10 | Jack Grealish - 2021/22 Performances

[applejuice]

He played more like an attacking midfielder together with KDB like a double 10 in the 2nd half. Cancelo played like a left back + left winger and occupied the whole left wing. Bernado dropped very deep like a pivot. And MU could not cope with it and eventually just gave up after several drives by him & KDB.

 

[OB1]

Best performance for us, looked like the player at Villa, aggressive, asked questions and always on the front foot.

It was but it doesn't really show up in his match stats and that's kind of the story of his season. He has been contributing but he has not produced the headline numbers and so his performances have been underrated. He hasn't though run at teams like he did yesterday for a little while so we can expect more from him.

 

[DATOIA]

One of his first fixtures..

He was always that good from the beginning, we just needed his absence to understand his real value..

That's all

 

[Dax777]

Still like him :)

 

[WallyA]

I think after that performance, I think, people may be turning around on him.

Just to add a bit in terms of his style and what the stats show here are some PER 90 stats from FBREF:

xG: 0.24 with him scoring only 0.18, Kevin has 0.26 but scoring 0.42 (he has having a freak scoring season). Grealish ranks quite low on this list for our forwards in terms of getting in chances, but also in terms of finishing them off.

This is imo the biggest part of his game to work on, the rest you will see, is VERY strong and important to how we play and why I think he is vital for our big games this season over Sterling and Jesus.

xA: 0.27 - 3rd best in our team behind KdB and Foden. Mahrez and Gundogan are right around there also.

BUT I want to focus on 2 stats that I think if it existed during David Silva's time here he would have gotten more accolades from people who focus only on goals and assists:

SCA: Shot Creating Actions records the 2 actions taken before a shot is had (pass, dribble or drawing fouls), Grealish has about 5.5 SCA, highest in the team with KdB just behind with 5.4, 3rd best is Mahrez with 4.1.

Basically, he keeps the attack ticking, doesn't risk too much, but usually his actions lead to a shot more often than not, this is SO vital to a Pep team. It is not a sexy stat like Key Passes or xA, but I think should be in more conversations to define forward players who are more team players in a sense.

Progressive Carries into the 18 yard box (CPA): There are many stats about progressive carries, many leaning towards defenders who obviously have lots of space to run into, this is the best stat for forward players to see how well they progressive into the box.

Grealish makes 4.4 progressive carries into the box every 90 minutes. The 2nd best? Mahrez with 2.34 and Sterling just behind that with 2.3. Grealish ranks obscenely high in this regard, and again, not a sexy stat, but another stat I feel is super important for a pep forward.

 

[WillT]

I think after that performance, I think, people may be turning around on him.

Just to add a bit in terms of his style and what the stats show here are some PER 90 stats from FBREF:

xG: 0.24 with him scoring only 0.18, Kevin has 0.26 but scoring 0.42 (he has having a freak scoring season). Grealish ranks quite low on this list for our forwards in terms of getting in chances, but also in terms of finishing them off.

This is imo the biggest part of his game to work on, the rest you will see, is VERY strong and important to how we play and why I think he is vital for our big games this season over Sterling and Jesus.

xA: 0.27 - 3rd best in our team behind KdB and Foden. Mahrez and Gundogan are right around there also.

BUT I want to focus on 2 stats that I think if it existed during David Silva's time here he would have gotten more accolades from people who focus only on goals and assists:

SCA: Shot Creating Actions records the 2 actions taken before a shot is had (pass, dribble or drawing fouls), Grealish has about 5.5 SCA, highest in the team with KdB just behind with 5.4, 3rd best is Mahrez with 4.1.

Basically, he keeps the attack ticking, doesn't risk too much, but usually his actions lead to a shot more often than not, this is SO vital to a Pep team. It is not a sexy stat like Key Passes or xA, but I think should be in more conversations to define forward players who are more team players in a sense.

Progressive Carries into the 18 yard box (CPA): There are many stats about progressive carries, many leaning towards defenders who obviously have lots of space to run into, this is the best stat for forward players to see how well they progressive into the box.

Grealish makes 4.4 progressive carries into the box every 90 minutes. The 2nd best? Mahrez with 2.34 and Sterling just behind that with 2.3. Grealish ranks obscenely high in this regard, and again, not a sexy stat, but another stat I feel is super important for a pep forward.

As much as reliance on stats to make an argument is incredibly annoying, these advanced stats are very interesting.

Grealish has always been up there with progressive carries afaik, holding onto the ball is a strong suit of his hence the derby suited him down to a t.

 

[WallyA]

As much as reliance on stats to make an argument is incredibly annoying, these advanced stats are very interesting.

Grealish has always been up there with progressive carries afaik, holding onto the ball is a strong suit of his hence the derby suited him down to a t.

True, this stat carries over from his Villa days as well.

I would argue even apart from big games, this is something we want from a player in any game.

The first stat is more important in terms of contributions to shots, he ranks high.

 

[WillT]

True, this stat carries over from his Villa days as well.

I would argue even apart from big games, this is something we want from a player in any game.

The first stat is more important in terms of contributions to shots, he ranks high.

Absolutely mate, the fact that he is contributing already without his full flair coming out is very promising.

 

[applejuice]

True, this stat carries over from his Villa days as well.

I would argue even apart from big games, this is something we want from a player in any game.

The first stat is more important in terms of contributions to shots, he ranks high.

All these stats indicate one thing - he desperately needs a striker.
Actually he left a good impression in his first several City games when we played with a striker Torres. But after Torres injured and City switched back to false 9 system, he started to have up and downs.

 

[RandomJ]

He has every right to be pissed off. Getting slagged off all over the place for his stats when he keeps putting chances on a silver platter for our other players to keep missing.