I won’t blame you if you tell me where to go with this one. I fully realise that I’m taking a walk on the wild side even contemplating what I’m about to say, let alone putting it out there for the canary world to see.
I think James Maddison is why we aren’t scoring.
*Just checking and I think the world is still spinning*
Yep.. we’re safe…
To put that into some form of perspective, I am by no means saying he’s the only reason we’re not scoring. The ultra-slow build-up that allows defences an ice age to get themselves set up is an article in itself. Comparisons to Chris Hughton’s record low-scoring attack, destroyer of centre-forwards, and with the sole tactic of “give it to shuffling Snodgrass” are becoming uncomfortably apparent.
But…
For all his goalscoring heroics, fabulous free-kicks, and mesmerising dribbling, how many goals has he provided the assist from in open play this season? Off the top of my head I remember a through-ball to Pritchard just after his brief return from injury, and him slipping in Murphy against Arsenal.
After that I’m genuinely struggling. Now whilst I’m sure my memory is probably letting me down a little and I’m sure that as soon as Gary pops this up online I’ll be reminded of one or two I have forgotten, it will be one or two.
For an attacking midfielder, a proponent of the much-discussed number 10 role, this is a woeful return over the course of a season. Sorry, but that’s true.
I know he gives us so much more. Without his goals, his deadball delivery, we would be teetering on the brink of relegation, no question. Player of the season? It’s a one-horse race. No brainer.
But again…
The problem I see with Maddison is that as he’s grown in confidence, he’s taking more and more responsibility on those young shoulders. And why wouldn’t he? Most of the time he’s the only one who looks remotely capable of providing that all-too elusive breakthrough. And therein lies the rub.
Because as our search for a goal becomes ever more desperate, particularly late on in games, if Maddison has the ball at his feet in the final third, he’s not looking to hand that ball off to the supporting cast that have failed so often. He has one thing in mind. Wriggle into enough space to be able to draw his foot back and let fly.
He’s not being selfish, just logical.
None of us would rather see another player take a pop at goal. Unless your bucket list contains catching a football and you’re on the front row of the upper tier when Alex Tettey is revving up for a boomer.
But if we all know that Maddison is going to shoot if he possibly can, then so do the opposition, and they counter it by throwing bodies in front of him. And it works for the most part.
With a wall of bodies in front of him, even if Madders wanted to try and play in a striker he’s trying to thread the eye of a needle, so he either hammers it goalwards or pulls out and lays the ball off wide. And with wingers and full backs who don’t cross well anyway (or don’t have the confidence to – Jamal Lewis, I’m looking at you and wishing you believed in yourself as much as the fans believe in you – but I digress) the move usually comes to nothing.
With all that attention close to goal Maddison retreats deeper to find that space that he needs to try and create. And invariably with those slaloming, low-centre-of-gravity, show-them-left-show-them-right runs, he evades his marker and can turn towards goal. But by that stage the view he has ahead of him is of a striker usually miles away, Tettey or Moritz Leitner at best, in the same area of pitch as him, and Josh Murphy, and (if he’s lucky and we’re playing with four at the back and an extra man in attack), one other player who may be options for him going forward. Not too tricky for an opposition defence to pick them up and nullify us.
Wes Hoolahan, at his age, is by no means an answer or viable alternative. But what his brief cameo at the end of the game against Forest showed is how you can inject some pace and urgency into the role without carrying the entire team on your back as Maddison appears to be trying to do.
A veteran of playing the number ten role, off a central striker, Wes doesn’t have the shooting power that Maddison has and so has always looked for ways to play others in rather than shoot himself. As such as soon as the ball is played to him he is looking for ways to make that killer pass. Maddison is looking for an angle to shoot. Two different styles but one has traditionally resulted in more goals than the other.
Maddison, without a shadow of a doubt, has the ability to spot these balls and play them in, but somewhere along the way he’s taken the weight of the team on his back and is trying to do too much himself.
The result is counter-productive. The strikers know when Madders gets the ball in the final third that he’s going to look to have a pop and the defenders are going to throw themselves in the way. They either stop making runs off the shoulder of the defender knowing he won’t release it to them anyway or pull to the side to try and at least drag a defender out of the way of the expected shot. This then pulls them out of the way for a pass, or even to pick up a rebound off the keeper.
Contrast to Hoolahan, in the number ten role in his pomp, and the defenders were more concerned with picking up a Cameron Jerome or Nelson Oliviera for the pass to come than closing down Wes because he was unlikely to shoot (and if he did it was usually an easily-saved daisy cutter).
Alex Pritchard was a happy medium, and even more problematic for defenders because he could shoot from outside the box, but equally had the guile to play a man in. On his day he was a nightmare for the opposition, which is why we made a tidy profit on him despite his relatively low appearance tally and injury history for us.
Maddison has this ability to be a similar threat but at the moment he doesn’t trust those around him to finish off his hard work and has become one-dimensional.
He has to use his full range of skills if we are to break this vicious cycle. It’s commendable that he is trying to do everything himself, but he needs to be released from that responsibility. Ultimately it will benefit both him, and his teammates for Maddison to be less of a focal point.
Next season it’s very likely that we won’t have Maddison or Hoolahan to be that attacking pivot, which may prove to be a strange release, and allow Daniel Farke to bring in replacements that complement his system better, albeit they are almost certainly going to be less able footballers.
But sometimes your greatest strength, if relied upon too heavily, can prove your undoing.
Watching the Ipswich game on commented later on MFW that Maddison has got to the stage where he wasn’t trusting some of his team, it has now started looking like they expect him to do to much and are passing it to him no matter what.
Farke needs to give him a rest and see what the team can do without him in the side just maybe they will find their on self confidence.
I agree that we have over relied on Madders and that his wonder goals have hidden a broader issue. I’m not quite sure I would hold him as singularly responsible for assists. I’d lay that criticism to Farke’s tactics and somewhat to the wingers.
It took me all of about 4 seconds to Google ‘assist stats for the Championship’. Maddison has 6. Not 2, 6. Only 13 players have made more assists in the league. Only 1 of those 13 players have scored more goals than Maddison. Let’s also bear in mind Norwich City have only scored 34 goals this season, with Maddison contributing 9, that means he has assisted 24% of all goals he hasn’t scored himself. In other words he has been directly involved in 44% of all of Norwich City’s league goals this season.
He shoots a lot, yes, because he’s bloody good at it. WhoScored.com would also confirm he has the highest ‘Key Passes per Game’ in the league. That’s right, the highest. I don’t claim to know exactly what a ‘Key Pass’ actually entails, however I suspect it’s the very type of pass you’re suggesting he isn’t providing. Yet he produces more key passes per game than literally every other player in the Championship.
Not to nit pick, but regarding the assists, I did specify goals from open play. Given that he takes every set piece a return of four assists isn’t bad at all (especially considering the goals he’s scored) but it doesn’t take away from the fact that he’s not setting team mates up in open play.
To be truly fair with regards to assists, we need to know how many goalscoring opportunities Maddison has set up. It may be the case that he would have many more assists if teammates had taken their chances.
Interesting view Andy.
I think then given 5 draws it’s time for DF to test your theory and give Madders a rest. Give the young lad on loan from Spurs a run out, what have we to lose? JM looks a little weary in any case.
Our promotion winning teams have all had leaders but I can only think of Hucks as an out and out star and his game was all about assists or fast counter attacking, neither of which we currently do well.
Wes not the answer though, been there and done that, don’t work.
I agree, I think with the fact that the season is petering out now is the time for Farke to experiment a little.
Far from telling Andy where to go, I’ll say this is an outstanding thought piece. It’s no criticism of Maddison – for exactly the reasons Andy explains – but we may be a more cohesive unit without him.
“How will we do without …?” The history of football (and other team sports) is littered with fans asking that question, and finding the answer is “pretty well”.
That’s not to say we won’t miss Maddison. If we sell him in the summer, as I feel we’ll have to, it will be a real shame. But not the end of the world – especially with the knack Webber and Farke seem to have for unearthing gems.
Thanks Stewart. I think there’s always a risk when you play with an out and out number 10 that it limits your other options tactically. Next season could see us without a player in that position but it might help Farke’s formation.
Colin M above says JM is looking a little weary.I suspect he means James Maddison because if he means Josh Murphy for “weary” read wayward.!
What has happened to the deadly winger with dynamite in his boots is unclear. What is clear is that when we do go forward the lad looks confused and uncertain about his positioning . I would suggest that with attack minded defender (Lewis) behind him Josh should be on the move when we attack down the left and looking to receiving balls over the top or through the channels for him to run on to -,which is his strength..
I am disappointed with Farke and his team of (supposedly) gifted coaches that Murphy and to some extent Hernadez and other forward players do not get into space more to receive -early- the balls that Maddison . Vrancic and Leitner are capable of providing.
Too often we see Murphy hovering on the byeline halfway into the opponents half with Lewis treading on his toes so that the inevitable exchange of short passes breaks down by giving the ball away or resulting in a back tracking operation.
Mr Farke should realise that pace, not possession, is the thing that breeds success in the Championship and that those players who have it should be encouraged to use it and be more direct,
“Fans like us” may not be master tacticians but we know from many years ‘experience of watching the English game that there is no substitute for fast,direct football with plenty of movement into space and the awareness on the part of the playmakers to spot this ahead of them and exploit it. THEN the goals will come!
I fully agree with the thrust of this article and understand why it is an issue. I recently read an interview with Jurgen Klopp saying very similar things about Liverpool with/without Philippe Coutinho.
Maddison has often been brilliant but has increasingly come very deep for the ball as the season has gone on. This clearly limits Leitner or Vrancic in their playmaker opportunities, including their chances to play Maddison into shooting positions. He has also taken an increasing number of touches rather than use his ability and instincts in one or two touch combinations.
It may seem like criticism of our best player but it’s more about making maximum use of the team’s skill sets.
Mind you, it’s difficult for any player trying to create chances in this team when there is so little movement in front of the ball including lack of curved runs timed to beat the offside line. That’s a whole new topic, however.
Maddison is a side show and one we’ve badly needed, though whenever you get one person doing the lions share, whether it is a football club or a band, they tend to get disillusioned.
The focus should be on Farke, Expect goals under his tenure? Forget it.
He’s using a tin of Farrow & Ball to paint a mansion.
At least the door will look nice.
I think Maddison is brilliant, he is shining inspite of a system and pedestrian way of playing that is strangling the life out of all of our attacking players. If Farke is the coach and in charge, with ideas the players can follow and buy into, then why would a young and inexperienced player disobey them or deviate from them?
frustration at how the system is not working is my guess.
Whilst it is not impossible to imagine that another player might fit into Farkes ideas better, I struggle to see how and more specifically how they could make us better going forward than JM? Any replacement will not be better or more creative. They will be cheap and with time probably competent. But with every passing game and the inevitable struggle infront of goal, optimism wanes just a little more for next season. JM might just turn out to be the best player City have had, (needs longer to prove it, please stay and do so!), played in a positive team that wants to attack with a degree of pace and maybe those stats would not just look good in a struggling team, but stellar in a promotion chasing one.
So no I don’t think he’s the problem, he is hampered like many of his team mates by a system of play designed to stifle the oposition way before it thinks about attacking football.
Bah!
Really interesting article Andy and also the replies preceding mine. I think it was one of the fans sitting near me for the Ipswich game that was querying how we would perform without JM and I believe Leitner is capable of playing the number 10 role. What I have noticed in recent weeks, is that we are getting a better percentage of our attemps on goal actually on target and I feel that one day soon, we’ll have a much better ‘winning margin’ 7-1 against Reading perhaps?????
Will JM be here next season – not if his agent has anything to do with it, though JM himself seems quite keen to stay and could do a ‘Huckerby’ and go against his agent’s wishes??
Thanks Ed.
JM left his boyhood club to take a step up and join us. I think he values ambition over sentiment. Players like Huckerby are as rare as hen’s teeth unfortunately.