Maddison ‘trashes Postecoglou axing as best Tottenham game’ stuns Gary Neville
James Maddison looks to have given his Tottenham career a major boost with his performance in his side’s win over Man Cty.
The attacking midfielder had been restricted to some late substitute appearances in the last two games going into that trip to The Etihad, leading ex-player and manager Glenn Hoddle questioning whether he would be able to force his way back into the side.
The former Spurs man instead felt that with Dejan Kulusevski standing out in the attacking midfield role this season, he would be Ange Postecoglou’s preferred option in that role alongside Pape Matar Sarr for balance.
However, Maddison was restored to the starting lineup against Pep Guardiola’s team with the Swedish star moved wide again, and took the opportunity to make his case in emphatic style.
Within 20 minutes, Maddison had produced two excellent finishes to put Tottenham 2-0 up, embarrassing Ilkay Gundogan in the process, and well in control of a game they would eventually win by an unbelievable 4-0 scoreline.
James Maddison cannot be dropped by Tottenham while playing like this
That led to high praise for the Englishman, not least from Gary Neville. Speaking about the attacker while on co-commentary for Sky Sports, he said (7.13pm): “I have to say from a discipline perspective this is the best I’ve seen Maddison play without the ball. Not only has he held his position well but he’s also been tenacious in his work.”
The former Man United defender added as Maddison went off in the 89th minute: “He’s had a brilliant day… the goals, they’ll get the headlines but actually I think he’s set a standard for himself in this second half with his defensive performance.
“This is wonderful [his second goal], a little dink. But his defensive work for the team in the second half I think is equally impressive and is why I’ve given him man of the match.
“He’s got to do that week in and week out against every single team that he plays against, then he becomes a player that England will not be able to ignore.”
With this performance, it is hard to imagine that the Englishman will be dropped to the bench again any time soon by Postecoglou, although the Australian deserves credit for getting his selection spot on in Manchester.
As was noted by Neville, the 28-year-old produced a performance in which he did a job all over the pitch, contributing in defence as well as attack.
He was vital to a huge statement win against the champions, and Tottenham are going to be desperate to see those showings from a number of individuals in the future.
Ange Postecoglou needs James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski
That puts Maddison in a strong position to keep his place in the side, and it is worth noting that Kulusevski was also included in the starting XI and shone again anyway.
As a result, this proves that the former Norwich and Leicester man can in fact play in the same team as the Swede, with both vital despite operating in similar attacking midfield roles.
Given the two linked up perfectly for that opening goal there is a chance that Postecoglou is going to want to take advantage of that connection once again, so the pair will likely be together in the former Celtic boss’ XI for some weeks.
With Spurs having come into this game on the back of defeats to Galatsaray and Ipswich Town, the pressure was mounting on Postecoglou given his high expectations this season.
This result, heavily influenced by Maddison, has instead earned the 59-year-old plenty of new breathing space as confidence in him is significantly restored.
Having just done him that favour, it would also be incredibly harsh if the Spurs boss was now to take his two-goal star out of the lineup.
All of that means that this game has seen Maddison provide the perfect response to any questions around his place in the Tottenham starting lineup.
In other news, Michael Dawson hails one Tottenham star for what they did vs Man City.
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