Manchester City might not be searching for a hero just yet, but they are in need of a leader. At a club where the entire first-team squad seems to have hit a run of poor form together, they need someone to put their hand up and find a way out of the pit of despair.. Ideally, they need someone who can carry the rest on their shoulders, but that is a burden too big for anyone after a run of one win in 13 games. Instead, they need someone close to a maverick, a free spirit who can find his feet while his teammates are struggling, who can play his way in to form in a team in the kind of rhythm last seen on the dancefloor of those office Christmas parties.. Step forward Phil Foden? He looked the most likely to make something happen on Boxing Day and a couple of creative first-half moments deserved better from Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland. That is the problem when you are in the kind of rut that City are and finding two players on the same wavelength becomes increasingly difficult.. It has been difficult to name a single player currently playing well for City and in a team as structured and cohesive as Guardiola’s, it has looked like the collective malaise has dragged down every individual.. Jeremy Doku and Savinho have the unpredictably to offer that kind of threat, and Savinho was better against Everton, producing a bright performance from the right wing and winning the penalty that Haaland missed, but they lack the end product to really deliver on a regular basis. Instead, the player most capable of changing the story for City is Foden.. He did just that last season, driving City on to the title with a campaign that earned him a tranche of individual honours. Form and fitness have been harder to come by this time around and has his own form has slumped, so has City’s.. He was back in a central role against Everton and once again picking the ball up in deeper areas, but it brought some joy. He produced outstanding first-half passes to create chances which Haaland and Bernardo missed. His early cross was headed against a post by Josko Gvardiol.. It was telling that when Kevin De Bruyne came on with 20 minutes to go, it was Bernardo who was moved to the left, while Foden continued to play centrally. He wanted the ball and tried more than anyone to get his team clicking again.. Guardiola wants new arrivals in January, although he has to balance the short-term need with his desire to carry a small squad where everyone feels close to the first-team picture. If the injury crisis clears by the start of next season, the extra depth could become a hindrance to the Catalan.. He will also look to within for improvements, and Foden is the most likely catalyst to deliver a reaction. If the 24-year-old can rediscover his own form, then he could help lift some of his teammates with him.
