Why did Foden decline so well and perform poorly at Manchester City?

Before talking about Foden, I will first talk about a message, which is the objective reason for his decline in state. Since I often pay attention to football news and occasionally read some of the players' lives to understand what happened outside the court.

At the beginning of the 2024-2025 season, Foden suffered from a "mysterious disease". This disease is quite sudden, which can lead to fatigue, inattention, and signs of weight loss.

teammates also found that Foden's physical problems were found, and the confrontation was declining, and he fell down when he touched the training ground, and many people were also worried about this.

Since last season, fans have also discovered a phenomenon that Foden's injuries have begun to increase. This disease is not a sports injury, but a disease of colds, gastroenteritis, and bronchitis. The situation is quite complicated.

Considering that he had an acute appendicitis surgery in 2023 and his recent abnormal physical changes, I feel that he may have been troubled by somatic symptoms.

It may be that there is a problem inside the body.

As for what disease it is, Foden himself did not say, Guardiola and Manchester City are also kept confidential. It can be seen that this disease has a great impact on Foden, which is also one of the reasons why Foden's condition has fluctuated.

So as a fan, I need to understand that Foden's sharp decline in his condition is reasonable, not because of his lack of self-discipline and debauchery.

Some time ago, he was able to contribute 20+10 data and had more than 20 goals and assists. After just one season, the data shrank completely, which is obvious that it is not normal.

I hope Foden's injury can recover as soon as possible and his health can be adjusted to his best condition.

After talking about the factors of injury, let’s talk about Foden’s technical issues. Foden, I have observed the changes in his football. When Guardiola trained Foden a few years ago, he had tried many tactics.

The midfielder, the pseudo-9 and other styles have been played, and they also want to shape Foden into a comprehensive player.

Fourden's early control of the fortunes, the skills of combining man and ball were very good, the defense was active, and the pullback was very strong. There was often a sign that a person was leading the overall situation and then connecting the team to develop.

Yes, when Guardiola tried to play the pseudo-9, Foden did have some functions and play styles very much like Messi. His agile figure and bracelet are all very awesome.

Excellent football skills, no wonder Guardiola likes him very much, and fans are also looking forward to Foden.

However, Foden is also a player with obvious advantages and disadvantages. Although he is smart, he is not in a good way. You can also find that he is very thin, not the type of muscles and sticks. He will also look a little thinner than Manchester City legend David Silva.

As the opponent touched Foden's kicking, he was gradually controlled by his opponent. As soon as he got the ball, he would get on his body or double-team, which made Foden at a loss.

In order to improve this situation, Guardiola intends to let Fufuden play on the wing to avoid him in the middle, hoping that he will cut in the ribs and then look for opportunities to attack.

This change is not impossible. If you can truly become a front-end midfielder, you can play well.

Unfortunately, Foden's skills only have "edges" and no "waist". After practicing for a long time, his shooting skills have increased and his desire is strong, but he has not made any progress in passing, rhythm and penetration.

Compared with Barcelona's Yamal, Foden is still lacking in the perspective of passing and overall situation.

This limitation makes him feel a gap from the top frontcourt players. Due to the lack of ability to penetrate and pass forward, only shooting skills will allow the opponent to defend himself. He only needs to block the ball and prevent him from shooting space.

Without space and cannot be created, Foden's role will be limited, and it will be unfavorable to face the opponent's iron barrel array on the court.

I don't know if Guardiola discovered this when he was training. Judging from his training of Foden, I think it has been discovered. Because when I was playing against Burnley and other teams in the league, I found that Guardiola had called Foden to the front many times and told him some things. After the explanation, Foden's playing style changed and his cooperation with his teammates became closer.

It feels that Guardiola intends to make Foden the team's "De Bruyne". After Ding Ding left, she wants him to become the core of the team and open up the opponent's space.

Unfortunately, I haven't practiced yet, and the transformation has not been smooth enough.

Judging from the body shape and the characteristics of playing football, I think the most suitable path for Foden is the "front midfielder", that is, just imitate David Silva's characteristics to develop, and have some passing and penetration skills, and more creativity at the edge of the penalty area.

The body has no hardness and lacks confrontation. You can play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses. At the same time, you can strengthen your creativity and ball training.

The winger is not suitable for him, and it is not realistic to rely on speed and dribbling to force his opponent. In addition, he loves to get hurt and his health is not good, so the type of technology flow will be more suitable for Foden's characteristics.

And after he was 30 years old, he could still transform, position a little further and become the organizer of the midfield. After successful transformation in the early stage, he also had the opportunity to make breakthroughs in other positions.

Don't be afraid if you have any problems, just change it. I am looking forward to the changes in Foden's playing football after he recovers from injury, and whether there will be new ways of playing.

At the age of 25, it is also a time when players are more malleable. You can grow by breaking through the bottleneck. Foden still has the opportunity to prove his skills.