Although James Maddison was able to get on the pitch for Tottenham Hotspur in the second half of their 2026/27 Premier League season opener against Brentford, it was too little, too late for the Lilywhites, who were already down 3-0 by that point after a horrendous first half that was as abhorrent as anything Spurs supporters witnessed in the ghastly 2025/26 under both Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor.
Maddison has still been working his way back from a torn ACL in the 2024/25 Premier League season, and while he did return at the end of the 2025/26 campaign, he still has yet to actually start a match for Spurs.
As many expected, Roberto De Zerbi had to return to Conor Gallagher as the starting No. 10 this Saturday afternoon at the Gtech Stadium against Brentford, and while Gallagher is one of De Zerbi's personal favorites, the England international was a complete flop against Brentford.
Tottenham are going to struggle to win with Conor Gallagher
It is impossible to even describe one thing Gallagher did well against the Bees, because he was just so bad. Even in a pressing No. 10 role, Gallagher could not win possession or impose himself. He was a featherweight on the ball, a lead foot with the pass, and neither created any chances nor beat any players off the dribble. And defensively, he might as well have been replaced with a pebble, such was his lack of a threat to actually win possession for his team.
Tottenham Hotspur fans already knew to expect this from Conor Gallagher as a playmaker, and whlie there was optimism that he would be better in this role with Roberto De Zerbi and not Thomas Frank, even at the end of last season when Gallagher was actually decent as a box to box midfielder, he still did not create much. And there was a massive upgrade in terms of the quality of the touch and the pass from James Maddison when he returned to make appearances off the bench for the Lilywhites in their (successful) relegation fight.
Maddison is not yet 100 percent, and while Tottenham should not abandon the plan and rush him back since any aggravation would be doubly devastating with Xavi Simons out for month with his own torn ACL, Spurs really cannot wait for Madders to come back. There is such a gulf in class between these two on the ball, and if Spurs continue to start Gallagher, they just are not going to be able to feed the forwards enough chances to win games against any decent Premier League team.
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