47 | Phil Foden - 2023/24

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wolfie1988 said:
I'm here again to talk about his piss poor tracking back. You cannot just give up. I'm sure those same people will jump on me for it
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He’s awful at tracking back. I’m not sure if he’s just lazy or can’t/won’t do it. Whatever it is he needs to start fouling if he’s not going to track back
 
Akira said:
Got shut down by Wolves. Will give him a pass as he had alot more good games than bad, I remember even David Silva got marked out of the game by Rodwell once.

Lots of hyperbole around here. Phil is still one of our most consistent performers.
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If i’m thinking about the same game was that when David then provided an absolutely world class assist?
 
Craig said:
If i’m thinking about the same game was that when David then provided an absolutely world class assist?
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Honestly can't remember much about that game, it was such a long time ago, just it was against Moyes' Everton. All I remember was our usually influential and consistent David having an ineffectual overall game.
 
skillman said:
Should be offering more than he is IMO. One week he’s unplayable, lighting games up, getting in good positions and the next he’s anonymous and relying on others to make things happen.

He’s young, yes, but has about 5/6 years of playing now and should be doing it more consistently. Because he’s being played every week now.
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They were saying the same about Rashford at 22/23 and are still saying the same things now.
 
One thing that seems to have left him is the extra pace he developed after using that sprint coach. I was really surprised when he probably played his best and most consistent football for us on the left 2/3 years ago. That he was getting away from quick fullbacks and they weren’t able to catch him even over some decent distances. Now unless it’s a Dan Burn type cart horse when he drops a shoulder he’s no longer getting away from most players like he was.

As for chasing back after 10 yards he looks like he’s in treacle.
 
Foden is a wonderful talent but one who is still learning and still developing, including physically. His touch is good, but when you play in a midfield as congested as yesterday’s, then it has to be better than good, and that is an aspect he needs to work on.

As for the tracking back, we don’t know what orders players such as he and Doku are under, so they might not be expected to run the length each time, especially when we have such experienced defenders. That said, it was noticeable that Kovacic made it back into our six-yard box for their first goal.
 
wolfie1988 said:
I'm here again to talk about his piss poor tracking back. You cannot just give up. I'm sure those same people will jump on me for it
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I like Foden as a player but agree with an earlier post that he passed up the opportunity to stop Neto near the halfway line in the attack for their first goal, he got close enough to touch him but attempted neither a tackle nor a foul.
 
Gabriel said:
Foden is a wonderful talent but one who is still learning and still developing, including physically. His touch is good, but when you play in a midfield as congested as yesterday’s, then it has to be better than good, and that is an aspect he needs to work on.

As for the tracking back, we don’t know what orders players such as he and Doku are under, so they might not be expected to run the length each time, especially when we have such experienced defenders. That said, it was noticeable that Kovacic made it back into our six-yard box for their first goal.
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Good points. On the tracking back front though when you’ve just lost the ball and are completely in the shit against a quick winger i highly doubt Pep says don’t bother to stop the counter on half way and then after that just completely give up and save your energy Phil lad.
 
Craig said:
Good points. On the tracking back front though when you’ve just lost the ball and are completely in the shit against a quick winger i highly doubt Pep says don’t bother to stop the counter on half way and then after that just completely give up and save your energy Phil lad.
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A more hardened midfielder might have wiped him out and taken the card. As I say, we don’t know the instructions, and I think we were all surprised by how easily he got away from Ake. Even for their second goal, Doku made no attempt to track back on Semedo either, so I’m presuming that the attacking players are under some form of instruction. That said, Foden has looked short of puff when chasing back in recent weeks. It’s a tough position to play, made tougher when there is less experience around, and we just don’t know his own physical condition. Given our current predicament, just because players are currently on the park does not mean they are fully fit, and that might be true of Foden. More generally, in his mind, he might very much want to play in the middle, but sometimes the body is not quite ready for it. I suspect that may yet be the case.
 
M16 citeh said:
Man needs to step up! This is his season
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He's not done too bad this season. He is not a robot.He has more than played his part in taking us to the top of the league.
He created two goal scoing opportunities yesterday against a packed defence.He was outstanding last week against Forest.
Don't think it's about manning up. The team as a whole failed to produce the required cutting edge yet still deserved a point. Foden played his part in dominating posession, away from home in the premier league. Many players by all accounts were not at their best.
And the manager didn't do us any favours by not being on the touchline...
 
wolfie1988 said:
I'm here again to talk about his piss poor tracking back. You cannot just give up. I'm sure those same people will jump on me for it
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I don’t think there is anything else to take from the game yesterday apart from this about him. I get people saying he needs to do more and be our de bruyne and as much as we all hope he can be that player- de bruyne is a top 3 player in the world for the last 5 years so it’s a pretty high bar that he may never achieve. He is a fantastic player though and definitely will be a massive part of city for years to come.

But.. the big takeaway was how poor his tracking was. It’s something that has been alluded to by pep and Southgate regarding his suitability for the central position as ge doesn’t get through the defensive work well enough. For their first goal he could have got back at Neto after his part in the mistake but just stopped when ake was in trouble. Kovacic sprinted back as he jogged back. As someone else mentioned as well he got an earful from walker also in another scenario. Has to work harder.
 
M16 citeh said:
Man needs to step up! This is his season
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Since Newcastle came and Sheffield United cameo he hasn’t been impactful. Alvarez is the one stepping the most in the absense of KDB and one profiting of this chance so far.

I have high hopes and want him to cement himself as undroppable but it’s not the Casey’s he struggles to be take hold of game and asserts his presence in way David Silva or KDB do. Early days but if he doesn’t take these chances more then it will make sense why he never got trusted to play this role.
 
I criticised him against Wolves. But he was great tonight, so positive with the ball and always looking for it, great goal too.
 
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