Why Spurs were BULLIED by Brentford: Inexperienced youngsters exposed, a pre-season tour that has caused Roberto De Zerbi a major headache and the surprising Sandro Tonali problem
The only positive Roberto De Zerbi could pick from the debris of defeat for Tottenham at Brentford was that now people might realise the extent of the rebuilding operation.
Time is required he says to create the necessary bonds between the new set of players. In fairness to him, he said something similar before the 3-0 humbling at the Gtech Community Stadium as well as afterwards.
When invited to declare a target for his new Spurs, on Friday, he resisted. Instead, he wanted to wait until transfer business was complete and his team had settled into a rhythm or – as he says – found its soul and organised its style.
Nobody however anticipated a defeat quite so emphatic. Not after the uptick in form at the end of last season. Not after a summer spent reinforcing defence and midfield at great expense.
Brentford simply bullied Spurs. They might easily have scored more, missed a penalty and in Mamadou Sangare, a midfielder signed from Lens for £41million, had the best of the summer signings on display.
Roberto De Zerbi warned that his Tottenham side were not yet ready for the new season
Callow Spurs
Despite a transfer policy based upon targeting experienced Premier League players, De Zerbi started the first game with four players aged 21 and under. Mikey Moore at 19, Lucas Bergvall at 20, Mathys Tel at 21 and Archie Gray, the youngest captain in the club’s history at 20 years and 163 days.
The Spurs boss then admitted the youthfulness of his team had been exposed by Brentford and that he feared the worst ahead of the game.
“At the beginning of the season, at the beginning of the new project, it was right to play with Lucas Bergvall,” said De Zerbi. “I knew before the game, Lucas, 20, in this type of game, maybe he could suffer more than Rodrigo Bentancur, nine years older.”
Bentancur came on at half time to replace Bergvall, who had missed a vital tackle, trying to roll his studs over the top of the ball deep in midfield, leading to Brentford’s second in the 33rd minute.
The backdrop is that Bentancur was late back into pre-season having been granted a delayed return from the World Cup, just as Pape Matar Sarr, injured and unavailable against Brentford, had been granted a delayed return from the World Cup.
De Zerbi’s youthful team were badly exposed by Brentford in West London on Saturday
Undercooked Spurs
“We are not in the right point in physical condition for a lot of reasons,” said De Zerbi. “For the players who came late after the World Cup, because in Australia we couldn’t work in the right way for the trip and we don’t take risk with a lot of things but there are no excuses.”
The Spurs boss is mentioning the pre-season tour to New Zealand and Australia quite regularly.
He noted on Friday how the injury keeping Micky van de Ven out at the start of the season had been picked up Down Under. “I don’t know, the flight,” said De Zerbi. “I don’t know, something, not a big problem, but not right to work.”
James Maddison, Dominic Solanke and Mateus Fernandes are among others to have their preseason schedule interrupted by injuries, none of them serious but enough to stall the fitness work De Zerbi considers imperative.
Minor irritations such as these can melt away if the team picks up results but they grow in significance after a defeat.
Either way, the idea of a tour in New Zealand and Australia hardly seemed like the brightest idea in a World Cup summer. Not one the head coach will sign off.
Expensive Spurs
Sandro Tonali, the club’s £100m record signing, was among three new signings namechecked by De Zerbi as ‘not in the best physical condition’, which came as a surprise because he was not at the World Cup and has played through pre-season.
Tonali was certainly underwhelming at Brentford. Unable to sustain the relentless tempo generated by the home team, unable to win possession, unable to get on the ball, unable to impose himself.
The Italian has been bought for an inflated fee to lead this midfield pack by example.
Bergvall struggled alongside him, as did Conor Gallagher, advanced as a No.10. The same trio looked very strong in a friendly against Hoffenheim only six days earlier, which is a reminder of the misleading nature of friendlies.
Both Gallagher and Bergvall were hooked at half-time. Spurs improved slightly in the last half hour with Bentancur and Mateus Fernandes on, but the game was lost and they were still second best.
No less worrying was that new centre-halves Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi were tormented in the air by Brentford’s towering front three of Igor Thiago, Kevin Schade and Dango Outtara.
And new No.1 keeper Toni Kinsky failed to command his penalty area at set pieces and must take a share of the blame for the second goal, pushing a shot by Mathias Jensen down to Vitaly Janelt.
Sandro Tonali is not yet match fit, which comes as a surprise, with the Italian not involved at the World Cup this summer
Toothless Spurs
Among the mistakes De Zerbi felt the need to single out was the timing of the press by teenage winger Moore in the first half.
Moore’s talent is not in question, he is the darling of the academy and the only Spurs player who looked like scoring on Saturday, forcing two excellent saves towards the end of the game.
But the comments seemed designed to stress that De Zerbi needs experience, players who are accustomed to the complex nature of Premier League football, especially work done off the ball.
In truth, none of the front three of Moore, Richarlison or Tel could hold up the ball in the first half and help carry their team up the pitch.
Singling out Moore felt like a nudge to the board because he, like Bergvall, is still learning his trade and Spurs need masters of their trade if they are going to compete at the top of the Premier League.
Whether Savinho, Omar Marmoush and Cody Gakpo fit into this category is open to question but De Zerbi clearly wants the transfer targets in as soon as possible.