Roberto de Zerbi needs to steady the Tottenham ship before it is too late this season
Things did not go as planned for Tottenham as they succumbed to a humiliating opening-day defeat against Brentford on Saturday. The Lilywhites were outplayed, outrun, outthought, and outmuscled by the Bees at the Gtech Stadium as they put three past Antonin Kinsky with relative ease. It was a night to forget for Roberto de Zerbi, who was bold enough to admit that his team was not playing at the same level as their opponents.
Despite spending a staggering £237m on six new players this summer, the North Londoners clearly had nowhere to hide as they were tactically outplayed by a charged-up Brentford side. Four new signings featured for Spurs on the opening day, including the £100m signing Sandro Tonali. And it is fair to say that none of the new arrivals made their mark as they struggled to find any real coherence on and off the ball.
There were clearly some questionable decisions made by Roberto de Zerbi when he named the starting eleven prior to kick-off. The attack lacked experience and cutting edge in front of goal, as Mathys Tel, Richarlison, and Mikey Moore all made their first starts of the season. There was no creativity on the pitch, as the midfield consisted of runners instead of ball-carriers. But the most notable feature of that starting eleven was that De Zerbi had named Archie Gray, a young midfielder, as captain on the opening day.
Tottenham players failed to step up on opening day
Despite having Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke, Richarlison, and Sandro Tonali out on the pitch on Saturday, Roberto de Zerbi opted for 20-year-old Archie Gray to lead the team against Brentford on the opening day of the new Premier League season. The decision did not make complete sense, given the Englishman’s lack of leadership experience in previous years. Not only that, but giving the captaincy to Gray was not the right call, as he was the same player De Zerbi did not trust to start during the relegation run-in at the end of last campaign.
Wayne Rooney also pointed out the lack of leaders in the dressing room at Spurs after they were humbled by Brentford at the Gtech Stadium. Speaking on BBC’s Match of the Day (via X), Rooney said,
“I think it shows a lack of leaders in the squad to have a 20-year-old as captain of the team. That shows that there’s not many leaders in the squad. Someone has to stand up and take that group because if they keep sliding the way they did last season with the money they’ve spent, it’s not a good situation.”
Is there a lack of leaders in Tottenham's squad? pic.twitter.com/alPzTDnsnk
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) August 23, 2026
For all the money spent on new players and the major squad rebuild that has taken place at N17, Spurs did lack a few leaders on the pitch during their 3-0 defeat against Brentford this weekend. Wayne Rooney was right to urge the senior players to step up and take ownership of their actions in the upcoming matches. There is a high chance of another disappointing campaign if certain key players do not steady the ship at Hotspur Way and help the squad get through the tough times under Roberto de Zerbi.
Spurs’ next game is against Charlton Athletic on Wednesday in the early rounds of the Carabao Cup. It is a home fixture and one that the Lilywhites are expected to win comfortably. But it also provides the North Londoners with a great chance to regain confidence and get their season off to a positive start. So, it remains to be seen whether Roberto de Zerbi opts to play a full-strength squad or gives the players who started the game against Brentford a chance to redeem themselves.