Lost the ball 17x: Ange must now drop 4/10 Spurs star after B'mouth shocker

It was yet another dismal display from the floundering Tottenham Hotspur last night.

Ange Postecoglou’s side took on an inform Bournemouth team at the Vitality Stadium, and despite dismantling Manchester City less than two weeks ago, were played off the park.

It was the North Londoners’ sixth Premier League defeat of the season and the third game in a row in which they’ve dropped points, following shambolic showings against AS Roma and Fulham last week.

It’s impossible to pinpoint the worst performer of the lot for Spurs, but last night showed that Postecoglou must drop one of the club’s biggest stars.

Spurs poor performers

So, before we get to the player in question, let’s examine a few of the other players who stood out for all the wrong reasons, starting with someone who’s becoming a bit of a scapegoat this season, Radu Draguisn.

Now, it should be said that the Romanian wasn’t solely responsible for the defeat, but he did lose Dean Huijsen on the corner he scored from, which was more than enough to justify the paltry 5/10 match rating he received from Spurs writer Alasdair Gold.

Out on the wings, it was a night to forget for both Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson, as the former’s only notable contribution to the game was a tame shot straight at the keeper in the first half, while the latter made no meaningful contribution at all.

Unsurprisingly, neither one impressed Gold very much, who gave the Swedish international a 4/10 and the Welshman an even more damning 3/10 on the night.

Lastly, it was not the return Dominic Solanke would have been dreaming of, as the former Cherries ace was practically anonymous for the vast majority of the game, and on the rare occasion he did find himself in a dangerous area with the ball at his feet, he made the wrong decision or simply blasted the ball miles over, as he did in the first half.

However, there was another of the team’s stars who put in a dreadful display last night, a star who must be dropped for some time.

The Spurs star who must be dropped

So, with most of his teammates already covered, we come to James Maddison, who looked a million miles away from the superstar player who tore City asunder last month.

Instead of spearheading attacks, putting the ball in the back of the net and striking fear into the opposition defenders, the £40m man looked lost at sea, desperately trying to make something happen in one moment and then fading out of the game in another, and his statistics from the game do not help his cause at all.

For example, in his 80 minutes of action, if you can even call them that, the former Leicester City ace amassed an expected assists figure of just 0.22, failed to take a single shot on target, misplaced four of five crosses, made just 39 accurate passes, failed in 100% of his dribbles, missed one big chance, lost the ball a staggering 17 times and committed one foul.

Unsurprisingly, Gold was suitably unimpressed with what he saw and gave Englishman a 4/10 at full-time, writing that it was ‘another game lacking in impact’ from the 28-year-old and that he simply ‘didn’t contribute much,’ which is a pretty damming appraisal.

Nobody can doubt the “incredible” midfielder’s ability, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, but his consistency remains a problem, as following the masterclass at the Etihad he has failed to score or assist a goal in his last three games and considering the level of opposition, that’s just not good enough.

Therefore, while Maddison will likely have a significant role to play for Spurs this season, he should be dropped from the starting lineup for some time, as he has not been good enough lately.

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Worse than Solanke: Tottenham star who lost the ball 13x dropped a 3/10

It was a night to forget for the talented international.