Paul: Lifelong Spurs fan and I haven't seen us be this bad in almost 50 years of watching us. And I've seen some awful Spurs performances in that time. We're definitely getting relegated and we completely deserve it. I wouldn't be surprised if we get relegated from the Championship next season either. We won't even be able to celebrate Arsenal bottling the league again this year.
Jello: It was better, but still such a Tottenham performance to concede at the death. The two points dropped could end up costing a few hundred million. Lastly, Xavi Simons, save the tears for the dressing room. It's pathetic to see our players bawling on the pitch, you're a highly paid professional and a part of why we're in this calamity. Roberto De Zerbi was right to say he doesn't want to see our players crying. We need steely determination and granite resolve for the next five matches.
Scott: Pedro Porro is a liability. Celebrating, like he's good at his job. He's a defender and missed an almost open goal. If he could just stay in position, Spurs would be a mid-table team. If he could tackle, we'd push towards Europe.
Bob: We deserve to go down after watching another lacklustre performance. Players already look like they have given up. We look like a Championship team already.
Brighton fans
Brian: A solid, if not spectacular, performance with good contributions from the bench. Given all the noise and expectation around Roberto De Zerbi I think it's a satisfactory result. Now for Tuesday and three points against Chelsea!
Michael: Fantastic, but we should have won. So many chances, but wow, what a team. The first goal was probably one of the best all season, but because they are not a "big club" it gets overlooked.
Maggie: Spurs think they should have won. Really? I don't think so. Spurs were outplayed and out-thought for most of the game. The only reason we don't have all three points is Bart Verbruggen and his poor playmaking. He twice passed Jan Paul van Hecke into trouble for the first goal before he mistimed his punch. Then, he did it again for the second. Shocking. Oh and he nearly gifted Conor Gallagher a goal dallying with the ball. For his 100th game he had a nightmare. Clear. Your. Lines. First rule of defending.
David: Not the best performance as Spurs pressed whenever they could and made the midfield give the ball away too often. Lets hope the injuries to Diego Gomez and Kaoru Mitoma are not serious. We may need them on Tuesday against Chelsea. Europe is still a possibility.
Spurs show 'shoots of positivity' despite 'tough blow'published at 09:13 BST 20 April
09:13 BST 20 April
Image source, Getty Images
Former Tottenham midfielder Andy Reid says Saturday's draw with Brighton will be a "tough blow" for the players after conceding an equaliser in the 95th-minute, but there are "shoots of positivity" to take from the overall performance.
"The crowd brought a good degree of atmosphere to the stadium that I haven't seen for a bit and the players fed off that," said Reid on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast.
"It seemed like they were less bothered about possession - which is what Roberto de Zerbi has always been known for - but the performance had a good tempo and intensity.
"They pressed Brighton really high up the pitch and Dominic Solanke was the catalyst for that. They were in the game and the crowd was with them.
"When Xavi Simons scored Spurs' second goal the place erupted and the atmosphere was as good as I've seen it at the new stadium. At this point, you're thinking that this could be the start of something good, but then the Georginio Rutter goal goes in and the life is sucked out of the place again.
"It wasn't toxic in that there was any booing, but it went flat.
"It is a tough blow for them to take but there were shoots of positivity."
'De Zerbi's task now is to lift his players after emotional rollercoaster'published at 11:05 BST 19 April
11:05 BST 19 April
Harry Poole BBC Sport journalist
Media caption,
Leeds, Forest, West Ham or Spurs - who will be relegated?
From ecstasy to agony in under 20 minutes.
The emotional rollercoaster experienced by Tottenham Hotspur fans in the closing stages of Saturday's draw with Brighton likely hinted at what is yet to come.
Xavi Simons had led his team-mates in joyous celebration, the Spurs supporters joining in a collective release of pent-up emotion, after the 22-year-old's wonderful strike put Roberto de Zerbi's side on course for a first Premier League win since 28 December.
But those scenes proved premature when, in the fifth minute of eight added for stoppage time, Brighton's Georginio Rutter delivered a devastating sucker-punch.
It left Spurs still one point adrift of safety with just five games remaining - a situation which could worsen with relegation rivals Nottingham Forest and West Ham yet to play - increasing their fears of a first top-flight relegation since 1977.
Spurs' winless run in the league now stands at 15 matches, just one short of the club's worst-ever winless league run set 91 years ago.
It is bottom club Wolves - who will be relegated if West Ham earn at least a point against Crystal Palace on Monday - against whom Spurs will seek to avoid equalling that streak endured between 1934 and 1935.
Media caption,
How Porro let Tottenham down in defensive areas against Brighton
Only the Championship's rock-bottom club Sheffield Wednesday have picked up fewer points (four) than Spurs (six) across English football's top four tiers in 2026.
De Zerbi has been clear that his immediate attention is on restoring confidence in a group of players who have now failed to win each of their last five Premier League games in which they have led.
There were signs of encouragement for the former Seagulls boss in that regard, as his players demonstrated the fight they must show over their remaining games in going toe-to-toe with the league's form team.
Spurs travel to Wolves next weekend, then face difficult trips to European hopefuls Aston Villa and Chelsea in search of crucial points.
The task for De Zerbi now is lifting his players after coming within only a few minutes of achieving a momentous victory, the devastation evident on his players' faces at the full-time whistle.
Analysis: Signs of encouragement but Spurs running out of timepublished at 20:39 BST 18 April
20:39 BST 18 April
Harry Poole BBC Sport journalist
Image source, Getty Images
With each winless game that passes, a once unthinkable fate for Tottenham becomes increasingly likely.
The facts are that Spurs now stand five games away from a first season in the second tier for almost 50 years, and one match from equalling the club's worst-ever winless league run, set in 1935.
Yet, while it may not feel it in the immediate aftermath of Saturday's cruel setback, there were signs of encouragement for Roberto De Zerbi, who has insisted first and foremost on restoring confidence in his players to aid their survival bid.
A team sheet featuring midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, making his first start since undergoing hamstring surgery in January, and James Maddison, returning to the squad after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in pre-season, already provided a pre-match lift.
The Spurs fans waved flags bearing the club's crest before kick-off and roared as the stadium announcer read out the player's names as they sought to create an atmosphere in which their confidence-stricken team could thrive.
The hosts carried the greater early threat and had a penalty claim dismissed when Destiny Udogie went down after getting past Yankuba Minteh.
They went close to a quick-fire second after Pedro Porro's opener when the excellent Xavi Simons' struck the post, and Bart Verbruggen saved Pedro Porro's follow-up.
There were uncomfortable moments as Brighton began to threaten, but Spurs showed great resolve to force the breakthrough, while Simons provided a touch of class as the stadium became increasingly nervous in the second half.
Ultimately, De Zerbi's men could not withstand Brighton's late pressure - but the Italian will hope this performance can inspire his side with time quickly running out.
Tottenham 2-2 Brighton: What De Zerbi and Porro saidpublished at 20:16 BST 18 April
20:16 BST 18 April
Media caption,
We need to find a solution to win games - De Zerbi
Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi, speaking to Match of the Day: "It's like a defeat because we conceded a goal in extra time, but we played a great game. Brighton are very good. A lot of top players, a lot of qualities. Today I am disappointed because we deserved to win. It's tough to accept today. We have to be stronger than this moment we are going through. We have to move on and prepare for the next game at Wolves."
On the togetherness between players and fans today: "We have to say thanks to our fans. They were fantastic, they helped the players a lot, before the game, during the game and at the end of the game. The players have to feel lucky because it's not normal a stadium like this if you are fighting relegation."
On Kevin Danso's error leading to Brighton's second goal: "It was a mistake, but Danso, I am proud of him. He played an amazing game. This season there are a lot of difficult situations, but we have to think positive again because we have the qualities. There is time to reach our target and we start on Monday to prepare Wolves."
On whether he can help mentality after no league wins in 2026: "I believe in my players and they have to believe in myself. We can't think in the past. The other coach is gone. Now it is a different moment.
"We have to play another five games, we have enough time. We have enough qualities. I don't like people who cry or think too much to be negative. I don't like these people. They know how I think in football, how I think in my life and we have to be together."
Tottenham's Pedro Porro, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "I think after the game we don't have time for the disappointment. For me and my teammates, the best thing is keep pushing, keep going.
"I think the team today was very good. I think first half was very good for us. The team pressed very well. I think the most important thing now is staying positive."
On Kevin Danso's error: "I think Kevin had a great game today. This is the point now, we don't have time for mistakes. This is football, it happens. For me today, Kevin was instrumental on the pitch."
Did you know?
Tottenham Hotspur have failed to win each of their last 15 Premier League matches (D6 L9), extending their longest ever winless run in the competition.
Roberto De Zerbi has won just one of his last 12 matches in the Premier League (D3 L8), while he has failed to win either of his opening two games in both of his spells in charge of Premier League sides (D1 L1, also with Brighton in October 2022).
Tottenham v Brighton: Team newspublished at 16:32 BST 18 April
16:32 BST 18 April
Tottenham boss Roberto de Zerbi has made four changes after overseeing a 1-0 loss to Sunderland in his first game in charge.
For his first home match as Spurs boss, De Zerbi hands midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur his first start since undergoing surgery on his hamstring in January.
Kevin Danso replaces the injured Cristian Romero in defence, while Yves Bissouma and Xavi Simons also come in for Archie Gray and Richarlison.
Another huge boost for Spurs is the return of James Maddison to the squad for the first time this season, after he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in pre-season.
Tottenham XI: Kinsky, Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Udogie, Bissouma, Gallagher, Bentancur, Kolo Muani, Solanke, Simons.
Fabian Hurzeler's side have won five of their past six in the league as they make a late surge for European football, and the German names the same 11 that started in the 2-0 win over Burnley, with Danny Welbeck leading the line.
Sutton's predictions: Tottenham v Brightonpublished at 12:19 BST 18 April
12:19 BST 18 April
After Spurs lost to Sunderland in his first match in charge, Roberto de Zerbi said his players need a father figure, not a coach. He is trying to build their confidence but maybe that means he is not coaching them the way he wants to.
It's a bit of a head-scratcher, but then Tottenham's entire season has not made much sense. When you look at their team and their bench, they have got some incredible players.
Somehow, though, Spurs are still waiting for their first Premier League win of the year after playing 14 league games already in 2026. Looking at the table, they will need three wins, or at least two, from their final six games if they are going to climb out of the relegation zone and stay up.
They really should not be in this position but I am not sure they have got the stomach to get out of it now they are.
I just don't think they will get one of those wins against Brighton, who have come into a bit of form.
The Seagulls are on a run of three successive victories and have five wins in their past six games. I can see things going wrong for De Zerbi against his old club, so I am backing Brighton to nick the points here.
You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Leeds v Wolves" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Tottenham v Brighton", for instance.
Tottenham v Brighton: Key stats and talking pointspublished at 19:03 BST 17 April
19:03 BST 17 April
Beleaguered Tottenham are without a league win in 2026, so can Roberto de Zerbi inspire them to victory in his first home match in charge against his former side Brighton on Saturday (17:30 BST)? BBC Sport looks at the key themes around the fixture.
Spurs close to unwanted home record
If their situation wasn't already serious enough, a morale-sapping weekend of results brought into even sharper focus just how much trouble Tottenham are in.
West Ham's crushing victory over Wolves, Nottingham Forest's battling point against Aston Villa and Leeds United's historic triumph at Old Trafford were sandwiched by a toothless defeat for Spurs at Sunderland in which they also lost captain Cristian Romero for the season.
There were only limited signs of a "new manager bounce" for Roberto de Zerbi in his first match in charge. He's since had another week on the training ground to try to instil some belief in his fragile squad. "I can be a big brother, father, they don't need a coach," he said of his plans to lift spirits.
The only one of Spurs' last 13 managers to lose their opening home game was his much-maligned predecessor Igor Tudor. Their home form remains an ongoing issue and if they are beaten again on Saturday, the Lilywhites will equal their club record of five successive home league losses set in February 1994.
So dismal have their performances been in front of their own fans that their tally of 10 home points is just one more than Brighton have picked up in their last three league matches alone.
Overall, Tottenham's winless streak in the league of 14 matches - dating back to 28 December - is just two shy of the longest such run in their history of 16 set between December 1934 and April 1935.
They also remain one of only two top-flight sides yet to win a match after failing behind along with Wolves.
Seagulls having flying end to season
In yet further bad news for Spurs and De Zerbi, his former side Brighton proudly sit on top of the Premier League form table having won five of their last six matches.
It is as many victories at they had managed in their previous 20 top-flight league games combined and has quelled rumours that Fabian Hurzeler's job was under threat.
Another three points would give them a fourth away win on the spin for the very first time in the top flight. The last time they conceded a goal on the road was on 11 February.
Their resurgence after such a tricky winter has firmly propelled them back into the mix for European football and they are only six points adrift of a Champions League place.
They have also enjoyed an excellent recent record against Tottenham, having lost just one of their last five against the north Londoners, scoring 14 goals in those matches, including four at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the final game of last season.
De Zerbi on Romero's 'suffering', team dinner and not pushing Maddison published at 15:26 BST 17 April
15:26 BST 17 April
Craig Nelson BBC Sport Journalist
Tottenham boss Roberto de Zerbi has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Brighton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (kick-off 17:30 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
De Zerbi confirmed that Argentina centre-back Cristian Romero is out for season and said: "I am really sorry for him, for his injury. Romero, first of all, loves Tottenham, and the people have to know his suffering."
Goakeeper Guglielmo Vicario remains out: "I am looking forward to working with him. He is another important player for us with big experience and a big personality. We are waiting for him."
Uruguay midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur is available to play, although De Zerbi does not know if he will start, while Yves Bissouma is "100%" ready to play.
The Spurs boss said he does not want to "push" England forward James Maddison, who has not played since suffering a torn ACL in pre-season
On Maddison's return: "It's better to lose [Maddison] for one game more than to take a risk for another injury."
On taking the team out for a meal: "I don't know if we win the game for [this] dinner, but we ate very well. The food was amazing and if we win I am ready to pay every week one dinner."
On facing former club Brighton: "I love Brighton, I love my former players and all people working in this club. Fabian [Hurzeler] is working very well and is credit for what they are doing."
De Zerbi said he has not decided who will captain the side in Romero's absence, but added: "I would like all players to feel they could be a captain. We can't cry, we have to push and be stronger to come out of this situation."
Gossip: Spurs prepared to let go of Gallagherpublished at 07:33 BST 17 April
07:33 BST 17 April
Tottenham are prepared to sell Conor Gallagher, 26, with several Premier League clubs interested in the England midfielder, who only joined Spurs in January. (Football Insider), external
De Zerbi faces former club in first Spurs home gamepublished at 15:31 BST 16 April
15:31 BST 16 April
Image source, Getty Images
Roberto de Zerbi's first home Premier League game in charge of Tottenham will be against his former club Brighton on Saturday.
The Italian's tenure started with defeat at Sunderland last Sunday and it was a result that dropped Spurs into the relegation zone after West Ham beat Wolves.
Only one of the previous 13 managers to take charge of Tottenham have lost their first home game and that was De Zerbi's predecessor Igor Tudor in February against Arsenal.
But Spurs' home record this campaign has been a cause for concern.
They have lost 10 of their 16 league games to date at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and four consecutively in recent weeks.
They have only ever lost five in a row once in their league history and that was in February 1994.
Brighton head to the capital having won two of their last four away league games against Spurs, including a 4-1 victory last season.
The Seagulls want points on the board to continue their quest for European football, but De Zerbi will hope to kick-start the new manager bounce and secure Spurs' first league win of 2026.
'I have gone beyond panic, fear and anger - and arrived at acceptance'published at 09:02 BST 15 April
09:02 BST 15 April
Bardi Fan writer
Image source, PA Media
It takes something special for a club to go through four managers and for nothing to change.
Four different sets of principles, four different approaches, four different game plans, yet nothing sticks. Not one idea nor concept has made a lasting impact on who we are as a football club. Tottenham Hotspur have been lacking an identity for so long that I am not sure I could tell a stranger, someone who has never heard of the club, what exactly we are.
Games pass us by, bad luck seems to wait at every 50-50 and there is such a lack of goal threat that opposition goalkeepers may as well start their summer holidays early. We are a team lacking in every department, on the pitch and off it.
With each appointment, we are promised change. Something to make us proud, something to cling to, but every new era brings the same disappointment and the same draining of our most valuable resource: time.
The new manager bounce is a fable as old as time, but at Spurs there has been no sign of it. It remains a bedtime story as we sleepwalk towards relegation. Every weekend brings another must-win game, and every weekend the line in the sand is erased and redrawn further down the beach.
On a personal level, I have gone beyond panic, fear and anger. I have arrived at acceptance. Since January, all we have needed is three wins, yet even that has proved beyond everyone involved. I do not see Spurs, with the finish line in sight, suddenly finding the energy to push on. Instead, we will continue to crawl towards it, as Nottingham Forest, Leeds and, most painfully, West Ham surge past us to safety.
In the long term, Roberto de Zerbi may prove an inspired appointment, but he has been dropped into a hole so deep and so dark that even a five-year contract may not give him enough time to find a way out.
Tottenham fans have been let down so often this season that I have no fingers left to point with. You make your own fate, and this club has created a monster.