Why Tottenham’s tenuous hopes of finishing in the top four depend on dropping Maddison

The decision to substitute James Maddison was taken by Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou midway through the second half of their North London Derby loss against Arsenal on Sunday. The England international had difficulty against the Gunners, as seen by the low WhoScored rating of 6.02 that he received.

 

 

 

That being said, Maddison‘s bad day at work served to compound the disappointment of the past few months for the England international. Maddison was excellent over the first few months of the season as Spurs under Ange Postecoglou got off to a great start. Then Chelsea’s excursion to north London ended in catastrophe. After a 4-1 loss, Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie were sent off, bringing Spurs’ undefeated streak to an absurd conclusion.

And despite his occasional flashes of brilliance, Maddison has completely lost his way after making a great start to life in the city. Given the importance of the ankle ligament in turning in tight areas of the game, any player suffering damage to it would be affected, but Maddison’s problems have been exacerbated by Spurs’ recent slide in form. Only two out of ten games, prior to an extended absence, saw the club’s creative star fail to provide several opportunities for goals.Ben McAleer writes, “Why Tottenham must drop Maddison to keep slim hopes of finishing in the top four” on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at 8:43.Why Tottenham’s tenuous hopes of finishing in the top four depend on dropping Maddison. The decision to substitute James Maddison was taken by Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou midway through the second half of their North London Derby loss against Arsenal on Sunday. The England international had difficulty against the Gunners, as seen by the low WhoScored rating of 6.02 that he received.

Even though Maddison, 27, had a strong passing accuracy at the end of the game—91.9%—he only produced one opportunity to score on home ground. In 64 minutes, the former Leicester player managed just one shot, one ineffective touch that resulted in a turnover of the ball, and one After all, Spurs have the lowest cross accuracy (18.6%) in the top division of England this season, which means that defenses can easily exploit Ange Postecoglou‘s team when the ball is thrown forward. That means that Maddison is essentially a passenger if he isn’t causing trouble for himself, or at least causing general inconvenience. From the player that stormed the league in the first few months of the season, he’s a whole new animal.