One Tottenham player under fire for poor West Ham performance

Despite picking up an assist, James Maddison is under fire as Tottenham looked much better without him on the pitch against West Ham United.

Tottenham Hotspur bounced back to winning ways after the October international break. Winning any London derby feels good but given the way the West Ham fixture went, it was bound to feel ten times better.

Tottenham Hotspur went a goal down but quickly returned through Dejan Kulusevski. So, from one-nil down to one-all at the half, Tottenham Hotspur needed to capitalise on their first half goal.

Despite what many would have thought, it was the decision to take off James Maddison, despite him providing an assist, which inspired Tottenham to a win. Not only did they win, they wiped the floor with West Ham.

One Tottenham player under fire for poor West Ham performance

Now, James Maddison is under fire. He hasn't been in the best form for Tottenham and it was shown at the weekend, where Ange Postecoglou's looked better without him.

Speaking to The 2 Robbies' Podcast, Robbie Earle said that Tottenham look like a better team without James Maddison in the lineup.

In his own words, Earle said: “[Maddison] came into the football club at the start of last season and did so, so well, was a big part of what they were doing, one of the first names on the team sheet."

Earle continued: “And then, something seems to go wrong, it’s happened a little bit in his Leicester days, there were moments when certain big games you never saw him and then he seems to have had a moment again where the team balance looks better now [without him]."

Admittedly, Earle is right in his analysis, particularly with regard to the recent West Ham performance. Tottenham looked much more cohesive without Maddison on the pitch.

The obvious retort to this is 'it takes a great player to provide an assist on a bad game.' Look, that's a pretty bulletproof retort. It would even be my line or argument, however, Earle addressed this too.

Earle finished: “The problem with James Maddison… he’s such a technically gifted player that if he’s not making goals, scoring goals or dominating the game for you, there isn’t an awful lot else."

We can only hope that James Maddison finds a form-altering performance and builds on it. After all, Brennan Johnson is an example of why fans should not give up on players.

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