The headline fixture heading into Gameweek 13 of the Premier League was a top-of-the-table clash between defending champions Manchester City and title chasers Liverpool.
Separated by just a solitary point, and with teams like Arsenal, Spurs, and Aston Villa piling on the pressure, a win at the Etihad held the utmost importance for both sides.
However, the game ended in a stalemate as Erling Haaland’s first-half goal was cancelled out by Trent Alexander-Arnold’s 80th-minute equaliser.
While the game couldn’t live up to the billing in terms of the goals scored, there was one moment from the game to have caught the ire of fans online.
In the first half, Phil Foden received the ball in the right wing and cut in towards the central area take a shot on goal. However, he fired his left-footed strike just wide of the post. It was a good attempt from the English international.
Covering the game on the Sky network, acclaimed Premier Lealgue commentator Peter Drury screamed “Fodenmania” following the 23-year-old’s attempt.
There is little understanding about this term used by Drury, an iconic commentator known for his sensational poetry in football games. Irrespective, this weird term has angered the fans on social media as they did not like what was said by Drury.
One fan on X.com said, “Peter Drury saying ‘Foden-mania’ has to be utter waffle. What is blud on about.”
Another commented, “Did Peter Drury just say Foden-Mania? This is the consequence of Twitter fools and those at Sky Sports who read into Twitter. Got rid of Martin Tyler for an overly cringe guy in Peter.”
Meanwhile, there was one fan who thought that Drury screaming “Fodenmania” on TV was “the most memorable moment from the game.”
Given how loved the English commentator is, it’s hard to understand why fans got riled up on social media following his commentary on the Foden shot.
Mania, to explain it in a very simple way, refers to an obsession or a mental disorder. Whether he meant to say that Foden was obsessed with aimlessly shooting on goal or that he wasn’t thinking clearly (mental aspect) is probably going to remain a mystery. Heck, we don’t even know if he meant either of them at all.
Perhaps, he wanted to say that the entire sequence performed by Foden was madness (with a positive connotation, of course).
Still, one may never ever find out why Drury said that and what he meant. But the fact remains that fans didn’t particularly enjoy that piece of commentary from someone who is often referred to as the “Shakespeare of Football.”
