Aston Villa 1-6 Man City - Sunday 12th January, 2020

[Dr. Gonzo]

On 12/01/2020 at 12:14, Fairy In Boots said:

Think we’re down unless we sack him tbh

Even if you sack him, I think it'll be really tough to stay up. No strikers, bad run of form, and then you've got a new manager coming in that'll have his own interpretation of how Villa should play.

[Rick]

16 hours ago, LFCMike said:

Fuck me. Peter Reid is speechless there

 

Unbelievably muppetry. 

[DeadLinesman]

Well he’s definitely better than the myth that is Phil Foden.

[LFCMike]

58 minutes ago, DeadLinesman said:

Well he’s definitely better than the myth that is Phil Foden.

Think they're completely different players but Grealish is also five years older and has spent most of his career in the Championship

[DeadLinesman]

47 minutes ago, LFCMike said:

Think they're completely different players but Grealish is also five years older and has spent most of his career in the Championship

But he’s still the better player. I know Happy Blue is on a fishing trip half the time, but really not sure why everyone wanks over Foden. He’s done absolutely nothing to suggest he’s going to be a worldie. Just a bog standard youth player that’s come through. He’d be in City’s starting 11 every week if he was ‘special’.

[The Artful Dodger]

Aren't the two Silvas his direct superiors, in terms of position/style? Both absolutely world class and two of the greatest to grace the English game. He may well not make it at Manchester City but a lot of great players take a while to break through. Iniesta wasn't a guaranteed starter till 21. Even genius can take a while to shine.

[Cicero]

The funny thing was Pep said he’d replace Silva yet goes and buys Rodri and plays a midfield three of Rodri, Gundogan, and KDB

[DeadLinesman]

I think Guardiola is his biggest problem. Don’t tell people he’s the best player you’ve seen since Messi, but then proceed to continually play everyone else in front of him. He’s got talent and ability, but so has Mason Greenwood and nobody is calling him world class. Just the ‘bigging up‘ of English players as per the course. 

[Cicero]

I’d say Greenwood has done more in 3 months in the Premier League than Fodens whole career 

[The Artful Dodger]

Greenwood is playing for an also ran, Foden is playing for a club competing at the elite level. The comparison is not fair.

[DeadLinesman]

So United aren’t an elite level club? I think the conversation stops there if I’m honest.

[Stan]

13 minutes ago, Cicero said:

The funny thing was Pep said he’d replace Silva yet goes and buys Rodri and plays a midfield three of Rodri, Gundogan, and KDB

Rodri is more defensive-minded though, no? Brought in to cover or replace Fernandinho but doing more of the former because of City's CB issues. 

[Cicero]

1 minute ago, Stan said:

Rodri is more defensive-minded though, no? Brought in to cover or replace Fernandinho but doing more of the former because of City's CB issues. 

Gundogan is still playing a head of him. So in a sense, Gundogan replaced Silva. 

[The Artful Dodger]

2 minutes ago, DeadLinesman said:

So United aren’t an elite level club? I think the conversation stops there if I’m honest.

Where did I say that? 

What I'm saying is that Foden is trying to break into a an elite level side, Greenwood is not. The comparison is ridiculous, the gulf is massive and the competition far superior and to suggest he should be starting every game, aged 19, ahead of David and Bernado Silva is ridiculous. 

[Cicero]

Hence why Foden needs a move to justify his hype 

[LFCMadLad]

Foden would walk into Utd's side. Cant get a look in at City.

Says it all.

[Cicero]

8 minutes ago, LFCMadLad said:

Foden would walk into Utd's side. Cant get a look in at City.

Says it all.

Pogba, Bruno Fernandes (almost done deal), and McTominay. 

So no, he wouldn’t 

[LFCMadLad]

45 minutes ago, Cicero said:

Pogba, Bruno Fernandes (almost done deal), and McTominay. 

So no, he wouldn’t 

Pogba 

[DeadLinesman]

1 hour ago, The Artful Dodger said:

Where did I say that? 

What I'm saying is that Foden is trying to break into a an elite level side, Greenwood is not. The comparison is ridiculous, the gulf is massive and the competition far superior and to suggest he should be starting every game, aged 19, ahead of David and Bernado Silva is ridiculous. 

You said “Greenwood is playing for an also ran, Foden is playing for a club competing at the elite level. The comparison is not fair.“

If that’s not alluding to United not being elite level, I’m confused. With the exception of a few CL games, United play in exactly the same competitions, so explain to me how big the gulf is again in all these games Foden is playing in that Greenwood isn’t?

Again, it’s Guardiola fault. If someone’s the best youngster since Messi, they’re playing, no matter who’s in front of them. 

[The Artful Dodger]

1 hour ago, DeadLinesman said:

You said “Greenwood is playing for an also ran, Foden is playing for a club competing at the elite level. The comparison is not fair.“

If that’s not alluding to United not being elite level, I’m confused. With the exception of a few CL games, United play in exactly the same competitions, so explain to me how big the gulf is again in all these games Foden is playing in that Greenwood isn’t?

Again, it’s Guardiola fault. If someone’s the best youngster since Messi, they’re playing, no matter who’s in front of them. 

Are you incapable of grasping the fact that Manchester City are competing on a completely different level to Manchester United at the moment? I know your fans aren't famous for humility or realism but this is daft. Elite clubs aren't always at the elite level, and you currently are not. You are the very definition of an also ran, flopping around for a nothing position like 4th. 

The very obvious point I'm trying to make is that Foden is competing with some of the finest players ever to play in this country, to say he's some 'bog standard' player because he's not starting much at the age of 19, seems extremely harsh. 

The comparison I made earlier was Iniesta, now I don't think for one minute that Foden will become as good as Iniesta but the comparison works in terms of style/stature etc. When Iniesta was aged 19 (03-04) he played in 17 games and scored 2 goals. He was competing in a midfield comprising mainly of Ronaldinho, Motta, Van Bommel, Cocu and Xavi. Foden faces just as good midfield, if not better, and has played in 18 games scoring 2 goals so far. 

Patience is required with these players, he's being managed by the greatest manager in the world surrounded by the best players in his position. 

 

[Rick]

We will see just how good Guardiola thinks Foden is in the summer when David Silva leaves. If he buys another elite level midfielder then he goes against everything he has said about Foden. 
 

I think Foden is a good player, but has he really shown THAT much so far? I don’t think so. So basically we are all judging the lad based off the opinions of his manager. Guardiola wouldn’t throw around comparisons to Messi if he didn’t believe he had a special talent on his hands. On the other hand, if he is this good then you should play him nearly all the time. 

[LFCMike]

4 hours ago, DeadLinesman said:

But he’s still the better player. I know Happy Blue is on a fishing trip half the time, but really not sure why everyone wanks over Foden. He’s done absolutely nothing to suggest he’s going to be a worldie. Just a bog standard youth player that’s come through. He’d be in City’s starting 11 every week if he was ‘special’.

I don't think there's enough evidence to suggest either way to be honest. I suppose we'll see what happens next season with both players.

What is obvious though is that Foden is making appearances in one of the top two sides in the country in his teens. Grealish wasn't doing that at his age and won't be doing that in the future. 

I don't know whether he's a 'special' talent or not but it doesn't mean he isn't because he's not in City's side every week at 19.

[DeadLinesman]

1 hour ago, The Artful Dodger said:

Are you incapable of grasping the fact that Manchester City are competing on a completely different level to Manchester United at the moment? I know your fans aren't famous for humility or realism but this is daft. Elite clubs aren't always at the elite level, and you currently are not. You are the very definition of an also ran, flopping around for a nothing position like 4th. 

The very obvious point I'm trying to make is that Foden is competing with some of the finest players ever to play in this country, to say he's some 'bog standard' player because he's not starting much at the age of 19, seems extremely harsh. 

The comparison I made earlier was Iniesta, now I don't think for one minute that Foden will become as good as Iniesta but the comparison works in terms of style/stature etc. When Iniesta was aged 19 (03-04) he played in 17 games and scored 2 goals. He was competing in a midfield comprising mainly of Ronaldinho, Motta, Van Bommel, Cocu and Xavi. Foden faces just as good midfield, if not better, and has played in 18 games scoring 2 goals so far. 

Patience is required with these players, he's being managed by the greatest manager in the world surrounded by the best players in his position. 

 

I think I’m probably one of the most realistic United fans out there and have never shown myself to be anything less than humble about our current predicament or level. 
 

City may be playing a different level, but they’re not competing at one, Champions League aside where Foden has scored 2, coincidentally against a team that would probably be fighting relegation in the Premier League.
 

Was Iniesta being touted as a world class at 19?  I genuinely can’t remember. I’m simply saying that Foden isn’t (at this moment in time) the player that people are somehow making him out to be. He’s proven absolutely nothing. Yet apparently he’s better than Grealish and Maddison. I don’t care about ages. It’s just a bollocks statement.

As for Grealish not playing in a great team and Foden playing for City, again it means nothing. Jesse Lingard plays for United, has done for 6 years now. There are players miles better than him playing for clubs regularly finishing below United. 

[Dr. Gonzo]

Yeah I think it's hard to say he's better than Grealish or Maddison. It may simply be because he's got more competition at Manchester City, because he obviously does. But the other two are regular starters in the premier league. And for the time being, Foden's just a squad player waiting for the moment where he can get a run of games to prove he's good enough to be a regular at Manchester City.

Yes, there's the obvious depth difference that City have makes it harder for him to get regular time on the pitch. But it's hard to say if he's better than Grealish, Maddison, or Mount - you can really get a gauge for how good a player is when you see them perform over a period of time. Because consistency is one of those things that go into how good a player actually is. We just haven't seen that from Foden.

We've seen that Grealish is probably Villa's only hope to stay up this season. Maddison's a key player in a side that's going to at very least get European football next season - and I think they've got a really really really good chance of getting CL football this season. And Mount has played regularly in an promising young, if not a little inconsistent - which I think you'd have to expect with a young side and a novice manager Chelsea side.

Once Foden takes his chance and becomes a regular starter, then I think it'll be easier to compare these young midfielders.

[Danny]

4 hours ago, Rick said:

We will see just how good Guardiola thinks Foden is in the summer when David Silva leaves. If he buys another elite level midfielder then he goes against everything he has said about Foden. 
 

I think Foden is a good player, but has he really shown THAT much so far? I don’t think so. So basically we are all judging the lad based off the opinions of his manager. Guardiola wouldn’t throw around comparisons to Messi if he didn’t believe he had a special talent on his hands. On the other hand, if he is this good then you should play him nearly all the time. 

Guardiola rates Foden and has said he’ll be Silva’s successor