{"id":12106,"date":"2026-05-24T04:23:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T04:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=12106"},"modified":"2026-05-24T04:23:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T04:23:34","slug":"why-james-maddison-needs-to-start-vs-everton-even-if-tottenham-only-get-30-minutes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=12106","title":{"rendered":"Why James Maddison needs to start vs Everton, even if Tottenham only get 30 minutes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-396606\">\n<div class=\"article-follow\">\n<div class=\"article-sharing google-follow\">  <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" src=\"https:\/\/www.spurs-web.com\/wp-content\/themes\/grv-media\/img\/google-discover.svg\" alt=\"\"\/> <span>Add as preferred source on Google<\/span>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>As we approach the last game of the season, Tottenham Hotspur face a genuine risk of relegation, and with that must come a James Maddison risk. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This year, the story is a bit different, as we usually celebrate the player of the season and hope for Champions League qualification. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-grvmedia-grv-video GRVMultiVideo\"\/>\n<p>However, on May 24, we learn our fate with our Premier League status on the line. It\u2019s in times like these when a team looks to their talisman, their star player, and unfortunately for us, our star player is just returning from two ACL injuries.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/www.spurs-web.com\/static\/uploads\/1\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2275796681-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Tottenham Hotspur v Leeds United - Premier League James Maddison\" class=\"wp-image-396384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.spurs-web.com\/static\/uploads\/1\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2275796681-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.spurs-web.com\/static\/uploads\/1\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2275796681-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.spurs-web.com\/static\/uploads\/1\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2275796681-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.spurs-web.com\/static\/uploads\/1\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2275796681-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.spurs-web.com\/static\/uploads\/1\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2275796681-1140x760.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/www.spurs-web.com\/static\/uploads\/1\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2275796681-750x500.jpg 750w, https:\/\/www.spurs-web.com\/static\/uploads\/1\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2275796681-scaled.jpg 1280w\"\/><\/div><figcaption title=\"LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 11: James Maddison of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 11, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse\/Getty Images)\">Photo by James Gill \u2013 Danehouse\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-tottenham-are-devoid-of-creativity-without-james-maddison\">Tottenham are devoid of creativity without James Maddison<\/h2>\n<p>For the entire season, whether we have been under Thomas Frank (eww), Igor Tudor, or Roberto De Zerbi, the technical ability in the team has been its biggest issue. <\/p>\n<p>With Maddison out until May, Dejan Kulusevski\u2019s mysterious injury still keeping him out of the World Cup, and Xavi Simons adjusting to the pace and physicality of the league, this season was always going to be an uphill battle.<\/p>\n<p>It should come as little surprise, then, that upon his return to the first team, even with the limited minutes he\u2019s played, Maddison looks like our best attacking player.<\/p>\n<p>This is evidenced by the fact that against Leeds, we could have won a penalty (that SHOULD have been a penalty), and against Chelsea, he was inches away from scoring an equaliser. <\/p>\n<p>The front three of Kolo Muani, Mathys Tel and Richarlison have done okay, given their limited technical ability, but it has become evident that Spurs cannot rely on them to safely get over the line.<\/p>\n<p>Simply put, Madders does more in his 10-15 minutes on the pitch than those three do for most of the match. This is not a dig at them or their effort, but asking any of this front three to create a moment of magic would be like asking a fish to climb a tree.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-maddison-is-more-than-just-technical-quality\">Maddison is more than just technical quality<\/h2>\n<p>Besides being able to create things better than anyone else, Maddison has the talismanic charisma that this team has lacked all season. He, much like his personality off the pitch, exudes \u2018main character energy\u2019. He\u2019s able to demand the ball, hold it and win fouls to relieve pressure. <\/p>\n<p>All this smartness adds up and contributes to the team in a way that isn\u2019t exactly quantifiable, but it is something that has been desperately missing.<\/p>\n<p>Maddison was simply born to be the metronome of a team, and every minute he plays, it\u2019s not only apparent not only how much we\u2019ve missed him, but also how much Tottenham have missed that element all season. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-should-spurs-gamble-james-maddison\">Should Spurs gamble James Maddison?<\/h2>\n<p>Under De Zerbi, Spurs have looked like an entirely different team. We are energetic and often outwork and outrun our opponents. However, around the 60-70 minute mark, we often seem to lose energy and tire out. <\/p>\n<p>Usually, we look crisp and energised in the first 20 minutes, which is exactly why we believe he is worth starting, even if we only get 35-45 minutes out of him. The truth of the matter is that our attacking depth is nonexistent, and in order for us to stay up, Maddison should start the Everton match, where we can hopefully capitalise on the team\u2019s natural energy and his genius.<\/p>\n<p>Cometh the hour, cometh the man and for Spurs sake, we need Main Character Madders to start against Everton.<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.spurs-web.com\/subscribe\/\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-feedback\">\n<div class=\"info\"> <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\" viewbox=\"0 0 32 32\"> <path fill=\"#EC1B23\" d=\"M27.167 5.194c.261-.124.444-.325.75-.403-1.331-1.581-3.131-2.651-5.114-3.196-1.88-.517-4.161-.765-6.074-.262-1.756.461-3.144 1.672-4.802 2.352-2.104.862-4.426.657-6.531-.104.48 4.57.969 9.13 1.498 13.651 1.279.743 2.629.96 4.079.712 1.594-.273 3.005-1.037 4.47-1.677 1.684-.737 3.42-1.106 5.263-.953 2.008.167 3.886.889 5.715 1.689 1-1.933.535-4.317.117-6.342-.369-1.788-1.136-4.145.629-5.467.261-.124-.241.181 0 0z\"\/> <path d=\"M8.045 27.831c.098.865.627 3.145-.403 3.11-.497-.016-.622-.631-.692-1.325-.88-8.808-2.006-17.214-2.822-25.862-.043-.456-.205-1.421.519-1.44.665-.017.749 1.267.749 1.267s2.242 20.663 2.649 24.25z\"\/><\/svg> <span>Have something to tell us about this article?<\/span> <span><button class=\"button\" onclick=\"window.location.href=\" http:=\"\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Feedback\">Let us know<\/button><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Add as preferred source on Google As we approach the last game of the season,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12107,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}