Football Media

[Wooders]

BBC MUFC Sport all over the Grealish/Foden story - licking their red lips - no mention of Sir Marcus or Goodtime Greenwood I notice.

Perhaps a non story if Pep doesn't say what he did...

Perhaps Peps hand was forced - turning up still pissed for training and wanting a few hundred grand a week each, far from ideal - I stand with pep on this, no billy big hillocks required

[stupot]

Players are picking up covid left, right and centre and they go to a nightclub.
Absolutely crazy.
Phil should be fined more for wearing that bling.

[Mase]

Players are picking up covid left, right and centre and they go to a nightclub.
Absolutely crazy.
Phil should be fined more for wearing that bling.

He should also be fined for his haircut.

But I agree, we’ve managed to avoid players getting COVID, bar KDB, and those two muppets think it’s okay to go out clubbing.

Hopefully they’ve learned a lesson - doubt it though as they both have previous and are still doing this shit.

[london blue 2]

BBC MUFC Sport all over the Grealish/Foden story - licking their red lips - no mention of Sir Marcus or Goodtime Greenwood I notice.

Perhaps a non story if Pep doesn't say what he did...

Perhaps Peps hand was forced - turning up still pissed for training and wanting a few hundred grand a week each, far from ideal - I stand with pep on this, no billy big hillocks required

Oh I’m with Pep too. Just wondered if he could have dealt with it internally rather than feeding ammo to the media who don’t need an invite to start writing negative shit. Could have quite easily said they were rested and nobody blinks an eye.

[blues2win]

I don’t care what the media says. A short sharp rap across the knuckles was needed. These guys are paid a fortune. Good luck to them but they’re paid this money to perform at the highest level. Risking getting Covid and turning up for training worse for wear is completely unacceptable. Lesson learned I hope. Southgate would agree with the World Cup coming up.

[carl_feedthegoat]

BBC MUFC Sport all over the Grealish/Foden story - licking their red lips - no mention of Sir Marcus or Goodtime Greenwood I notice.

Perhaps a non story if Pep doesn't say what he did...

Perhaps Peps hand was forced - turning up still pissed for training and wanting a few hundred grand a week each, far from ideal - I stand with pep on this, no billy big hillocks required

Oh I’m with Pep too. Just wondered if he could have dealt with it internally rather than feeding ammo to the media who don’t need an invite to start writing negative shit. Could have quite easily said they were rested and nobody blinks an eye.

Sometimes it’s best to embarrass an employee in front of the world so they understand that what they did will not be tolerated again.

The media are focusing on possible COVID infections with these two players whilst the reality is that they turned up at the next training session “in not good condition “ which basically means that they got pissed.

Wankers - both of them and I hope they are embarrassed .

* they won’t be though will they , as young footballers will just say it’s “lads culture” to get pissed and laugh about it .

[johnny crossan]

Pictured on the lash with his mum as well as Jack the Lad apparently, according to The Sun a bit of a problem child herself....lives with Phil and his wife and family in their £5m mansion just around the corner from us.....

[Mase]

Pictured on the lash with his mum as well as Jack the Lad apparently, according to The Sun a bit of a problem child herself....lives with Phil and his wife and family in their £5m mansion just around the corner from us.....

Someone I know had his nephew in the academy at the same time Phil was coming through. Some of the stories about Foden’s dad and the way he acted are terrible to be honest. Sort of makes you realise when Foden is being like this.

[salford city]

BBC MUFC Sport all over the Grealish/Foden story - licking their red lips - no mention of Sir Marcus or Goodtime Greenwood I notice.

Perhaps a non story if Pep doesn't say what he did...

Perhaps Peps hand was forced - turning up still pissed for training and wanting a few hundred grand a week each, far from ideal - I stand with pep on this, no billy big hillocks required

Oh I’m with Pep too. Just wondered if he could have dealt with it internally rather than feeding ammo to the media who don’t need an invite to start writing negative shit. Could have quite easily said they were rested and nobody blinks an eye.

Sometimes it’s best to embarrass an employee in front of the world so they understand that what they did will not be tolerated again.

The media are focusing on possible COVID infections with these two players whilst the reality is that they turned up at the next training session “in not good condition “ which basically means that they got pissed.

Wankers - both of them and I hope they are embarrassed .

* they won’t be though will they , as young footballers will just say it’s “lads culture” to get pissed and laugh about it .

Im all for him calling them out fucking goons the pair iof them. Try and stay off it now boys eh?

[sheblue]

Pictured on the lash with his mum as well as Jack the Lad apparently, according to The Sun a bit of a problem child herself....lives with Phil and his wife and family in their £5m mansion just around the corner from us.....

Looks like they could all do with a trip to the drapers.

[johnny crossan]

Oh I’m with Pep too. Just wondered if he could have dealt with it internally rather than feeding ammo to the media who don’t need an invite to start writing negative shit. Could have quite easily said they were rested and nobody blinks an eye.

Maybe they were not contrite enough about their sins

[PeterParker]

The only problem with Phil Foden is that terrible hairstyle.

[Nick]

Dunno where that pic was took because grealish wasnt with foden late on. Maybe he left for the sex dungeon

No mention of rashford..

[Mase]

Dunno where that pic was took because grealish wasnt with foden late on. Maybe he left for the sex dungeon

No mention of rashford..

Good. It’s more embarrassing that they were with Rashford than the fact they were out on a week night! They’ve suffered enough!

[Nigels Tackle]

Dunno where that pic was took because grealish wasnt with foden late on. Maybe he left for the sex dungeon

No mention of rashford..

Good. It’s more embarrassing that they were with Rashford than the fact they were out on a week night! They’ve suffered enough!

saint marcus would have been out feeding the homeless surely?

[Bluemoon4610]

Dunno where that pic was took because grealish wasnt with foden late on. Maybe he left for the sex dungeon

No mention of rashford..

Good. It’s more embarrassing that they were with Rashford than the fact they were out on a week night! They’ve suffered enough!

saint marcus would have been out feeding the homeless surely?

Looking at the clobber they're wearing he probably thought he was!

[Harry Dowd scored]

Just heard football in Scotland to be virtually spectator free, maximum of 500 people to be allowed from boxing day, wonder if our lot copy that?

[stupot]

Just heard football in Scotland to be virtually spectator free, maximum of 500 people to be allowed from boxing day, wonder if our lot copy that?

Doesn't look like it.
City sent out an email yesterday asking for us to sign a disclaimer for future games and confirming we need the Covid Passport on our phones or a negative test on match days. Those who went to Newcastle got the email end of last week apparently. Have to wear masks in the concourse and they " recommend" it watching the game.
If all the clubs are sending these out now i can't imagine it'll be back to empty stadiums soon but who knows how quick things can change.

[patrickblue]

Just heard football in Scotland to be virtually spectator free, maximum of 500 people to be allowed from boxing day, wonder if our lot copy that?

Does anyone actually pay to watch Scottish football?

[johnny crossan]

Foden and Grealish crossed a line with Guardiola – it’s their job to put it right


PHIL-FODEN-JACK-GREALISH-MANCHESTER-CITY


By Sam Lee Dec 21, 2021 72


You can be pretty sure that when Pep Guardiola is asked about Jack Grealish and Phil Foden in his next press conference, he’ll close ranks and move on.

That’s how he normally handles these situations and, it must be said, it’s the right way, too. There’s no point dwelling on the type of thing that can happen during the course of a season, but it’s worth highlighting just to keep everybody on their toes.

As he so often does when he has a point to make, Guardiola went out of his way following the victory away to Newcastle United on Sunday to talk about things like attitude and, in this case, “behaviour”.

It looked to all the world that he had rotated his starting line-up before the busy Christmas schedule, but in two separate interviews, he insisted that he hadn’t.

“Not rotation, no,” he said. “I decided for this team because they deserved to play today, these guys and not the other ones.

“At Christmas time, I pay a lot of attention to behaviour on and off the pitch. And when off the pitch is not proper, they are not going to play.”

He didn’t name the players and he most likely never would have done, but it might suit him that it has become public knowledge that Foden and Grealish were in his bad books because they had had a heavy night out following the 7-0 win against Leeds United.

There is a stigma around footballers’ nights out, despite the fact that they happen all the time. City’s success over the past few years might suggest they are a group of choir boys but they can drink with the best of them, which goes to show that it’s usually not a problem at all.

But there is a time, a place and, quite simply, there’s a question of how much is too much. And right now, there’s the extra layer of responsibility around COVID-19.

City were not in full training on Wednesday, with those who had featured against Leeds due for a recovery session and media duties, so it’s not like they were unfit to train or take on important tactical messages. They also had a full day off on Thursday.

But the fact that Premier League players now have to take lateral flow COVID-19 tests every day — in an attempt to curb outbreaks as cases in the UK soar upwards — means nights out aren’t exactly the best idea, especially when you’re in a team environment. A positive test could keep you out of three games at the moment, if you’re lucky.

Guardiola wasn’t there on Wednesday, which may have added an element of “while the cat’s away”, but he certainly got word that his men weren’t in top condition — the media obligations had to be cancelled — and he felt their misdemeanour was sufficient enough to cost them their place against Newcastle. Most tellingly, he was ready to raise the issue semi-publicly.


He had done the same twice last season in exactly the same way: asked about the opportunity to rest some players in a Champions League dead rubber, he instead asserted that his players shouldn’t think they are guaranteed a place in the team based on former glories.

His message was intended for Aymeric Laporte, whose performances and attitude had dipped.

And in March, when asked about rotating his team before big Champions League games, he said that those players who have helped him during the course of the season would play more. “The rest will stay on the bench,” he said. That time he was talking about Raheem Sterling, who had questioned his team selection that same day.

Guardiola runs a tight ship and although it might not keep all of his players happy, it does keep them at the top of the table. You fall in line or leave, and for the vast majority it’s the former.

Now Grealish and Foden are learning that lesson. Interestingly, Guardiola has sent Foden a similar message already this season.

After City’s win away to Club Bruges in October, he was asked whether youngster Cole Palmer can follow Foden’s example and he tempered his praise with a word of warning.

“Cole is Cole and Phil is Phil,” he said. “Phil is the reality, otherwise he couldn’t play for England and how many minutes he’s played with us, we cannot forget last season in the Champions League knockouts how important he was.

“Phil is Phil, the only thing I want from Phil is to control his life, on and off the pitch, be more professional, more focused, I know how he loves to play football but football is not just what you do on the pitch. He already has a family and that is so good for him, he has a girlfriend and two babies, and Cole is a teenager, I don’t know even if he has a girlfriend!”

After Foden was sent home by England last year for breaking COVID-19 rules, Guardiola was incredibly supportive and even sought him out privately to tell him how much he and City think of him.

And it might seem unusual that Foden would need a warning about his private life — the popular perception is that he loves to go fishing with his dad and take his children and young siblings to Peppa Pig World — but Guardiola has noticed room for improvement.

A heavy night out for Grealish is less of a surprise, it must be said, because a few of them have been reported over the years. He was once asked about his most awkward interview and replied, “Maybe when I got caught sleeping on the road in Tenerife.”

But a few big nights didn’t hinder his progress at Aston Villa too much, and certainly weren’t deemed anywhere near enough of a problem to stop City — a club very concerned with the public perception of their spending — from splashing out £100 million.

Like with Foden, who has become a key player for Guardiola, there’s no sense of a major issue behind the scenes.

Guardiola constantly told Grealish during his recent injury lay-off that the team were missing him and needed him back as soon as possible, which helped boost the midfielder’s morale at a time he was not overly impressed with his own performances.

He was noticeably relieved and delighted to score against Leeds, his first goal since September, and that may have been taken as cause for celebration, especially after such a fine team performance and the prospect of two quiet days before the Newcastle match.

But he and Foden crossed a line with Guardiola — it’s their job to put it right.

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