Ange Postecoglou decision not to bring James Maddison on sooner v Manchester City ‘mystified me’ – Spurs Expert
Tottenham News is delighted to welcome aboard our brilliant new columnist Bryan King, the former goalkeeper who spent six years as a senior scout at Spurs and 28 years in total in first-team scouting roles. Bryan also spent eight years on Everton’s recruitment team and 11 years scouting at Aston Villa across two different spells.
Ex-Spurs scout Bryan King has criticised Ange Postecoglou’s decision to wait until the 73rd minute to bring James Maddison on against Manchester City.
Spurs were knocked out of the FA Cup in the fourth round as they were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday 26 January.
Nathan Ake’s 88th-minute winner, City’s first goal at Spurs’ new ground, ensured Pep Guardiola’s side would be in the hat for the fifth-round draw while for Tottenham, it looks as if their trophy drought is set to extend to a 17th-year.
One bright spark for the home side was Maddison’s return to the matchday squad, with the midfielder making his first appearance since he picked up an ankle injury during the 4-1 home defeat against Chelsea on 6 November.
However, the 27-year-old could only make the bench, and King has questioned why it took so long for him to be introduced.
Speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, King said: “Why did Postecoglou wait so long to bring Maddison on? If he is on the bench, you have got to be prepared to use him otherwise what is the point of putting him on the bench?
“Werner struggled, he hardly touched the ball. I would have taken him off ten minutes into the second half and brought on Maddison. I would have put Brennan Johnson down on the left, Dejan Kulusevski on the right and Maddison in behind.
“You saw the reaction of the crowd when he finally brought him on, I just want to know why that took him so long.
“That is what mystified me, why he didn’t come on earlier.”
In other Tottenham news, King believes one Tottenham ace was “completely responsible” for the loss against City.
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