Pep Guardiola was full of praise for Phil Foden following last night’s win against Bristol City, labelling the local lad’s current run of form as “awesome”.
City blew past Bristol with a comprehensive 3-0 win in the FA Cup on Tuesday night, Foden himself grabbing two goals against The Robins before Kevin de Bruyne slotted home the third.
The Stockport-born star hadn’t been hitting the same heights as he had prior to the World Cup but now looks to have now turned a corner in his season and his manager certainly seems to think he’s back to his best, stating he had “no doubts” Foden would return to form.
Speaking to media after the game, Pep insisted that the 22-year-old has “always had a high level” and regardless of somewhat of a dip post-Qatar 2022, “when you work like he works, football always pays off for you”.
"The impact of Phil since I arrived has been flabbergasting." 🤩
Pep Guardiola calls Foden's performances "awesome" following Man City's progression to the FA Cup quarter-final 🏆 pic.twitter.com/JH2M84AjCo
The Spaniard went on to admit that while the young winger had been struggling a bit with an injury, he never complained and continued to train and play despite his problems.
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“His career was always up, up, up, getting better, getting better”, said Pep, applauding his “dynami[sm], rhythm, work rate [and] quality” and declaring him “back for the best bit of the season.”
The 52-year-old has made no secret of his affection for the academy product, having compared him to Lionel Messi on more than one occasion and adding that he has been “flabbergasted” by his impact since arriving.
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As for Foden himself, he shed some light on his recent struggles with ITV‘s Gabriel Clarke in the post-match, revealing some details on a recurring ankle injury and describing the last few months as “one of the lowest parts of my career”.
💬 "It's been one of the lowest parts of my career… I've had discomfort in my feet and not playing as much. I love to play football and when I don't, I'm a bit frustrated." – Phil Foden
Much the relief of Blues everywhere, Foden said he now feels “much better in [his] feet… 100% and comfortable”, with his main goal being cementing his place back in the team.
The England forward simply explained, “I love to play football and when I don’t I’m a bit frustrated, that’s how it is”, but that he now believes he and his teammates are really hitting their stride and are obviously looking to pick up even more silverware.
Featured Image — ITV/Manchester City/Sky Sports News (via Twitter)
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Manchester United in talks with Disney over ‘multi-million-dollar documentaries’ deal
Danny Jones
Manchester United are said to be in talks with Disney over a potential deal to create a number of “multi-million-dollar documentaries”.
Just a week or so after the first trailer for their upcoming 99 series on Amazon Prime Video, which will follow their iconic treble-winning campaign – and only a couple weeks after Manchester City dropped their own over on Netflix – it looks like we’re getting more Manchester football media.
As per the report by The Athletic‘s Adam Crafton, the discussion between the footballing icons and entertainment giants centres around the proposal to make multiple documentaries about the club, with a specific focus on Sir Alex Ferguson and the legacy he left behind.
With Disney+ now the third biggest streaming service available, boasting more than 150 million subscribers according to the most recent estimates, and Man United still one of the most instantly recognisable brands on the planet, it goes without saying that the viewing figures would be huge.
NEW: Manchester United in multi-million dollar negotiations with @Disney over a deal to make documentaries. Initially with a view to create content about Sir Alex Ferguson’s era of success, including fresh extensive interview access to club’s former coach. https://t.co/VfKOlDdpH0
Man United and Disney are reportedly exploring a collaboration for multiple documentaries.
The article goes on to detail how the prospective documentaries would also ideally involve “substantial interview time with Ferguson”, the now 82-year-old former manager and footballing legend who won a total of 38 trophies in 26 years as the Man United boss.
Disney would reportedly also be given access to the club’s wealth of archive footage along with key ambassadors and figures from their rich sporting heritage, including former captain Bryan Robson, goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and more.
We’d be surprised if you didn’t see plenty of David Beckham, Gary Neville and other Class of ’92 members involved as well, sitting as arguably the most iconic and foremost serial winners in their history.
As the plans are still in their infancy, Ferguson and his former players would need to formally agree to be part of the documentaries and United would have their say over final edits.
It is said that the current deal on the table is “in the low seven figures” and is actually lower than the terms originally offered to the club when the idea was first floated a couple of years ago.
There is still no indication as to how many projects could be in the pipeline or when we might see the first released if/when a deal is agreed upon.
As for out on the pitch itself, it’s been a turbulent season for the Red Devils, to say the least, but they have still managed to secure a place in the FA Cup final for the second year running following a game they made difficult for themselves against Coventry City.
Set to be just the second Manchester derby final in history, kick-off has once again been moved to an earlier start time to aid with travel issues and potential crowd problems.
FA Cup final confirmed for 3pm kick-off time as Metropolitan Police stress safety for fans
Danny Jones
The start time for the 2023/24 FA Cup final has officially been confirmed with holders Manchester City and challengers Manchester United set to kick off at 3pm on Saturday, 25 May.
It’s a Manc final for the second year running and yet another Manchester Derby this year as City beat Chelsea on penalties to try and defend one of their trophies from last season and Man United did just about enough to scrape through against Coventry City this past weekend.
Logistics and travel arrangements for the conclusion of last year’s FA Cup proved problematic, with the Metropolitan Police stressing that they needed the schedule brought forward to try and help curb crowd trouble – the first time the final had been reverted back to a traditional 3pm start since 2011.
Kick-off times for the knockout tournament have varied for the last three finals, having taken place at 4:45 and 5:15pm in the two years prior to 2023’s first-ever all-Manchester final, but it looks as though the same rationale has been put in place once again.
The kick-off time for the FA Cup final has been confirmed for 3pm.
As per an official statement by the FA, the final has now been officially confirmed as 3pm BST which has been agreed with local authorities, members of the Safety Advisory Group and broadcasters, as well as with the clubs who must take the time needed for fans to travel to and from Wembley into consideration.
While pockets of fighting broke out before and after the game last year, it was deemed that this time would still be the best kick-off time for all parties involved and there will, of course, be an increased police presence in London for the game next month.
Although prioritising safety comes as welcome news, it’ll no doubt prove to be a blow to broadcasters who prefer later kick-offs when eyeing up peak audience numbers; the game is also set to clash with ITV’s coverage of the rugby as the Investec Champions Cup final is also due to start at 2:45pm.
With last season’s historic FA Cup final being the first time the two sides had met in the final in the entire history of the oldest competition in all of football, it rounded off a massive year of viewing figures for the tournament which has continued to hit record numbers in 2024.
The game will once again be shown live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and ITV1; ITVX, UTV, as well as STV, and there will no doubt be huge screenings of the game all over Greater Manchester, where an increased police presence is also expected.
Danny Jones -
1st March 2023 
