'Just been told': Commentator shares the real reason James Maddison was substituted vs West Ham
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Ange Postecoglou made quite a noteworthy decision against West Ham on Saturday afternoon at half-time.
Indeed, Postecoglou decided to substitute James Maddison at the break, bringing Pape Matar Sarr on in his place.
From the outside looking in, that appeared to be something of a strange change as Spurs replaced a creative midfielder for a defensive-minded player in a home game that was 1-1 at the break.
Inevitably, this substitution led to many pondering why Maddison was subbed and if he had picked up an injury.
However, according to Darren Fletcher, speaking on commentary on TNT Sports just after half-time, this decision was tactical rather than injury-forced.
Why James Maddison was substituted against West Ham
Fletcher relayed what he'd heard about Maddison's substitution.
The commentator says that this was a tactical decision, and it's a decision that Ally McCoist could understand as he says Maddison was very quiet during the game.
"It's the one change for Spurs, no changes for West Ham. I've just been told that it is no injury for James Maddison. It is a tactical decision from the Tottenham manager," Ferguson said.
"Well, he was quite quiet wasn't he James Maddison, I'm not sure if he expected more from him and decided enough is enough," McCoist replied.
James Maddison's stats vs West Ham
It's somewhat strange that Maddison was substituted against West Ham, because his stats during the game were actually very solid.
Maddison grabbed an assist for Kulusevski's goal, albeit the Swede had a lot of work to do, with his shot from distance, while Maddison made five key passes.
However, those stats can be deceiving, many of Maddison's key passes were indeed from corner kicks, and, as McCoist says, he wasn't contributing too much from open play.
Postecoglou's tactical plan clearly worked, as 10 minutes after Maddison's removal, Spurs scored three times in quick succession.
Maddison has been praised for his performances at times this season, but his showing against West Ham wasn't necessarily his finest hour.
