Jeff Stelling ‘not having’ James Maddison excuses at Tottenham
Ange Postecoglou mentioning James Maddison’s injury after Tottenham lost to Leicester City is no excuse, Jeff Stelling has said.
Speaking on talkSPORT (27 January, 8:07am), Stelling left Ally McCoist in stitches with his verdict that even when Maddison is fully fit, Postecoglou is hesitant to play the England midfielder for 90 full minutes.
Maddison impressed in Spurs’ 3-2 Europa League win over Hoffenheim on Thursday but missed out altogether in an eventual 2-1 loss at home to Leicester, with Postecoglou saying that he was “sore”.
Stelling said: “One thing I will say, is I’m not having the ‘missing Madders’ bit – because he never plays him anyway.
“Never starts him, or he certainly never plays him for the 90 minutes, so he can’t now use him as an excuse when he’s not able to play in the game yesterday.”
James Maddison faces crucial period at Tottenham
Although the soreness which kept Maddison out of Spurs’ shock home defeat to the Foxes isn’t seen as a serious setback, they could certainly have done with him late on as they chased the game in vain.
Maddison has featured in 32 of the Lilywhites’ 35 matches in all competitions so far this season, but only 22 of those have been from the start, and staying on for a full 90-minute stint has been a rarity.
Given Harry Kane’s number 10 shirt upon his arrival in North London in the summer of 2023, Maddison was signed to be a key player for Spurs, but the 28-year-old has been anything but that so far this term.
He’s still managed to net nine goals this season, including eight in the Premier League as their top scorer – but that still doesn’t seem to have swayed Postecoglou towards making him a mainstay.
Spurs’ injury crisis has arguably seen him start more games than he normally would, but both Maddison and Postecoglou need to decide whether or not he’ll be a regular feature when they’re fully fit again.
In other Tottenham news, Tim Sherwood’s comments on Spurs’ prospects this season left Paul Merson in disbelief on Sky Sports.
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