10 | Jack Grealish - 2021/22 Performances

[wolfie1988]

I suspect his fitness isn't quite at the levels required here.At Villa the standards and expectations would have been lower and he was very much in a comfort zone.
He needs to concentrate 100% on achieving our demands,otherwise he will not reach the heights he is capable.
Saying all that,he has been far from a flop....some of the criticism is comical...but we should definitely be seeing more,and I expect we soon will.

To be fair, his fitness was the one thing I doubted about him prior to him joining but he played our 1st 12 games with no issues and was working his bollocks off until the last. There was a great example at Leicester away that Pep loved. He wouldn't have been anywhere near the team of Pep thought his fitness was shabby.

 

[kaz7]

At least you’ve been honest on why you dislike Grealish. He hasn’t justified his price tag and he’s a convenient scapegoat for Phil’s transgressions.

Some are using the whole situation to slag him off for made up reasons due to covid protocols. It’s funny how those people who complain about his actions don’t seem to have a problem with our manager fucking off to Spain and being pictured right next to Kun and Xavi with no face mask or social distancing.

Personally I think that both Jack and Phil have been stupid here. They should be fully focused on football over the Christmas period and not partying. That said, moaning over the fact they are having a laugh on the substitutes bench around a week after the event is complete nonsense. Should they be sulking for the next year?

Going to a club is the same as pep going to honour one of our greatest ever players ? and he had a mask on most of the time after being tested

 

[daztrueblue91]

Going to a club is the same as pep going to honour one of our greatest ever players ? and he had a mask on most of the time after being tested

Neither are illegal but both are not advisory in the current climate.

For those saying that Foden and Grealish could have exposed the squad to covid, does the same not apply to Pep?

 

[DMA's]

I suspect his fitness isn't quite at the levels required here.At Villa the standards and expectations would have been lower and he was very much in a comfort zone.
He needs to concentrate 100% on achieving our demands,otherwise he will not reach the heights he is capable.
Saying all that,he has been far from a flop....some of the criticism is comical...but we should definitely be seeing more,and I expect we soon will.

You know it’s not gone great for Grealish when even his biggest fan starts to see his flaws.

 

[kaz7]

Neither are illegal but both are not advisory in the current climate.

For those saying that Foden and Grealish could have exposed the squad to covid, does the same not apply to Pep?

Pep is the most careful man there is, tested before and before he saw the squad, he just spoke again about being shocked nobody wears a mask in this country

 

[citytill1die84]

I must admit, iv gone right off Grealish since he joined. I was defending him for the first few months, but I'm done with his antics and persona in general. If he gets his head down and improves his game I won't hold a grudge and get back onside. At the minute Iv got a complete sickener of him. Between the two timing, boozing, love island fawning, landing to training in no state, conducting national interviews clearly hungover, jeopardizing the whole club during the omicron virus...this is before we talk about his bang average performances on the pitch. The aforementioned has culminated in me feeling how I do. Is this how a 100mill player in the first 6 months at his new club should behave? The man is either thick as a plank or taking the piss. Or both.

Lmfao.

 

[lmhblue1]

Pep is the most careful man there is, tested before and before he saw the squad, he just spoke again about being shocked nobody wears a mask in this country

Not like our other players have been in bubbles and/or wearing masks…. Cancelo for example had a 1st birthday party for his baby a few days ago. Dias and other players (Bruno Fernandes) were there, indoor gathering with no social distancing or masks in sight. Mahrez took a trip to London recently with his fiancé - no masks on her Instagram story. Laporte went to Spain as well in the couple days off the players had after Newcastle… All of these things were posted on the social media of players’ family members and no one’s given a fuck

 

[trueblue1972]

Not like our other players have been in bubbles and/or wearing masks…. Cancelo for example had a 1st birthday party for his baby a few days ago. Dias and other players (Bruno Fernandes) were there, indoor gathering with no social distancing or masks in sight. Mahrez took a trip to London recently with his fiancé - no masks on her Instagram story. Laporte went to Spain as well in the couple days off the players had after Newcastle… All of these things were posted on the social media of players’ family members and no one’s given a fuck

I'm sure all players are given guidance about what they can and can't do , its safe to assume the ones mentioned are within that guidance where as Phil and Jack were not .
Most of us have done what they did in our younger days ( or now for the younger ones out there ) and it must be hard not to want todo these things , however they are very well paid to make these sacrifices and perform at there peak .

 

[Churchlawtonblue]

Grealish is class. He'll take more time to fit into our system. Stupid though that he had a night out on the town along with Foden.... meh. He'll mature in temperament as he ages.

If he was class he wouldnt be sitting on the bench as much as he is.

 

[applejuice]

I suspect his fitness isn't quite at the levels required here.At Villa the standards and expectations would have been lower and he was very much in a comfort zone.
He needs to concentrate 100% on achieving our demands,otherwise he will not reach the heights he is capable.
Saying all that,he has been far from a flop....some of the criticism is comical...but we should definitely be seeing more,and I expect we soon will.

Grealish is never the typical English midfielders renowning for their work rate like Beckham Lampard Lingard or Mount. He is kind of slow in pace. Several years ago English youth selection system focused heavily on these pace and work rate heavily but Villa system I guess was not that strict.

Grealish had stamina issue in the doubt since his first seasons with Villa. But his ability to control the ball in tight spaces stood out ever since his youth career. Something rarely seen among English players. His most "English" attribution was perhaps the willingness and aggressiveness on winning ground duals 50-50 ball.

Before his kidney injury, Grealish was often subbed off early or ran out of steam in the 2nd half. During his recovery from that injury, he gained a lot of muscles and became a big lad (as Phil and Kev described). I think that it was a smart decision made by his team to maximise what he is good at: keeping procession, winning ground duels and carrying the ball. On the trade off, pace and work rate will never be the on the elite level.

Dean Smith used very carefully managed game plan to preserve/use Grealish energy by stages of the game. For a period in last season, Villa often unleashed in the 2nd half. Grealish was not lazy or unfit - his covered distance was high (>10km avg in Villa) and did a lot of ball carrying and winning the balls. His energy distribution though a game was closed to stretching to the limit.

This is not a secret at all and Pep must have studied Villa's game as an opponent.

Thus it is very interesting to see how Pep will transform and improve Grealish - a talented footballer with nature limitations.

--
On a side note, as a long time Three Lions fan, I hold high expectation for him and Phil. England team have so many high work rate high pace players but lack of ball carriers who can control the ball in tight areas to be able to set the pace of the game. Exactly what we need for so many years and lost again and again. Thus I am very happy Pep gave them a lesson.