#47 | Phil Foden - 2021/22 Performances

[Tugay One Cup]

Pretty fucking difficult to be in a sex dungeon in Manchester while simultaneously in a night club in Leeds, isn't it?

You could Skype the dungeon, I guess.

 

[Lauz9888]

The way I see it:

- None of us has any real information about what happened apart from Pep's comments, a picture that was allegedly taken in a club after the Leeds match, and an unverified tiktok video that names no names

- The fact that they were in the squad and, as far as we know, haven't faced any further repercussions from the club in terms of fines etc. suggests that whatever rule/s they broke, it wasn't a major disciplinary issue

- The fact that Pep chose to bench them, combined with his comments, suggests they've behaved unprofessionally and/or in a manner that might stop them from performing at their best in training or on the pitch

- If it's a drinking/staying up all night issue then it's a concern because their careers are dependent on their health and that stuff can escalate. As far as I can recall Pep's never usually (in non-Covid times) that bothered about nights out etc. as long as performance isn't affected. So if it's this and Pep's bothered then presumably they were in a bit of a state

- If it's Covid restrictions breaches then they're absolute fucking morons. In the last lockdown Phil had his Icelandic adventure and Jack had his little joyride, so they've both had awful publicity around this very issue and if they've chosen to do it again it's unforgivable, especially at a time when matches are being cancelled all over the place because of Covid and we're one of the few clubs that's so far managed to avoid an outbreak, and this is working in our favour as it will mean less fixture congestion later in the season

- If it's the dominatrix stuff then it's a problem for the reasons I outlined on the previous page

- "Boys will be boys" and "young men will always sleep around" is exactly the kind of attitude that drives female fans and athletes away from football and enables the kind of sexual wrongdoing that's still coming out of the woodwork for football clubs including our own. While it's true that you can't know what's going on in other people's relationships, and it's none of our business what arrangements our players have with their other halves, let's at least acknowledge that infidelity isn't something the club wants its image associated with, and using the services of sex workers is rife with risk of the player/s allegedly involved finding themselves being dragged into or accused of involvement in criminal and exploitative activity

- This whole thing is an unwelcome spectacle and an unnecessary distraction in the careers of two talented and exciting players

 

[decmancity]

If the incident was as big as people are making out he would be at home and so would Grealish. Why would Pep allow someone who had been out clubbing and exposed to covid etc anywhere near the rest of the squad?

As for the dominatrix thing, who fucking cares. Jesus. He can do what he wants and I guarantee he does. He certainly doesn't have to live up to some hero status that some give him.

 

[mccity]

Hopefully this is a case where they'll have learned their lessons (whatever they were) and we can all move past this pretty promptly.

 

[oldius]

The bottom line is that Pep is the boss, END OF! If he tells you that you have not been selected because of your off the field behaviour then you better change that behaviour because no matter how much he thinks you are a talent, he is as stubborn as they come and you will have to change before he does. Personally, I am all for that and it is why we are a team and not a collection of prima donnas.

 

[oldius]

The way I see it:

- None of us has any real information about what happened apart from Pep's comments, a picture that was allegedly taken in a club after the Leeds match, and an unverified tiktok video that names no names

- The fact that they were in the squad and, as far as we know, haven't faced any further repercussions from the club in terms of fines etc. suggests that whatever rule/s they broke, it wasn't a major disciplinary issue

- The fact that Pep chose to bench them, combined with his comments, suggests they've behaved unprofessionally and/or in a manner that might stop them from performing at their best in training or on the pitch

- If it's a drinking/staying up all night issue then it's a concern because their careers are dependent on their health and that stuff can escalate. As far as I can recall Pep's never usually (in non-Covid times) that bothered about nights out etc. as long as performance isn't affected. So if it's this and Pep's bothered then presumably they were in a bit of a state

- If it's Covid restrictions breaches then they're absolute fucking morons. In the last lockdown Phil had his Icelandic adventure and Jack had his little joyride, so they've both had awful publicity around this very issue and if they've chosen to do it again it's unforgivable, especially at a time when matches are being cancelled all over the place because of Covid and we're one of the few clubs that's so far managed to avoid an outbreak, and this is working in our favour as it will mean less fixture congestion later in the season

- If it's the dominatrix stuff then it's a problem for the reasons I outlined on the previous page

- "Boys will be boys" and "young men will always sleep around" is exactly the kind of attitude that drives female fans and athletes away from football and enables the kind of sexual wrongdoing that's still coming out of the woodwork for football clubs including our own. While it's true that you can't know what's going on in other people's relationships, and it's none of our business what arrangements our players have with their other halves, let's at least acknowledge that infidelity isn't something the club wants its image associated with, and using the services of sex workers is rife with risk of the player/s allegedly involved finding themselves being dragged into or accused of involvement in criminal and exploitative activity

- This whole thing is an unwelcome spectacle and an unnecessary distraction in the careers of two talented and exciting players

I think you have made some of the most erudite posts that I have seen and they have been a pleasure to read.

 

[domalino]

Boys will be boys" and "young men will always sleep around" is exactly the kind of attitude that drives female fans and athletes away from football and enables the kind of sexual wrongdoing that's still coming out of the woodwork for football clubs including our own.

Did you really just try to link Phil Foden going on a night out/ Grealish sleeping around and Benjamin Mendy ?

If it's Covid restrictions breaches then they're absolute fucking morons. In the last lockdown Phil had his Icelandic adventure and Jack had his little joyride, so they've both had awful publicity around this very issue and if they've chosen to do it again it's unforgivable

Here's one thing we actually know for certain. It's not covid restriction breaches, because there are no covid restrictions.

You should know that if you're in this country. Nightclubs are open. Socialising is allowed, for everyone, including footballers.

 

[ninjamonkey]

I heard Pep say this at the time and immediately picked up on it and thought it was odd the media didn't. Didn't want to make anything of it because it would be pure unfounded speculation, that picture seems to confirm the issue now though.

Moronic from both. Whilst they may well have not broken any rules it's pretty clear peps expects golden child behaviour from every single player right now, to go against that puts the entire squad and their families health at risk and could have a telling detrimental impact on the season. Grealish wasn't shy of off the pitch controversy whilst at villa and under a much smaller spotlight where he probably got away with stuff that he won't here and Phil has form for being lead astray. Both need a massive bollocking if what we're piecing together is true.

I always got the impression foden genuinely learnt a lot after the Iceland incident and would make sure there wasn't anything similar occurring again. Grealish hasn't hid his delight at getting this move, whilst he wasn't the sharpest knife in the box at villa you'd have to be a complete moron to do anything to upset Pep so soon after moving here. For either of them to fuck up like this is very disappointing and shines them both in a very poor light.

 

[Lauz9888]

Did you really just try to link Phil Foden going on a night out/ Grealish sleeping around and Benjamin Mendy ?



Here's one thing we actually know for certain. It's not covid restriction breaches, because there are no covid restrictions.

You should know that if you're in this country. Nightclubs are open. Socialising is allowed, for everyone, including footballers.

I'm not linking their actions. I'm linking the couldn't-care-less attitudes of some commenters and acknowledging how being permissive about one thing can make it harder to spot other more serious problems.

Football has a sex problem. I guess it's what happens when you take young boys, put them in male-only environments for their whole adolescence, then give them more money than they know what to do with and a whole bunch of people to hero-worship them and give them whatever they want.

When Mendy was asking a modelling agency to provide him with big bum Latinas, it was a meme. When he was arrested for rape, it was a shock. We laugh and joke and "boys will be boys" it right up until the point a crime is committed, when maybe we'd be better off saying "hey, it's not okay to order a sexual partner like you might order a pizza".

All I'm saying is that it might be better for everyone if we held our players to a certain standard - not expecting them to be perfect or never make mistakes, not expecting their personal lives to never go through turmoil, not necessarily believing every tabloid rumour, but expecting them to demonstrate a basic level of common sense, respect for their fellow human beings, and understanding of the position of power their fame and wealth put them in over other people.

I'm not accusing Phil or Jack or any other player of anything like what Mendy is accused of. I'm not saying that one action necessarily leads to another. All I'm saying is that a culture that says nothing about men seeing women as a commodity and sex as a service is a culture in which sexual abusers may find it easy to hide in plain sight.

I fear I'm getting a little off-topic. My comment was in response to what people were saying about various speculation about them being the name/s in the dominatrix story, or being out on the pull when they both have partners at home.

As for your second point, I am in this country. So I'm working from home and I'm wearing a mask when I go shopping, and although I know socialising is allowed it's hardly risk-free, and as others have said, the club may well have its own rules in place to keep the players and staff safe, to reduce the likelihood of matches being cancelled, and to manage the public image of players who are often easy targets for the press in terms of accusations of setting bad examples.

 

[route46]

So we beat Leeds 7-0 and then they go out clubbing in Leeds??

fair fucks to them

 

[domalino]

I'm not linking their actions. I'm linking the couldn't-care-less attitudes of some commenters and acknowledging how being permissive about one thing can make it harder to spot other more serious problems.

Football has a sex problem. I guess it's what happens when you take young boys, put them in male-only environments for their whole adolescence, then give them more money than they know what to do with and a whole bunch of people to hero-worship them and give them whatever they want.

When Mendy was asking a modelling agency to provide him with big bum Latinas, it was a meme. When he was arrested for rape, it was a shock. We laugh and joke and "boys will be boys" it right up until the point a crime is committed, when maybe we'd be better off saying "hey, it's not okay to order a sexual partner like you might order a pizza".

All I'm saying is that it might be better for everyone if we held our players to a certain standard - not expecting them to be perfect or never make mistakes, not expecting their personal lives to never go through turmoil, not necessarily believing every tabloid rumour, but expecting them to demonstrate a basic level of common sense, respect for their fellow human beings, and understanding of the position of power their fame and wealth put them in over other people.

I'm not accusing Phil or Jack or any other player of anything like what Mendy is accused of. I'm not saying that one action necessarily leads to another. All I'm saying is that a culture that says nothing about men seeing women as a commodity and sex as a service is a culture in which sexual abusers may find it easy to hide in plain sight.

I fear I'm getting a little off-topic. My comment was in response to what people were saying about various speculation about them being the name/s in the dominatrix story, or being out on the pull when they both have partners at home.

As for your second point, I am in this country. So I'm working from home and I'm wearing a mask when I go shopping, and although I know socialising is allowed it's hardly risk-free, and as others have said, the club may well have its own rules in place to keep the players and staff safe, to reduce the likelihood of matches being cancelled, and to manage the public image of players who are often easy targets for the press in terms of accusations of setting bad examples.

You want to hold players to a standard without any of the required information. You want to write long messages about how appalling it is that players have done something without any evidence or proof that they've done it other than gossip and innuendo.

In one thread you're posting pictures from Grealish's girlfriend's instagram about how he's in a bad place over fake stories, and in another you're writing really long posts about how awful it would be if those same stories are true.

There seems to be a hypocrisy there, to me.

I'm not going to spend my time working myself into a righteous fury about Phil Foden sleeping with some Icelandic girl because I don't know anything about his life, I don't know what his relationship is like, or if it still exists.

Unless a player is actually found to be doing something wrong, I'm not going to get worked up over the Sun rumour mill, because I might find myself in the position of getting worked up about a dominatrix for hours only to find out it was just a going to a club.

Does football have a sex problem? Life has a violence against women problem and football mirrors that, I don't think professional football is an area of life where it's particularly worse than average.

The Big Bum Latina's story came out after he'd already been arrested, so I wasn't laughing about it, and I don't remember many others finding it funny either.

 

[14aguero]

It's a shame he is making a habit of this.

 

[Lauz9888]

You want to hold players to a standard without any of the required information. You want to write long messages about how appalling it is that players have done something without any evidence or proof that they've done it other than gossip and innuendo.

In one thread you're posting pictures from Grealish's girlfriend's instagram about how he's in a bad place over fake stories, and in another you're writing really long posts about how awful it would be if those same stories are true.

There seems to be a hypocrisy there, to me.

I'm not going to spend my time working myself into a righteous fury about Phil Foden sleeping with some Icelandic girl because I don't know anything about his life, I don't know what his relationship is like, or if it still exists.

Unless a player is actually found to be doing something wrong, I'm not going to get worked up over the Sun rumour mill, because I might find myself in the position of getting worked up about a dominatrix for hours only to find out it was just a going to a club.

Does football have a sex problem? Life has a violence against women problem and football mirrors that, I don't think professional football is an area of life where it's particularly worse than average.

The Big Bum Latina's story came out after he'd already been arrested, so I wasn't laughing about it, and I don't remember many others finding it funny either.

I don't think there's a hypocrisy about saying that tabloid rumours can be harmful and we shouldn't necessarily believe them, especially if the people who are being framed as victims are saying they're untrue, but that if rumours of players' sexual indiscretions are true we shouldn't be laughing them off or sweeping them under the carpet or putting up with the suggestion that it's normal or acceptable behaviour.

I'm neither worked up nor in a fury. I think players are entitled to their private lives, but have to be realistic and understand that they're in the public eye and what they want to be private may not necessarily be so.

Ultimately I'm choosing to trust Pep on this one and trusting that the punishment is proportionate to whatever they've done. I'm a little disappointed that two players I love to see on the pitch have done something stupid in their personal lives that's resulted in Pep not wanting to play them, not for fitness or tactical reasons but because he's unhappy with their behaviour. It seems needless and avoidable.

I'll leave it there and not trouble you with any more really long posts.

 

[WallyA]

Maybe until we know exactly what happened, we shouldn't speculate.

Just my opinion of course, I'd rather not waste energy on very little information.

 

[Scottyboi]

Pep knows the Christmas period is always crucial with so many games, if he feels some players aren't as committed as they should be he will remind them of their duties.

 

[Brightwell Bros.]

From memory Foden doesn't really drink, or he didn't a few years ago even when he was on the open top bus parade, but if this is the story then Grealish and Foden should know better, Pep will have managed this a million times before, and it'll be all good by Boxing Day.

 

[LangleyBlue1970]

Boys will be boys.

As an aside though I fucking love it when Pep refers to anyone in the squad as ‘these guys’.

 

[MeatHunterrr]

Both better change or Pep will fuck them off without hesitation. He is as stubborn of a person as they come.

 

[madloaf]

Both better change or Pep will fuck them off without hesitation. He is as stubborn of a person as they come.

Fucking off Foden is not an option i can get behind.

 

[blue ranger]

They are supposed to be in a bubble and not out partying , they have clearly broken some rules or pep would not be annoyed

Fucking off Foden is not an option i can get behind.

Tbh I would trust Pep in any decision he makes, although I have trust in him to resolve this without needing to do anything so drastic.