The Lab (Tottenham Hotspur Podcast)

Photograph by the incredible Frederikke Jensen

We’re joined by Dan Kilpatrick to talk through the strange feeling of Tottenham actually giving us something to believe in again. We get into the Villa performance, De Zerbi’s immediate impact, whether the Tottenham way actually exists, the power vacuum behind the scenes, Johan Lange’s role, Palhinha, Vuskovic, survival, and the deeply uncomfortable question of whether we hate Arsenal more than we love Spurs.

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We’re joined by coach to Premier League footballers, Harry Brooks, to break down what Roberto De Zerbi has already changed at Spurs, from the shift in mentality and confidence to the tactical details behind the win at Aston Villa. We talk about buy-in, accountability, composed aggression, pressing traps, risk, control, and why this version of Tottenham suddenly looks calmer, braver and far more connected.

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We’re joined on The Lab by Kish from Lilywhite Lab to dig into what has gone wrong at Tottenham this season, and whether Roberto De Zerbi can be the man to fix it.

We discuss the importance of player buy-in, why Thomas Frank’s approach never fully convinced the squad, and how Spurs’ lack of midfield control became the defining tactical problem of the season. There’s also a deep dive into the signings of João Palhinha and Conor Gallagher, the imbalance of the squad, the short-lived Igor Tudor experiment, and the wider questions around leadership, recruitment and culture at the club.

We also look at De Zerbi’s arrival, his reputation for improving players, and why his coaching could be exactly what Tottenham’s young squad needs, even if the timing could hardly be more chaotic.

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We’re joined by sport psychologist Dan Abrahams to talk about why Spurs so often look tense, hesitant and disconnected when the pressure ramps up. Using ideas from his new book Compete, we get into high performance mindset, why players hide, how leadership loss affects a dressing room, and whether constant upheaval at the club has created confusion on the pitch. We also chat about Romero as captain, the impact of fan pressure, and why culture, structure and messaging matter just as much as tactics.

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We dig into what De Zerbi ball could actually look like at Spurs, from build-up patterns and risk in possession to which players might thrive and which might struggle. We also get into his reputation, why the Marseille chaos might need more context, and whether Tottenham finally have a coach with enough clarity and force of personality to shape the club around him.

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