It was a coming of age which began in Coventry, or more precisely, with the compilations of Gazza clips James Maddison’s dad made him watch as a young footballer.
Long before signing to play under Ange Postecoglou, Maddison had looked and felt like a Tottenham Hotspur playmaker, a showman in the mould of Glen Hoddle and David Ginola. When he walked out for his first home match against Manchester United, he admitted to “goosebumps”. Spurs were rediscovering their identity just as the midfielder was revealing a little more of his own.
“Angeball” has been indebted to Postecoglou’s marquee signing; already, August’s Premier League Player of the Month has had more attempts (16), shots on target (11), shot-creating actions (36) fouls drawn (14), successful long passes (25) than any other Spurs player this season.
It is easy to forget, in light of those numbers, that Maddison spent years of his career battling for recognition.
Before his breakthrough at Norwich City, the 26-year-old spent loan spells back at boyhood club Coventry City, and later at Aberdeen, where his former manager Derek McInnes describes him as “first class from minute one”.
“Technically, a dream with the ball, good passes, soft feet, real imagination, real creativity,” McInnes tells i.
“Everything he did was smooth and natural. Just a naturally gifted footballer.
“You know what it’s like with footballers, they’re judged quickly and we’re all guilty of that. That first day in training is so crucial – you’ve got to satisfy your peers right away. What an impression he made.”
Aberdeen were training in various locations all over the city, in the absence of an established training ground, but that did not faze their recruit from Norwich.
“It wasn’t salubrious by any stretch of the imagination,” McInnes adds. “But he just got in, rolled his sleeves up, was brilliant with the lads and let his football do the talking.”
Indeed Maddison is still fondly remembered in Scotland, not least because his defining moment came via a 90th minute winner against Rangers.
“That free-kick will be spoken about for years and years to come,” former Dons teammate Niall McGinn tells i. “It always comes up every year when Aberdeen play Rangers – that ‘James Maddison moment’.
“In Scotland, even if you score from two yards out against Rangers, especially playing for Aberdeen, it’s a big thing, there’s always that rivalry.
“You could just tell straight away, even hitting corners, free-kicks, that his technique was unbelievable. You could tell how good he was, his typical walk-up and the way he hit the ball. He was the type of boy who would always practise and practise and practise. You can obviously see that reaping its rewards now.”
The free-kicks were no accident. As a teenager at Coventry, he spent countless extra hours on the training ground perfecting them with teammate Jodi Jones. Now a Notts County winger and Malta international, Jones recalls: “We always used to stay out and practise, take our phones out and video. The manager would always have to call us back in because we would take too long.
“I’m happy for him but I’m not too happy for Spurs because I’m an Arsenal fan – so I’m hoping he doesn’t score on Sunday! But he’s a fantastic player. I always knew he would do well wherever he went, the person he is, how confident he is, the swagger he has when he plays.”
In fact the recurring theme, speaking to those who know Maddison well, is that unwavering confidence.
“He’s somebody that really, really believes in his ability,” adds Jones.
“Some people might see it as an arrogance, but I know him well and it’s not that, it’s just him believing in his quality.”
“He was a very likeable character,” says McGinn. “There’s a fine line between cockiness and having that confidence. He was confident but in the right ways.
“Even at that young age you could tell, there wasn’t really a real bad arrogance about him, but you could tell he was confident he could play at a higher level.”
It is a mindset, McInnes insists, that defines all the best young players, a “borderline confidence/arrogance” and a desire to take centre-stage that has become all the more pertinent at Tottenham since Harry Kane’s exit.
Yet in his days with Aberdeen, while it was the goal against Rangers that placed him in the spotlight, that was not necessarily the match that made him.
In November 2016, Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic cruised to a 3-0 victory in the Scottish League Cup final. Somehow, in front of almost 50,000 fans at Hampden Park, Maddison thrived, even as Aberdeen were outclassed. He had left McInnes and his coaching staff stunned by his “character and commitment.”
“Everybody talks about the Rangers goal but I actually saw so much of him that day I said to him afterwards: ‘You could have been playing for Celtic today.’”
When Maddison returned to Carrow Road, he was named in the 2017-18 Championship Team of the Year. Alex Neil had always known he had a serious talent on his hands, and in fact it caused a stir within the industry that Norwich were willing to pay a substantial undisclosed fee for a teenager from Coventry.
Wes Hoolahan’s success initially limited Maddison’s opportunities, before he went on to score 15 goals in 47 appearances. That earned him a £22m move to Leicester City, where he won his first major trophy, the 2021 FA Cup.
Nobody could have foreseen then the extent to which the wheels would fall off. Still, as the Foxes’ fairytale died, Maddison remained a rare jewel in that side. Even in the season Leicester were relegated (2022-23), Bukayo Saka was the only English player to record more Premier League assists.
Gareth Southgate took a while to be convinced. Maddison played no minutes in Qatar and still has just four senior England caps to his name – though there is a feeling that tide has now turned.
“It’s about time,” laughs Jones. “I’ve had so many arguments with people, telling them how good he is. I’m not just saying it because I know him but he’s ridiculous.
“But I always knew it would eventually come because if you keep playing as well as he is and keep knocking on the door there’s no way you can’t get chosen.”
Rival fans have taunted him over his England omissions. Maddison recently posted a clip of Bournemouth fans singing “Southgate’s right, you’re f***ing s****” – in response, he deliberately inched the ball forward illegally as he prepared to take a corner.
He has had to take it with good humour. That jovial side is so often portrayed that his fortitude and leadership might be overlooked.
It has developed, partly, from years of honing his own “Grealish role”, becoming a virtual lightning rod to be targeted by opposition defenders.
League One might have been a chastening experience on that front, but as Jones suggests: “If you go through a game and you don’t get kicked, you’re doing something wrong. You’ve got to take it as a compliment.”
Playing in Scotland had much the same effect, and by the end of it McInnes says Maddison had “become a more rounded player, a bit more robust, and maybe a bit more responsible… He’s brave as well. He’s only slight, but he puts himself in positions where he knows he’s going to get kicked.
“Talent takes you so far but you have to get out and do the yards and get experience and play the game, it can catch a lot of players out up here. It takes more than just being a good footballer to have a good career.”
And Maddison had to learn to cope with that physicality all while playing more than 400 miles from home.
“Having those difficult experiences along your journey will always stand him in good stead,” points out McGinn. “You get a lot of young lads whether they’re in Scotland or England, they stay at big clubs for a long time and they don’t get the opportunity to go out and play men’s football.”
While Maddison always looked like the answer to the void left by Christian Eriksen, with those lessons behind him it should not have come as such a surprise when he was named one of Spurs’ vice-captains.
But if he looks to be oozing Tottenham DNA, there is one thing he has got wrong – particularly ahead of his first north London derby. “James needs to learn,” said Daniel Levy this week. “That he can’t come to the training ground in a red car.”
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