Tottenham: Roberto De Zerbi called out by fans for ‘criminal’ Xavi Simons decision vs Sunderland

Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi is already under scrutiny from the fanbase for his decision not to start Xavi Simons against Sunderland.

Simons was only brought on at the Stadium of Light with five minutes of normal time remaining, with Spurs a goal down in De Zerbi’s first match in charge.

Nordi Mukiele’s 61st minute deflected effort proved to be the winner, which keeps Spurs inside the Premier League relegation zone.

Spurs are two points adrift of safety with six matches remaining, and have now not won a Premier League game in 14 attempts.

De Zerbi faces his old club Brighton in his first home game as Spurs boss, where his team selection will again prove a talking point.

Tottenham fans baffled by Xavi Simons decision

Simons was signed for £51million last summer, but the 22-year-old has not lived up to his price tag in north London.

The midfielder was not selected in De Zerbi’s first starting line-up, and the Italian has faced questions for not bringing him on earlier in the game.

De Zerbi preferred to start with Lucas Bergvall in the number 10 role, whilst Pape Sarr replaced the 20-year-old instead of Simons when he was substituted on the hour mark.

In the absence of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski this season, fans believe Simons has been “underutilised” by Spurs’ managers.

One fan believes De Zerbi “got an awful lot wrong” with his team selection at Sunderland, whilst another supporter compared his substitutions to Thomas Frank.

Johan Lange in the firing line at Tottenham

De Zerbi’s spell at Spurs could have major implications for key figures at the club who have chosen to hire the former Brighton boss.

Former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider that questions need to be asked about Spurs’ sporting director Johan Lange for the decision to hire De Zerbi.

Lange could lose his job at the club, with the decision to appoint Igor Tudor as an interim boss having also proved unsuccessful.

De Zerbi was handed a five-year contract to become Spurs boss, after there were reports that he would not take the position on an interim basis until the end of the season.

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