points adrift of safety, and without a league win in 2026.
[Their captain is sidelined for the season](https://whiteheartlane.com/romero-out-for-the-rest-of-the-season/), and two managers have already tried and failed this campaign—each producing similar results despite contrasting approaches. The evidence points to the squad, not the system, as the root of the problem.
The philosophy that made De Zerbi successful at Brighton requires months of ingrained understanding, something that cannot be instilled in just six matches with a beleaguered squad.
[De Zerbi himself admitted as much in his first Tottenham press conference](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11675/13530101/roberto-de-zerbi-tottenham-boss-says-he-is-not-better-than-thomas-frank-or-igor-tudor-but-passion-can-restore-clubs-dna), stating he had no time for principles and that immediate organisation was his sole priority.
That is the honest reality: the De Zerbi who took Brighton to Europe is not the manager Tottenham are currently receiving. They are getting a version stripped of everything that made him exceptional.
Brighton handed De Zerbi the luxury of patience and were rewarded with a masterpiece. Tottenham are handing him a crisis and hoping for the same result.
The two situations have little in common, and on Saturday, against the very club that gave him the time he needed, that uncomfortable truth could be exposed.