#47 | Phil Foden - 2019/20 Performances

[hihosilva]

Apart from getting two yellows which he will learn from , I thought he was excellent last night. Worked extremely hard closing down & his intelligent runs & passes were first class. Second best player on the pitch behind Sterling.

 

[ChicagoBlue]

I get all that and hear you. What you need to understand though is for a lot of that, he needs game time and only game time. And before you say something along the lines of 'Pep knows best', well, that's what we're here for, to debate these kinda things. Pep is a great manager but he also isn't infallible.

Bringing your own player through the ranks is not the same as buying a ready made guy who's already honed all the necessary skills well enough elsewhere to be able slot straight in - perhaps some fans have forgotten that. You can't blame a kid for missing x part of his game when he hasn't been allowed enough opportunity to use the full flight minutes required to help develop it.

This is why Pep has had him in First Team training for two seasons. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it will happen.

BTW, playing short-sides games in training is probably twice as hard as playing most teams and other players he will ever see in the Prem.

Excuse the phrase, but he is being groomed, and it is paying off.

 

[alexmcity]

I'd understand the moaning if:

1. we didn't win all trophies in England,
2. Foden had stagnated in his development.

As things stand, we win trophies and Foden is getting better and better. Soon he will be there and will start games on a regular basis.

Playing many games as a youngster might accelerate your development and make you a star like Sancho. BUT, at the same time, it might hurt your further development and lower your ceiling. A possible reason why Rooney declined so quickly after turning 28 is that he played too much as a teenager. Maybe it did hamper his development as well and he didn't quite live up to the expectations despite the records he achieved.

To train a yougster is also to raise his ceiling as much as possible. The ceiling isn't fixed by his genes, but also by his mentality, habits, learning, etc. With regard to raising his ceiling and having the best possible development throughout his career, Foden is in great hands: he is learning from some of the best midfielders the PL has seen and also from the best coach. Sancho might be ahead in his deveopment but I doubt that his ceiling would be as high as Phil's. Phil might become absolutely sensational.

 

[Mike D]

Foden showed the other night why he is so highly rated and at the same time why he is not quite ready yet. He has the right manager who can turn him into a global superstar.

 

[twosips]

Foden showed the other night why he is so highly rated and at the same time why he is not quite ready yet. He has the right manager who can turn him into a global superstar.

What did he do to show he's not ready yet btw? Are you referring to the really innocuous red card that was pretty harsh? Cos I swear many of our senior players have been sent off for silly little things before too? If it isn't that, no worries. Curious as to what else it is instead.

 

[Dax777]

Anybody who thinks David Silva should start ahead of Foden needs to see a shrink. Cancello for Walker, Bernardo for Mahrez, Foden for Merlin and we will be unstoppable.

Not unstoppable. But better

 

[SWP's back]

Care to expand and that ?? Neither card deserved any form of booking !!

When you’re on a card, don’t give the ref an excuse. Pep said he’d learn from it and he will.

 

[Phil1]

Not unstoppable. But better

Better in some games depending on opposition. Other games will require a Mahrez or walker or dare I be so bold and suggest David Silva.

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

Does anyone think Foden would have made it under the likes of BFS, Pulis or Pardew?

 

[Tugay One Cup]

Better in some games depending on opposition. Other games will require a Mahrez or walker or dare I be so bold and suggest David Silva.

I think Foden is currently a much more suitable option for opponents who will give us opportunities for counterattacks. If the team's insistent on sitting deep against us then I'd rather we have David to pair with Kev.