Kalvin Phillips

[oldius]

Good that he wants to stay and fight for his place. Good luck, Kalvin. You were injured for a subtantial part of your first season. As was Nathan Aké.
I'll judge you on your second season. If you're still not being picked, you're not the man for Pep.

Very fair comment.

 

[Invisible Man's Bandage]

For starters, Kalvin needs to return to pre-season with 100% commitment to show Pep why he should merit far more involvement than the pitiful number of minutes he got last season.

I've still got no idea why he decided he needed a full holiday entitlement after the WC as he barely played for us before it and not at the tournament either Then to compound that by returning so out of condition that Pep needed to vent his fury publicly is staggering. This will be the greatest comeback since Lazarus if he can turn it around for us

 

[Brewster's millions]

For starters, Kalvin needs to return to pre-season with 100% commitment to show Pep why he should merit far more involvement than the pitiful number of minutes he got last season.

I've still got no idea why he decided he needed a full holiday entitlement after the WC as he barely played for us before it and not at the tournament either Then to compound that by returning so out of condition that Pep needed to vent his fury publicly is staggering. This will be the greatest comeback since Lazarus if he can turn it around for us

I don’t think Lazarus has got much to worry about to be honest.

 

[bluenova]

He's been unlucky with injuries but I feel the coaching staff have found problems with his mentality. Pep doesn't usually throw players under the bus like he did Kalvin after the World Cup and as of now it hasn't had the desired effect. At the start of last season I rated Phillips above Rice seeing them both for England but he just hasn't done owt for a whole year while Rice has improved again.

If he stays I'm hoping it's a confidence issue, and if he gets some early games, it'll suddenly click.

At times last season he looked like he didn't want the ball, which would be a major issue. Clearly, in comparison to the likes of Rodri, Gundogan, Bernardo, Grealish etc., who are always open, it might just look like he's hiding, when he's really just a 'normal' player. The worry is that he's cautious because he's not up to it, but hopefully it's just the pressure of not having played and the complexity of Pep's instructions.

With a more normal season, and better grip on how Pep wants him to play, I'd like to see how he plays when he feels like he belongs.

 

[WesthoughtonJohn]

Good that he wants to stay and fight for his place. Good luck, Kalvin. You were injured for a subtantial part of your first season. As was Nathan Aké.
I'll judge you on your second season. If you're still not being picked, you're not the man for Pep.

Lovely post, and I think there's a good player there, but I think the bridges were burnt after the WC.
It's very rare for Pep to call a player out the way he did. Got to be 100% when he rocks up the first day of pre-season, and show more of what he's about than in his cameos last season

 

[bumbleblue]

I would like to see how he does starting in a proper first team not a muddle of rotations and “giving minutes to” x y z. That might help his confidence.

 

[Blu3m00n91]

For starters, Kalvin needs to return to pre-season with 100% commitment to show Pep why he should merit far more involvement than the pitiful number of minutes he got last season.

I've still got no idea why he decided he needed a full holiday entitlement after the WC as he barely played for us before it and not at the tournament either Then to compound that by returning so out of condition that Pep needed to vent his fury publicly is staggering. This will be the greatest comeback since Lazarus if he can turn it around for us

This is spot on but I don’t see it. Last season I saw a player who was delighted at the fact he was even at City. Does he have the drive to push hard in training and show Pep he deserves a chance? I don’t think so. If he gets another 10-15 appearances and a couple trophies he’ll be happy as a pig in shit.

 

[bluemoon32]

Hopefully turns up for pre season training fit and ready to go after his year off on full pay

 

[FatedBlue77]

He's got to step up.

 

[jamesha]

I would like to see how he does starting in a proper first team not a muddle of rotations and “giving minutes to” x y z. That might help his confidence.

Our midfield will be in a bit of a state of flux at the start of the season - no Gundo or KdB - so I am pretty certain that Pep will want Rodri to play and provide some solidity in most games. Getting Kovacic up to speed will also be a priority so I am not expecting K-P to start games in the league or Europe.

The best thing he could do is get himself into absolutely top shape the way Stephen Ireland did before his outstanding season in 2008 (iirc).