Kalvin Phillips

I genuinely think that nasty shoulder injury Kalvin picked up a couple of years ago, coupled with that devastating hamstring tear, has slowly but surely finished him off. His last season for Leeds was really heavily affected by injury but when he played he looked like he could still hold down a deep midfield role in a technical side, and Pep was clearly a fan when Bielsa was at Leeds. But then he came to us, contracted yet another shoulder injury, and he needed that surgery which kept him out until Christmas. That was probably the last straw and I don't think he's ever recovered from that early few months with us where he was unfit at first, recovering from surgery, then coming back from the World Cup overweight. There's lots of comments on here about him being shrugged off the ball too easily and moving so slowly that it seems like he's going backwards - both of things have got to be linked to him feeling tender and unsure of himself in the shoulder/back department and not being able to run as quickly as he used to. I remember a similar injury completely killing off Negredo's career - he went from being a 1 in 2 striker to a 1 in 5 striker basically overnight.

I'm gutted it's not worked out for him - well, as sad as it's possible to be about a lad who gets paid £1m a month to play football - because the lads in the dressing room really seem to like him and want him to do well. The English lads love him, Bernardo ran to him first after scoring against Bayern in the Champions League last season. It's not like a Danny Mills situation where he was happy to sit on massive wages - when we were drowning in debt - contributing fuck all on the pitch and causing a right stink in the dressing room while still being employed. Kalvin's at least kept his head down, kept a smile on his face, and has tried his best. Pep definitely appreciates that and you can tell the players all really want the best for him. Sadly it's a simple case of him just not good enough anymore. He still leaves as a member of our treble-winning team, though, and even though he was barely involved he still made appearances in every competition and therefore contributed to the glory we all experienced. Even if his contribution was only 2% or 1%, that little bit he was involved with might have been enough to push us over the line. And he was there on stage singing the Johnny Stones song, with expletives and everything, to thousands of blues who'd gone to Manchester in that glorious thunderstorm.

There's stuff behind the scenes we'll never see. Who knows, he might have had a quiet word with Jack during half-time at Elland Road - when he'd missed three sitters and looked like he was losing it a bit - and sent him back out there to get two assists and turn his season around. He might well have kept everyone's spirits up during tough periods last season, and there were a few of them! I'm not saying these things did happen, just that football is a team game and success doesn't happen if one part of that team doesn't function. To win a treble, lots of specific things need to occur and lots of little moments go a long way, and I don't believe for a second that Kalvin didn't contribute in his own way. Thankfully we're privileged enough to be in a position where, if a £40m transfer doesn't work out, we can send the player on their way without it affecting us too much. That doesn't mean Kalvin hasn't been a disappointment and it doesn't mean he's not a flop - unfortunately he's been both of those things - but it does mean we're in a position to cut him a bit of slack and remember the good times we had with him. Pleased he got his goal last night, happy that all the lads watching at home were cheering him on.

Wish him well wherever he goes. Really sorry it didn't work out here.
 
youngbob said:
I genuinely think that nasty shoulder injury Kalvin picked up a couple of years ago, coupled with that devastating hamstring tear, has slowly but surely finished him off. His last season for Leeds was really heavily affected by injury but when he played he looked like he could still hold down a deep midfield role in a technical side, and Pep was clearly a fan when Bielsa was at Leeds. But then he came to us, contracted yet another shoulder injury, and he needed that surgery which kept him out until Christmas. That was probably the last straw and I don't think he's ever recovered from that early few months with us where he was unfit at first, recovering from surgery, then coming back from the World Cup overweight. There's lots of comments on here about him being shrugged off the ball too easily and moving so slowly that it seems like he's going backwards - both of things have got to be linked to him feeling tender and unsure of himself in the shoulder/back department and not being able to run as quickly as he used to. I remember a similar injury completely killing off Negredo's career - he went from being a 1 in 2 striker to a 1 in 5 striker basically overnight.

I'm gutted it's not worked out for him - well, as sad as it's possible to be about a lad who gets paid £1m a month to play football - because the lads in the dressing room really seem to like him and want him to do well. The English lads love him, Bernardo ran to him first after scoring against Bayern in the Champions League last season. It's not like a Danny Mills situation where he was happy to sit on massive wages - when we were drowning in debt - contributing fuck all on the pitch and causing a right stink in the dressing room while still being employed. Kalvin's at least kept his head down, kept a smile on his face, and has tried his best. Pep definitely appreciates that and you can tell the players all really want the best for him. Sadly it's a simple case of him just not good enough anymore. He still leaves as a member of our treble-winning team, though, and even though he was barely involved he still made appearances in every competition and therefore contributed to the glory we all experienced. Even if his contribution was only 2% or 1%, that little bit he was involved with might have been enough to push us over the line. And he was there on stage singing the Johnny Stones song, with expletives and everything, to thousands of blues who'd gone to Manchester in that glorious thunderstorm.

There's stuff behind the scenes we'll never see. Who knows, he might have had a quiet word with Jack during half-time at Elland Road - when he'd missed three sitters and looked like he was losing it a bit - and sent him back out there to get two assists and turn his season around. He might well have kept everyone's spirits up during tough periods last season, and there were a few of them! I'm not saying these things did happen, just that football is a team game and success doesn't happen if one part of that team doesn't function. To win a treble, lots of specific things need to occur and lots of little moments go a long way, and I don't believe for a second that Kalvin didn't contribute in his own way. Thankfully we're privileged enough to be in a position where, if a £40m transfer doesn't work out, we can send the player on their way without it affecting us too much. That doesn't mean Kalvin hasn't been a disappointment and it doesn't mean he's not a flop - unfortunately he's been both of those things - but it does mean we're in a position to cut him a bit of slack and remember the good times we had with him. Pleased he got his goal last night, happy that all the lads watching at home were cheering him on.

Wish him well wherever he goes. Really sorry it didn't work out here.
Click to expand...
Well said Mrs Phillips
 
youngbob said:
I genuinely think that nasty shoulder injury Kalvin picked up a couple of years ago, coupled with that devastating hamstring tear, has slowly but surely finished him off. His last season for Leeds was really heavily affected by injury but when he played he looked like he could still hold down a deep midfield role in a technical side, and Pep was clearly a fan when Bielsa was at Leeds. But then he came to us, contracted yet another shoulder injury, and he needed that surgery which kept him out until Christmas. That was probably the last straw and I don't think he's ever recovered from that early few months with us where he was unfit at first, recovering from surgery, then coming back from the World Cup overweight. There's lots of comments on here about him being shrugged off the ball too easily and moving so slowly that it seems like he's going backwards - both of things have got to be linked to him feeling tender and unsure of himself in the shoulder/back department and not being able to run as quickly as he used to. I remember a similar injury completely killing off Negredo's career - he went from being a 1 in 2 striker to a 1 in 5 striker basically overnight.

I'm gutted it's not worked out for him - well, as sad as it's possible to be about a lad who gets paid £1m a month to play football - because the lads in the dressing room really seem to like him and want him to do well. The English lads love him, Bernardo ran to him first after scoring against Bayern in the Champions League last season. It's not like a Danny Mills situation where he was happy to sit on massive wages - when we were drowning in debt - contributing fuck all on the pitch and causing a right stink in the dressing room while still being employed. Kalvin's at least kept his head down, kept a smile on his face, and has tried his best. Pep definitely appreciates that and you can tell the players all really want the best for him. Sadly it's a simple case of him just not good enough anymore. He still leaves as a member of our treble-winning team, though, and even though he was barely involved he still made appearances in every competition and therefore contributed to the glory we all experienced. Even if his contribution was only 2% or 1%, that little bit he was involved with might have been enough to push us over the line. And he was there on stage singing the Johnny Stones song, with expletives and everything, to thousands of blues who'd gone to Manchester in that glorious thunderstorm.

There's stuff behind the scenes we'll never see. Who knows, he might have had a quiet word with Jack during half-time at Elland Road - when he'd missed three sitters and looked like he was losing it a bit - and sent him back out there to get two assists and turn his season around. He might well have kept everyone's spirits up during tough periods last season, and there were a few of them! I'm not saying these things did happen, just that football is a team game and success doesn't happen if one part of that team doesn't function. To win a treble, lots of specific things need to occur and lots of little moments go a long way, and I don't believe for a second that Kalvin didn't contribute in his own way. Thankfully we're privileged enough to be in a position where, if a £40m transfer doesn't work out, we can send the player on their way without it affecting us too much. That doesn't mean Kalvin hasn't been a disappointment and it doesn't mean he's not a flop - unfortunately he's been both of those things - but it does mean we're in a position to cut him a bit of slack and remember the good times we had with him. Pleased he got his goal last night, happy that all the lads watching at home were cheering him on.

Wish him well wherever he goes. Really sorry it didn't work out here.
Click to expand...
Has he died?
 
youngbob said:
I genuinely think that nasty shoulder injury Kalvin picked up a couple of years ago, coupled with that devastating hamstring tear, has slowly but surely finished him off. His last season for Leeds was really heavily affected by injury but when he played he looked like he could still hold down a deep midfield role in a technical side, and Pep was clearly a fan when Bielsa was at Leeds. But then he came to us, contracted yet another shoulder injury, and he needed that surgery which kept him out until Christmas. That was probably the last straw and I don't think he's ever recovered from that early few months with us where he was unfit at first, recovering from surgery, then coming back from the World Cup overweight. There's lots of comments on here about him being shrugged off the ball too easily and moving so slowly that it seems like he's going backwards - both of things have got to be linked to him feeling tender and unsure of himself in the shoulder/back department and not being able to run as quickly as he used to. I remember a similar injury completely killing off Negredo's career - he went from being a 1 in 2 striker to a 1 in 5 striker basically overnight.

I'm gutted it's not worked out for him - well, as sad as it's possible to be about a lad who gets paid £1m a month to play football - because the lads in the dressing room really seem to like him and want him to do well. The English lads love him, Bernardo ran to him first after scoring against Bayern in the Champions League last season. It's not like a Danny Mills situation where he was happy to sit on massive wages - when we were drowning in debt - contributing fuck all on the pitch and causing a right stink in the dressing room while still being employed. Kalvin's at least kept his head down, kept a smile on his face, and has tried his best. Pep definitely appreciates that and you can tell the players all really want the best for him. Sadly it's a simple case of him just not good enough anymore. He still leaves as a member of our treble-winning team, though, and even though he was barely involved he still made appearances in every competition and therefore contributed to the glory we all experienced. Even if his contribution was only 2% or 1%, that little bit he was involved with might have been enough to push us over the line. And he was there on stage singing the Johnny Stones song, with expletives and everything, to thousands of blues who'd gone to Manchester in that glorious thunderstorm.

There's stuff behind the scenes we'll never see. Who knows, he might have had a quiet word with Jack during half-time at Elland Road - when he'd missed three sitters and looked like he was losing it a bit - and sent him back out there to get two assists and turn his season around. He might well have kept everyone's spirits up during tough periods last season, and there were a few of them! I'm not saying these things did happen, just that football is a team game and success doesn't happen if one part of that team doesn't function. To win a treble, lots of specific things need to occur and lots of little moments go a long way, and I don't believe for a second that Kalvin didn't contribute in his own way. Thankfully we're privileged enough to be in a position where, if a £40m transfer doesn't work out, we can send the player on their way without it affecting us too much. That doesn't mean Kalvin hasn't been a disappointment and it doesn't mean he's not a flop - unfortunately he's been both of those things - but it does mean we're in a position to cut him a bit of slack and remember the good times we had with him. Pleased he got his goal last night, happy that all the lads watching at home were cheering him on.

Wish him well wherever he goes. Really sorry it didn't work out here.
Click to expand...
Some very good points and well made. One of the reasons I think he would be better to go on loan to Italy is that the game there is both slower and less physically demanding, so in time he'd be able to rebuild both his confidence and his career.
 
One of those where he seems a nice enough guy that you really rooted for him to succeed properly here but it’s just not going to happen.

Got himself a treble out of his time here though…
 
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