Pundit thinks one Spurs star is ‘getting frustrated’ with Postecoglou’s system

Former Arsenal winger Perry Groves believes that James Maddison is becoming increasingly frustrated with his role at Tottenham, suggesting that the Spurs full-backs often end up occupying the same spaces as the attacking midfielder.

Tottenham’s performance at St James’ Park on Saturday was almost a carbon copy of the display they produced at Craven Cottage last month.

Despite having 73 per cent of the possession, the away side failed to create too many opportunities and were caught out defensively time and again, falling to an embarrassing 4-0 defeat.

Tottenham’s attacking players ran out of ideas in the final third despite having a lot of possession, with Maddison struggling to impact the game.

The midfielder was eventually taken off in the 81st minute for Giovani Lo Celso and was visibly fuming when making his way out of the pitch.

Is James Maddison struggling in Postecoglou’s system?

Groves picked up on the England international’s body language and suggested that his frustrations are with the fact that Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie often occupy the half-spaces, thus rendering him less effective.

The pundit said on Premier League All Access podcast: “There’s one player who I’ve seen at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a couple of times get frustrated when he’s been dragged off, James Maddison.

“He should have been sent off, he should’ve been booked twice. That’s frustration, because with Udogie coming one side and Porro coming the other, then there’s an overload in that central area and James Maddison doesn’t get that freedom as the 10.

“And you could tell even yesterday when he got substituted that he was frustrated. Obviously, disappointed that his team got beat, but you can tell he’s getting frustrated.”

Spurs Web Opinion

The way I say it, Maddison was frustrated with his and the team’s performances rather than being upset at the decision to take him off or by his role in Postecoglou’s system. One would want your players to be upset after such poor performances.

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