James Maddison showed exactly what’s wrong with Tottenham’s attack
All was right in North London when the final whistle blew against Coventry City on Monday. Tottenham snatched their first Premier League victory, midfielder Dejan Kulusevski returned from injury after 526 days, and midfielder James Maddison scored the goal of the season so far. Therein lies the problem. Tottenham needed that worldie.
After the rightful celebrations, I hope manager Roberto De Zerbi sits down and realizes the numbers still indicate Tottenham possess an offensive attack that is woefully, inexplicably, painfully inept. Heading into the game, Spurs sat in 18th in expected goals per 90 minutes, at a shade over 1.00 xG. After Monday’s 3-1 win, that number went down. Spurs generated just 0.86 xG against one of the Premier League’s worst defenses.
Maddison’s wonder goal, for example, had an xG of just 0.05. Forward Omar Marmoush got off the schneid, but his goal also had just 0.05 xG. Again, Spurs spent too much of the game wheeling the ball around their opponent's box, unable to find a direct route to goal. They did seem to go long more, with Dom Solanke willfully chasing passes down the pitch, but Spurs seem to never been in position to win second balls. Tottenham aren’t unlucky, either.
They’ve underperformed their xG by just -0.21, and after the victory they sit in 16th place in the Premier League table. Their expected points total has them at 12th, nowhere near the Champions League qualification spots that a club of their stature should be competing for.
Will Roberto De Zerbi ever figure out how to unlock the Tottenham attack?
As I’ve written before, I am skeptical of De Zerbi’s ability to unlock the Tottenham offense, as he has repeatedly shown in his career an inability to adapt after opposing managers react to his tactics. Considering the victory, though, I will give him some grace and point out another glaring weakness: the number 10 position.
There is no doubt that James Maddison is a world-class talent. His goal against Coventry proves as much, and that kind of individual brilliance is what is needed over the course of a season. When nothing else is working, when everything seems to be going wrong, who can step up and make something happen? Bad clubs don’t have that guy. Good clubs do. Maddison can be that guy for Tottenham, and he was that guy on Monday, but he hasn’t been fit in nearly two years.
A player needs to be on the pitch to increase the likelihood of those moments of brilliance. Maddison barely played two-thirds of the game, getting subbed for Conor Gallagher—who is decidedly not a solution at the 10—at the 69th minute. Until Tottenham can dip into the transfer market, or until youngster Luca Williams-Barnett wins De Zerbi’s confidence, Spurs simply need Maddison to play, say, 80 minutes per game.
It’s not just Maddison’s goalscoring, either. He possesses a vision and a creativity that no one else on the roster does. Coupled with Sandro Tonali’s and Archie Gray’s defensive acumen, Maddison at long last has free reign to make things happen as Spurs’ attacking midfielder. But this means the best engine of Tottenham’s offense and their ability to compete for Europe rests on scarred, 29-year-old knees. De Zerbi better start cooking up Plan B.
