Opinion: Tottenham’s trophy chances lie on the shoulders of James Maddison
With apologies to Mr Tottenham Heung Min Son, the most important person this season is vice-captain James Maddison. As our creative midfielder, he is the engine of our offence and whether you agree or not, our destiny lies in his hands.
A mixed season for Maddison
Last season was a tale of two Maddisons. His best stretch of the season was at the start when through 11 games, Maddison produced 3 goals and 5 assists (Transfermarkt). Spurs collected 8 wins, 1 loss and 2 draws in that time, leaving the team in 2nd place with 26 points.
This was around the time I made calls to my friends and family around the world to let them know that not only was Tottenham about to take the league by storm, but we would finally end the season with a trophy.
Boy, did karma hit me hard?!
Spurs followed up my week 11 gloating by playing our worst football of the year. And to make things worse, Maddison picked up an ankle injury that caused him to miss the next 13 games.
During the games Maddison was out, the drop in form was extreme enough for me to shut my phone off on most Saturdays. During that stretch, we only produced 4 wins but had 4 losses and 2 draws. But it was the teams we lost to that left most scratching our heads, with defeats to Wolves, West Ham, and Brighton.
By the end of match week 21, we had slid down to 5th place, only earning 14 points within that time.
Once Maddison returned, I kissed my rosary and sat extremely close to my television as I just knew that rock and roll football would be returning to my screen. But it rarely returned. The magic was gone from Maddison’s feet, and each week I watched a player that was a shell of himself.
During his return, he produced 1 goal and 4 assists in 17 games. Talk about lacklustre. In some games, he was so anonymous that it felt like we were playing with 10 men. Where was the magic? Where was the throwing of the darts? It was just gone, ripped away from me with no goodbye.
During the off-season, Maddison was dropped from the England team for the Euros. And while England made the finals but lost, their creative and scoring output was non-existent. And that would be an indictment on the type of form Maddison had at the time if they thought he couldn’t even help them.
What next for Tottenham and Maddison?
That leads me to my point now. If Tottenham are looking to lift any type of silverware, we will need Maddison the magician to reappear before our very eyes. The swagger and moxy that he brings to the team when he is at the top of his game is bar none. You can feel the team feed off of his demeanour and the way he carries himself on and off the pitch.
But after the injury, all of that was gone. And you could tell it weighed heavily on him as the season progressed onwards.
In my opinion, the Spurs need another creative midfielder, and rumours are that the team is bringing some reinforcements. With the arrival of 18-year-old Lucas Bergvall and possibly purchasing someone like Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze, competition for the number 10 role is at stake for Maddison.
I believe he is great enough to earn the starting spot. Pre-injury, Maddison was easily a top 5 player in the Premier League at the time. And we will need Maddison at his top form next season as the Spurs are in the Europa League and playing more games week in and week out.
With high hopes for the year for the team, Ange Postecoglou will be looking for each member of the team to increase their productivity and take this team to new heights. With Maddison being one of our best players, we will expect him to be at his best or we can kiss any chance of silverware goodbye.
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