Tottenham midfielder James Maddison has been warned starkly about his performance levels. The playmaker was subbed off at half-time during Saturday’s 4-1 win at West Ham
Starting the match with Spurs trailing from Mohammed Kudus’ early goal, Maddison assisted Dejan Kulusevski for the equaliser before the break. However, manager Ange Postecoglou decided to bring in Pape Sarr straight after half-time, signalling an aggressive change in tactics.
Following the change, Spurs notched three more goals, a testament to Postecoglou’s astute tactical switch. Former Chelsea player Tony Cascarino reckons Maddison’s time in the starting XI might now be at risk due to this brave managerial move, reports the Mirror.
He [Postecoglou] has put the challenge of changing Tottenham’s mentality and notoriously soft centre on his shoulders. I liked that he was prepared to make a big call and withdraw James Maddison at half-time,” said Cascarino in The Times.
“It would have sent a message to every player that their place is not assured after the Brighton debacle. Maddison was a big signing last year, and I have no doubt he would have taken the timing of the substitution personally. Postecoglou can manage the situation.”
But Maddison may reflect on his delivery, especially from corners, and work rate. Maddison is no longer a promising young player. He turns 28 next month and needs to impose himself on matches. He finds himself out of the England squad and his starting place for Spurs is no longer guaranteed.”
The dart celebration. The beaming smile. The silky football that characterised the start of 2023-24 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
This time last year it would have seemed barely believable that people might be questioning James Maddison’s place in Ange Postecoglou’s side.
But after his half-time substitution for (defensive?) midfielder Pape Sarr launched an enterprising second-half display to thrash West Ham on Saturday, the vice captain’s status as an automatic starter has to be up for debate.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Maddison has still started all of Spurs’ Premier League games this season and, while he had been subbed off in all of them, before Saturday the earliest he had left the field was the 77th minute.
In 40 appearances for Tottenham, he has 19 goal contributions – essentially one every other game – with six goals and 13 assists.
The previous time Maddison was withdrawn after 45 minutes for Tottenham was that seminal game against Chelsea last November, when Postecoglou’s outstanding start to life in north London hit a significant bump in the road.
He subsequently missed 10 games and, as Spurs’ campaign spluttered, he never quite rediscovered his early-season razzamatazz.
It could be argued he still has not, albeit two goals and three assists in eight games this season is totally in keeping with his record.
Indeed, he remains Tottenham’s metronome, having had more touches (561) than all but the defensive trio of Cristian Romero, Pedro Porro and Micky van de Ven, averaging two shots per game and only ranking second for dribbles behind Dejan Kulusevkski (22 to 29).
As the graphic above shows, very little has changed.
Last season, Maddison averaged 48 passes per game – so far this year, it is 49. In 2023-24, he averaged 67 touches per game – in 2024-25, it is 70. Shooting-wise, he has dropped from 2.0 shots per game to 1.88.
Different games beget different tactics – and Saturday’s tweak made a tremendous difference for Tottenham.
But before we even think about writing Maddison off, we need far more evidence.
