- Former Norwich midfielder James Maddison returns after long injury layoff.
- His former manager Daniel Farke embraces him as he comes on.
- A positive moment between two former Norwich City legends.
While the main topic of conversation in the Premier League was Spurs needing a win to get them out of relegation, there was a delightful moment between the returning midfield maestro James Maddison and his former manager Daniel Farke.
A moment
While he may have been the opposing Leeds manager, Farke took a moment to embrace Maddison just as he was about to come off the bench for Spurs.
Given recent animosity from former Norwich players, it was pleasant to see that the two had genuine affection for each other. It felt like a real moment, not forced.
Context
It should also be remembered as a moment in context. For most of this season, Maddison has been out injured.
At any time of the season a long term injury is hard for players to cope with. Watching your team struggle would no doubt add to the sense of frustration while on the sidelines.
Cynicism
Naturally, there has been some cynicism. One social media commentator branded the moment “irrelevant.”
It also points to a wider issue in recent days. Wayne Rooney criticised Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal team for celebrating reaching the Champions League final, prompting the manager to say that those kind of criticisms would be “put in their rightful place”.
The danger is that fans and pundits are in danger of becoming a kind of emotional VAR, deciding who is allowed to show emotion and at what point.
This gets silly when you realise only so many teams can get promoted, only so many can just avoid relegation and only so many can win cups. What should matter is the moment and authentic joy is one of the reason that football is such a great sport.
Joy
For me, I think the moment says a lot about Daniel Farke as a character. When I saw him at a Norwich City event, he came across as very warm and charismatic.
This moment further cemented my opinion of that. It didn’t matter that he was the manager of the opposition, he wanted to show support to a former player who had been struggling through a difficult time.
Not just a game
Yes, we indeed want players to be committed to their teams and managers to be focused on their game. In the end, the 1-1 draw meant that Spurs are not entirely safe, though it has more or less given Leeds a bit more breathing room away from the relegation zone.
But when we talk about male role models I think this is a good example. You should be allowed to show emotion and have a genuine connection without people being cynical about it.
