Ange Postecoglou made quite a noteworthy decision against West Ham on Saturday afternoon at half-time.

Indeed, Postecoglou decided to substitute James Maddison at the break, bringing Pape Matar Sarr on in his place.

From the outside looking in, that appeared to be something of a strange change as Spurs replaced a creative midfielder for a defensive-minded player in a home game that was 1-1 at the break.

Inevitably, this substitution led to many pondering why Maddison was subbed and if he had picked up an injury.

However, according to Darren Fletcher, speaking on commentary on TNT Sports just after half-time, this decision was tactical rather than injury-forced.

Why James Maddison was substituted against West Ham

Alasdair relayed what he’d heard about Maddison’s substitution.

The commentator says that this was a tactical decision, and it’s a decision that Ally McCoist could understand as he says Maddison was very quiet during the game.

“It’s the one change for Spurs, no changes for West Ham. I’ve just been told that it is no injury for James Maddison. It is a tactical decision from the Tottenham manager,” Ferguson said.

Well, he was quite quiet wasn’t he James Maddison, I’m not sure if he expected more from him and decided enough is enough,” McCoist replied.

James Maddison’s stats vs West Ham

It’s somewhat strange that Maddison was substituted against West Ham, because his stats during the game were actually very solid.

Maddison grabbed an assist for Kulusevski’s goal, albeit the Swede had a lot of work to do, with his shot from distance, while Maddison made five key passes.

However, those stats can be deceiving, many of Maddison’s key passes were indeed from corner kicks, and, as McCoist says, he wasn’t contributing too much from open play.

Postecoglou’s tactical plan clearly worked, as 10 minutes after Maddison’s removal, Spurs scored three times in quick succession.

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Finance expert does not believe Spurs are in investment talks with Amanda Staveley

Amanda Staveley has been making rather big moves with her businesses of late, but finance expert Stefan Borson suggests these actions should not impact any potential takeover she fronts at Tottenham Hotspur.

Amanda Staveley shutting down businesses

After leaving Newcastle United in the summer, persistent rumours have claimed Amanda Staveley is looking for her next project, and sees Tottenham as the perfect football club to invest in next.

There is a belief that would fit with Daniel Levy‘s plans to find outside investment to take Spurs to the next level both on and off the pitch.

However, the latest developments in Staveley’s situation have been rather confusing and complex. While Staveley was spotted at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last weekend, her business dealings have raised questions over her readiness to buy into the club.

Over the last two weeks, Staveley has filed winding up orders for two of her firms with Companies House, including the business many had suspected she would use to lead any potential move for Spurs.

Spurs takeover could happen quickly

However, this should not be seen as anything that could impede Staveley’s potential interest in Tottenham. That’s according to Stefan Borson, who told Football Insider that the businesswoman would only want a small share in the club, and could make that happen very quickly.

He said: “I don’t think there is any significance in the dissolution of that business. I’m sceptical about the whole Spurs story anyway. She wouldn’t need to do it anyway through that vehicle.

At the end of the day, if Amanda Stavely invests £500million in a football club, she will probably be fronting it on behalf of other people, will have a relatively small equity stake in that vehicle, and will probably want to set up a completely fresh vehicle anyway.

“I wouldn’t read too much into it. If something is going to happen, the structuring of the corporate entity that does it is something that can be addressed quickly. You can buy a company immediately and you can fund it as required very quickly. I wouldn’t read anything into it.”

No smoke without fire

I think there must be some kind of ongoing discussion between Staveley and Levy regarding this deal, especially given she was at the stadium last week. It’s hard to say whether anything will come of this, but if Staveley does indeed only want a small stake in the club, there’s very little risk there on Tottenham’s side.