#47 | Phil Foden - 2019/20 Performances

[Churchlawtonblue]

Yes I was actually as we created enough chances to easily win the game

But we didnt did we as it was all left to our woefully out of form attackers who cant hit a barn door from 5 yds. Oh for a yaya bossing the midfield running through on goal and scoring one of those match winners he did so frequently. Sadly instead we have two defensively minded slightly ponderous midfielders who hardly score but still leave enough space in midfiled for Spurs to score two out of their three chances. Foden isn't Yaya or Dave yet, but he never will be if he doesn't play.

 

[oldius]

But we didnt did we as it was all left to our woefully out of form attackers who cant hit a barn door from 5 yrs. Oh for a yaya bossing the midfield running through on goal and scoring one of those match winners he did so frequently. Sadly instead we have two defensively minded slightly ponderous midfielders who hardly score but still leave enough space in midfiled for Spurs to score two out of their three chances. Foden isn't Yaya or Dave yet, but he never will be if he doesn't play.

We dominated the match and had a large number of chances to put the ball in the net while they had two chances. Normally, a game like that is a victory and if you feel the need to single out midfielders as the reason we lost the match, you watch and understand a different game to me.

 

[Churchlawtonblue]

We dominated the match and had a large number of chances to put the ball in the net while they had two chances. Normally, a game like that is a victory and if you feel the need to single out midfielders as the reason we lost the match, you watch and understand a different game to me.

Its not the sole reason clearly but if you think Rhodri and Gundogan are as good defensively or attacking wise as Fernandiniho and Yaya in that role when they were both playing and in top form then you watch a different game to me?

 

[itisrising]

We dominated the match and had a large number of chances to put the ball in the net while they had two chances. Normally, a game like that is a victory and if you feel the need to single out midfielders as the reason we lost the match, you watch and understand a different game to me.

You can say that but our midfield has been an issue all season. It gets easily bypassed game after game. That doesn't always convey itself into stats but it's a problem and Foden offers some resistance to that through his energy levels and ability to press from the front. Any combination of Gundogan, Rodri and David Silva is a problem for us but Pep will stick to them religiously.

 

[Churchlawtonblue]

You can say that but our midfield has been an issue all season. It gets easily bypassed game after game. That doesn't always convey itself into stats but it's a problem and Foden offers some resistance to that through his energy levels and ability to press from the front. Any combination of Gundogan, Rodri and David Silva is a problem for us but Pep will stick to them religiously.

Precisely

 

[oldius]

I like Foden and I equally like Jesus. Both should be playing, IMO, but the 'whipping boy' attitude of a number of the posts here are lost on me; it is as if we immediately forget, the moment things go against us, and start to scapegoat individuals, ad nauseam.

We are slightly off form and with the game that we play, the intricacy of it and the technique required, that translates to a vulnerability that teams in the Premier League can occasionally exploit. We have scored more goals than any other team in the five major European leagues but we create many, many more chances than we score. We are not clinical enough at the moment and yet teams seem to be incredibly clinical against us. That is an issue in the defence more than anywhere else, for me. We have lost a colossus and then lost a colossus in waiting. It is the way it is but we have reached a final, are second in the league and still in all other competitions. Liverpool are five points ahead of where we were in our record season so we would be behind them in any other season in our history. It is what it is and the nauseous monologues about how dire some of the greatest players we have ever seen are way, way off the mark.

 

[itisrising]

I like Foden and I equally like Jesus. Both should be playing, IMO, but the 'whipping boy' attitude of a number of the posts here are lost on me; it is as if we immediately forget, the moment things go against us, and start to scapegoat individuals, ad nauseam.

We are slightly off form and with the game that we play, the intricacy of it and the technique required, that translates to a vulnerability that teams in the Premier League can occasionally exploit. We have scored more goals than any other team in the five major European leagues but we create many, many more chances than we score. We are not clinical enough at the moment and yet teams seem to be incredibly clinical against us. That is an issue in the defence more than anywhere else, for me. We have lost a colossus and then lost a colossus in waiting. It is the way it is but we have reached a final, are second in the league and still in all other competitions. Liverpool are five points ahead of where we were in our record season so we would be behind them in any other season in our history. It is what it is and the nauseous monologues about how dire some of the greatest players we have ever seen are way, way off the mark.

I understand your viewpoint and I think it's important not to scapegoat players. But, I think it's important to highlight the lack of balance in our midfield at the moment and it is partly due to Guardiola's reluctance to play Foden and even Garcia at the moment. Rodri hasn't caught up to Fernandinho's standards yet and, while he's still fit, it's imperative Fernandinho is sitting in front of the back 4. If we played Garcia, our midfield would improve considerably as well.

You mention lack of goals at the minute so why do we not play our best natural goalscoring midfielder in Foden? It used to be a case of giving him minutes because he is the future but now not playing him is to the detriment of our team. He offers us things that we need right now and Pep's position right now is baffling.

 

[oldius]

I understand your viewpoint and I think it's important not to scapegoat players. But, I think it's important to highlight the lack of balance in our midfield at the moment and it is partly due to Guardiola's reluctance to play Foden and even Garcia at the moment. Rodri hasn't caught up to Fernandinho's standards yet and, while he's still fit, it's imperative Fernandinho is sitting in front of the back 4. If we played Garcia, our midfield would improve considerably as well.

You mention lack of goals at the minute so why do we not play our best natural goalscoring midfielder in Foden? It used to be a case of giving him minutes because he is the future but now not playing him is to the detriment of our team. He offers us things that we need right now and Pep's position right now is baffling.

My point is that it is not necessarily to the detriment of our team. I would like to see him but then I am a Mancunian and feel loyal to him and hope, like Doyle and others, that he can break through into world class. I do not see him in training. At the moment, we have several players out of form including Sterling, Silva (David), Otamendi and Sergio. We have lost leaders and the left side has been crippled by Laporte, Mendy, Zin and Sane being injured for long spells. I believe in Pep but he is going through a spell with his team where it is not running for us as it has. Sticking together is key.

 

[itisrising]

My point is that it is not necessarily to the detriment of our team. I would like to see him but then I am a Mancunian and feel loyal to him and hope, like Doyle and others, that he can break through into world class. I do not see him in training. At the moment, we have several players out of form including Sterling, Silva (David), Otamendi and Sergio. We have lost leaders and the left side has been crippled by Laporte, Mendy, Zin and Sane being injured for long spells. I believe in Pep but he is going through a spell with his team where it is not running for us as it has. Sticking together is key.

Even if we take away our will to see him succeed, he just offers something we need right now. We don't see him in training, we see him in games from time to time and he's often been fantastic. I think he created the most chances in open play in the CL which is insane. It simply doesn't make sense that he doesn't get more of an opportunity as you mention we have several players out of form. I would love to believe in Pep on this matter but I have no evidence that he will give young players an opportunity and he seems to value experience even to the detriment of the side imo.

 

[kaz7]

Phil Foden had played 371 minutes in the Premier League at the end of the 2018/19 season - more time in one of the big five European leagues than Kevin De Bruyne or David Silva did at the age of 19. [@21stClub via @TeleFootball]

Pep Guardiola intends to use Phil Foden as David Silva’s replacement next season with a source close to the Manchester City manager claiming he can become the club’s 'home-grown legend for the next 10 to 12 years'. [@JBurtTelegraph]