Gary Lineker baffled by Ange Postecoglou and James Maddison ‘fall out’ at Tottenham
Ange Postecoglou and James Maddison may have fallen out at Tottenham after what Gary Lineker noticed during the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on Sunday.
Spurs were dealt a heavy flow before the hour mark, with Marcus Tavernier and Evanilson both hitting the back of the net to give Andoni Iraola’s side a well-deserved lead in North London.
There was a lot of positivity heading into the clash, with Cristian Romero, albeit being scrutinised by Tottenham fans, returning to the lineup for the first time since December.
Injuries have plagued Spurs this season, however, and Postecoglou is now without Dejan Kulusevski, which meant many fans expected Maddison to be starting, but he was on the bench yet again.
The attacking midfielder helped the Lilywhites to overturn the two-goal deficit with Pape Sarr and Son Heung-min scoring, but Lineker believes something has happened between the benched player and manager.
Ange Postecoglou and James Maddison fallout mooted after Tottenham snub
Speaking via The Rest is Football podcast [10 March], Lineker said: “Maddison was late coming off the bench again. When he comes on, he always looks the part and plays some really good football.
“I’m at a bit of a loss as to what’s happened there, wondering if there’s been a bit of a fallout.”
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Iraola, who has been tipped for the Real Madrid job, is one of the names mentioned to replace Postecoglou, with Spurs languishing in 13th in the Premier League table.
The team had been even lower in the table but managed to climb above the likes of Everton and West Ham following back-to-back wins over Man United and Ipswich Town.
Finishing in the top four spots, and qualifying for the Champions League via that route, looks to be totally off the cards for the Lilywhites now, which means Spurs must lift the Europa League title.
| Premier League standings | Points |
| 12. Brentford | 38 |
| 13. Tottenham | 34 |
| 14. Man United | 34 |
| 15. Everton | 33 |
| 15. West Ham | 33 |
Many believe Postecoglou should be given the benefit of the doubt, having been without Romero, Micky van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicario, Dominic Solanke and Destiny Udogie for large parts of the season.
That might be the only reason why Daniel Levy has not yet pulled the trigger on the Australian’s tenure, and with Kulusevski the only big star now sidelined, Tottenham should be able to finish the campaign on a high.