Maddison and Tottenham's crazy performance, are they the real culprits...Local Breakthrough Analysis "Kulusevski Is a Superstar"

Oct 21, 2024

Was James Madison really Tottenham's problem.

Tottenham won 4-1 in the eighth round of the English Premier League (EPL) in the 2024-2025 season against West Ham at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England on the 19th (Korea time). Tottenham leap to seventh place in the league as they manage to overcome their shock defeat against Brighton.

They won the match against West Ham 4-1, but Tottenham's first-half and second-half performance difference was extreme. Early in the first half, Tottenham tried to create many attacking opportunities on the left with Madison at the center. Until Son Heung-min's threatening shot came out in the 15th minute of the first half, Tottenham's attack looked sharp.

However, Tottenham again found it difficult to find an answer when West Ham set up a stronger two-line defense after giving up the first goal to Mohamed Kudus in the 18th minute of the first half. Tottenham's repeated problems from the second half of last season seemed to be revealed again.

Tottenham takes the lead in attacking, but the problem of increasing the ball possession without meaning has begun. In this situation, Tottenham had a lot of patterns of losing points through counterattacks after dedicating possession of the ball somewhat absurdly. Fortunately, West Ham's counterattack was not threatening on the day, and Christian Romero and Mickey van der Penn were in very good condition.

Even if Tottenham found a clue, it was an attack at a fast tempo. After Kulusevski brought the ball in the 36th minute of the first half, Madison drove the ball himself forward. On the counterattack, Kulusevski received Madison's pass and managed to finish, and Tottenham equalized.

England's The Athletic had a 1-0 lead over Tottenham's first half and there was a groan of frustration whenever Tottenham missed their chance. Tottenham had 12 corner kicks in the first half of the EPL this season, more than any other team. But none of the 12 corner kicks were threatening" he criticized.

Tottenham's frustrating attack changed in the second half. The key to the change was the replacement of coach Enze Postecoglou, who left out Madison and put in Pape Matar Sarr. Replacing Maddison at half-time, who is vice-captain and one of Tottenham's best performers this season, is actually not an easy option.

Madison's half-time replacement was unusual, as everyone thought the player was injured and replaced with Sarr when Madison was replaced. Consequently, the replacement without Madison and with Sarr was very successful. The Athletic also "The answer was in Postecoglou's bold half-time replacement"Table border="0"cellspacing="0"cellpadding="0"align="center">

The above media outlet stated that "Madison is one of the most high-profile players on the team. Madison has the field of vision and pass range to pierce the 27-year-old's deeply entrenched team. When West Ham camped inside the penalty box in the first half, Madison caused problems with his opponent by breathing with Destiny Udo-gi and Son Heung-min. Madison also helped Kulusevski score an equalizer. However, it was Madison who was replaced for Papesar, who completely changed the dynamics in the midfield. Madison wasn't playing the wrong game, but Sarr provided more physical ability" he analyzed.

The role of Papesar, who was put in place of Madison, was to provide dynamism in the midfield. Postecoglou also acknowledged that Peppa Sarr's input has changed the atmosphere in the midfield.

According to The Athletic's analysis, Madison and Sar were put in the same position but played completely different roles on the field. If Madison led the attack by moving near the opponent's penalty box, Papesar was more in the midfield and focused on preventing West Ham's proud counterattack.

In terms of position, he was more defensive than Madison, but Sarr played an aggressive role while helping Son Heung-min score. Coach Postecoglou tried to target the opponent's defense by putting in Sarr to block West Ham's counterattack and immediately switch to counterattack.

After the game, Postecoglou also said, `I thought Papesar's running power would help in the second half. Thought Papesar could give us real energy. Pape Sarr really told me", he complimented.

Madison may have been hurt by the half-time replacement, but it will be difficult to be dissatisfied with the manager's replacement because the team's performance rebounded after he was out. Since he is the vice-captain, he has no choice but to act for the team with more responsibility.

Furthermore, The Athletic even predicted that Madison's proportion in Tottenham could gradually decrease.

The media said "Kulusevski is Tottenham's best player this season. Instead of playing on the side, he was able to show his various abilities after switching to an attacking midfielder. Twelve months ago, Tottenham's center was Madison. He inherited Harry Kane's jersey number and was vice-captain in the locker room. But now it's starting to feel like Kulusevski is making headlines and the rest of the team is structured to maximize his strength,' he said in a harsh review of Madison.

It's hard to say that Madison is an important player and a player who only causes problems for the team in one game. Madison is doing really well this season, too. This negative outlook will disappear only when Madison shows more of his strengths in the upcoming games.

rlaeotlr2024@sportschosun.com

Maddison and Tottenham's crazy performance, are they the real culprits...Local Breakthrough Analysis "Kulusevski Is a Superstar"

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