It is possible that supporters of Tottenham Hotspur witnessed James Maddison sending a damning message to Ange Postecoglou during their Europa League round of 16 match against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday. However, fans have a variety of perspectives regarding the incident.
At the AFAS Stadion, Spurs were defeated by a score of 1-0. The only goal scored during the match was an own goal scored by Lucas Bergvall on the 18th minute. Spurs’ overall performance was not very good, and the only attack of the game was an own goal.
The second leg of the competition, which will take place in north London on Thursday, March 13, presents them with the opportunity to turn things around, as is of course the case.
Nevertheless, the fans were dissatisfied with Postecoglou’s team because they only managed to get one shot on target despite having 62 percent possession of the ball, which was significantly higher than Arizona’s 38 percent. On the other hand, the home team managed to get five shots on target without missing the target.
A number of Spurs supporters took to social media to criticise the team for what they perceived to be a lack of effort, but Spurs coach Postecoglou defended his players when he spoke after the game began.
Postecoglou stated, “I don’t think it’s a matter of effort or attitude, I don’t think it is going out there and not trying, but we didn’t really come to grips and have the right mindset to tackle an away fixture in Europe.” Postecoglou does not believe that the issue is a matter of effort or attitude.
Fans, on the other hand, believe that television cameras caught Madison, who is 28 years old, questioning the strategies employed by his manager while he was sitting on the bench alongside Son Heung-min, the team’s captain.
In spite of the fact that the exact words spoken by the England international are not entirely clear, supporters on social media believe that they have figured it out.
One person made the following statement: “Clearly mutters, ‘it’s the same play style all the time, what’s he seeing?'”
“We can see it as fans, the results show it, and the players on live T.V.”
An additional participant stated: “The problem yesterday is the players don’t know what the plan is.”
One more person elaborated, “I believe (in a serious manner) that he is saying ‘player’.”
“Watching it back he’s either referring to one of theirs who was constantly getting away with small fouls.”
An additional individual made the following observation: “Perhaps they were still discussing possibly the worst free kick routine I’ve ever seen.”
The Spurs will make their return to Premier League action on Sunday, March 9, when they will play host to Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth team, which is currently in excellent form.
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