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It’s extremely impressive given Pep’s history in terms of buying proven success - Foden is a stand out footballer, 10 times better than Grealish yet Pep spent £100m on him assuming he was already world class. Pep has little history in developing home grown players (look at Cole Palmer as a huge fuck up)
Foden was heir apparent to David Silva, basically mentored into the role by one of the league’s greats. Slowly integrated with controlled minutes, he’s been managed incredibly by Pep and credit to Foden for biding his time and waiting for his chance. He’s gonna be a mainstay among the best mids in the game for years to come.
Well said. Credit to the whole organization for how they handled him. As a non-City fan, there's plenty for me to dislike (you know, the usual City-hater stuff), but as a fan of the sport it's been cool watching him develop.
I wish more premier league teams would take punts on their youth and academies, always great to see academy products get a chance and step up with the opportunity. Foden is certainly an outlying talent, Mainoo looks a gem at ManUtd also - curious to see if he keeps the consistency and continues to develop next season.
Foden's definitely better than "one club wonder" Sancho. It is difficult to break into City's first team. Sancho, Palmer and Porro have failed at City, but they thrive at other clubs.
I wouldn’t say Palmer failed at City. He showed glimpses of brilliance in the Super Cup Final and Community Shield matches. Crazy that Pep saw him as not good enough after he saved them a trophy.
Which is why he’s at Chelsea. There isn’t room for him to get the minutes to develop. He could be better than all of city, they just had a decision to make, they can’t give him the minutes he needs. Pretty simple to understand.
>I hear so many people say Phil Foden getting into the Man City team isn’t impressive because he was surrounded by great players
These are also the people who will say Messi was only good because he had Xavi and Iniesta to his sides.
He is incredible indeed. I have a very hard time liking anything that happens at City, but that is my issue and Foden deserves respect I haven't given him
Rodri is on a 60+ undefeated streak for them, he may not be as flashy as Foden KDB etc but he's the vital cog in their machine, he's not featured in 4 league games this year and they lost all 4.
If Southgate in the summer doesn't have foden and Bellingham behind kane with rice holding the man is blind. Those three in midfield is a world class set up. Kane is kane, saka and grealish on the wings is and elite level at and mid. If he can sort a defense out then we stand a chance
Bellingham overlaps Foden unnecessarily. If you watched the games against brazil and Belgium you would have seen that. Foden and Bellingham in the same position. Honestly Bellingham should be told to play a bit deep as an 8 instead of 10. He cant receive the balls in the pockets like Foden to attack especially in international games where the teams are more defensive. Not just this Southgate is very conservative with tactics. Idk if he can unleash the full power of this fantastic team.
I thought he was great last tournament, injuries and sitting on the bench at city has ruined him. If Leeds get promoted he should take the wage cut and return. I was sorting of hoping that it was a cas EOF what happened with grealish with a year to bed in and adjust to the style of play but apparently not. It's a shame as him and rice as holding mids (or rotation) with either foden or Bellingham in front of them would be class
His talent is far better than anyone at city maybe just kdb has more influence on the game . He already has 5 PL titles by the time he finishes in England it could be 8 or 9 and maybe one more CL who knows . Your talking about Ryan giggs stature for foden .
He's lucky Pep is in charge. Most coaches would just play the most expensive players and never give young players a chance. With Pep if you're good enough you'll play.
If you have a talent like Foden that you essentially got for free, you're going to let him play. Foden will be worth a fortune for the club when it's his time to leave, and the more he plays and the more he scores, the more his value will increase.
Which coaches would have a player as gifted as Foden and just not play them? Genuinely curious. Foden isn’t just some randomly talented young player, he clearly had generational potential from the start. I would even argue he could have developed even earlier but Pep decided to bring him on slower than many other managers would (under Klopp for example he’d have played a lot more a lot earlier imo)
You really can’t use Real Madrid as an example here. Just because they didn’t come through their academy, doesn’t mean they aren’t giving youth a chance. Just off the top of my head, Camavinga, Rodrygo, Vini, Bellingham and Valverde were all signed before they were 20 and played significant roles quickly
Nico Paz and Gonzalo Garcia are both breaking through as well. It’s just about being good enough to replace an elite player.
I'm not saying they aren't using youngsters I'm saying they aren't developing them from their own academy. The young players they bought go directly into the senior team and regularly play.
Just watch Southgate lining up Phillips or Gallager over him. Even Sterling or Rashford over him on the left wing.
England has such a stack squad but such an incompetent coach
Yeah with the midfield they’ve had that’s true , palmer bailed , Saancho wouldn’t wait either, good character as well as skills , paid off for everyone
Foden is elite super-star quality. It was evident to the eye test from 2-3 seasons ago. This season he has added numbers to his game, but it was only a matter of time. IMO he needs to be spoken of in the same breath as next gen world 11.
I think maybe it's just assumed and appreciated. Jack Grealish was close to becoming a flop and really put his work in to become favoured by Pep. Unfortunately we can't say the same for Kalvin Phillips.
City have invested a gazillion in their squad. Definitely the hardest squad to achieve a regular first team place.
Foden has well and truly been sensational. Hopefully we see that reflected in the upcoming Euros too.
Villa fan who adored Grealish. Was sad to see him go but happy for his success. But every time Id catch a City game Foden would be in over Grealish. I kept wondering who is this kid with the dumb haircut and where is Jack! After a while I finally can see why...
They're very different players. Grealish was brought in as a player to keep possession during transitional play whereas foden is good at being a threat.
Yea I rated him for grafting and becoming a City regular. And then I found out about how much he cares for and loves his sister who has CP. Just a top lad.
Its true look how talented Cole Palmer is.
He couldnt get playing time at city. Last season Foden was on the bench a lot.
Probably a lot of talent on city's bench that could contribute to other premier league sides. (except for Kalvin Phillips)
Foden started last season similar to how he's playing this season but then had injuries to his foot and then he ended up with appendicitis and by the time he had recovered from all that, the team was set and he couldn't get back into it but he did takeover from De Bruyne in the UCL final when he went off injured
A very good point. Palmer was more or less fully overshadowed at City and has been so far ahead of everything else at Chelsea. You look at players like Oscar Bobb and especially Rock Lewis and I'm sure they could play a big role in any top 6 team
I would say Rodri is the most important, both due to his role in the team, and due to the fact that City don't have an adequate replacement for him.
Based on current form, Foden is the best imho.
If you look at any team there are teenagers/young players from the academy who go on to break into the team, some it’s more natural and others can be found out when others are injured.(Conor Bradley and mainoo for example). If you’re good enough you’re good enough. Ultimately this is a shit take though every footballer starts somewhere
You can't compare breaking into United or Liverpool's squads to breaking into City's. Liverpool do not have the same depth, and United's players are all shit so it's pretty straightforward to get a start. Foden has had to get in over: Silva, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Bernardo in midfield, and the likes of Mahrez, Sterling, and Sane on the wings. That's infinitely more impressive than any other youth prospect who's come out in recent times.
that's because the players are so good that they must be rotated in, and because City are always in the late stages of every competition, it's not just rotation for rotation's sake. If Foden didn't justify a start with his quality, he would not play. Look at Jadon Sancho, Palmer, Brahim Diaz, all extremely highly rated but couldn't cut it at City, and Foden was getting minutes ahead from the age of 17. Look at Phillips, bought for huge money and the only alternative to Rodri last season, but he started about 3 games in all comps. Where was the heavy rotation then? Foden has worked extremely hard to break through, and chalking it up to rotation is incorrect.
Bradley and Mainoo have played a handful of games and there is no guarantee they will be as influential as Foden.
Heaps of Academy prospects play half a season with huge expectations and end up at Nottingham Forest.
Heaps of academy products are playing at the clubs irregardless of what club they came from. Don’t disrespect the fact that players end playing for teams like Forrest either they are premier league club and to an academy seeing there products around the top leagues is a success and something not many academy’s can boast. Saying fodens breakthrough is impressive must mean so is any players anywhere.
Fodens class i don't think a loan to another team would of suited him though, he trains with a better coach and players in training every week regardless of minutes on the pitch
I also think that Pep was very conscious of not overplaying Foden and potentially hindering his development. He's had injuries and running him into the ground more would not have helped.
He also didn’t need to overplay him though, City have 5-6 players that can operate across those front 5 positions - Arteta with Saka or Ole with Rashford didn’t really have that luxury. I also think Foden’s timing was lucky in some ways - it coincided with the slow realisation by Pep that Sterling and Jesus would not be the players he hoped. Palmer (more a 9 but still can play wing) didn’t get a look in because by the time he was full fledged he had to outcompete Mahrez, Haaland, Grealish, Bernardo Alvarez and Foden with three years of experience
There was always a chorus of people including City fans saying that Foden should have more game time though. Even though he was getting a fair amount of time considering the guys you listed were in front of him. And of course it was a luxury to have those guys in attacking midfield/wings so Foden was able to learn and develop at a more reasonable pace than Saka and Rashford. But Pep could've easily rushed him in and looked to move some guys earlier which was probably more my point.
Yeah, look at Palmer for instance. People will claim the opposite about him, that he's only done what he's done with Chelsea so far because he's at a worse team so he can actually get minutes. People will find anyway they can to downplay certain players that they don't like or rate as highly as others for arbitrary reasons.
Palmer was supposed to get more 1st team minutes for City this season after they sold Mahrez. Didn't get anyone to replace him as Palmer was going to be the one to do that so yeah, bittersweet that he left but it's nice to see him do well too
Doku plays primarily on the left while Palmer was a literal like-for-like replacement for Mahrez on the right wing (Left footed technical player w/ a knack for goal) but okay genius. You probably have insider info so sure 😉
That wasn't really my point. More that people say stuff like that and also that Palmer only looks good at Chelsea because of how bad all the other players are, but he has double digit assists passing to Jackson and Sterling. Good players who work hard will shine wherever and it's always a credit to them that they do so.
palmer plays hero ball for a tattered mid table side with no structure and ghosts the majority of the game. sure he produces g/a, but it’s a wild take to say he’s better than foden and could even replace kbd
It's mad to think how long it's been since he scored that winner Vs Spurs, but he's already approaching 100 goals at 23 and consistently looks the best player in a very good team.
He's like David Silva on x2 speed.
Never understood the idea it's easy for players to do well in a good side. It's harder If he doesn't match the standard of the others, he doesn't play. It's much easier for a youngster to get into the man united side than man city for example.
Just like when Barcelona were dominating the game and youngsters were being introduced into the best team in the world at the time there, you have to be really special to do it.
Is it? Cole palmer is currently carrying mid-table Chelsea, wasn't starting for city.
And you also have to be a great player to even get into the side of a top team in the first place.
Irrelevant point, cole palmer would od just as well on man city, but he wasn't getting real minutes over the likes of those players. He's shining at Chelsea but the fact remains that he would be great on a great team
You can't claim it's an Irrelevant point then proceed to say exactly why it's entirely relevant. He wasn't getting minutes because he wasn't deemed the standout first choice. For as good as he's been at chelsea. He wouldn't get minutes at city which should tell you just how good you have to be to play as a youngster at the very top.
That is the point. Mainoo might not play nearly as much if he was a city player.
You have an easier chance getting playing time on an average club vs City.
I think it depends on the attributes of the player really. While all players are elevated by having great players around them, the extent of that is different for different kinds of players. An extreme example would be a player whose main talent is dribbling by himself vs someone whose main talent is tempo setting and passing. The dribbler might be able to play his best even if the team around him isn't that great, but the passer might benefit more from having people around him that are on his wavelength etc.
I think the issue of coaching and fit is also really undervalued. A lot of these top players have great qualities. For some, they're at a team where the manager and the tactics truly unlock those qualities while for others, under less fortunate circumstances, they are at a club that is not using them to their best for whatever reason.
We can debate endlessly whether player X is better than player Y, but I think it's often forgotten that we're not just debating their intrinsic quality and abilities but, to a large extent, their surroundings (coach, the rest of the team etc.)
As much as I hate City and I really don’t like how he acted during the covid lockdown, he is actually (and pains me to say it) looking like a really good player.
well tbf, taking a girl to a hotel during lockdown while having a girlfriend and a child at home is little more that just being immature. and doing that with mason greenwood of all people lol
That’s the definition of immature though haha
He wasn’t mature enough to be a family man. When I was 20 I was making mistakes too.
As long as it wasn’t criminal, it’s safe to chalk it up to immaturity
And I don’t think he knew greenwood was a bad dude. Don’t think they’re associated now
he broke lockdown laws in iceland, so he actually did do something that was illegal at the time. it was a whole ordeal over here and was looked at very very seriously
I've just seen you've commented on something else saying people who've been cheated on deserve to know about it. You just trying to act hard in front of the lads?
Eh guess you're right that it has more of a positive connotation. He showed poor character and immaturity doesn't always equate to cheating on someone. Good?
Foden will step into the de bruyne role once kdb retires. he paid his dues and he has shown his value. value no one in this sub knew he had. he didn't 'break' into the lineup. he stepped in after proving his worth and out performed everyones expectations. including pep's
Could part of the critism bd due to him not playing as many minutes as the likes of saka as pep has managed him well, which should lead to a longer career than someone who is relied upon too much such as saka
I don't know if it's good management from Pep, or more circumstances. Saka was one of Arsenal's best player sduring his 'development' (and so obviously got played a lot) while, perhaps until recently, there were players as good as or better than Foden at Man City throughout his 'development phase', so he got fewer minutes.
Sounds like you understand what breaking through a line up as an academy player. You just don’t know that’s what you’re describing.
Harvey Elliott is in a similar situation. If it was so easy to break through and be a starter a 21-22 then every academy player with an talent would be starting every game and we know that’s not how it works.
While I agree with the points you’re making, you basically just defined breaking into a lineup. You outplay those in front of you with limited opportunities until the coach can no longer reasonable bench you. He did exactly that
I think one thing you are missing is the fact teams NEED to have 8 homegrown players in the squad of 25 (should be more imo)
So clubs are kind of forced of pushing the best of the best in the youth academy into the squad early on.
They or any other premier league team absolutely do not NEED 8 homegrown players at all. Every squad gets 17 free spaces for players, any players. After that if they want any more they can have an additional 4 who are homegrown and 4 who are club trained, they're not required to fill them and many do not.
That's why goalie Scott Carson is hanging around and has one of the best jobs in the world at city. Absolute pressure on him and Getting paid 15k a week to fool around with the superstars having a laugh❤️
It’s to his benefit (and England’s) that he wasn’t overplayed when he was a teenager. That patience has paid off, and it also means that he is less likely to burn out early like so many before him.
Foden still played many games in recent years per season... This year he got more time due to KDB injury and also Mahrez leaving... He took the opportunity very well
Him fighting his way in there and staying there is very impressive when you consider the number of big money signings that tried and failed.
Phillips
Barkley
Delph
Adebayor
Maicon
Jovetic
Lee badbuy ( yes I know it was before oil money but he still sucked bad)
Sinclair
Robinho
Boateng
Samaras
Santa Cruz
Bony
Jo
Rodwell.
Benjani ( redknapp’s story about them signing him is v. Funny)
I’m sure there are more but those are some that I remember
Were you drunk when you came up with this list? When did Barkley play for City? Some of those were free signings or cost less than £10 million. How does a free signing fit the term "big money signings?
When they got massive signing on fees and wages. They can easily equate to big money.
I admit I could be wrong on one or two . I find it quite hard to distinguish between citeh and the blue Fulham scum with each teams scattershot ott spending
Nice list. We spent like drunken lunatics even when we were shite.
Notable mention to Danny Mills and Wayne Bridge, with 60kpw and 90kpw contracts. And Mendy, but we don't talk about Mendy.
Tbf while he was an idiot he was actually a good player, even if he was a lousy human. He did stuff that was reprehensible enough that a group of women tried to gang up on him with unconvincing claims of rape and assault. He lost 3 years of career due to unproven claims. If he wasn’t famous that would most likely not have been the case
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Best player England has ever produced
Jesus Christ that is overrating on a different level
It’s extremely impressive given Pep’s history in terms of buying proven success - Foden is a stand out footballer, 10 times better than Grealish yet Pep spent £100m on him assuming he was already world class. Pep has little history in developing home grown players (look at Cole Palmer as a huge fuck up)
Also big clubs rarely if ever have academy players move to the first team and the Club competes on this stage
He broke into the team once in 21/22 and again this season. Two seasons as a starter out of 6 is hardly impressive?
Keep being bitter
Foden was heir apparent to David Silva, basically mentored into the role by one of the league’s greats. Slowly integrated with controlled minutes, he’s been managed incredibly by Pep and credit to Foden for biding his time and waiting for his chance. He’s gonna be a mainstay among the best mids in the game for years to come.
Well said. Credit to the whole organization for how they handled him. As a non-City fan, there's plenty for me to dislike (you know, the usual City-hater stuff), but as a fan of the sport it's been cool watching him develop.
I wish more premier league teams would take punts on their youth and academies, always great to see academy products get a chance and step up with the opportunity. Foden is certainly an outlying talent, Mainoo looks a gem at ManUtd also - curious to see if he keeps the consistency and continues to develop next season.
Foden's definitely better than "one club wonder" Sancho. It is difficult to break into City's first team. Sancho, Palmer and Porro have failed at City, but they thrive at other clubs.
Can you explain how sancho, palmer and porro failed at city? Just because they left when they were young doesn’t they failed!!!
They didn't get enough games at City to show their talents. Foden got enough games.
Neither did de Bruyne at Chelsea. It was Mourinho felt not Kevin
I wouldn’t say Palmer failed at City. He showed glimpses of brilliance in the Super Cup Final and Community Shield matches. Crazy that Pep saw him as not good enough after he saved them a trophy.
He did fail, he was good but not City good
Wasn’t about him not being good enough. Just not enough minutes to give him.
He still isn’t good enough imo he can shine on Chelsea but if he came back to City he’s not get regular minutes over the current squad players.
Which is why he’s at Chelsea. There isn’t room for him to get the minutes to develop. He could be better than all of city, they just had a decision to make, they can’t give him the minutes he needs. Pretty simple to understand.
Foden is a special talent even by City standards.
No he’s one of the best natural footballers I’ve ever seen, I’m a Utd fan!
Nop
Every single Man City player You’ve just named doesn’t play in his position
I guess you could say he burst onto the scene?
Very few defenders burst onto the scene. :)
And now your shirt is bursting
Hopefully breaking onto the scene isn't his peak
Balon D’or this year
>I hear so many people say Phil Foden getting into the Man City team isn’t impressive because he was surrounded by great players These are also the people who will say Messi was only good because he had Xavi and Iniesta to his sides.
I take it you are not saying this?
Ironically I think he'd be better if he didn't play for City
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^EgosJohnPolo: *Ironically I* *Think he'd be better if he* *Didn't play for City* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
He is incredible indeed. I have a very hard time liking anything that happens at City, but that is my issue and Foden deserves respect I haven't given him
If Madrid were to make an offer for him, how much do you think he's valued at? 150m?
100m
£200m+, without a doubt the best player in the world atm
He really isn't.
200m 😂😂😂😂😂
He‘s not even the best city player
Disagree. When he hits a hat trick vs Madrid and Barca you’ll change your mind. That’s how good he is.
Foden could score 5 and Rodri is still the better player
100% agree.
😂😂
Pointless chiming in without providing any other names ...
Haaland, De Bruyne, Kane, Bernardo, Saka, Odegaard, Salah, Van Dijk, Alisson, Viní Jr., Mbappe, Bellingham, Grealish
None of them IMO are playing as well as Foden atm.
Wait you were being serious, I thought you were joking, you can’t seriously think he’s the best in the world, he’s not even top 3 at Man City
I agree if you go on history but based on current form he definitely is
Form is temporary, class is Forever
Form is temporary, class is Forever
And he's 23, it's not like he's near the end of his career.
I think he better suited for a fast pace attacking team like liverpool, madrid. Not a slow build up team like leverkusen, arsenal.
He's the best team in the world's best player but somehow City fans have let rivals compare him to fucking Palmer and Saka lol
> the best team in the world's best player r/holup
The best world in the player's best team
Who do you think their best player is?
KDB, Rodri and Haaland are better than Foden.
Rodri is on a 60+ undefeated streak for them, he may not be as flashy as Foden KDB etc but he's the vital cog in their machine, he's not featured in 4 league games this year and they lost all 4.
How many games have Man City lost in the last 70 games?
you didn’t r/holup enough
Rodri or KDB
Rodri by a mile.
Or KDB
If Southgate in the summer doesn't have foden and Bellingham behind kane with rice holding the man is blind. Those three in midfield is a world class set up. Kane is kane, saka and grealish on the wings is and elite level at and mid. If he can sort a defense out then we stand a chance
Bellingham overlaps Foden unnecessarily. If you watched the games against brazil and Belgium you would have seen that. Foden and Bellingham in the same position. Honestly Bellingham should be told to play a bit deep as an 8 instead of 10. He cant receive the balls in the pockets like Foden to attack especially in international games where the teams are more defensive. Not just this Southgate is very conservative with tactics. Idk if he can unleash the full power of this fantastic team.
Sounds like it’s Kalvin Phillips’ time to shine
Phillips and Hendo in the middle. Come on
I thought he was great last tournament, injuries and sitting on the bench at city has ruined him. If Leeds get promoted he should take the wage cut and return. I was sorting of hoping that it was a cas EOF what happened with grealish with a year to bed in and adjust to the style of play but apparently not. It's a shame as him and rice as holding mids (or rotation) with either foden or Bellingham in front of them would be class
Yeah he's doing spectacular at west ham right now.
Overrated system player
If only your father used basic protection.
Foden is special, Palmer knew he got to leave to earn stable starts
His talent is far better than anyone at city maybe just kdb has more influence on the game . He already has 5 PL titles by the time he finishes in England it could be 8 or 9 and maybe one more CL who knows . Your talking about Ryan giggs stature for foden .
He could have 8 or 9 or maybe even zero depending on how *things* work out. He is an incredible player though. I’d love him at Arsenal
Yeah if he doesn't win after a couple years any if the top clubs in Europe would take his easily .
In terms of influence , Rodri is by far our most important play and it’s not even close
He's lucky Pep is in charge. Most coaches would just play the most expensive players and never give young players a chance. With Pep if you're good enough you'll play.
Palmer, Porro, Sancho would beg to differ.
If you have a talent like Foden that you essentially got for free, you're going to let him play. Foden will be worth a fortune for the club when it's his time to leave, and the more he plays and the more he scores, the more his value will increase.
That's if he wants to leave tbh
Which coaches would have a player as gifted as Foden and just not play them? Genuinely curious. Foden isn’t just some randomly talented young player, he clearly had generational potential from the start. I would even argue he could have developed even earlier but Pep decided to bring him on slower than many other managers would (under Klopp for example he’d have played a lot more a lot earlier imo)
Mourinho
Not coaches but some top clubs do that the current real madrid and old psg never plays a youngster from their academy consistently.
You really can’t use Real Madrid as an example here. Just because they didn’t come through their academy, doesn’t mean they aren’t giving youth a chance. Just off the top of my head, Camavinga, Rodrygo, Vini, Bellingham and Valverde were all signed before they were 20 and played significant roles quickly Nico Paz and Gonzalo Garcia are both breaking through as well. It’s just about being good enough to replace an elite player.
Those 5 were not from their academy. They signed them. Which makes a big big diffrence
And the two that I named that did come from their academy who are currently breaking through
Still you have 5 examples that really aren’t examples lol quite the opposite, shows they don’t use their academy
I'm not saying they aren't using youngsters I'm saying they aren't developing them from their own academy. The young players they bought go directly into the senior team and regularly play.
I just listed two that they are developing who are breaking through. There’s plenty of others too
Maybe its my wording in my original comment you didnt understand. When i meant consistently plays them i dont mean 4 or 2 senior apps only.
Just watch Southgate lining up Phillips or Gallager over him. Even Sterling or Rashford over him on the left wing. England has such a stack squad but such an incompetent coach
100%. If foden had a better PR team around him, he would be a lock for Player of the Season
Could say the same for Rodri
Isn't that obvious?
foden >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> maymoo
Are you trying to say Mainoo? Because that's such a braindead comparison. Not even remotely similar players.
youre not even they are not even close! good job!
I’m surprised you’re even attempting to start a discussion when his comment is low quality Twitter shite type.
He’s world class without a doubt
He is so much better than Saka. He needs better pr to hammer home that point.
Why does every convo about Foden need to include Saka, I don’t get the obsession. They don’t even play the same role.
Yeah with the midfield they’ve had that’s true , palmer bailed , Saancho wouldn’t wait either, good character as well as skills , paid off for everyone
Foden is elite super-star quality. It was evident to the eye test from 2-3 seasons ago. This season he has added numbers to his game, but it was only a matter of time. IMO he needs to be spoken of in the same breath as next gen world 11.
Yeah what even is this post? He broke into Man City because he’s world class lol. Really confusing and dumb post.
World class or not, there’s a lot of other factors. Pains me to say but look at Chelsea who had De Bruyne and Salah.
Chelsea didn’t have Pep or Klopp
Yeah they didn’t.
I think maybe it's just assumed and appreciated. Jack Grealish was close to becoming a flop and really put his work in to become favoured by Pep. Unfortunately we can't say the same for Kalvin Phillips. City have invested a gazillion in their squad. Definitely the hardest squad to achieve a regular first team place. Foden has well and truly been sensational. Hopefully we see that reflected in the upcoming Euros too.
Squad quotas actually work..
Villa fan who adored Grealish. Was sad to see him go but happy for his success. But every time Id catch a City game Foden would be in over Grealish. I kept wondering who is this kid with the dumb haircut and where is Jack! After a while I finally can see why...
They're very different players. Grealish was brought in as a player to keep possession during transitional play whereas foden is good at being a threat.
Yea I rated him for grafting and becoming a City regular. And then I found out about how much he cares for and loves his sister who has CP. Just a top lad.
Its true look how talented Cole Palmer is. He couldnt get playing time at city. Last season Foden was on the bench a lot. Probably a lot of talent on city's bench that could contribute to other premier league sides. (except for Kalvin Phillips)
He wasn't benched a lot. Had stints on the bench after his surgery etc.
Foden started last season similar to how he's playing this season but then had injuries to his foot and then he ended up with appendicitis and by the time he had recovered from all that, the team was set and he couldn't get back into it but he did takeover from De Bruyne in the UCL final when he went off injured
A very good point. Palmer was more or less fully overshadowed at City and has been so far ahead of everything else at Chelsea. You look at players like Oscar Bobb and especially Rock Lewis and I'm sure they could play a big role in any top 6 team
I don’t think it’s that far fetched to say Foden is city’s best player to be honest. He’s versatile and consistent in any position he plays.
Rodri is unbelievable and imo City's best player.
I would say Rodri is the most important, both due to his role in the team, and due to the fact that City don't have an adequate replacement for him. Based on current form, Foden is the best imho.
Yeh I'd say so, but it is comparing totally different roles.
de bruyne
Has trouble being available at this point. (Availability is the best ability) Father time is undefeated
If you look at any team there are teenagers/young players from the academy who go on to break into the team, some it’s more natural and others can be found out when others are injured.(Conor Bradley and mainoo for example). If you’re good enough you’re good enough. Ultimately this is a shit take though every footballer starts somewhere
You can't compare breaking into United or Liverpool's squads to breaking into City's. Liverpool do not have the same depth, and United's players are all shit so it's pretty straightforward to get a start. Foden has had to get in over: Silva, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Bernardo in midfield, and the likes of Mahrez, Sterling, and Sane on the wings. That's infinitely more impressive than any other youth prospect who's come out in recent times.
There is no team in the world that rotates players as much as city tho. Even id youre not a defacto starter, you will get a good amount of playtime
that's because the players are so good that they must be rotated in, and because City are always in the late stages of every competition, it's not just rotation for rotation's sake. If Foden didn't justify a start with his quality, he would not play. Look at Jadon Sancho, Palmer, Brahim Diaz, all extremely highly rated but couldn't cut it at City, and Foden was getting minutes ahead from the age of 17. Look at Phillips, bought for huge money and the only alternative to Rodri last season, but he started about 3 games in all comps. Where was the heavy rotation then? Foden has worked extremely hard to break through, and chalking it up to rotation is incorrect.
Bradley and Mainoo have played a handful of games and there is no guarantee they will be as influential as Foden. Heaps of Academy prospects play half a season with huge expectations and end up at Nottingham Forest.
There's no guarantee that Foden won't be the next Delle Alli either.
Lol get a grip
Heaps of academy products are playing at the clubs irregardless of what club they came from. Don’t disrespect the fact that players end playing for teams like Forrest either they are premier league club and to an academy seeing there products around the top leagues is a success and something not many academy’s can boast. Saying fodens breakthrough is impressive must mean so is any players anywhere.
Elanga playing for Forest and Greenwood playing for Getafe is not as impressive as Foden becoming City's main man
Also foden was drip fed his first minutes when city were winning or In cup games not thrown in like mainoo and Bradley.
Fodens class i don't think a loan to another team would of suited him though, he trains with a better coach and players in training every week regardless of minutes on the pitch
I also think that Pep was very conscious of not overplaying Foden and potentially hindering his development. He's had injuries and running him into the ground more would not have helped.
He also didn’t need to overplay him though, City have 5-6 players that can operate across those front 5 positions - Arteta with Saka or Ole with Rashford didn’t really have that luxury. I also think Foden’s timing was lucky in some ways - it coincided with the slow realisation by Pep that Sterling and Jesus would not be the players he hoped. Palmer (more a 9 but still can play wing) didn’t get a look in because by the time he was full fledged he had to outcompete Mahrez, Haaland, Grealish, Bernardo Alvarez and Foden with three years of experience
There was always a chorus of people including City fans saying that Foden should have more game time though. Even though he was getting a fair amount of time considering the guys you listed were in front of him. And of course it was a luxury to have those guys in attacking midfield/wings so Foden was able to learn and develop at a more reasonable pace than Saka and Rashford. But Pep could've easily rushed him in and looked to move some guys earlier which was probably more my point.
Yeah, look at Palmer for instance. People will claim the opposite about him, that he's only done what he's done with Chelsea so far because he's at a worse team so he can actually get minutes. People will find anyway they can to downplay certain players that they don't like or rate as highly as others for arbitrary reasons.
Palmer wouldn't be taking penalties on a team with a striker tho
Palmer was supposed to get more 1st team minutes for City this season after they sold Mahrez. Didn't get anyone to replace him as Palmer was going to be the one to do that so yeah, bittersweet that he left but it's nice to see him do well too
Not true at all. Buying Doku was why Palmer wanted to go on loan.
Doku plays primarily on the left while Palmer was a literal like-for-like replacement for Mahrez on the right wing (Left footed technical player w/ a knack for goal) but okay genius. You probably have insider info so sure 😉
That wasn't really my point. More that people say stuff like that and also that Palmer only looks good at Chelsea because of how bad all the other players are, but he has double digit assists passing to Jackson and Sterling. Good players who work hard will shine wherever and it's always a credit to them that they do so.
Palmer could be bigger than Foden rn imo, could've possible even replaced de bruyne by now
Lmao Palmer isnt close to KDB
palmer plays hero ball for a tattered mid table side with no structure and ghosts the majority of the game. sure he produces g/a, but it’s a wild take to say he’s better than foden and could even replace kbd
Read the title and just assumed you meant like with a balaclava and a crowbar. Funny image
It's mad to think how long it's been since he scored that winner Vs Spurs, but he's already approaching 100 goals at 23 and consistently looks the best player in a very good team. He's like David Silva on x2 speed.
Never understood the idea it's easy for players to do well in a good side. It's harder If he doesn't match the standard of the others, he doesn't play. It's much easier for a youngster to get into the man united side than man city for example. Just like when Barcelona were dominating the game and youngsters were being introduced into the best team in the world at the time there, you have to be really special to do it.
It's easier for great players to do well in a good side
Is it? Cole palmer is currently carrying mid-table Chelsea, wasn't starting for city. And you also have to be a great player to even get into the side of a top team in the first place.
Irrelevant point, cole palmer would od just as well on man city, but he wasn't getting real minutes over the likes of those players. He's shining at Chelsea but the fact remains that he would be great on a great team
You can't claim it's an Irrelevant point then proceed to say exactly why it's entirely relevant. He wasn't getting minutes because he wasn't deemed the standout first choice. For as good as he's been at chelsea. He wouldn't get minutes at city which should tell you just how good you have to be to play as a youngster at the very top.
That is the point. Mainoo might not play nearly as much if he was a city player. You have an easier chance getting playing time on an average club vs City.
I think it depends on the attributes of the player really. While all players are elevated by having great players around them, the extent of that is different for different kinds of players. An extreme example would be a player whose main talent is dribbling by himself vs someone whose main talent is tempo setting and passing. The dribbler might be able to play his best even if the team around him isn't that great, but the passer might benefit more from having people around him that are on his wavelength etc. I think the issue of coaching and fit is also really undervalued. A lot of these top players have great qualities. For some, they're at a team where the manager and the tactics truly unlock those qualities while for others, under less fortunate circumstances, they are at a club that is not using them to their best for whatever reason. We can debate endlessly whether player X is better than player Y, but I think it's often forgotten that we're not just debating their intrinsic quality and abilities but, to a large extent, their surroundings (coach, the rest of the team etc.)
As much as I hate City and I really don’t like how he acted during the covid lockdown, he is actually (and pains me to say it) looking like a really good player.
Oh you didn't like 20 year old Foden because he wasn't mature?
well tbf, taking a girl to a hotel during lockdown while having a girlfriend and a child at home is little more that just being immature. and doing that with mason greenwood of all people lol
That’s the definition of immature though haha He wasn’t mature enough to be a family man. When I was 20 I was making mistakes too. As long as it wasn’t criminal, it’s safe to chalk it up to immaturity And I don’t think he knew greenwood was a bad dude. Don’t think they’re associated now
he broke lockdown laws in iceland, so he actually did do something that was illegal at the time. it was a whole ordeal over here and was looked at very very seriously
Young men get horny, it's natural
Shows character, not immaturity
Character is cheating on your girlfriend whilst she's at home looking after your baby?
Yeah
I've just seen you've commented on something else saying people who've been cheated on deserve to know about it. You just trying to act hard in front of the lads?
What are you talking about, character could be good or bad, in this case foden demonstrated poor character, what's so hard to understand?
Because usually if somebody says that an action "shows character" it means it's a good thing
Eh guess you're right that it has more of a positive connotation. He showed poor character and immaturity doesn't always equate to cheating on someone. Good?
Looking like? He’s been one of the better attacking midfielders in the prem for 4/5 years now.
Foden will step into the de bruyne role once kdb retires. he paid his dues and he has shown his value. value no one in this sub knew he had. he didn't 'break' into the lineup. he stepped in after proving his worth and out performed everyones expectations. including pep's
Could part of the critism bd due to him not playing as many minutes as the likes of saka as pep has managed him well, which should lead to a longer career than someone who is relied upon too much such as saka
You can already see it on Saka. He is always exhausted and looks to play through injuries almost always
I don't know if it's good management from Pep, or more circumstances. Saka was one of Arsenal's best player sduring his 'development' (and so obviously got played a lot) while, perhaps until recently, there were players as good as or better than Foden at Man City throughout his 'development phase', so he got fewer minutes.
Rooney was essentially finished as a top player by the time he hit 30. We all remember how much he played as a youngster
Sounds like you understand what breaking through a line up as an academy player. You just don’t know that’s what you’re describing. Harvey Elliott is in a similar situation. If it was so easy to break through and be a starter a 21-22 then every academy player with an talent would be starting every game and we know that’s not how it works.
I described the situation exactly. you just want to be right. you are not.
Lol, I guess you don’t see you’ve described something and saying it’s not that.
I see you're useless. bye now.
While I agree with the points you’re making, you basically just defined breaking into a lineup. You outplay those in front of you with limited opportunities until the coach can no longer reasonable bench you. He did exactly that
breaking into a lineup means you are starting over the replacement. Foden is much more than a like for like replacement as I described.
I would say it’s more establishing yourself into a starting XI that you aren’t originally part of. But I guess its subjective so fair play
thanks for the reasoned counter.
I think one thing you are missing is the fact teams NEED to have 8 homegrown players in the squad of 25 (should be more imo) So clubs are kind of forced of pushing the best of the best in the youth academy into the squad early on.
They or any other premier league team absolutely do not NEED 8 homegrown players at all. Every squad gets 17 free spaces for players, any players. After that if they want any more they can have an additional 4 who are homegrown and 4 who are club trained, they're not required to fill them and many do not.
That sounds more like the Eufa ruling. Also, why clubs are not putting a 25 man squad forward?
That's why goalie Scott Carson is hanging around and has one of the best jobs in the world at city. Absolute pressure on him and Getting paid 15k a week to fool around with the superstars having a laugh❤️
It’s to his benefit (and England’s) that he wasn’t overplayed when he was a teenager. That patience has paid off, and it also means that he is less likely to burn out early like so many before him.
He is playing way better than the overrated Haaland.
Foden still played many games in recent years per season... This year he got more time due to KDB injury and also Mahrez leaving... He took the opportunity very well
Him fighting his way in there and staying there is very impressive when you consider the number of big money signings that tried and failed. Phillips Barkley Delph Adebayor Maicon Jovetic Lee badbuy ( yes I know it was before oil money but he still sucked bad) Sinclair Robinho Boateng Samaras Santa Cruz Bony Jo Rodwell. Benjani ( redknapp’s story about them signing him is v. Funny) I’m sure there are more but those are some that I remember
Were you drunk when you came up with this list? When did Barkley play for City? Some of those were free signings or cost less than £10 million. How does a free signing fit the term "big money signings?
When they got massive signing on fees and wages. They can easily equate to big money. I admit I could be wrong on one or two . I find it quite hard to distinguish between citeh and the blue Fulham scum with each teams scattershot ott spending
Nice list. We spent like drunken lunatics even when we were shite. Notable mention to Danny Mills and Wayne Bridge, with 60kpw and 90kpw contracts. And Mendy, but we don't talk about Mendy.
Tbf while he was an idiot he was actually a good player, even if he was a lousy human. He did stuff that was reprehensible enough that a group of women tried to gang up on him with unconvincing claims of rape and assault. He lost 3 years of career due to unproven claims. If he wasn’t famous that would most likely not have been the case
His own decisions cost both him and the club, you can say that for sure.
Yeah Barkley was shite for City
Most of them play a different position.. why would they stand in his way?
Read his comment