Him and Cole Palmer have been the best in the league this season.
Phil Foden - What Is His Potential?
- Thread starter Davs
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) was joined by comedian Ali Woods to look back at the best and worst moments of a rollercoaster season with the annual United Hour Awards.
Has Ten Hag been sacked yet? We're not sure and we hope not, but it's looking more likely as the days pass.
Who should replace him and why is it taking so long to make a decision?
I hate his face, his stupid hair and his wanky celebration.
Twatty little poster boy for their vile project.
Twatty little poster boy for their vile project.
That's Rodri imo.
Definitions of "best" anything is heavily biased towards offensive productivity contributors.
The evidence of this being that City haven't lost in 70 games with Rodri playing. He is expected to not only dominate midfield duels, defensive performance, and make the machine run, but he must simultaneously match a forward players creative output just to be in the conversation.
And that is simply unacceptable. Foden and De Bruyne only have to concern themselves with getting G+A's, but Rodri has to do an that whilst being a DM and be a defensive and playmaking monster.
He's got to the stage where you know the ball's going in the net if he's given space to get a shot in, in and around the box.
Agreed. He and Haaland are not good looking kids.
Arguably, they’re the only City players that I could see playing for them had they not won the lottery. All of the rest of their first team wouldn’t even have thought of touching City with a ten foot pole.
He now has 6 Premier League titles. Same as Rio Ferdinand. Let that sink in.
How far we have fallen. Depressing.
How far we have fallen. Depressing.
Got nothing to do with us and everything to do with the empty, state-owned vessel that is city. It means nothing.
Yup. He’s a kid, his birth year starts with a 2.
And absolutely none of them are deserved. Not one. It could be something like 20 by the time he hangs up his boots.
Not really. This is the first season Foden got to play more like an inside forward consistently for City, and the problem is that he and Bellingham are both inside forwards. So you either play both and drop somebody else, or you play one of them in a role other than his best - in which case there might be better options outright
Until now Bellingham has generally been awesome for England as an inside forward, and Foden has not. Makes sense to me that Southgate made Bellingham the centerpiece of England
We've seen him literally murder teams the past 3 weeks playing wide left. The idea he will struggle there this summer for England is straight up fanciful. Not to mention smacks of just wanting Southgate to fail because some just don't rate him.
Best English footballer since Rooney.
It’s not fanciful at all. He’s not done well there in an England shirt. In a city shirt it is different. For example for City they’ve Haaland who stretches oppo back lines which creates space for the wingers/10s whereas Kane doesn’t do this which creates less space for Foden.
Secondly in City’s team there’s no one else who likes to play in the left half space like Foden so he has license to drift in there. On the other hand for England, Bellingham will play 10 and he drifts also into this area.
Thirdly, it’s City. The team is so well drilled that even Gvardiol, a CB, has been doing well overlapping as a full back. Gvardiol would be half as effective doing that at international level because at City no matter where he is on the pitch he knows the position of at least 2 others to pass to.
People underestimate team dynamics in international football. It’s part of the reason Saka did so well at the World Cup - because no one else in the squad is naturally good in that area of the pitch. Foden played RW for England and looked pretty bad. He played LW and looked anonymous because we’ve already got many people who like to be in that left half space. If you’ve a front 3 of all ball to feet players (Foden Kane Saka) there’s no one to run in behind create space for them to receive the ball. Rashford or Gordon would be better fits for LW.
Well for me, and considering the season he has had this will sound weird.....Bellinghams best position isnt a number 10, its a number 8 box to box. I think Foden is actually a better 10 than Bellingham. Been saying it for 30months....Rice, Bellingham, Foden....that should be our midfield three
Will be all the sweeter when it is reset to nil.
Foden is the player that you wish at left City a few years ago to get more first team minutes. Sadly he didnt.
future england captain... possibly the best Englishmen in this (similar) position since Scholesy
I wonder where his longer term position is for England is. You've got Saka on the RW and Bellingham as the most advanced midfielder. There could be a case for Bellingham to drop deeper and Foden to take a midfield spot (Southgate won't do it this summer though), similarly, he can play on the LW and he has experience playing as a false 9 for City (as a Kane alternative). It's a nice situation to have but with so many options and potentially key players to drop, there could be regets.
He wouldn't be as good if he didn't play for City, its seriously an advantage to be playing that kind of football.
Would like to see him actually do something in an England shirt before I give him that title, personally.
I vaguely recall these league award votes are concluded in April.
He’s leading England to glory this upcoming EUROs.
"In the past" thanks to not even playing such a role at club level. You are making the unwarranted assumption it will NEVER come good for him for England and I don't see any good reason why. Especially after him having the best season in his life operating wide left and as a 10 for City all year. Plus being excellent in the games England has played during that time frame
This isn't true at all. For the longest the likes of Foden were completely used to operating behind false 9 type central attackers. The only actual reason things didn't work for England was his on form had dipped and a natural winger like Saka was on fire and thus over took him. Plain and simple. Same thing with Bellingham taking his chance down the middle. It had absolutely nothing to do with tactics.
in fact Foden's recent England performances since the last tournament have been chalk and cheese.
This claim for me holds even less water. Foden isn't a static player nor unintelligent player. Neither is Bellingham. I fully expect the two of them to comfortably interchange positions in attack.
Bellingham himself at Real Madrid this season has played a role that has taught him the new trait to seamless interchange with the split strikers ahead of him, right or left and with midfield players either side of the diamond he plays at the tip of. A skill set neither he nor England had at the last tournament. Same way England did NOT have a Foden proveably comfortable at the highest level wide left. I see no reason why their roles should clash. Yet Foden at City has proven more than comfortably central, in the right half space, further right and even upfront in his career before his mastering this new skillset!
Honestly I get where a you are coming from. But I feel a lot of you are giving into your misgivings about Southgate the coach and failing to notice the natural evolution of the players you currently have at his disposal for England. Right now England's only true questions are center defence (starting pairing) and center midfield (Partner for Rice). The attack this time is set and ready to cook.
England national team is shaping up to do great things, if they can get a real manager that is.
Aren't him and Jude clashing in the field ? I feel like to get the best out of England, a choice has to be made between them
Foden has been shite for England so far but in fairness to him Messi didn't do anything much of note for Argentina til he was 27
Well you're obviously not dropping either player unless you're a lunatic. If I was guessing, Southgate will play Foden on the left, Saka on the right and Kane up front with Bellingham in behind.
Personally, I'd play Rice, Bellingham and Foden is midfield. Try it the first match and see how it goes, could it be too open, maybe but should be give it a shot.
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This is the Gerrard v Lampard conundrum again
I dont care about how good he is, if he had moved on somewhere else he simply wouldnt be playing for City as the desired end result
I don't think we are going to agree. Let's see how he plays at the Euros.
If City aren't punished, he'll probably go down as the most successful English player ever comfortably by the time he retires. His trophy list is already a piss take.
Or if he was elsewhere he'd be doing what Palmers doing
Why would one of the best young strikers in the world, who could move to any club he pleases, pick a random team struggling every season to not be relegated or at best finishing mid table? There's no way Haaland would have gone to City pre-takeover.
It'd be like someone like Bellingham or Wirtz picking a team like Wolves as his next club. More extreme even. Haaland was higher rated than those two before the City move.
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Good point. I was referring to his supporting City as a child because his dad played for them, but yes he absolutely wouldn’t be playing for them had he not won the lottery.
Think Palmer is better than him.
I don't think what palmer is doing is as good.
Ahh I see, fair enough.I dont care about how good he is, if he had moved on somewhere else he simply wouldnt be playing for City as the desired end result
Based on what? A dozen penalties and leaving the club Foden just carried to the title with a POTY season as he couldn't even start games?
Foden on the left would be a massive waste
It would be but there is a tricky decision to be made. There has been no standout LW this season and Foden has played there quite a bit for City this season. You've got Saka on the RW who is a more natural fit for the right wing. Then you have Bellingham who has been excellent for Madrid and is thriving in the more advanced role. There isn't really an alternative position for Saka and while Bellingham didn't play so far forward for Dortmund, moving Bellingham further back to support Rice a bit more in the defensive phase would take something away from Bellingham's game and potentially leave England a bit exposed defensively. I do think the midfield set up can be countered by having more defensive fullbacks (i.e. Walker at RB but not sure about LB). I'd give it a go at some point in the future but with Grealish and Rashford out of form and Gordon inexperienced, I'd play Foden on the left in the Euros.
Where did Jude play in the WC ? Advanced or as an 8 ?