47 | Phil Foden - 2025/26

Nobody should be glad he is missing out. That will be a huge blow to his confidence, could easily spiral him even further, much more of a negative than the silver lining of having a summer off. Simple fact is though he doesn't deserve it. Has never performed for England and hasn't performed for club for 18 months. On pure ability, he is England's nest player by a wide margin which shows how bad he has been to deservedly not make the squad.

Needs to be monitored this summer. Make sure he has a complete break, none of this coming back early shite, take the full break given to him, do whatever to recover mentally and physically, go on holiday, go fishing, ideally stay away from Grealish over the summer and then come back, hit the ground running and show us the Foden that us ready to be a leader in this team.
 
I had doubts about him making the squad back in November and December when he was much better than in the 2nd half of the season.

His numbers are decent, but most of his G/A are against bottom-half teams at home. Had some very good performances at home (Everton, Dortmund, Palace recently), but didn't impress in games at the grounds of top teams. Disappeared at Arsenal, Real, United, didn’t play at Liverpool. The last time he started away from home was in January: United and Bodo.

Tuchel was patient and gave him chances, as did Pep. Pep started him vs Forest when he was very poor and made a costly mistake. Then kept subbing him on when we needed to win and he contributed nothing: W Ham, Everton and Bournemouth. Given that he hasn't scored since December, it was really generous from Pep.

The main reason he may miss the WC is that he tends to be anonymous in difficult games and is inconsistent against average teams: might be really good or really bad.

He needs to get stronger both physically and mentally. Otherwise, he may go the way of other English talents who peaked before turning 25.
 
I seem to remember Haaland saying something to the effect that Foden had lost the hunger to compete last season. This season I’ve felt he looked good in some games. More up for it. Perhaps the summer off will do him some good. Being left out of the England squad might give him the desire to prove himself before the next call-up. He’s won practically everything. Maybe that shine needs to wear off a bit.
 
He won't be happy, but hopefully he comes back fresh and hungry. At least when the team stinks up the pitch, they won't be able to scapegoat him.
 
I'm With Stupid said:
Yep. People said the same thing when Grealish was left out of the squad, and he didn't end up coming back stronger as a result of it.
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Yeah exactly.

One positive is, if he can get his fitness back and be back to his best consistently we have one hell of a player ready to go from the start of next season.

We have had to come back in the majority of titles we won under Pep. It would be nice to get ahead of the pack this time around and having key players available early doors will be beneficial.

I've convinced myself Chelsea can be title contenders next season. No European football and a large majority of their squad not at the World Cup. They'll be a very good side under Alonso.
 
RobH said:
I seem to remember Haaland saying something to the effect that Foden had lost the hunger to compete last season.
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I can't see that going down well in a friendly relationship kind of way?

Hopefully, he goes away, sorts whatever it is that is wrong with him and comes back next season in the form that we know he is capable of.
 
BlueMoonRisin’ said:
All he needs to sort his head out is some time fishing away from the pressure of being a famous professional footballer.
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Pressure of being a famous footballer? Why is he a big media star? No. If he cannot handle being a footballer he has a major character flaw which no amount of fishing will solve
 
Bournemouth Blue said:
Glad he gets a rest, but Tuchel is clueless
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So Tuchel is clueless because he hasn’t picked him, just like Pep hasn’t either for most games this season, but you know better? Hilarious. He hasn’t done anything for the last 2 years now. Anyone else would have been out of the door ages ago. I really hope the Club doesn’t get sentimental and keep him regardless.

Also how much rest does he need? He has hardly played this season.
 
roy.or.r said:
So Tuchel is clueless because he hasn’t picked him, just like Pep hasn’t either for most games this season, but you know better? Hilarious. He hasn’t done anything for the last 2 years now. Anyone else would have been out of the door ages ago. I really hope the Club doesn’t get sentimental and keep him regardless.

Also how much rest does he need? He has hardly played this season.
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To say he hasn't done anything for two years is certainly very harsh
 
Selfishly I'm happy he's not going to be flogged to death this summer.
If England fail to win a match it's always Phils fault with the rancid media.
So fuck them, let them find another scapegoat.
Personally I don't think his form merits being picked anyway.
Hopefully City will benefit from a fresh hungry Phil Foden next season
 
Earlyriser said:
Pressure of being a famous footballer? Why is he a big media star? No. If he cannot handle being a footballer he has a major character flaw which no amoun of fishing will solve
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Yes, pressure of being a famous footballer which he has been since he came through our academy. He probably struggles with fame and loss of anonymity that most people have and take for granted. What's his major character flaw, his mental health?

Fishing is good for mental health btw, it's been good for mine. A proper summer's break with plenty of time for his family and fishing will be good for Phil's too.
 
BlueMoonRisin’ said:
Yes, pressure of being a famous footballer which he has been since he came through our academy. He probably struggles with fame and loss of anonymity that most people have and take for granted. What's his major character flaw, his mental health?

Fishing is good for mental health btw, it's been good for mine. A proper summer's break with plenty of time for his family and fishing will be good for Phil's too.
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He's been fishing since he's been a kid. It's done him no good in the last couple of years. Yes, it can be good for some but not for everyone. If he cannot handle the pressure off the field he sure won't be able to handle it on the field
 
Obviously going to be a kick in the dick not getting picked but he hasn’t merited it. Should take the opportunity to relax with his family and bulk up on some top tier all inclusive. Really hope he gets himself right for next season, he’s one of us!!
 
Earlyriser said:
He's been fishing since he's been a kid. It's done him no good in the last couple of years. Yes, it can be good for some but not for everyone. If he cannot handle the pressure off the field he sure won't be able to handle it on the field
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Fishing is his least problem.

If it's true that Tuchel hasn't selected him, we might hear more about Foden's problems in the next weeks. Mental issues are no less serious than physical, but they are a lot more delicate to discuss publicly.
 
I get people saying that it could knock his confidence not going, but realistically he hasn't merited a place and even when he has previously it's never gone well for him in an England shirt, often for reasons beyond his control. If he had gone, he'd have been sat on the bench for a month and occasionally been thrown on out of position and expected to salvage something. Not sure it would do him much good.

Have a holiday and then knuckle down in pre-season.
 
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