10 | Jack Grealish - 2023/24

[dave_blue12]

I thought Jack lacked sharpness last night which is understandable.

Also no Julian on the pitch who he often links up with.

 

[Akira]

Don't think he did a whole lot of wrong, was just toothless overall.

Doku should be starting over him for now, just for having a better season so far, but you'd get pelters on here for even suggesting that.

 

[Haaland94]

Been drinking too much? Rumours the latest injury was due to alcohol again

Jack doesn't drink during the season.

 

[Txiki Txiki Bang Bang]

Hmmm

 

[Haaland94]

I agree with this but the big problem is that the games where we need Jack are seemingly getting less and less. Currently I would have Doku playing in every home game given that nearly all opposition will set up ultra defensive. I would pick Doku in all but 5 or 6 PL away games for the same reason. Grealish would get the nod in big away games in both the PL and CL as he gives us more control, something we would definitely want somewhere like Anfield or in the Bernabeu. The problem here is that we have a £100m player that is looking at being 1st choice for approx 10 games per season…it’s nowhere near enough.

Grealish needs to snap out of this meh level of performance. He has talked openly himself that he isn’t scoring/assisting enough and yet I don’t see any discernible changes to his game that is going to up his output. He is far too negative on the ball and too predictable (slow it down, chop inside, go back, rinse/repeat). Hes not scored since April, and while I don’t expect 20 goals a season from him, zero in 7 months makes him as dangerous as our GK…it’s not remotely good enough.

Most see it as a simple Grealish v Doku debate, but at the moment, Grealish wouldn’t deserve a place in the side even if Doku was still in France.

Then we start Jeremy for the time being and make Jack work for it. Jeremy is not a machine, either. He is a young lad, and he will need to be managed carefully. He has a history of various injury issues as well.

I just don't see a problem, and price tags don't matter as far as team selection is concerned. Both can get enough game time, IMO.

 

[SiMCFC]

Still love the lad and still insist he is not a winger, he is being played totally out of position and not utilising his natural strengths of the actual player we bought, at some point the experiment must see him move to where his natural position is.

 

[Blue Steel]

Reading some of these comments I might as well be in Rag Cafe. Main takeaways:

- He cost £100m and isn’t worth it
- Doku is bEtTeR
- City don’t need Grealish
- Grealish is average
- Grealish is an alcoholic which is why he hurt his leg in a game against Sheffield and got a sickness bug
- He cost £100m and isn’t worth it

Jesus Christ did the Treble not happen?

Most of the supportive takes for Grealish on social media these days appear to come from fans of other clubs rather than our own. Even they can see his potential but very few City fans want to even consider the thought that he has been specifically coached to play like he does for two years and now Pep is treating the new winger differently.

 

[chris85mcfc]

Been drinking too much? Rumours the latest injury was due to alcohol again

Stop talking bollocks!

I've seen absolutely nothing, let alone anything credible which suggests his recent injuries have been due to drinking.

What a lazy stereotype to use.

 

[shevtheblue]

I think it's time for Grealish to come into the 10 now, looks more dangerous in the central areas for me. Hell, he looked decent when he went out to the right wing a few games ago.

 

[youngbob]

Been drinking too much? Rumours the latest injury was due to alcohol again

If he'd turned up on matchday pissed or hungover Pep would have catapulted him off the roof of the stadium. Remember last season when he publicly benched Foden and Jack during that Newcastle game for a bit of misbehaviour? And in 2018 when Mendy was reprimanded for going to that boxing match. Or even when he publicly froze out Nasri and Phillips for being overweight. If Jack had been on the booze before Liverpool he would have had nothing to do with the Leipzig game.

 

[MadchesterCity]

If he'd turned up on matchday pissed or hungover Pep would have catapulted him off the roof of the stadium. Remember last season when he publicly benched Foden and Jack during that Newcastle game for a bit of misbehaviour? And in 2018 when Mendy was reprimanded for going to that boxing match. Or even when he publicly froze out Nasri and Phillips for being overweight. If Jack had been on the booze before Liverpool he would have had nothing to do with the Leipzig game.

Your right, just nonsense from people in the pub

 

[Crooked_rain]

I think it's evident he's not a winger

He can certainly play well from that position and has done but if you want somebody on the pitch that's going to run directly at a full back and put defences on the back foot from a wide position, then he's not that player. There's nothing wrong with that, its just not his strength.

I said on this thread a few weeks ago that he actually carries the ball pretty much as good as anybody in the center of the pitch and rarely loses it and goes past players when he has room to get shifting, but I don't think he trusts his acceleration over a few yards to do it from a very tight space out wide, which might be fair enough, not everyone has excellent acceleration in a confined space.

For me, to get the best out of him and use his attributes you need him in the middle of the pitch where he has a bit more grass to run into.

 

[meeesh]

Your right, just nonsense from people in the pub

Who bought him a few pints :)

 

[PragueBlue]

Seems to me to be a player that gets better the more he plays but with injury/sickness plus the form off Doku, he hasn't really got going this season yet.

It'd be interesting to see how Doku would do on the right with Grealish on the left as I'm not sure our other options on the right are that great at present. Bernardo seems more effective in CM and Foden needs to play more centrally in the KDB position. Doku can go both ways so presumably could also be very effective on the right.

 

[PragueBlue]

For me, to get the best out of him and use his attributes you need him in the middle of the pitch where he has a bit more grass to run into.

In theory sounds good but don't really remember him playing there for us so not sure how it'd work out. Might be worth a try but the problem is that Foden and Alvarez are probably at their best in that position too.

As I mentioned in another post, it'd be interesting to see if Doku could be as effective wide right, which would allow Grealish to continue on the left and try to get into some kind of form. He was very effective there last season and can be again.

 

[Crooked_rain]

In theory sounds good but don't really remember him playing there for us so not sure how it'd work out. Might be worth a try but the problem is that Foden and Alvarez are probably at their best in that position too.

As I mentioned in another post, it'd be interesting to see if Doku could be as effective wide right, which would allow Grealish to continue on the left and try to get into some kind of form. He was very effective there last season and can be again.

Well Pep did mention that he wanted Doku to get more practice at playing on the right too, to be an option there.

But yeah there's no doubt Jack can play well from the left and put in his fair share of Man of the match performances from the left last season, so it's not that he can't do it, but I just think is full skill set is not really being utilized that much out there, but as you say... who do you sacrifice to try it out?

I think a lot of it is perception and visuals too, like Jack gets the ball out on the left and you know 9 times out of 10 he's going to cut back inside and it may actually be the right thing to do to, maintain possession and build up the play. but then you get someone like Doku coming on and getting people out of their seats but may not actually create anything specific at the time, but it just gives the perception that one is doing more than the other.

There's no doubt there's sometimes when Grealish isn't on the pitch you really miss his presence in terms of being able to keep the ball, he adds a certain calmness to the build-up play that is sometimes required.

 

[nellyonthewing]

Reading some of these comments I might as well be in Rag Cafe. Main takeaways:

- He cost £100m and isn’t worth it
- Doku is bEtTeR
- City don’t need Grealish
- Grealish is average
- Grealish is an alcoholic which is why he hurt his leg in a game against Sheffield and got a sickness bug
- He cost £100m and isn’t worth it

Jesus Christ did the Treble not happen?

Most of the supportive takes for Grealish on social media these days appear to come from fans of other clubs rather than our own. Even they can see his potential but very few City fans want to even consider the thought that he has been specifically coached to play like he does for two years and now Pep is treating the new winger differently.

I get you are a big fan of his and quick to jump in to defend him on here but you need to understand that most blues arrive at their judgment on a player not on his off field media appeal but his contribution on the pitch. Not everyone sees him as an 8/10 each game .In that regard I feel he has never delivered on what I thought he would bring to us . Now if that is Pep shoe horning him into a style unsuited to him then it ain’t working.
You should not treat every criticism of him as a personal assault. You need to understand this is an arena for people with widely varying opinions.
You should balance your devotion to him by recognising not everyone will see it the same way and by definition are not automatically a ‘hater’ as you like to categorise them.
Next time Jack scores a match winning goal we’ll share a drink to him.

 

[Blu1]

I don’t think Jack is helping Jack. He is so predictable on the ball at the minute and he looks ridiculously easy to defend against. Hes doing himself no favours. He is in a really poor run of form and needs to snap out of it.

sadly have to agree & I really like Jack but he is looking lost at the minute

 

[Tricky_Trev]

Seems to me to be a player that gets better the more he plays but with injury/sickness plus the form off Doku, he hasn't really got going this season yet.

It'd be interesting to see how Doku would do on the right with Grealish on the left as I'm not sure our other options on the right are that great at present. Bernardo seems more effective in CM and Foden needs to play more centrally in the KDB position. Doku can go both ways so presumably could also be very effective on the right.

That is the aim, but Pep has already hinted that Doku is not good on the right yet. He wants him to be though, as it solves a lot for us.

 

[JewelZee]

Thanks Russel Brand

LMAO...