Ange Postecoglou mystifies after Tottenham decision in Fulham draw
Bryan King doesn’t understand why James Maddison was substituted late on as Tottenham drew 1-1 with Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday.
The ex-Spurs scout admits he was “mystified” by the decision to hook the 28-year-old.
It was Lucas Bergvall who replaced Maddison in the 84th minute at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium [1 December].
However, King – speaking exclusively to Tottenham News – doesn’t see how the 18-year-old was going to make the difference for Postecoglou’s side.
“Tottenham disappointed me against Fulham,” King said.
“What mystified me, is that on 84 minutes Postecoglou took off Maddison and brought on Bergvall. You take a seasoned international off with 10 minutes to play, and you put an 18-year-old on. I can’t see him changing the game.
“Maddison didn’t exactly look overjoyed when he was taken off. Is it a question of fitness? Why is Maddison being replaced, he should be a 90-minute player without a doubt.”
Ange Postecoglou surprises with James Maddison decision in Tottenham draw against Fulham
Maddison didn’t exactly have his best game against Marco Silva’s side. Therefore, perhaps Postecoglou replaced the midfielder as he felt as though he wasn’t offering enough.
However, with all due respect to Bergvall, he hasn’t exactly proved to be a difference-maker in North London this season and is still incredibly young. As a result, Spurs likely would have had a better chance of finding a winner had Maddison remained on the pitch.
Postecoglou is dealing with a plethora of injury issues and does need to manage his squad carefully, which might explain why Maddison was taken off. However, he also needs to start producing consistent results and to do that he can’t afford to have key players sitting on the bench when his side are chasing a winner.
In addition, hooking Maddison early in games, something which is expected to have frustrated the midfielder, is only going to fuel further transfer speculation, which is already swirling.
In other Tottenham news, Daniel Levy could pull off a masterstroke as £25million transfer news emerges.
For more Tottenham news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.