47 | Phil Foden - 2024/25

[Craig]

The 2 Examples I mentioned of Fodens mazy dribbling came from central midfield iirc
Neither player you've quoted play central midfield ,ever, which is where Foden ultimately wants to play .

"Excuses"for his lack of form may well seem endless ..,that's because no one knows the reason...speculation will continue ,...Foden must be doing ok in training or he wouldn't be picked at all I guess..

What's your explanation for his drop off in form ?

Foden has been playing wide though and not taking anyone on? The other night clearly his manager wanted him to do that and it didn’t happen. An underrated part of prime KDB’s game was not so much dribbling as such but his ability to burst away from most midfielders when playing centrally. Foden used to be able to this usually with a sharp turn and he was gone.

My main explanation of this drop off is he’s completely lost his turn of pace. It was such a big part of his game. He always had it and then during that spell on the left wing(when he had the sprint coach) it went up a level to the point he looked genuinely quick. He’s now so much slower it’s stopping him playing his old natural game. At 24 without a major injury it’s completely bizarre.

 

[Blue and true]

Phil Foden isn't physically burnt out at 24 years of age. That's a desperate defence mechanism for those that want to make excuses for him. Mental burnt out? Maybe, and if so the club should support him in the off season and we get our golden boy back.

But him no longer pressing aggressively and making runs isn't physical burnt out, it's laziness.

 

[Blue Elvis]

If a player is knackered / burnout ..and he states this , it's time folk listened.

Rodri has been talking of burnout for some time now .is that an " excuse " ?

We get seen Bernardo play continuously at a. High level for club and country for season after season then his form went off a cliff.knackered...

I remember the Belgium national coach warning Kdb was playing too much football a few years ago and that he was prone to injuries , the coach has been proved right .

Foden has openly said he was knackered after the England campaign......he won't get any rest this summer..

Burnout is a problem, exacerbated maybe if a player isn't looking after himself off the pitch .....

Our manager looks stale and worn out.he can just take a break from the game as he has in the past .
The players who he has run into the ground can't do that.

I agree that burn out looks to be the problem. I experienced it myself in a previous career. Working harder is not the solution, you need to find a way to work smarter.

Pep recognises this which is why he is obsessed with possession football and making the ball do all the running.

Since the formation of professional English football no team has EVER won the First Division/Premier League four times in a row. Never mind all the other major trophies won in the same period and the reaching semi finals and beaten finalists achievements.

We have never seen before the mental and physical impact on players of playing at an elite level for so many consecutive years ( especially when as world class players they are also regulars for their national sides).

City's medical team has never before had to manage so many elite players playing so many games at such a high level hence the number this season of injuries and repeat breakdowns from players returning from injury.They are working in uncharted territory and I am certain they are learning lessons in treatment as the season progresses.

I have absolutely no doubt that Phil is giving his best but he (and Bernardo and KDB) needs a long break to recover mentally and physically.

True supporters should wish Phil well and get off his back.

Players are not robots but even machines break down !

 

[SilverFox2]

I'm not medically qualified but I am aware that a couple of my acquantencies both here in Spain and also in the UK have not been the same since they apparently recovered from covid.
I wonder if this so called long covid could be responsible for some of the lack of peak performance capability that some of our top players seem to be currently suffering from.

 

[eastmanc]

I agree that burn out looks to be the problem. I experienced it myself in a previous career. Working harder is not the solution, you need to find a way to work smarter.

Pep recognises this which is why he is obsessed with possession football and making the ball do all the running.

Since the formation of professional English football no team has EVER won the First Division/Premier League four times in a row. Never mind all the other major trophies won in the same period and the reaching semi finals and beaten finalists achievements.

We have never seen before the mental and physical impact on players of playing at an elite level for so many consecutive years ( especially when as world class players they are also regulars for their national sides).

City's medical team has never before had to manage so many elite players playing so many games at such a high level hence the number this season of injuries and repeat breakdowns from players returning from injury.They are working in uncharted territory and I am certain they are learning lessons in treatment as the season progresses.

I have absolutely no doubt that Phil is giving his best but he (and Bernardo and KDB) needs a long break to recover mentally and physically.

True supporters should wish Phil well and get off his back.

Players are not robots but even machines break down !

Pep has tried a least to 'rest' these players as they've not been playing as much as before . I think with Kev and Bernie though they are probably going slightly over the hill.

 

[BlueMoonAcrossThePond]

Pep has tried a least to 'rest' these players as they've not been playing as much as before . I think with Kev and Bernie though they are probably going slightly over the hill.

+1 - except that it's not slightly - both Kev and Bernie are liabilities when starting against top sides. As is our entire midfield other than Rodri and potentially Nico. And I'd keep Foden too - not sure what's going on with him.

Midfield versus forwards is very murky in the above response - but I think you get my jist.

 

[Keeper!]

If a player is knackered / burnout ..and he states this , it's time folk listened.

Rodri has been talking of burnout for some time now .is that an " excuse " ?

We get seen Bernardo play continuously at a. High level for club and country for season after season then his form went off a cliff.knackered...

I remember the Belgium national coach warning Kdb was playing too much football a few years ago and that he was prone to injuries , the coach has been proved right .

Foden has openly said he was knackered after the England campaign......he won't get any rest this summer..

Burnout is a problem, exacerbated maybe if a player isn't looking after himself off the pitch .....

Our manager looks stale and worn out.he can just take a break from the game as he has in the past .
The players who he has run into the ground can't do that.

100% agree and hence why the club world cup's timing is a disaster for us as a club.

But why did Foden not pull out of the Internationals if fatigue is the issue with him, he could have has a week away from football and gone off fishing or whatever break he wanted.

 

[dennishasdoneit]

100% agree and hence why the club world cup's timing is a disaster for us as a club.

But why did Foden not pull out of the Internationals if fatigue is the issue with him, he could have has a week away from football and gone off fishing or whatever break he wanted.

Only foden can answer that .
But in Palmer's case he had the backing of his manager and physio as they put together that crock of shit story about a muscular injury mysteriously not too serious etc .

Maybe also Palmer is confident missing a match or two won't affect his international career.

Foden maybe doesn't have that belief .

 

[freshie]

Like the team he has had an off season, not sure if there is an off the field issue or health problem. We desperately need our Phil back, you know what they say form is temporary, class is permanent.

Exactly. People are too quick to forget how special this lad is

 

[Bournemouth Blue]

He was footballer of the year in 2023/4, but then Southgate played him out of position in the Euros, and Bellingham was reluctant to pass to him. how many times have we seen Phil screaming for the ball in an England game and others pass sideways to someone in a meaningless position? Like many others, he didn’t have enough rest in the summer and so he wasn’t at his best in the first third of the season, but City’s injuries and form haven’t been helpful. He will return to his best, unless the idiots who run World football continue to put on tournaments in what used to be the rest period.

 

[Lavinda Past]

Exactly. People are too quick to forget how special this lad is

Was.

Still could be. Under another coach.

 

[Blue_Lightsaber]

Was.

Still could be. Under another coach.

I don't think it's the manager. How come he tells Savinho/ Doku/ Grealish/ Gvardiol/ KDB/ Bernardo/ Gundo and Nunes, etc to take their man on but not Phil?

A much more reasonable explanation is.. Phil has lost his pace to go by people and he depended on that. A bit like Walker.. when you lose that pace, you become an ordinary player.

Sadly same with Bernardo.

 

[Trojan1962]

I don't think it's the manager. How come he tells Savinho/ Doku/ Grealish/ Gvardiol/ KDB/ Bernardo/ Gundo and Nunes, etc to take their man on but not Phil?

A much more reasonable explanation is.. Phil has lost his pace to go by people and he depended on that. A bit like Walker.. when you lose that pace, you become an ordinary player.

Sadly same with Bernardo.

I agree re lack of pace. But at only 24 years old it really shouldn’t happen

 

[Lavinda Past]

I don't think it's the manager. How come he tells Savinho/ Doku/ Grealish/ Gvardiol/ KDB/ Bernardo/ Gundo and Nunes, etc to take their man on but not Phil?

A much more reasonable explanation is.. Phil has lost his pace to go by people and he depended on that. A bit like Walker.. when you lose that pace, you become an ordinary player.

Sadly same with Bernardo.

24 years old, at the club since he was 4.

Twenty years wrapped in cotton wool and told he's the best player ever. Twenty years following strict directions.

He's old beyond his time, and has probably become bored with the same daily routine. Perhaps (like a lot of fans) he's grown tired of Pep's (increasingly slower) retain/recycle football for the past 7/8 years.

It wouldn't be unreasonable to think that he enjoys his family life a lot more than football, watching his kids living the type of childhood he never really had.

Phil's development has stalled. He's still being given 'second fiddle' roles by Pep, and there's no indication of Pep rebuilding the team around him as we all expected.

There's still a great player in there. He just needs a fresh opportunity.

 

[Kippax Street 1880]

24 years old, at the club since he was 4.

Twenty years wrapped in cotton wool and told he's the best player ever. Twenty years following strict directions.

He's old beyond his time, and has probably become bored with the same daily routine. Perhaps (like a lot of fans) he's grown tired of Pep's (increasingly slower) retain/recycle football for the past 7/8 years.

It wouldn't be unreasonable to think that he enjoys his family life a lot more than football, watching his kids living the type of childhood he never really had.

Phil's development has stalled. He's still being given 'second fiddle' roles by Pep, and there's no indication of Pep rebuilding the team around him as we all expected.

There's still a great player in there. He just needs a fresh opportunity.

Blaming Pep is ridiculous, he's been absolutely piss poor. Do people seriously think Pep tells him to never take anybody on stand marked by 3 players all the time then scream for the ball only to immediately give it back to the player who passed it to him, do no tracking back whatsoever and spend 5 minutes on the floor crying the first time he gets tackled every week?

He's not a kid anymore and needs to take some responsibility for going AWOL all season. He's supposed to be in his prime. This was his season to become the main man.

 

[domalino]

Was.

Still could be. Under another coach.

It’s quite something to watch a highlights package of Foden playing for 7 years under the same coach and then blame the coach for his current poor form…

 

[jimharri]

It’s quite something to watch a highlights package of Foden playing for 7 years under the same coach and then blame the coach for his current poor form…

Spot on. Phil has to take personal responsibility for his performances. He's 24 now, he's not a kid. I've written this season off for him. But next season is make or break for him. Will he come back the player he was last season, or are we going to be left disappointed with him? I hope, and trust, it'll be the former.

 

[freshie]

Was.

Still could be. Under another coach.

Wow. That might be your best post yet, chapeau

 

[Lavinda Past]

It’s quite something to watch a highlights package of Foden playing for 7 years under the same coach and then blame the coach for his current poor form…

All I'm saying us that Phil could probably do with a change. He's not regressed over the season. Looks disinterested and lacks real. motivation

A change is as good as a rest.

 

[Lavinda Past]

Blaming Pep is ridiculous, he's been absolutely piss poor. Do people seriously think Pep tells him to never take anybody on stand marked by 3 players all the time then scream for the ball only to immediately give it back to the player who passed it to him, do no tracking back whatsoever and spend 5 minutes on the floor crying the first time he gets tackled every week?

He's not a kid anymore and needs to take some responsibility for going AWOL all season. He's supposed to be in his prime. This was his season to become the main man.

Then why keep picking him to start?

Does Pep think it's suddenly all going to get better? Phil will never be the main man under Pep. He's not allowed enough freedom.