10 | Jack Grealish - 2021/22 Performances

[mccity]

Grealish and Gundogan do completely different things anyway. It's an odd comparison.

 

[WallyA]

Grealish and Gundogan do completely different things anyway. It's an odd comparison.

It's because Gundog plays LCM and people want to see Grealish there. So you can compare based on position.

 

[ChicagoBlue]

well there is a difference between talent and performance. for sure gundo has performed better, but he had better coaches, better teams and other things to help him. do you think if you put gundo in the villa team he had the talent to carry it like Jack did form the championship and the relegation fight with it talent alone? no chance villa will always take Jack over Gundo because he has better individual talent compared to Gundogan

Firstly, you’re giving Grealish too much credit for Villa, and secondly, you are confusing and conflating issues.

Grealish could be almost anyone, short of Messi, and he would find himself needing to shoehorn his talent into Pep’s system. Only Messi got a free pass, because he always delivered!

If you watched the TOTAL FOOTBALL CLINIC at The Swamp yesterday, you would have seen we had only one player giving the ball away with any regularity…Cancelo…but he got away with it because his remit was to get down the line & beat a player to get in a cross, or come inside and make the pass. He did that with aplomb most of the game and assisted on both goals.

So, if your remit is being almost completely fulfilled, you get a partial pass from Pep, with the caveat we can’t afford for you to lose it when we are out of shape, and you have no cover in behind.

Accordingly, NONE OF US KNOW what Pep’s remit to Jack has been, but he has tried hard to get him bedded in ASAP. Personally, I think that REGARDLESS of what his remit has been, he has not fulfilled it AS SATISFACTORILY AS FANS WOULD HAVE HOPED, because, like Sterling, he has settled into one move when coming in off the left, and it’s being nullified by bang average defenders who know he doesn’t have the pace or left peg to beat them down the outside.

Are there other strings to his bow? I hope so, because I find it all very one dimensional…AT THE MOMENT!

I hope against hope there’s much more to come. Clearly, Pep saw something in him that was worth splashing the cash. Let’s hope we discover it soon.

Grealish is OBVIOUSLY a quality player, but so is everyone with a squad number at City. That’s the basics required to get one. From there, it’s ALL about “What have you done for me lately?” Jack’s answer to date has to be “Not much, Boss!”

 

[ChicagoBlue]

depends on what you call contribution. if you think goals and assists sure, but overall performance the contribution has not been bad at all, for the start of his life here. so many of our signings have looked worse than Jack when starting life here

Cole Palmer has better stats, so of course I realize it’s not all about stats.

That agreed, I’m struggling to see what he has brought to the team. What unique or different talent does he have that we are waiting for him to unleash?

 

[ChicagoBlue]

no doubt if anyone cared to watch them in other teams. Gundo was never as talented as Jack when he was at his age. now he has more experience learning form pep for a long time so he looks much better in our system. but I have to say gundo is an incredible professional and has made full use of the potential he has. if Jack has that same professionalism and learns form pep no doubt he has a higher ceiling than Gundo.

Gundo was scoring in CL Finals BEFORE he was Jack’s age!

 

[Phil1]

I guess chigago is proving the old adage that playing football doesn't mean you know about it even if you write a lot of words.
Grealish is quality and will fit his team like a glove over the next 12 months when much like other players who were written off, will make some of this thread look as ridiculous as Gundos, Cancelo, Rodris and, well you get the picture..

 

[ChicagoBlue]

I guess chigago is proving the old adage that playing football doesn't mean you know about it even if you write a lot of words.
Grealish is quality and will fit his team like a glove over the next 12 months when much like other players who were written off, will make some of this thread look as ridiculous as Gundos, Cancelo, Rodris and, well you get the picture..

Phil,

You said a whole lot of nothing, with nothing to back it up. That seems par for the course on here, so you’re amongst friends. I hope that helps make you feel better.

I’ll rest on my facts & observations based on 50 years of experience watching football and 25 years of playing it.

Feel free to critique anything I actually SAID, as opposed to a personal attack, if you’ve anything to add.

You do you.

 

[Phil1]

Phil,

You said a whole lot of nothing, with nothing to back it up. That seems par for the course on here, so you’re amongst friends. I hope that helps make you feel better.

I’ll rest on my observations based on 50 years of experience watching football and 25 years of playing it.

Feel free to critique anything I actually SAID, as opposed to a personal attack, if you’ve anything to add.

You do you.

What do you want me to back up? You played football at a semi decent level 40 years ago and think that makes you an expert on a top quality professional player who would walk into most sides in Europe.
You can can me Pablo.

 

[Radcliffe 1309]

Firstly, you’re giving Grealish too much credit for Villa, and secondly, you are confusing and conflating issues.

Grealish could be almost anyone, short of Messi, and he would find himself needing to shoehorn his talent into Pep’s system. Only Messi got a free pass, because he always delivered!

If you watched the TOTAL FOOTBALL CLINIC at The Swamp yesterday, you would have seen we had only one player giving the ball away with any regularity…Cancelo…but he got away with it because his remit was to get down the line & beat a player to get in a cross, or come inside and make the pass. He did that with aplomb most of the game and assisted on both goals.

So, if your remit is being almost completely fulfilled, you get a partial pass from Pep, with the caveat we can’t afford for you to lose it when we are out of shape, and you have no cover in behind.

Accordingly, NONE OF US KNOW what Pep’s remit to Jack has been, but he has tried hard to get him bedded in ASAP. Personally, I think that REGARDLESS of what his remit has been, he has not fulfilled it AS SATISFACTORILY AS FANS WOULD HAVE HOPED, because, like Sterling, he has settled into one move when coming in off the left, and it’s being nullified by bang average defenders who know he doesn’t have the pace or left peg to beat them down the outside.

Are there other strings to his bow? I hope so, because I find it all very one dimensional…AT THE MOMENT!

I hope against hope there’s much more to come. Clearly, Pep saw something in him that was worth splashing the cash. Let’s hope we discover it soon.

Grealish is OBVIOUSLY a quality player, but so is everyone with a squad number at City. That’s the basics required to get one. From there, it’s ALL about “What have you done for me lately?” Jack’s answer to date has to be “Not much, Boss!”

Great points made CB

 

[ChicagoBlue]

What do you want me to back up? You played football at a semi decent level 40 years ago and think that makes you an expert on a top quality professional player who would walk into most sides in Europe.
You can can me Pablo.

None of it has anything to do with The who, what, where or when of ME and everything to do with what Grealish has done since his arrival.

You can personalize this until you’re blue in the face, but if that’s your route, then tell me why I should listen to anything you say.

I came on here for a conversation about where Grealish finds himself, at present, in the team (or not, as the case may be).

I think he has underwhelmed. I have given caveats, such as new to the system, may be being played out of preferred position, etc, etc, etc, but it boils down to doing your job. IF his job, per Pep, is being done, he will keep getting selected and Pep will laud him. If that has happened, I haven’t seen or heard it.

Is Grealish a good player? Of course!

Is he “worthy” of the title “the most expensive player in British football”? I think we were mugged by a transfer clause.

I hope against hope he develops into a world beater. But, I can ONLY hope, though, at the moment, because he hasn’t shown one iota of living up to the £100M hype…even though he didn’t create it.

 

[Phil1]

None of it has anything to do with The who, what, where or when of ME and everything to do with what Grealish has done since his arrival.

You can personalize this until you’re blue in the face, but if that’s your route, then tell me why I should listen to anything you say.

I came on here for a conversation about where Grealish finds himself, at present, in the team (or not, as the case may be).

I think he has underwhelmed. I have given caveats, such as new to the system, may be being played out of preferred position, etc, etc, etc, but it boils down to doing your job. IF his job, per Pep, is being done, he will keep getting selected and Pep will laud him. If that has happened, I haven’t seen or heard it.

Is Grealish a good player? Of course!

Is he “worthy” of the title “the most expensive player in British football”? I think we were mugged by a transfer clause.

I hope against hope he develops into a world beater. But, I can ONLY hope, though, at the moment, because he hasn’t shown one iota of living up to the £100M hype…even though he didn’t create it.

So the price is your main issue? Cool.

 

[Radiohead1981]

Well, if Coley and Crouchy said it while doing England punditry, then bank it! Haha!

Fwiw, Phil Foden is England’s most technically gifted player atm. Not even a contest.

However, Grealish is definitely a baller, as was Sané before him. I hope he doesn’t go the same eventual route, but I’d take a few of Sané’s goals and contributions from him along the way.

What Jack does from here us up to him. He is now a cog in a well oiled machine, not the machine that kept the Villa cogs turning.

If he can show the wherewithal and desire to become better in that system, then he can write his own future. But, it’s not working for him atm, and others (at a world class club) are doing better.

Let’s not forget, though, this current crop of players is keeping Sterling & Mahrez on the bench, too, so it’s no great shame. He just has to show his ability when he’s on the pitch and given the chance. So far, it’s all been a bit one dimensional, imho.

Grealish is a better dribbler than Foden.

 

[oldius]

If he's in the side, he's expected to perform regardless of how long he's been here and right now, the side is better without him in it. It's upto Grealish to adapt and change that.


You can Support him and still offer opinions that might be critical of his current performances, it's not one or the other. Simply saying he will be better in 12 months doesn't excuse what he does right now, this is afterall a player performance thread, a place to comment on current performances not a predict the future thread. We all expect much more from him 12 months down the line but that's pretty much irrelevant to the purpose of this entire subforum.

There is no need to excuse what he is doing now because he has made a decent start.
The purpose of the forum is to discuss player performances, true, but my point is that the condemnation he is receiving in some quarters is very premature and we have a deep history of players being condemned who then go on to be reevaluated as exceptional. I think it would be fair to describe you as one of the more critical posters on the forum and your recent criticism of Rodri is now being shown to have been premature, as just one example. I only ask for nuance and anyone simply saying that Jack brings or has brought nothing, is, IMO, talking from their jacksie.

 

[Silva&Silva]

I honestly don't understand why people are casting their judgements on Grealish this early on. Not to sound too cocky, but playing under Dean Smith is nothing like playing under Guardiola. Also, look at the likes of Bernardo, Sané and Mahrez, none of those hit the ground running in their first seasons...

 

[Radcliffe 1309]

None of it has anything to do with The who, what, where or when of ME and everything to do with what Grealish has done since his arrival.

You can personalize this until you’re blue in the face, but if that’s your route, then tell me why I should listen to anything you say.

I came on here for a conversation about where Grealish finds himself, at present, in the team (or not, as the case may be).

I think he has underwhelmed. I have given caveats, such as new to the system, may be being played out of preferred position, etc, etc, etc, but it boils down to doing your job. IF his job, per Pep, is being done, he will keep getting selected and Pep will laud him. If that has happened, I haven’t seen or heard it.

Is Grealish a good player? Of course!

Is he “worthy” of the title “the most expensive player in British football”? I think we were mugged by a transfer clause.

I hope against hope he develops into a world beater. But, I can ONLY hope, though, at the moment, because he hasn’t shown one iota of living up to the £100M hype…even though he didn’t create it.

Perfectly put...and as you have said on a few occasions its up to Jack now

 

[ninjamonkey]

There is no need to excuse what he is doing now because he has made a decent start.
The purpose of the forum is to discuss player performances, true, but my point is that the condemnation he is receiving in some quarters is very premature and we have a deep history of players being condemned who then go on to be reevaluated as exceptional. I think it would be fair to describe you as one of the more critical posters on the forum and your recent criticism of Rodri is now being shown to have been premature, as just one example. I only ask for nuance and anyone simply saying that Jack brings or has brought nothing, is, IMO, talking from their jacksie.

The thing is, I don't see any condemnation bar perhaps one or two posts which are obviously hyperbolic and over the top. most criticism I'm seeing on here is on his first 3 months only with virtually nobody writing off his 6 years here based on his start. It's an assessment of his start not a definitive evaluation of his entire career here. If you think he's had a decent start fine, I'd disagree with that but that is irrelevant to the point I'm making. my issue is, criticism, whether you agree with it or not, is being perceived as some kind of final judgement when that's just not the case for the overwhelming majority of it. You can be critical without declaring his entire career a write off, you can also be critical, have that player eventually come good (as we expect with Grealish) and not be wrong to criticise in that moment just because that no longer applies.

I don't really see what my post history has to do with anything here whatsoever because again you're linking any criticism to mean they're being written off entirely which is completely wrong. But seeing as you have brought it up, I'd reject the claim I'm more critical than most posters. I'm backing Ederson every single week from the idiots that believe he can't save anything, I've always backed gundogan when many didn't, I gave mahrez the credit he eventually deserved after a poor first season (which I did criticise) when most were still slating him at every opportunity and using ridiculous nicknames, I backed Bernardo heavily in the summer going as far as to say we won't win anything without him such is his importance when the more popular opinion on here was it was time for us to take a pitiful £40million and get rid after a perceived poor season, I backed Stones when people were begging to give him away, I've never doubted cancelos worth, I'm backing jesus every single week when he was getting slated for not scoring. And they're just the more noticeable players who have had a hefty amount of criticism, going through that I've actually backed the majority of the higher profile scapegoats. I even very obviously wrongly gave more slack than most to a certain unnamed left back. Not pretending I've never been critical, I've criticised plenty, but I wouldn't say I'm overly ctritical at all. you are correct I was heavily critical of Rodri last season and without derailing the thread i stand by everything I said at the time, there's been a drastic improvement this season and I've praised him for it and long may it continue.

Back on topic, I've criticised Grealish so far, I don't believe he's offering anywhere near enough to get into the side. I think foden is better in every aspect on the left and the left is the only position I see him being capable of playing right now. I've seen little so far to suggest he can play centrally, something he's never done in his career at the age of 26 and certainly nothing to suggest he can oust 2 from Bernardo gundogan and kdb to get a game there.

All of that is an opinion based on right NOW, I can't stress enough that's not a prediction of his entire city career. some, all or perhaps none of that may change over time, and although we all of course hope and expect it to, I'm making no judgements on his future whatsoever by saying he's currently not deserving of a starting spot.

 

[oldius]

The thing is, I don't see any condemnation bar perhaps one or two posts which are obviously hyperbolic and over the top. most criticism I'm seeing on here is on his first 3 months only with virtually nobody writing off his 6 years here based on his start. It's an assessment of his start not a definitive evaluation of his entire career here. If you think he's had a decent start fine, I'd disagree with that but that is irrelevant to the point I'm making. my issue is, criticism, whether you agree with it or not, is being perceived as some kind of final judgement when that's just not the case for the overwhelming majority of it. You can be critical without declaring his entire career a write off, you can also be critical, have that player eventually come good (as we expect with Grealish) and not be wrong to criticise in that moment just because that no longer applies.

I don't really see what my post history has to do with anything here whatsoever because again you're linking any criticism to mean they're being written off entirely which is completely wrong. But seeing as you have brought it up, I'd reject the claim I'm more critical than most posters. I'm backing Ederson every single week from the idiots that believe he can't save anything, I've always backed gundogan when many didn't, I gave mahrez the credit he eventually deserved after a poor first season (which I did criticise) when most were still slating him at every opportunity and using ridiculous nicknames, I backed Bernardo heavily in the summer going as far as to say we won't win anything without him such is his importance when the more popular opinion on here was it was time for us to take a pitiful £40million and get rid after a perceived poor season, I backed Stones when people were begging to give him away, I've never doubted cancelos worth, I'm backing jesus every single week when he was getting slated for not scoring. And they're just the more noticeable players who have had a hefty amount of criticism, going through that I've actually backed the majority of the higher profile scapegoats. I even very obviously wrongly gave more slack than most to a certain unnamed left back. Not pretending I've never been critical, I've criticised plenty, but I wouldn't say I'm overly ctritical at all. you are correct I was heavily critical of Rodri last season and without derailing the thread i stand by everything I said at the time, there's been a drastic improvement this season and I've praised him for it and long may it continue.

Back on topic, I've criticised Grealish so far, I don't believe he's offering anywhere near enough to get into the side. I think foden is better in every aspect on the left and the left is the only position I see him being capable of playing right now. I've seen little so far to suggest he can play centrally, something he's never done in his career at the age of 26 and certainly nothing to suggest he can oust 2 from Bernardo gundogan and kdb to get a game there.

All of that is an opinion based on right NOW, I can't stress enough that's not a prediction of his entire city career. some, all or perhaps none of that may change over time, and although we all of course hope and expect it to, I'm making no judgements on his future whatsoever by saying he's currently not deserving of a starting spot.

And these points are fair, though subjective. My opinion is that he has made a decent start - he has done some things well and some things can be improved upon, and that is typical of most new players that have been on this journey with us. Comments like he is shit or he offers nothing are both inaccurate and insulting and will also be proven wrong, IMO.

 

[r.soleofsalford]

Grealish is a better dribbler than Foden.

My arse

 

[Maly]

My arse

Is a better dribbler than Foden & Grealish?

I’d suggest going to the docs my friend

 

[applejuice]

The thing is, I don't see any condemnation bar perhaps one or two posts which are obviously hyperbolic and over the top. most criticism I'm seeing on here is on his first 3 months only with virtually nobody writing off his 6 years here based on his start. It's an assessment of his start not a definitive evaluation of his entire career here. If you think he's had a decent start fine, I'd disagree with that but that is irrelevant to the point I'm making. my issue is, criticism, whether you agree with it or not, is being perceived as some kind of final judgement when that's just not the case for the overwhelming majority of it. You can be critical without declaring his entire career a write off, you can also be critical, have that player eventually come good (as we expect with Grealish) and not be wrong to criticise in that moment just because that no longer applies.

I don't really see what my post history has to do with anything here whatsoever because again you're linking any criticism to mean they're being written off entirely which is completely wrong. But seeing as you have brought it up, I'd reject the claim I'm more critical than most posters. I'm backing Ederson every single week from the idiots that believe he can't save anything, I've always backed gundogan when many didn't, I gave mahrez the credit he eventually deserved after a poor first season (which I did criticise) when most were still slating him at every opportunity and using ridiculous nicknames, I backed Bernardo heavily in the summer going as far as to say we won't win anything without him such is his importance when the more popular opinion on here was it was time for us to take a pitiful £40million and get rid after a perceived poor season, I backed Stones when people were begging to give him away, I've never doubted cancelos worth, I'm backing jesus every single week when he was getting slated for not scoring. And they're just the more noticeable players who have had a hefty amount of criticism, going through that I've actually backed the majority of the higher profile scapegoats. I even very obviously wrongly gave more slack than most to a certain unnamed left back. Not pretending I've never been critical, I've criticised plenty, but I wouldn't say I'm overly ctritical at all. you are correct I was heavily critical of Rodri last season and without derailing the thread i stand by everything I said at the time, there's been a drastic improvement this season and I've praised him for it and long may it continue.

Back on topic, I've criticised Grealish so far, I don't believe he's offering anywhere near enough to get into the side. I think foden is better in every aspect on the left and the left is the only position I see him being capable of playing right now. I've seen little so far to suggest he can play centrally, something he's never done in his career at the age of 26 and certainly nothing to suggest he can oust 2 from Bernardo gundogan and kdb to get a game there.

All of that is an opinion based on right NOW, I can't stress enough that's not a prediction of his entire city career. some, all or perhaps none of that may change over time, and although we all of course hope and expect it to, I'm making no judgements on his future whatsoever by saying he's currently not deserving of a starting spot.

I think that Grealish certainly did play in the middle before.

Didn't Grealish play central attacking midfielder role in 4-2-3-1 system in England vs Czech Republic game? Of course he roamed to the left during the game. But it is the same as Mason Mount who also played as attacking midfielder role in England 4-2-3-1 system as Southgate's tactic to create a strong side on the left with overloads.

And Grealish also played central attacking midfielder role in his last game at villa last season against Chelsea under 4-2-3-1 system - at least in name.

Of course it is very different from City's system.