10 | Jack Grealish - 2022/23 Performances

[Bluesince1979]

Don't think he had great game or whatever posters are. Mentioning here. Made 2 /3 runs which we knew would lead to absolutely nothing. Botched few crosses in the box

Apart from the goal itself

 

[richards30]

The guy is working incredibly hard and is giving his all but in all honesty is he good enough as a wide player?

He`s not a wide player though mate? Frustrating that Pep wont let Jack have a go alongside KDB instead of Gundogan?

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

Some grovelling fucking apologies owed in this thread.

Strange. It’s almost as if multiple title winning manager Pep knows more about football than the sad cunts who were all over this thread whenever Jack had a bad game. Conspicuous by their absence now, of course. Fucking spineless.

 

[Del_Bosque]

Really want to see him in center mid

His work rate is definitely there now

 

[youngbob]

Grealish is basically the logical endpoint to Pep putting Gundogan on the wing against Liverpool that one time.

Pep wants total control in all thirds and Grealish basically has Rodri's role but further up the pitch.

If people like Keeper haven't worked out by now that Pep doesn't suffer fools then they never will.

It reminds me of the shit Walker used to get when he had rough patches of form in the early days. "He's not good enough technically, all he can do is run quickly". It was nonsense then and it's nonsense now about Jack.

"He's not good enough, all he does is jink about and pass it sideways". If that was the case he'd have been flogged to the highest bidder in the summer. We have proper depth in quality on the wings and yet Grealish starts regularly.

Grealish wouldn't last in Pep's squad (and he certainly wouldn't get in Pep's starting XI) if he didn't pull his weight and contribute to the team effort. That's why your likes of Nolito, Sané, Torres etc. were shipped off.

Do I think Grealish could be a bit more dangerous on a regular basis? Yeah. A player of his quality, in his position, should be contributing to 20 G/A per season. His underlying figures are good but his key contributions are lacking.

But he started the majority of games for us in the Premier League last season during a year where we hit 93 points. You don't do that if you're no good. He's clearly no slouch and Pep clearly likes him. I trust Pep.

I've got loads of these from last season as well. Feeling very fucking smug.

 

[MichaelBBack]

Grealish plays, we play better. Thought this for months, now.

Pep wanted him for a reason.

Agreed. It wasn't always the case, but right now, we look a better team with him on the pitch and he ranks among the top performers in the squad, for sure.

With Bernie a bit half-arsed lately, Gundo not quite at it, and Phil MIA, the quality of Mahrez and the drive and game control of Jack have been so important to keep the team afloat.

I agree with others that his end product needs some improvement, but four assists and a goal in his last eight games is perfectly respectable for a player who is more of a tricky CAM than a goal scoring winger at heart.

He's putting a huge shift in every single game and he's getting his confidence back. And, as someone with a Villa-supporting brother, I know too well how good a confident Grealish can be.

Frankly, even if you don't think he was 100 million well spent or wish he'd score 20 goals a season, I still don't get some of the absolute vitriol against him in this thread and elsewhere. (Particularly in matchday threads there are a couple of posters who literally only comment to say things like "shit cross Grealish" and then vanish when he gets an assist).

He's a really nice lad (not the brightest but a very good heart and very friendly with fans, especially those with disabilities), playing good football and looking like he really appreciates being a part of this team, unlike a few others at the minute. I'm very happy to have him at City and hope to see him crack on with this form for the rest of the season.

 

[01cravend]

He`s not a wide player though mate? Frustrating that Pep wont let Jack have a go alongside KDB instead of Gundogan?

He is a wide man, just at Villa he was given more license to roam. I'd like to see him given more freedom here, especially if he's playing infront of a defensive fullback like Ake. Like the the 2nd half against Spurs, was like Pep took the hug the touchline shackles off of him and Mahrez. They both looked twice the players for it and suddenly it was like the knowledge of how to attack came flooding back to the team.

 

[Sk@mcfc]

His work rate has been brilliant the past month or so he’s really starting to buy into system ,when running at players looks really good just doesn’t do it enough. Ake give him some lessons in finishing

 

[youngbob]

Had a look in his thread for last season for posts I made about him when everyone was slagging him off.

Found these from October 2021.

People saying we need to be "patient" with Grealish like he hasn't hit the ground running.

What he brings us in the shape of keeping the ball rolling, keeping it moving, stopping things from going a bit static and stale. Grealish has definitely ensured that, in games where he plays well, the quality of our chances are a lot better.

Jack was quietly brilliant again last night. For someone who was such a big fish at Villa, he's getting his head down and doing the dirty work brilliantly at City. Keeps the ball moving, keeps crafting little triangles with Foden and Bernardo, keeps the defenders busy.

There have been times under Pep where you can tell, after an hour or so, that a goal just isn't coming. We run out of ideas and resort to hoofing it into the box, hoping the ball bounces in the right place. Grealish keeps the ball on the floor, keeps things simmering, and makes sure we keep ticking over instead of trying to rush.

The way he receives the ball after a move breaks down and normally knows where to play it so that the momentum isn't lost. If he's guilty of anything it's not taking games by the scruff of the neck. He seems a wee bit deferential. But that will improve with time, as it always does with Pep signings.

The reaction on the rare occasions he doesn't play well makes me think that some fans want him to fail so they can enjoy being right. He's had a generally good start but probably needs to be moved centrally so he can be unlocked. He wasn't great today but absolutely nobody was.

I've been on Bluemoon long enough to remember the threads criticising Yaya Toure and Carlos Tevez when they didn't hit the ground running. I also remember people doubting that Bernardo and Sané would ever make it at City. And yet no such threads were ever made about Nolito.

 

[youngbob]

And November/December 2021.

I think a lot of peoples' perceptions of him have been affected by the Euros, where he was mostly used as a wildcard option late into games - that's not really what he is for us.

I don't mind people criticising Grealish but a lot of people in this thread are just bare-face lying about his contributions on the pitch, especially last night. Him and Cancelo played just as well as each other last night, the only difference was that the chances Cancelo created were buried by the players who received them. Grealish put Cancelo through but he spooned his finish onto the post, and Mahrez didn't bury a simple one-on-one that Grealish gifted to him. The other day against Palace he put one on a plate for Rodri in the second half but it got spooned it miles over. That's three gimme assists that Grealish doesn't have against his name just because the players he put through couldn't finish properly.

Most important thing for me was that, considering he's recovering from an injury and considering this is still a bit new to him, he was getting into those kinds of positions and really looking the part. His movement for the first goal was top class and left Sterling wide open, he started the move for goal number 2, and the way he kept the ball in a tight area during the move for Bernardo's worldie really reminded me of Nasri. Has played pretty well up to this point but has been lacking in a couple of areas; he looks like he might be ready to kick on now.

My point is, over time, Grealish will slot into our system like Mahrez has and look far more comfortable, but unless he kits De Bruyne/Bernardo levels, there will always be people who won't rate him. Does that mean he won't have been a good signing?

As I keep saying, Nolito is the only non-defensive summer signing that's immediately got off to a flying start under Pep. And we all know how that ended up. Whereas Bernardo, Sane, Mahrez, Rodri, Gundogan, even Cancelo - all of them took time to grow into their roles in the team. People were calling for Gundogan to be sold up until last summer!

And it's worth remembering that even players like Sergio, Kevin, David Silva - they all took time to adjust and learn Pep's way (Aguero's longest ever run without a goal came during Pep's first year). That's why we finished Pep's first season empty-handed, miles away from Conte's Chelsea, who were an instant hit and apparently "showed Pep how to do it in England". And look how that all turned out.

Jack's doing about average right now which, considering his price tag, isn't good enough yet. But the thing is, he knows it, Pep knows it, and it's not like Pep to ignore the finer details. And he's out of position. Like I said yesterday, if he's still at this level at the start of next season then we'll have to have serious words. But I've lost count of how many new players we've written off under Pep only for them to come good.

He reminds me a lot of Nasri in the way he keeps possession, recycles the ball, and is basically impossible to dispossess once he gets his body between the ball and the defender. Needs to be more dangerous in front of goal going forward - and the best way to get better at that is by burying his chances, which he did tonight. Well done to him. You can tell the goal was a massive relief for him.