Ange Postecoglou explains the actual reason why he took of James Maddison at half-time in Tottenham's 4-1 win vs West Ham
Today at 10:33 AM
James Maddison was hauled off at half-time against West Ham United and replaced by Pape Matar Sarrmuch to the surprise of the Tottenham supporters.
However, the substitution clearly worked as Tottenham produced an emphatic second-half response to thump the Hammers 4-1 and secure Ange Postecoglou’s first major London derby win.
The Hammers took an early through Mohamed Kudus but like against Brighton, the second 45 minutes followed a completely different script, except this time, in the Lilywhites’ favour.
The floodgates opened when Yves Bissouma thundered home to give Postecoglou’s side the lead before Heung-min Son and an Alphonse Areola own goal put them out of sight.
But one of the big talking points will be Maddison being withdrawn at half-time with the midfielder sat on the bench looking bitterly frustrated at the decision.
Why James Maddison came off vs West Ham
Postecoglou has revealed that it was a tactical decision to make the substitution of Maddison for Sarr at half-time. The Australian wanted more running power in the middle of the park and Sarr was able to bring a greater energy than the 27-year-old.
West Ham greatly frustrated the hosts in the first-half as they sat deep and made themselves very tricky to break down. Maddison was actually the player to finally pick the lock for Tottenham as he set up Dejan Kulusevski who equalised, however, the 59-year-old chose the England international as the player to be sacrificed.
Postecoglou told TNT Sports after the win against West Ham: “Yes it was tactical, I just felt we needed a bit more running power in that midfield area. Pape gives us some good energy there and I thought that really helped us in the second half.”
What are the media saying about James Maddison vs West Ham
Maddison’s 45-minute display against West Ham drew some mixed reviews from the media as some outlets claimed he had a shocker whilst others were surprised by his withdrawal.
There was strong criticism from London World who gave him a 4/10 and wrote: “Had a really poor game and was substituted in the first half.”
Evening Standard understood him being taken off as he was too safe in the first half and gave him 5/10: “Decent in possession but his decision-making was safe. Replaced at half-time in a tactical decision by Postecoglou.”
However, Football.London disagreed and believed he did well giving him a 7/10: “Big part in Tottenham’s first goal with a strong run through the middle of the pitch before playing in Kulusevski. Was only on the pitch for 45 minutes as Sarr replaced him at the break.”
