James Maddison admits he is Tottenham scapegoat as he breaks silence
James Maddison has come under plenty of scrutiny at Tottenham this season.
The Lilywhites find themselves sat 13th in the Premier League with only the Europa League left to play for having been knocked out of both domestic cup competitions.
There has been plenty of debate in North London over whether it’s Daniel Levy, Ange Postecoglou or the players who are to blame and Maddison has been involved in plenty of those conversations.
Maddison reacts to Tottenham critique
Given just how much has gone wrong at Tottenham this season, trying to place the blame on just one party seems unfair.
Postecoglou hasn’t been shy to confess about how injury issues have affected his squad and he certainly has been forced to cope with a depleted team at times during the campaign.
However, even when the boss has had plenty of talent fit enough in his team, they have still performed below the expected levels.
Maddison has made 26 Premier League appearances this term, contributing nine goals and five assists along the way.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 26 | 9 | 5 |
However, he has also come under some massive criticism, with Roy Keane in particular calling him out for going missing in games.
When asked by Sky Sports if he is a so-called scapegoat at Spurs, Maddison replied: “Yeah but that’s okay, I’d rather that than them talk about Archie or Lucas. I don’t mind taking the heat a little bit.
“I’m big enough and ugly enough now to take the hits and take the criticism because I know what I’m capable of, I know what I can do, I know my personal level and what people don’t see is what we do behind the scenes and how much we’re trying to improve and how much we work and it’s very cheap to go and sit and talk and criticise.”
Maddison has to prove himself at Tottenham
There is no doubt that Maddison is a player with plenty of talent, but that is also one of the reasons he finds himself being spoken about, because he hasn’t delivered high levels regularly this term.
As one of the senior players in the squad and a high earner, the responsibility has to be on those like him to pick up the levels and take the others along with them.
However, this season it has been players like teenager Archie Gray who have received the plaudits for their leadership in the team.
The England international says he feels sharp and ahead of a Europa League round of 16 second leg tie against AZ Alkmaar, already 1-0 down, this is his chance to step up and show he still has what it takes.
Whatever happens between now and the end of the season, there has to be some change in North London during the summer transfer window so it’s up to Maddison to prove why he should be someone who is part of the side going forward.