Both players’ recent struggles could be evidence of fatigue rather than a dip in form
It has not gone amiss to Manchester City and Chelsea fans that their star players, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer respectively, have been shadows of their brilliant former selves.
Both players are unanimously recognised elite talent playing for the biggest clubs in the world. Also, both players will be absent from the England squad for the World Cup in the Americas this summer.
What has happened to them and why? Is the elite footballing calendar to blame – is the schedule extracting too much from the players?
Maheta Molango, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), believes the answer is already clear to see.
Molango said Foden’s recent struggles are evidence of “cumulative fatigue” rather than a dip in form. When there is sustained physical and mental overload due to an excessive number of games, players start to suffer performance decline.
Less than two years ago Foden was voted the Premier League’s player of the season by his peers after helping Manchester City to another title. Since then, he has been active in successive summers without meaningful recovery periods, playing for England at Euro 2024 before representing City at last year’s Club World Cup.
“Unfortunately, he’s one of the victims of this crazy calendar that only makes sense for those who pursue commercial gain,” Molango said. “This year, effectively, he has missed out on some of the biggest games because he was not fit. Because he just could not cope with that demand that has been on him for a number of years.”
It is a similar case with Palmer. Chelsea’s attacking midfielder has featured for England at Euro 2024 after appearing at the European Under-21 Championship the previous summer, and then playing again for Chelsea at the Club World Cup.
It is no surprise that the majority of players called up to the England squad this summer are players with comparatively reduced minutes, players who have either not been a regular part of the England squad over the past two years, or whose clubs have not a played a hugely demanding number of games.
Molango compared Foden to Lamine Yamal and Rodri, both of whom have suffered with injuries over the past year. The PFA chief said Fifa should be making more of an effort to protect the players who give so much at the highest level.
“For us a guy like Phil Foden or Lamine Yamal or Rodri should be protected,” Molango said. “They are the 1% that make us dream.”
