Postecoglou claims Maddison is Spurs' loveable rogue behind win over Brentford

James Maddison came back with a bang. Although, on this occasion, not one initiated entirely by his flair and imagination on the ball at the heart of a vibrant yet vulnerable Tottenham team.

It was more to do with his presence and personality. His return from injury served to energise the Spurs crowd against Brentford on Wednesday, a night when he became embroiled in a bizarre dispute with Neal Maupay about darts memes, which spilled on to social media and rumbled into the night.

Then he picked up a microphone and charmed the armchair audience with one of those disarmingly candid post-match TV interviews at which he excels. Modern football is low on personality. Players don’t talk often. Rarely do they venture past the safest platitudes. There are reasons for this, but the Premier League just seems a bit more fun when Maddison is around and it was good to see him back.

‘He’s exciting to watch,’ agreed Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou. ‘He’s a creative player and invariably supporters love those players who can do something a bit different.

‘Part of it is the way he carries himself. Madders likes to be, for want of a better term, in the spotlight. In the right way. He doesn’t shy away from the responsibility. He’s in the team to create and be a force and he embraces that, and I think our supporters enjoy to see one of their own stand up in that kind of environment.

‘So it’s a combination of things. And he’s just a loveable little rogue, mate. Apparently.’

The pair have been good for each other. When Maddison signed for £40million from Leicester in June, nobody doubted his talent, but there were plenty of questions around where he might play and how Tottenham might get the best out of him.

To his credit, Postecoglou, arriving from