47 | Phil Foden - 2025/26

K-Bo said:
I don’t know, Phil has pretty much never played well for England and he lost his place at city for the back half of this year.

I’m not surprised really, though it could have been palmer just as easily. I guess palmer getting minutes was the difference
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Foden not getting in over Madueke who’s a backup and hasn’t played well is unjustifiable.
 
Could go against him also, the guy is already suffering serious confidence issues, he's got his biggest admirer leaving in Pep, and hes now been dropped from England. He may never recover.
 
It’s a shame but it’s the correct decision. He’s never performed for England and has not played anything like himself for us for a good while now. Maybe it’ll do him the world of good to rest and prepare for next season.
With that said it’s a surprise that Palmer is likely in as he’s been poor this year. Saka being virtually unchallenged on the right tells you the kind of football you can expect from England this summer.
 
Nicholas van Whatsisface said:
I really hope he hasn’t, for his sake (couldn’t give a fuck about England!)

He looks like needs a rest, and a bit of a break to get his head right for next season.

What he definitely doesn’t need is another summer of pressure, frustration and disappointment - alongside the inevitable barrage of blame from the shower of cunts in our mainstream media for what will no doubt be yet another summer of underperformance for England’s grossly over-hyped National team.
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Sad for him as a prestige thing but same as you glad he’s not going. He needs a complete switch off.

Will say though, fucking laughable that Henderson is expected to be on the plane.
 
ALDN_Ko said:
Foden not getting in over Madueke who’s a backup and hasn’t played well is unjustifiable.
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Foden has 2,958 minutes under his belt this season and Madueke only 2,137.
Think a summer off is in Foden’s best interest, but that doesn’t mean Tuchel’s choice is optimal.
 
NQCitizen said:
Tbf I think everyone understands that Phil is a unique case.

The star of the academy. The chance to go down as the club's most decorated and potentially best ever player.

Plus if as many have suggested its been about long term health issues I'd imagine most of his squad mates have a lot of sympathy for him.

I'd actually think discarding him would be a much worse look for the current players and the academy guys.

Phil at top, POTY, form is still possibly the best player in the squad. Even at the new wages it's maybe a safer bet than buying a new guy, for 100m+ and then giving them those wages.
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He obviously has incredible ability but if we’re being honest he hasn’t really delivered for the best part of two seasons. I don’t know if he’s had injury issues, illness or mental illness (all of which have been rumoured) but he just doesn’t look like the player who won POTY. To me, he looks like he has lost quite a bit of weight (I don’t know if he’s has but he looks a bit skinny imo)

The BBC is reporting he’s not going to make the World Cup squad. If that’s the case hopefully he’ll take the summer to have some rest, recharge his batteries, work on his fitness and come back as good as he can be.
 
Gutted for him. I don't hold the view that a break is what he needs. I think a place in the squad, a confidence boost was what he needed. A chance to go and play in the World Cup would have been a huge boost.
 
Big summer for the lad, I kind of agree that a few months off will do him good, but we said the same about grealish when he missed out on a tournament, hopefully foden doesn't go down the road of posting training montages and whatnot and just gets his head down and comes back stronger, it has to be 50/50 he will if that, another season like the one he's just had and unfortunately he will be done for with us
 
I love Phil but he does not deserve to go. His form has not been consistent and he’s never done it in an England shirt.

Tuchel’s comments at the last camp were telling, not understanding why he can be so good in training but not show it in games.

He needs to treat this as a crossroads in his career. He’s 26 next week and has achieved more in his career than 10 of the players who will get picked combined.

A full summer off, a new contract signed, not being part of an England squad that won’t do anything at the WC and a new club manager (potentially) should see him given all the ingredients needed to start next season on fire.

Where he is at in his career reminds me of what happened in the NBA in the mid 2000’s. Kobe Bryant had won multiple personal and team accolades in the first part of his career and then changed his number from 8 to 24.

“This switch marked a new, mature chapter in his career, symbolising a fresh start, his growth from a young prospect into a veteran leader, and his commitment to relentlessly maximizing every minute of the day”

Kobe then went on to win similar personal and team accolades.

Forget the change of shirt number in this instance as that’s irrelevant but the meaning behind it I feel is similar to what Phil needs to do in his own career.
 
Phil will personally be gutted to miss out on a place and there’s plenty of scope for asking “why would you take A, B or B over him”. Some positives in my mind would be (a) there’s no benefit for Phil to travel and sit on the bench and (b) there’s no benefit in him being selected, being played out of position, England being shit and, as sure as night follows day, him becoming the scapegoat. Far better in the long run for him to have a good off season and come back rested and ready to go. As for Maresca, if he comes then seemingly the team will be expected to transition far quicker than under Pep. That, for me, should suit Phil better than anyone else as his strength is receiving the ball on the turn.
 
supercity88 said:
Gutted for him. I don't hold the view that a break is what he needs. I think a place in the squad, a confidence boost was what he needed. A chance to go and play in the World Cup would have been a huge boost.
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Yep. People said the same thing when Grealish was left out of the squad, and he didn't end up coming back stronger as a result of it.
 
Players don’t have many chances to go to the World Cup so I bet Foden will be gutted to miss out.

Aside from a purple patch earlier this season, his form has been poor for two seasons now and he doesn’t deserve a place in the side.

This will be a huge summer for him though. Hopefully, he can bulk up a bit and have a solid preseason under a new manager. This could help him kickstart his career.
 
Gabriel said:
Quite concerning that the player and young player of season 23-24 have both failed to make it. Neither is in good form, granted.
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Yep. I know stats aren't everything, but in the league, Morgan Gibbs-White has 14 goals and 4 assists and Morgan Rogers has 10 goals and 6 assists. Meanwhile Cole Palmer has 9 goals, 5 of which were penalties, and 1 assist. And Foden has 7 goals and 5 assists. They've simply not been as productive as other players who play the same role, even though they're technically much better players with a much higher ceiling.
 
Whereas I'm gutted for Foden not going, personally and selfishly I'm glad he isn't going as he needs a big rest and needs to have some quality downtime.
He gets a good rest this summer and I guarantee we see the Foden of the treble season, 200%.
 
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