SOUTHGATE WILL BE LIVID AT FOOLISH MADDISON
JAMES MADDISON told Sportsmail recently that if he ever got arrogant, his mum would give him a clip round the ear. Maybe it’s time the young midfielder realises he now has obligations that extend beyond his immediate family.
There are two glaring issues that arise from Maddison’s visit to a Leicester casino on Friday night.
The first is that he had been sent back from Gareth Southgate’s squad with an illness and probably should have been at home with his feet up and his head down.
The second is that he chose to go out at exactly the time England were playing their Euro 2020 qualifier against the Czech Republic.
Had Maddison just forgotten that England were on TV? Or did he merely choose not to watch?
It is hard to work out which of the two explanations would irritate Gareth Southgate the most.
The England manager chose his words carefully when asked about the issue in Sofia last night.
Southgate knows how the media work and did not want Maddison’s Friday excursion to overshadow what his team are trying to do in Bulgaria this evening.
But Southgate will be livid, be sure of that. He has been unsure for some time about Maddison’s attitude to his life and to his football.
Southgate listened to the messages that came out of the Under 21 camp after the summer’s European Championship disappointment in Italy, for example, and they were not good.
So, for Maddison to be foolish and reckless now is hard to understand. The 22-year-old is not shy and there is nothing wrong with that. The England team need a player or two with a bit of a strut — all teams do.
Those who know and work with Maddison at Leicester say he is a little misunderstood. They claim that beneath the uber- confidence is a decent enough lad waiting to get out.
But Maddison appears — from the outside at least — to be one of those young players who feels that talent alone will take him where he needs to go. If he does then he is wrong and he will probably find that out when Southgate’s next squad is announced.
In that interview with Sportsmail a couple of weeks ago, Maddison made another categorical statement. ‘I am not conscious of what other people think,’ he said.
If he really wants to get on with club and country, then that has to change.