Phil Foden, off late, has dropped down on the initial form he started the season with. With no goal involvements in the last five Premier League starts, Foden’s season looks as dry as a barren land.
Since his Player of the Season performance in 2024, Foden never really raised the bar from his best season. Instead it had only gone downhill.
In 28 games last season, Foden recorded only 7 goals and 2 assists. He has equalled the same tally in 19 games this season, but it seems far away from his best.
As the criticism has become loud, Foden has found a not so reasonable way to respond to it, taking his social media accounts to polish his portfolio.
A photo which showcases Foden’s stats in two seasons was shared on Ronnie Foden’s Instagram story, symbolically meaning that Foden has improved his stats from last season.
Some might wonder that the account is not his but his son Ronnie Foden’s while that is the real issue here.
Ronnie Foden is just about to be 7 years and it is very unlikely, that the entire account handle is given to Ronnie Foden. According to sources in the internet, it is said that the Couple, Foden and Rebecca, directly manage their son’s Instagram handle, posting photos and videos of him.
But lately, a lot of posts, in appreciation of Foden and his stats have been shared on his Instagram Stories. This possibly creates the thought to everybody about Foden trying to improve his image indirectly using his Son’s account. While the numbers have not been great to show off, Foden taking up an act of this stature worries about his behaviour off the field.
This clearly indicates that Foden is disturbed by the criticism on his performances.
A footballer trying to brand his performances gives a clear idea about his weak mentality. With the numbers Foden is having being an attacker primarily, at a club like Manchester City, it tells a very bad personality of him being settled with whatever he has shown so far. The numbers are not really bad, but that coming from a guy who is looked as the future of the club and somebody who the manager trusts to be the creativity head, is just disappointing and more.
In general, a good footballer would not care about the outside noise. He knows his job and would only focus on exhibiting on the pitch of what is demanded of him by his coach. Also, such a footballer would never chase individual attention and understands that with good performances, trophies will follow and so will popularity.
Foden handling Ronnie Foden’s account is fine until he sticks to banter and marketing of his Son’s image. There is also a famous incident, where he receives a reply comment from his Son’s account under a comment of his own. People really found out that it was just Foden making some fun, commenting from both the accounts.
Moments like these genuinely create a good impression of the character of athletes apart from their playing career. But what Foden did using a tool at his hand is nothing but silly coming from an adult. It is high time he realizes that the only person he needs to impress is his coach and needs to understand that getting his attention would do good to his performances and image automatically.
