WHY is the perfect fit of Manchester City and Phil Foden being wrongly portrayed as a cautionary tale? The summer of 2017 heralded an extremely bright future for England as their under 17s and under 19s won international tournaments.
For the former, Morgan Gibbs-White shone and what a player he’s going to be, a midfielder of rare quality with every attribute needed to make it to the very top. Aware of this Wolves have done a terrific job in helping him feel his way into the elite echelons of football and so far Gibbs-White has made 15 Premier League appearances, 12 as sub. With his two outings in the EFL Cup, it amounts to 586 minutes of first team action.
Another superstar in the making from that exciting crop is Callum Hudson-Odoi and for all of the hand-wringing over his lack of opportunities at the Bridge – not to mention serious interest from Bayern Munich reportedly resulting from that – it should be stated that the winger has only been granted one minute less game-time than his West Midlands counterpart. Whether it’s at Chelsea or in the Bundesliga the 18-year-old is ready now to fly and that is heartening news from a Three Lions perspective.
Callum Hudson-Odoi
Jadon Sancho
Marcus Rashford
Joe Gomez
Trent Alexander-Arnold
Phil Foden
Raheem Sterling
Mason Mount
Reiss Nelson
Ryan Sessegnon
Aaron Wan-BissakaThe future of English football, has never been brighter. pic.twitter.com/j4nu4Tzn4E
— SPORF (@Sporf) January 10, 2019
As too hopefully is the case with Rhian Brewster who is presently on the comeback trail after seeing his 2018 cruelly decimated by injury. The Liverpool striker secured the Golden Boot in India and those in the know insist he will be a household name in seasons to come.
He’s certainly highly rated at Anfield but realistically – as atrocious as the set-back was – how many first team chances would Brewster have been given this past year with Mane, Salah and Firmino so consistently vital? Some EFL games certainly. Some Champions League minutes probably and most likely too a Premier League start. These priceless moments are what await this talented teen as he returns to full fitness.
Manchester United’s most promising representative in those thrilling tournament successes was Angel Gomes and frustration here lies in the scant 11 minutes afforded a kid who has captained England under 17s and been compared to both Ronaldinho and Paul Scholes. Still, hope resides in the departure of Jose Mourinho with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer recently gifting Gomes a late run-out against Huddersfield.
| Local lad @philfoden scores his first goal at the Etihad! pic.twitter.com/Iat1YE311X
— The Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 6, 2019
Lastly we come to Phil Foden, arguably the most accomplished of the whole bunch. At just eighteen years of age the midfield prodigy who was born and raised a hefty Ederson punt from the Etihad already has in his possession a Premier League and League Cup medal.
That in itself is Roy of the Rovers stuff. He is an integral member of a squad that has smashed records and reformatted football. He trains and learns day in and day out alongside Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva, the latter the sorcerer to his apprentice. He trains and learns day in and day out under the greatest coach in the modern game, a coach who informed journalists after his debut bow they were blessed to witness such an important occasion.
He recently signed a six-year contract with the club he’s supported all his life and when the notion of him going out on loan was posited to Pep he scoffed in derision. Last week he played the full ninety minutes in a FA Cup game and scored. He even has his own nickname a good few years before they’re usually given out – The Stockport Iniesta.
| He’s one of our own!
The moment @PhilFoden scored his first senior goal at the Etihad Stadium and just look what it meant! pic.twitter.com/qfPSXRjfYh
— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) January 6, 2019
Phil Foden has also to date played 978 minutes in a City shirt across all competitions, a stat that is accompanied by three pertinent details. He has played more minutes than Ryan Giggs at the same age. An impressive 286 of those minutes have been in the Champions League, pitting his young wits against the continent’s finest. And, most noteworthy of all, he has enjoyed 82% of his peers’ game-time combined and all while playing for the highest achieving team with the strongest squad.
An imaginary scenario. Imagine if you will that Manchester United thrash League One opponents 9-0 in a cup semi-final. They’re ruthless and magnificent. With half an hour to go Angel Gomes comes on and lights up the pitch, getting on the score-sheet. It’s the second time in four days the teen has scored for his hometown club.
All this requires quite a leap but if accepted as plausible the rest needs very little flight of fancy. Because we’ve seen what follows before, several times over in fact as one of the most cherished aspects of football plays out. Remember Macheda? Remember Cleverley? Remember the avalanche of excitement and positivity in the press; the celebration of both player and club?
It’s a rejoicing that is not solely reserved for Manchester United either. Swap Angel Gomes for a fit Rhian Brewster and Jurgen Klopp would presently be batting away platitudes galore for how he is sensibly and brilliantly developing a young phenomenon.
Phil Foden says he won't be taking the same path as former youth teammates Brahim Diaz and Jadon Sancho and will stay in Manchester City. “Everyone is different, and I see myself playing here."
— AMMO SPORTS (@ammo_sports) January 7, 2019
Last Wednesday against Burton was a true rarity for it was a game without caveat. It was – and how seldom can we say this – a night for a football club that was wholly and exclusively positive.
Yet in the immediate come-down City fans found themselves defending their club against a backdrop of mockery at empty seats and the ludicrous charge of being disrespectful to their opponents. Around the same time Pep Guardiola was forced to explain why he had ‘only’ given a raw teenager 125 minutes of action in the space of four days. The disconnect between event and coverage was so extreme as to feel genuinely surreal.
On the latter non-issue James Ducker from the Telegraph shouted the loudest but he’s hardly working alone and his manufactured criticism was merely the latest in a now established narrative that damns City for somehow letting Phil Foden down. That he would be better off going elsewhere.
It’s nonsense, frankly. Unsubstantiated nonsense. And when Manchester City are panned for a carefully managed emergence that any other club would unquestionably be praised for, it is entirely legitimate to ask what the hell is going on?
