47 | Phil Foden - 2025/26

[Chak19]

I couldn't watch. In what way was he poor? Fotmob said he misplaced two passes and wasn't dispossessed.

His overall play wasn't terrible but he was mostly peripheral compared to Cherki and Doku, his set pieces though were atrocious, thank fuck it was Cherki who took the corner for the equaliser because if it was Phil it wouldn't have got past the first man.

 

[FJRMCFC]

His overall play wasn't terrible but he was mostly peripheral compared to Cherki and Doku, his set pieces though were atrocious, thank fuck it was Cherki who took the corner for the equaliser because if it was Phil it wouldn't have got past the first man.

He was on the periphery because nobody was finding him inbetween the lines. It was painful watching Nico constantly refusing to take the risk of slipping it into him in the first half

 

[tackeds]

I only listened to the game but sounds like he didn’t get into it after the early yellow?

 

[Chak19]

He was on the periphery because nobody was finding him inbetween the lines. It was painful watching Nico constantly refusing to take the risk of slipping it into him in the first half

Maybe but he didn't do that much in the second half either when we were on top.

 

[shemnel]

He definitely wasn't "bad" as such, just very peripheral. Average.

 

[Jonas.shaffer]

His overall play wasn't terrible but he was mostly peripheral compared to Cherki and Doku, his set pieces though were atrocious, thank fuck it was Cherki who took the corner for the equaliser because if it was Phil it wouldn't have got past the first man.

Thanks. I'll watch it back when I get home.

It's great we got 3 points in a game that he struggled in, though.

 

[alexmcity]

Worked very hard. Couldn't get on the ball enough and set pieces weren't good. But part of the reason why he was a bit isolated was probably in his team-mates.

 

[ninjamonkey]

Put in a really good shift, covered a lot of ground but the yellow kind of killed his night as he could no longer make a challenge.

 

[akrh215]

He was pretty much anonymous in the game.

 

[Belgian Flash]

Hes not made for chaotic games. Insane hustle but just couldn't get in the position to score. And teammates didn't look for him enough imo.

 

[Lavinda Past]

Disappeared completely after getting booked. Should have been hooked at half time.

 

[Saddleworth2]

I thought he looked goosed for most of the game. He was nowhere near his recent level of control in the middle. i thought he had a very poor game on the ball and defensively. Hope he isn't carrying an injury.

 

[EL APACHE TEVEZ]

Worked his little bollocks off tonight

 

[Cigs&Alc]

He was on the periphery because nobody was finding him inbetween the lines. It was painful watching Nico constantly refusing to take the risk of slipping it into him in the first half

Agreed. I don't think the performance was on him. Need Rodri back.

 

[burnley blue mcfc]

Thought he was very poor, his free kicks & corners were shockingly bad, drives me mad how an elite pro at his level can constantly hit the 1st man with deliveries

 

[Dax777]

One of the worst things i saw was at one point he ran from the middle to press a defender, and followed on to press the second defender who the ball got passed to, all Erling and Doku has to do was to immediately start closing down the players near them. Both of them half assed it. Erling barely moved and Doku waited till the ball was passed to his man before he lumbered over.

This is what i hate about our press. And its certainly not on Foden or Bernardo who did similar a few minutes later.

That shot needs fixing :(

 

[JOGAMIGMOG]

Any confidence he had went once he stupidly got himself booked. Worst performance of his all season. He’d.be the first to admit he was bang average all night and was way short of what we needed on the night. Hopefully it won’t happen again!

 

[ZoneMCRR6]

He lacks the intelligence to be our main playmaker. I’m sorry, but if Cherki and Doku were complemented by someone with Odegaard’s brain and vision, we’d be unstoppable.

Don’t get me wrong; he’s having a good season compared to last year. Been productive in recent games and has definitely seen more involvement. But if City want to become the best team in Europe again, we’re still missing that profile who truly complements our front 3. It was obvious last night, not just in terms of creativity, but also in how we control matches.

We miss that intelligent central playmaker: KDB in his prime type, or a young Fabregas or Kroos. Someone who dictates rhythm. Foden has talent, but he doesn’t yet have the game IQ to control matches consistently or find space at the right moments.

Fans pretend he’s going through some physical issue or lacks desire. That’s not true. The real problem is his speed of thought and the execution passing and shooting, which just aren’t at the level the greats in that position have. Rodri coming back will help with control of course, you still need someone in that 10 role acting as a genuine creative hub.

 

[Belgian Flash]

He lacks the intelligence to be our main playmaker. I’m sorry, but if Cherki and Doku were complemented by someone with Odegaard’s brain and vision, we’d be unstoppable.

Don’t get me wrong; he’s having a good season compared to last year. Been productive in recent games and has definitely seen more involvement. But if City want to become the best team in Europe again, we’re still missing that profile who truly complements our front 3. It was obvious last night, not just in terms of creativity, but also in how we control matches.

We miss that intelligent central playmaker: KDB in his prime type, or a young Fabregas or Kroos. Someone who dictates rhythm. Foden has talent, but he doesn’t yet have the game IQ to control matches consistently or find space at the right moments.

Fans pretend he’s going through some physical issue or lacks desire. That’s not true. The real problem is his speed of thought and the execution passing and shooting, which just aren’t at the level the greats in that position have. Rodri coming back will help with control of course, you still need someone in that 10 role acting as a genuine creative hub.

His game is different. He makes tons of runs on offense and defense. They are incredibly important. And his scoring ability is second to none in his position. The combination of his off ball game and finishing is lethal. As a bonus he crossing is worldclass and makes great final passes. The central dictating playmaker should play deeper than Foden. Him being this shadow striker is crucial for winning. The issue is Bernardo Silva getting older in that deeper role and Kovacic being injured, not Foden not dictating play. Doku and Cherki are now the on ball creators. You need exactly someone like Foden to get the best of them.

 

[normskih]

He definitely wasn't "bad" as such, just very peripheral. Average.

I think the yellow card he got early on, quietened his game. The referee who I think is quite an alright referee as a rule, was booking City players for tackles he’d let RM players get away with.