47 | Phil Foden - 2025/26

Feel gutted for Phil.
I know he’s alluded to mental health issues, of which I really feel for the lad, but it’s having a profound effect on his game.
He used to be amazing at receiving the ball on the half turn and then driving at teams, this has completely gone from his game.
He’s consistently playing square on with his back to goal and his only involvement is to show for the ball then play à short pass back.
Literally no creativity.
Add to that his passing is wayward and he’s easily being dispossessed and we effectively have 10 players on the pitch.
I really hope and pray he comes good but I fear he’s going to be another Jack Grealish where he needs to go to à team with less pressure to build his confidence.
Time will tell.
 
Cigs&Alc said:
But he was pretty good up until that point.
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No, he wasn't. Had some good moments in the 1st half and was poor in the 2nd half, at times very poor. Not sure he would start for Forest or W Ham on current form. Mukasa might be better right now.

If I'm honest, I was worried when I saw that he started. He's been a liability for a while now. Rico could hardly be worse, and he's struggling to make the bench.
 
117 M34 said:
Previously, selling foden would have been unthinkable.
I think he has got 1 more season to get back towards his best and if not then it's probably time for him to move on.

If he is on the bench at weekend and we are losing, how many people will be calling for foden to come on to save us?
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With only 1 year left on his contract, we haven’t got that luxury.
 
Goaters said:
I love Phil, he’s given us some incredible moments and is a true city lad. He’s talked about mental struggles so I don’t think a pile on would help. But he and Pep clearly know this isn’t the Phil of old.

Constructively though, I don’t think Phil has the tools in his locker to do the cm role. In the modern PL a lot of the game is about physicality, the ability to win the ball and duels in the middle. Phil’s game has never been about that and it’s unfair to think it, he doesn’t have that dog in him that say a Nico O’Reilly does.

I think he either has to be a false 9 or on the wings, let’s not forget some of the goals he’s scored for us, coming inside and smashing them into the top corner. You don’t lose that.

Yes, his game hasn’t evolved to where we wanted but he still has those nice touches, the ability to drive passed players and is one of our best finishers.

Confidence is such an important thing, being mentally well and in the right frame of mind is fundamental too. He’s given us too much to be written off and talked about the way he currently is. Let’s not turn into fickle United fans. We are better than that.
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Good points but it doesn't make much sense to put someone on the wings if he doesn't dribble and create. Foden could do it in the past, he can't now.
 
Eric Hitchmough said:
Mental midget? Fucking hell. Interesting that’s only your 16th post. We do welcome non-City fans but there’s an expectation that you’re at least civil.

I think Foden has been crap for a long while now, but can’t understand the personal insults.
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Yes, Foden is a mental midget.

This guy never had to face any criticism until Euro 2024 and when he did and saw the backlash he received on social media he turned into a shell of himself.

I thought his poor form last year had to do with Rodri being injured so he couldn’t receive in the pockets as often as he used to thereby curtailing his influence.

But even with Rodri back he’s been shit. Lots of poor actions in the final third and he’s playing like a scared boy. He used to be the best player in the world on the half-turn and now he either messes up his turn or passes it backwards. There’s no confidence.

Why? Because once again he got criticism for his recent form after being great in November and now he’s a shell of himself.

If Foden went into games with the authority he displays after scoring goal he’d be the best in the world. But he doesn’t.

He’s too interested in searching what others have to say about him on social media. Before Twitter made likes private, you could see he was constantly on his phone liking tweets that praised him. This isn’t for debate.

This whole brain fog or whatever excuse he and his PR team conjured up last year to excuse his poor form is a myth. It literally had to do with the flack he got in the Euros. He got a lot of stick due to the tribal nature of opposing PL fans who were pitting him against their own starboys (Jude, Saka, and Palmer). All of them had their moments during that tournament except Phil and he got shit on for it and he was reading every bit of it. His own teammates have told him to get off his phone.

He’s mentally fragile. He can’t handle criticism and he doesn’t show any kind of leadership. City’s in a title race and instead of being one of the leaders stepping up especially since he’s been around the first team for 8 years, he’s instead playing like a scared child.

He gets protected like he’s 18, but he’s not, he’s turning 26. He doesn’t take responsibility and he’s not counted on to do so. For years he was expected to take the baton from KDB/Silva/Gundo, and he hasn’t been able to. At what point do you call things out for what they’re?

If you don’t want to, well that’s fine, but when he doesn’t get the call to go to the World Cup don’t be surprised if his form declines even more. I highly doubt he’ll be able to bounce back from that.
 
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alexmcity said:
Good points but it doesn't make much sense to put someone on the wings if he doesn't dribble and create. Foden could do it in the past, he can't now.
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He’s still one of our top goal scorers this season.

If we want to build up his confidence they are the only positions he can truly play without the huge amounts of pressure.

I think the whole pausa element has slightly messed up Phil’s game. He was being told he was too eccentric earlier in his career, now he needed to slow down ala David Silva. He’s taken that but now struggles with the element of speeding up the game. Not all players have the intellect to do that sort of role, hence the struggles we’ve seen in our central midfielders we’ve bought.
 
Blue Smarties said:
Which could be part of the problem. Does he have the hunger for more?
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It’s not about hunger last season was the first time he didn’t play well and fans started murmuring about him play is injuries mental issues last year! So now he has doubt he is thinking to much on the ball not instinctive! He had that a bit early season! Think he just has to play through it..
 
Phil is done for the level we need. He would struggle to get into any PL team now. He reached his peak early as he started very early. That’s normal.
To depart him from the club would be part of rebuilding. To have him in the squad is double problem to face with. He is squad member on important position. He is also considered as important one. This prevents us to have one more world class player in form. Something like Semenyo 2.

On the other hand I think he can redefine himself with completely new position. Something like Nunes. To play as left back. With his talent, left foot, it could work.
But I don’t think it can happen because it would be like defeat for him after reaching all the goals.

He needs fresh new start. Spain or Germany.
 
Goaters said:
He’s still one of our top goal scorers this season.

If we want to build up his confidence they are the only positions he can truly play without the huge amounts of pressure.

I think the whole pausa element has slightly messed up Phil’s game. He was being told he was too eccentric earlier in his career, now he needed to slow down ala David Silva. He’s taken that but now struggles with the element of speeding up the game. Not all players have the intellect
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It's risky to try to build the confidence of a player in the run-in, we can't afford it now. We have Semenyo who is a better goalscorer than Foden, at least on current form. We don't need more goalscorers, we need creators.
 
I'm not exactly sure what he brings to the current system and at the moment, it feels like Phil doesn't know it himself either.
 
I'm really sad to say this as I have always been a big Phil fan but he was one of the main reasons we dropped points. Although he is covering lots of ground he is offering little offensively and defensively.....watch their first and he loses the ball cheaply on the edge of their area to create the transition (that happened at least 3 or 4 times). Watch how hard he tries to get back and rectify his mistake (he jogs). On their second watch his passive press as they played a one two round him to set up Andersons strike. It looks like he is going through the motions. Weak on the ball, his close passing and taking the ball under pressure were his strengths. They have deserted him. Its not like this is an outlier game, its the norm over the last few months. If the poor lad is ill he needs to call it out and sit out until he is fully fit because he is grinding his reputation into the ground which is heartbreaking to see.
 
Been a huge defender of his and I still love him but it's clear he's just dropped off a cliff. I was hopeful during his slight resurgence from September to Christmas but he's been woeful since.

I dont understand it because we all know how good he is and can be - he can be a match-winner and has been many times for us. Despite his form I'm convinced he's a more talented player than any young English comparison, including Rogers and Palmer. It might just be bias that's making me say that but not one of those others will win half of what Foden has in his career - and lets face it Phil has more than played his part in our successes.

But you have to ask the question has he become too comfortable and complacent? Personal issues? Or is it a confidence thing or a combination of all?

As much as I hate to say it I think next season will probably be make or break for him at City.
 
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