James Maddison: Tottenham star is the Premier League’s most influential player this season, says Jamie Carragher

By James On Oct 23, 2023

Jamie Carragher has labeled James Maddison as the most influential player in the Premier League this season after his goal helped Tottenham beat Fulham 2-0 to climb top of the Premier League.

Maddison coolly converted from Heung-Min Son’s pass after the South Korean had given Spurs the lead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, scoring his third Premier League goal of the season.

The former Leicester playmaker, who has also provided five assists, was named Player of the Match and Carragher believes he is the most impressive player in the competition this season.

“For me he has probably been the most influential player in the Premier League,” Carragher told Monday Night Football. “I think he’s been so influential.

“The credit goes to the manager. It’s his philosophy, his way of playing, but he (Maddison) has been a big part of that.”

Maddison, 26, joined Tottenham for £40 million this summer and has started each of their nine Premier League games, adapting immediately and helping them to the top of the Premier League.

“He came in and took the number 10 shirt from Harry Kane, possibly the best player to play for Tottenham. I think he had the captain’s armband on at some point early on.

“He’s exactly that type of personality. Sometimes, when you move to a bigger club, that control is too much for players, they can’t actually handle it. It’s not their ability, it’s their mentality.”

“He can do that. He has embraced going to a bigger club, doing interviews with us and being in the spotlight. He absolutely loves it.”

Maddison: I thrive under pressure

Asked afterwards by Carragher whether he was right to describe him as the Premier League’s most influential player this season, Maddison said Air sports: “That’s the goal. It’s high praise, but I appreciate it.

“Going to a club like Tottenham is a bigger club in terms of size than Leicester, and I absolutely enjoyed my time there, but the control, the pressure and the responsibility becomes a lot greater when you come to one of these bigger clubs. I think it’s great.” and thrive from it.

“There are 60,000 fans here today and I just love these occasions on Monday Night Football, that’s when I’m at my best.

“I felt really good today and I’m happy we got the win because we’re doing really well as a team. We have such a hardworking team and a great manager. I just want this to continue with the game.” on game.”

Maddison’s goal was his first at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“I’m really happy,” he added. “All my goal contributions this season so far have been away from home, I keep seeing stats about it.

“It’s nice to put in a convincing performance here, a solid win, which puts us back at the top of the rankings.

“It felt a bit disjointed, Fulham didn’t really press and our centre-backs could almost walk up the pitch with the ball. We expected them to press a little higher.

“I started to sink deeper and was more involved in the build-up. That’s how we achieved a little more success.”

O’Neil: Maddison is always confident

Wolves manager Gary O’Neil, who appeared alongside Carragher on Monday Night Football, was also impressed by Maddison’s impact and recalled playing alongside him at Norwich as a youngster.

“He was at Norwich as a young boy. He was on loan at Coventry at the time but we got to the play-offs with Norwich so he came back to train with us because his season was over.

“His confidence was on display from the moment he walked in and trained with the first-team group. There was no doubt in his mind that he was going to be the best player. He had the ability to back that up, without a doubt.”

“You see some young guys who are a little overconfident or maybe a little arrogant. James wasn’t that. He just had an incredible belief in his own abilities and a work ethic to match.”

Postecoglou: He has stepped up defensively

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou, who has now set a Premier League record for the best start by a manager after nine games, praised Maddison’s all-round contribution.

“It was great for Madders that he worked hard defensively, which is an area of the game where we really impressed him this year,” he said. Air sports.

“With the ball we know what he can do, he is very creative. In the first half we were very good. I was very happy with the way we stayed patient and waited for our little chances to open them and Madders was the key.” .”

However, there was criticism of his side’s second-half performance and a warning from the Spurs boss about the importance of maintaining discipline.

“With him and others we lost our discipline a little bit in the second half and we can’t do that at this level,” he said. “It’s a good little lesson for us.

“It was a good result. Fulham are a difficult team to beat. In the first half he handled it quite well, nice and calm. With the chance we had, we probably should have had a second and a third.”

“The second half wasn’t great for us. We didn’t play anywhere at the level we could with the ball. Without the ball we were still excellent in terms of pressing.

“We were very wasteful with the ball. We’ve been very consistent this year. That’s probably the worst 45 minutes we’ve had with the ball.”

“We became a bit wasteful and static, we didn’t move as much as in the first half. You always have to respect the game.

“If you’re even slightly off, I’ve been around it long enough to know it’s going to bring you down quite quickly. We haven’t been true to the football we want to play and have taken some liberties with the game that I wasn’t happy with.”