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Pundit claims Tottenham have a ‘luxury’ player who simply doesn’t work hard enough in their team
Tottenham beat West Ham 4-1 on Saturday, but a lot of the headlines after the game were about a player who was substituted at half-time.
Indeed, James Maddison was taken off at half-time on Saturday for tactical reasons, and it’s fair to say that was the right call from Ange Postecoglou.
Tottenham looked like a much better team in the second-half without Maddison, and that hasn’t done the England international any favours on an individual level.
Indeed, questions are now being asked of the midfielder, and Maddison apparently didn’t look happy after the game.
Speaking on The Two Robbies Podcast, Robbie Earle has been discussing Maddison and his role at Tottenham now, and he’s accused the midfielder of being something of a luxury player, claiming that there may not be room for a player like this in the modern game.
- READ MORE: Harry Redknapp now shares what he has heard about Ange Postecoglou from Tottenham insiders
James Maddison is a luxury player
Earle shared his verdict on Maddison, claiming that he is a luxury player.
Earle actually went as far as to call the man something of a passenger in some games, claiming that he perhaps doesn’t work hard enough in this Ange Postecoglou team.
“But let’s quickly just switch to Maddison thing. I mean, he came into the football club at the start, got a season and did so, so well, was a big part of what they were doing. You must feel like one of the first names on the team sheet. And then something seems to go wrong. It happened a little bit in his Leicester days,” Earle said.
“There’s moments when in big games you never saw him. And then he seems to have had a moment again where, you know, the team balance looks better.
“Now, the problem with James Maddison, and he’s such a technically gifted player, that if he’s not making goals, scoring goals or dominating the game for you, there isn’t an awful lot else.”
“And in modern day football, we used to have, we used to have players in a Wimbledon team where we were all at it.
“But every now and then the gaffer would bring in a player who was a bit, let’s say, luxury, where he wouldn’t have to do quite so much work, but you better cross and do this and do that. I get the sense James Maddison is that guy, but modern day football doesn’t allow luxuries any more, it doesn’t allow you to carry any passengers.
“The best teams in the league don’t carry any passengers. You still have to do your hard work and your defensive stuff.”
Maddison is working hard in training
Maddison is in a very strange situation here, because Earle does have a point, but, at the same time, he’s wide of the mark.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Maddison has been described as a ‘luxury player’.
Maddison’s style of play doesn’t lend itself to being an all-action energetic player in the way someone like Pape Sarr is.
However, that isn’t necessarily a reflection of his effort levels.
Indeed, Ange Postecoglou claimed earlier this season that Maddison is working incredibly hard in training.
Unfortunately, his skillset is quite old-school, he’s very much a number 10 who is quality on the ball rather than a midfielder who can press all day, chase players down and outwork his opponents.
Those attributes aren’t necessarily valued in modern football in the same way they were 20 years ago.
Whether or not there is still room for a player like Maddison at the top-end of the Premier League is up for debate, but after the West Ham game, Maddison may have an uphill task on his hands to get back in the Spurs team.