4 | Kalvin Phillips - 2022/23 Performances

[Tugay One Cup]

I recall Sergio saying that Pep was very strict when it came to his weight, stopping him from playing if he was a fraction over the target he had set, and setting your stall out is a good thing. I am hopeful that Kalvin can come back from these early set-backs and go on to be a top player for us.

There's a good interview somewhere on YouTube with Clichy where he talks about Pep's first team talk. Basically, he said they were all overweight and he wanted them as lean as his little finger.

Pep didn't get to where he is by letting standards and expectations slip. I'm not surprised he sees it as a black and white issue and it's also that reason why I think this isn't a big deal, unless we find out Kalvin's well overweight.

 

[Sheikh rattle and roll]

Why not, Mahrez did the same and he’s back playing and happy.

Mahrez and Sergio were both established players at the club. Kalvin hasn’t played one full game yet. Pep did all he could playing him against Chelsea to get him to the World Cup.
If I’m Pep I’m disappointed and angry.
If I am Kalvin I’m also annoyed that it’s appeared in the press and not been dealt with internally.
Lot of bridge building requires I suspect.

 

[Blu3m00n91]

Nothing wrong with how it’s been handled I don’t think. The standards here are high. It’s his job as a professional footballer to stay on track with his weight. No excuses really. Lad hasn’t even give us 90 minutes yet can see him being shipped out

 

[bluenova]

Good grief, some of the comments here. KP looks the same. He can't have been "overweight" by more than a pound or two, the kind of thing that different scales can be misleading about. Maybe he was weighing himself on his home scales and the medical scales at City revealed he'd gone slightly over his target.

Pep got in a snit (possibly due to frustration around hiw much Phillips has been unavailable so far) and threw a player under the bus. I realise everything St Pep says or does is beyond reproach for many City fans but he's far from perfect. I think this public humiliation was entirely the wrong approach and dealing with it privately would have been far preferable for all concerned.

There's an article in The Athletic about it, which says he was closely watched at Leeds, and was slightly over when he came back from the England camp after the Euros. It also says City expect him to take just a few days to get back.

I do wonder if he has missed a few targets in the past at City and was told to be careful. Doubt it's a big issue, but I suspect that with Pep the targets are very, very strict.

 

[bluemoon32]

I wish i was as fat a **** as Phillips ha

 

[TCIB]

- Article from 2017 saying that Thomas Christiansen made him cut down on unhealthy food and change his diet to trim down his body fat. Quotes from Phillips saying “you love a chocolate cake after a Sunday dinner but…” etc

Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips makes body fat admission

Kalvin Phillips is an important player for Leeds United. Leeds United central midfielder Kalvin Phillips has admitted to The Yorkshire Evening Post that he had...

www.hitc.com

- Just read another article from 2021 by Henry Winter where Phillips says he loved having takeaways regularly before Bielsa came in but then he lost a stone under Bielsa.

“I was a bit chunky,” he admits. “I wasn’t in the greatest of shape. The manager said to everyone, he wanted us to lose weight. We had to get the body fat down. He said we had to eat less food. I just ate some sweet potato wedges and some normal barbecue chicken. The way the chefs prepare it’s just a lot cleaner. Every week I’m reducing how much I eat. It’s hard work.

“If you come in on your weight target and your body fats are good then you can eat what you want. You can have ketchup! But say I went home and had a big fry-up for breakfast, came in here and I was overweight then the manager will look at me as if to say, ‘what are you doing?’ He just thinks whenever your weight’s low you play better.”

- Comments from 2021 by Andy Townsend where he says he had heard rumours that Phillips returned to training overweight after the Euros

Leeds United star Phillips subject of overweight rumours - Andy Townsend

Andy Townsend has heard rumours that midfielder Kalvin Phillips returned to Leeds United overweight after his summer holiday.

motleedsnews.com

- Now Pep saying he’s returned overweight after the World Cup


I wasn’t aware of Phillips long-term issue with food/eating unhealthily and to be frank… a total lack of professionalism. If Bielsa (and now Pep) can’t get him to eat properly when he’s not got club chefs cooking for him, then nobody will.

The bit that gets me here is where Phillips himself says "it's hard work". That, i can't lie is very annoying. It is not hard at all, if you can't look at a cream bun and walk away you need to sort yourself out and man up. One of the reasons these guys are paid so much is because of this very inconvenience. You give up comfort eating every week and hitting the town hard of a weekend in return for an awful lot of money.

It is a short career and yes it requires a lot of personal discipline. There is no excuse for eating to much comfort food repeatedly. If it was a one off then fine but as Trev has shown here it is a recurring theme. Give me a 100k a week and i'd eat live worms for the next 10 years if that was part of the deal that would keep me in shape.

For the record you won't find a harsh post by me in any player performance thread because if i see the effort then that is all i can ask. Sterling, Mahrez etc i know got/get some stick but for me if they are trying there best i can't be upset at a bad performance or some missed chances etc. This is a simple lack of self discipline from a professional being paid professional amounts of money.

I will leave it at that and not hold it against him. Pep has said what he feels needs to be said so i'll judge him from this point onward. I hope he sorts himself out as he is a smart player who can have a great last half of a career if he puts the effort in.

 

[JewelZee]

Oops.

Why Pepito, why, LOL...

 

[SanPellegrini]

Ok so I was inclined against posting this but a week ago I received a photo from a friend who had just spotted Kalvin in a service station McDonald’s ordering a large meal. I’ve got a photo to prove it but would rather not post as you never know what media types could be lurking on here (also I think taking people’s photos without their permission is a massive invasion of privacy)

That said, whilst I’m fairly liberal on eating habits, he gets paid millions and there are players in our squad who treat their bodies like temples and eat bland diets and train until they are nearly sick to keep their fitness in check. We’ve given him the chance of a lifetime to prove himself at the best club in Europe, if he’s not showing appropriate discipline it’s effectively two fingers to Pep, the other players and the fanbase. I get that people can have issues with fast food and fitness, as some have said above, but I struggle to find sympathy when you’re paid millions, picked for the international squad and training for a manager like Pep which is a once in a lifetime opportunity

 

[vincent]

Ok so I was inclined against posting this but a week ago I received a photo from a friend who had just spotted Kalvin in a service station McDonald’s ordering a large meal. I’ve got a photo to prove it but would rather not post as you never know what media types could be lurking on here (also I think taking people’s photos without their permission is a massive invasion of privacy)

That said, whilst I’m fairly liberal on eating habits, he gets paid millions and there are players in our squad who treat their bodies like temples and eat bland diets and train until they are nearly sick to keep their fitness in check. We’ve given him the chance of a lifetime to prove himself at the best club in Europe, if he’s not showing appropriate discipline it’s effectively two fingers to Pep, the other players and the fanbase. I get that people can have issues with fast food and fitness, as some have said above, but I struggle to find sympathy when you’re paid millions, picked for the international squad and training for a manager like Pep which is a once in a lifetime opportunity

Exactly. Most professional players would give anything to be part of this world class squad and manager. He is in such a privileged position. Hopefully he gets his act together and this is the last we hear of this. If he doesn’t, he will be shipped out.

 

[eyalluvitt]

When you spend a month abroad with Luke Shaw