James Maddison is blamed for Tottenham’s deteriorated performance as Tottenham won the game from behind after an early replacement.
Tottenham came from behind to beat West Ham United 4-1 in the eighth round of the 2024-25 Premier League held at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday. With the victory, Tottenham jumped to seventh place in the league.
Tottenham led the game by starting Son Heung-min, who returned after three weeks. Son, who still showed off his strong sense, threatened the goal with a sharp curving shot in the “Son Heung-min Zone” in the 16th minute of the first half. However, he was dragged away when he dedicated the first goal to Mohamed Kudus in the 18th minute of the first half. Tottenham, which kept looking at chances, balanced the score 1-1 when Dejan Kulusevski scored the first goal on a pass given by Madison in the 36th minute of the first half.
When the second half began, coach Enze Postecoglou made an early replacement. He excluded Madison and put in Pape Mata Sarr. There were doubts that Madison, who had been playing well during the first half, was injured when he was suddenly replaced. Madison’s expression on the broadcast screen was somewhat dark.
However, Tottenham showed different performances during the second half. Starting with Yves Bissouma’s come-from-behind goal that started at Son’s toes in the sixth minute of the second half, he scored three goals in a row as his own goal and comeback goal were scored by Son. Before the end, he managed the game leisurely against West Ham, which had 10 players as Kudus was sent off directly due to violent acts, and completed a 4-1 come-from-behind victory.
England’s “The Athletic” cited Postecoglou’s replacement as the decisive factor for the victory. The media pointed out, “With West Ham leading 1-0, Tottenham attempted 12 corner kicks. This is more than any other team in the first half of the Premier League this season, but it didn’t seem like a threat at all.” During the first half, the kicker for corner kicks was Madison, but it never led to a decisive opportunity.
The media said, “Madison is Tottenham’s key playmaker, but he was replaced by Sarr at half-time. This was a shift that completely changed the dynamics of the midfield. Madison didn’t necessarily do anything wrong, but Sarr provided more energy.”
Postecoglou also revealed after the game that Madison’s replacement was for tactical reasons. He said, “We needed more mobility in the midfield. There was a lot of that for Sar. Full of energy and speed. He helped us greatly to control the midfield and created good conditions for us to move forward. From then on, our overall play improved, and we were threatening.”
“The second half was outstanding. I increased the tempo, played quality football, defended when I needed to and finished properly,” he said, expressing satisfaction.
Madison, who joined Tottenham from Leicester City last season, was evaluated as Tottenham’s best transfer at the beginning of the season. He was praised for filling the role of a playmaker who was absent from the team after Christian Eriksen, and contributed to his unbeaten run in 10 games after the opening with perfect teamwork with Son Heung-min. However, after a long-term injury, his condition deteriorated significantly and his slump lasted longer. He has regained stability by adding two goals and four assists in eight league matches since the opening of the season, but has yet to regain as much influence as before.
Cascarino, who played for Chelsea in the past, insisted that Madison should be excluded from the starting lineup. “I liked how Postecoglou excluded Madison at half-time. After the Brighton & Hove Albion disaster, he would have sent a message to all the players that their place was not guaranteed. Madison was an important recruit last year, and he would have understood the meaning of the substitution. He might reflect on his level at corner kicks,” he said in an interview with the British newspaper Mirror.
“Madison is no longer a promising young player. He will turn 28 next month and needs to make himself stand out even more. He has been excluded from the English national team, and a starting position at Tottenham is no longer guaranteed,” he continued. 메이저사이트
On top of that, the British Football Insider reported on Monday an interview with Mick Brown, who once served as a scout for Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. Brown also said, “From what I’ve heard, a coach can sometimes remove him from the starting list. He will not be afraid to make big decisions, and will change the system depending on the opponent. For example, he can exclude Madison in a game like the one against West Ham.”
“We’ve seen what difference we can make if we take him out of the team, and now we expect that to happen more often,” he added.