44 | Kalvin Phillips - 2025/26

Wish him the best and hope he manages a new start. I don’t think this is the right place for him for a number of reasons but he is a talented player and hopefully can unlock that. May not be for us though.
 
I cannot understand the venom directed at Kalvin by some of our fans. He was never going to turn down the opportunity to sign for us, why would he, but sadly it just hasn’t worked out. But he didn’t come to City with the intention of weakening us, stalling his career, losing his England place, etc. I am absolutely sure he wanted to succeed. The fault lies with City 100%, in that we signed a player totally unsuitable for our style of play, and what has happened was sadly predictable. He comes across as a decent lad, he has never complained or criticised Pep or the club, it is just an unfortunate situation. People jumping all over him for a 15 minute sub appearance last night, coming back from injury, need to give him a break, it is just bullying.
 
Whether or not said:
I cannot understand the venom directed at Kalvin by some of our fans. He was never going to turn down the opportunity to sign for us, why would he, but sadly it just hasn’t worked out. But he didn’t come to City with the intention of weakening us, stalling his career, losing his England place, etc. I am absolutely sure he wanted to succeed. The fault lies with City 100%, in that we signed a player totally unsuitable for our style of play, and what has happened was sadly predictable. He comes across as a decent lad, he has never complained or criticised Pep or the club, it is just an unfortunate situation. People jumping all over him for a 15 minute sub appearance last night, coming back from injury, need to give him a break, it is just bullying.
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To be honest I don't think there is a lot of Venom directed at him, the overwhelming response from fans when he is mentioned echoes yours. I think you are getting upset over a situation that doesn't exist.
 
I'm not sure that Phillips is good enough for our side - but now that he's fit - I'd like him to start at times - in matches that we're likely to win.

For example, I wish that he started against Huddersfield - or at least came in a half time. That way, even if we eventually move him on, he'll at least have been given chance to demonstrate his true ability - which he has in abundance, otherwise we wouldn't have signed him.
 
BlueMoonAcrossThePond said:
I'm not sure that Phillips is good enough for our side - but now that he's fit - I'd like him to start at times - in matches that we're likely to win.

For example, I wish that he started against Huddersfield - or at least came in a half time. That way, even if we eventually move him on, he'll at least have been given chance to demonstrate his true ability - which he has in abundance, otherwise we wouldn't have signed him.
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I get where you’re coming from, but other players earned and needed the minutes more than him
 
TFC said:
Doesn't like negative comments about City players. Drops an absolute cracker in the last line lol ;)
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I know!
I don't like myself for it, but sometimes you cannot help your feelings. Your heart should never sink when you see one of your own players coming on.
Only ever felt it once before....Claudio Bravo.

I still genuinely hope only the best for him.
 
FromPollockToSilva said:
I get where you’re coming from, but other players earned and needed the minutes more than him
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He's been injured which contributed to his lack of playing time.

It seems to me a no-brainer to start Phillips against Huddersfield in a non-important competition. If we're dead set at moving him on, showcasing his ability will lead to a higher transfer fee... unless we've made a huge blunder, and he's awful, and in which case we need to hide his performance hoping that some side will overvalue him... which does not at all seem to be the case.
 
BlueMoonAcrossThePond said:
He's been injured which contributed to his lack of playing time.

It seems to me a no-brainer to start Phillips against Huddersfield in a non-important competition. If we're dead set at moving him on, showcasing his ability will lead to a higher transfer fee... unless we've made a huge blunder, and he's awful, and in which case we need to hide his performance hoping that some side will overvalue him... which does not at all seem to be the case.
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The squad players that we will actually be relying on this season (Nico G, Rico) really need some game time. Putting Kalvin the shop window is not high on Pep’s list of squad management priorities
 
Whether or not said:
I cannot understand the venom directed at Kalvin by some of our fans. He was never going to turn down the opportunity to sign for us, why would he, but sadly it just hasn’t worked out. But he didn’t come to City with the intention of weakening us, stalling his career, losing his England place, etc. I am absolutely sure he wanted to succeed. The fault lies with City 100%, in that we signed a player totally unsuitable for our style of play, and what has happened was sadly predictable. He comes across as a decent lad, he has never complained or criticised Pep or the club, it is just an unfortunate situation. People jumping all over him for a 15 minute sub appearance last night, coming back from injury, need to give him a break, it is just bullying.
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???
Sometimes people get promoted above their station. This then leads to them struggling and not fulfilling their role.
So it is not Venom to give an opinion that he is not up to the job.
Of course he would take an offer to play for us. And he should be paid every penny of the contract offered. We cocked up, not him.

"People jumping all over him for a 15 minute sub appearance last night"
He's not just going through a bad spell is he?

It's not just a City thing though, he hasn't clicked on while out on loan. He's 29 now so not much chance of improvement. He did well in a team (Leeds) that suited him. We took a gamble and it hasn't worked out.
He seems a really decent guy. So most seem to want the best for him.

This is a results business unfortunately.
He is a very rich 29 year old. He can do whatever he wishes to do. So no matter what happens next, he is a success in life. Good luck to him!
 
BlueMoonAcrossThePond said:
I'm not sure that Phillips is good enough for our side - but now that he's fit - I'd like him to start at times - in matches that we're likely to win.

For example, I wish that he started against Huddersfield - or at least came in a half time. That way, even if we eventually move him on, he'll at least have been given chance to demonstrate his true ability - which he has in abundance, otherwise we wouldn't have signed him.
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IMG_8835.gif
 
FromPollockToSilva said:
The squad players that we will actually be relying on this season (Nico G, Rico) really need some game time. Putting Kalvin the shop window is not high on Pep’s list of squad management priorities
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Agreed.

My points are that:
1) Phillips may actually be far better than we expect and we've not started him enough to find out; and
2) Nico has proven his worth and doesn't need game time; and Rico has had apple game time to prove his worth - and has consistently failed to do so.
 
uwerosler28 said:
To be honest I don't think there is a lot of Venom directed at him, the overwhelming response from fans when he is mentioned echoes yours. I think you are getting upset over a situation that doesn't exist.
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Pub player, bluffer, better with 10 men. Those were comments on just the page where I commented. I just don’t see the need for it. It makes me uncomfortable. But that’s just me I accept.
 
HelloCity said:
I think wanting Phillips to be starting games to showcase his talent might indicate a mental disability - as did your ‘opinions’ on ‘disaster’ signing Donnarumma.
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And not starting Phillips against a who-cares competition with basically zero downside - either he performs well enough that we can move him on or he sucks and we rule him out... illustrates your lack of accumen.

As for Donnarumma - he's great at shot stopping when in his goal and when in form - to the extent that he won the award for best keeper.

But he's not great at passing. And ball control and passing has been our bread-and-butter under Pep ever since he's been our manager.

It's now obviously clear that we no longer are capable of having most of the possession against top sides - and Pep has changed how we play accordingly - we're going to park the bus against sides that are - let's be honest - better than us - and counter-attack.

As for indication of a "mental disability" - your post is spot on for concern.
 
it's one thing to fail at city, it's another to fail at west ham and ipswich. And not just fail but completely implode on both occasions. There's obviously a severe mental block that's come from being rejected by Pep and City. Players have sudden falls from grace all the time for psychological reasons, even players at the absolute top.

I feel for him, its sad. But city is not a charity, and he shouldn't get serious minutes or even take minutes off academy players frankly, because he is useless to us as a football player.
 
K-Bo said:
it's one thing to fail at city, it's another to fail at west ham and ipswich. And not just fail but completely implode on both occasions. There's obviously a severe mental block that's come from being rejected by Pep and City. Players have sudden falls from grace all the time for psychological reasons, even players at the absolute top.

I feel for him, its sad. But city is not a charity, and he shouldn't get serious minutes or even take minutes off academy players frankly, because he is useless to us as a football player.
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And yet we signed him. If he was obviously shit why did we sign him?

IMO - give the guy minutes in games that aren't important and for sure start him in the who-the-fuck-cares cup if he's fit. EIther he sucks and has no value, or he's good enough to get a better sell-on value, or he's worth everything we've paid, and may be a valuable asset to our squad.

Currently - who the fuck knows how good or bad he is and what he's worth?
 
K-Bo said:
it's one thing to fail at city, it's another to fail at west ham and ipswich. And not just fail but completely implode on both occasions. There's obviously a severe mental block that's come from being rejected by Pep and City. Players have sudden falls from grace all the time for psychological reasons, even players at the absolute top.

I feel for him, its sad. But city is not a charity, and he shouldn't get serious minutes or even take minutes off academy players frankly, because he is useless to us as a football player.
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The general Leeds opinion was that he had a great purple patch for them and England but was actually pretty average either side of that - even in the Championship.
 
BlueMoonAcrossThePond said:
And yet we signed him. If he was obviously shit why did we sign him?

IMO - give the guy minutes in games that aren't important and for sure start him in the who-the-fuck-cares cup if he's fit. EIther he sucks and has no value, or he's good enough to get a better sell-on value, or he's worth everything we've paid, and may be a valuable asset to our squad.

Currently - who the fuck knows how good or bad he is and what he's worth?
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Because we made a mistake lol ?

Why give him minutes every other player we have is better.
 
HelloCity said:
The general Leeds opinion was that he had a great purple patch for them and England but was actually pretty average either side of that - even in the Championship.
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I feel like it might have been ones of those where he was playing above his level for about 18 months. Remmeber when papiss Cisse was a world class striker for a season. It happens.
 
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