'Don't blame De Zerbi, these two Tottenham men are the reason for team's troubles'

Tottenham Hotspur chiefs Vinai Venkatesham and Johan Lange cannot be allowed to escape criticism over the club's form.

That is the opinion of former senior Tottenham scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.

The Lilywhites were knocked out of the Carabao Cup after losing 3-1 to Liverpool on Tuesday, marking a fourth consecutive match without victory.

Roberto De Zerbi's side have suffered a terrible start to the season, and are yet to win a match or score a goal in the Premier League.

Tottenham spent over £400million in the summer transfer window on 10 new players, but appear to have struggled with a lot of the same problems.

And with clashes against Aston Villa, Manchester United and Chelsea coming up, things are not going to get much easier.

Tottenham hierarchy key to troubling start to campaign

Tottenham CEO, Venkatesham, joined the club in 2025, having spent 14 years down the road at Arsenal.

Lange joined the club in 2023, initially as a technical director before being named sporting director in 2025.

"I just think it reflects on the people who are running the football club. Lange and the other fellow who came from Arsenal," King told Football Insider.

"For me, things seemed to change at Arsenal when he left, didn't they? [Mikel] Arteta become a permanent force. Arteta's staff became a permanent force. People that he's working with above him now, Arteta, can see the value of him.

"Whereas before, you know, the way things were being run before Arteta, etc., and he was central in it, it didn't look like Arsenal would win very much, did it?

"I just think it's easy to blame the manager, De Zerbi, but I think you've got to look at the people that actually gave him the job. And as I've said before, the recruitment team there, they spent over £400m. And they've still got problems.

"I mean, Richarlison, they should have got rid of him 18 months ago. You know, the problem has been with Ange [Postecoglou], with all managers that have been there, it seemed that the staff at Tottenham were still the same.

"Maybe Ange brought in one or two people, but the majority of the staff were still the same. It needed a clear-out before he came." He added: "I just feel that it's far too easy to blame De Zerbi. Don't. I think you've got to start looking at what's behind De Zerbi."

Roberto De Zerbi comments hint at future board problems

De Zerbi quit Brighton in 2024 after fundamental disagreements with the board over strategy and direction.

In April, he made it clear that something similar could potentially happen at Tottenham.

"The problem is not the league. The problem is to keep the relationship with the board and to have the same ideas in the project," he said.

De Zerbi was asked to clarify his comments, and explained: "Yes. Everyone on the same page."