10 | Jack Grealish - 2023/24

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

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.

Most of the season. Came back sluggish, niggly injuries and when he starts, not doing enough. He needs to up his game or he won’t be starting which will probably mean more inconsistency.

 

[Williecaballerno]

I think this is the beginning of the end for Jack unfortunately. You can tell he’s never fully believed he fitted in with us. He had a few months early last year where he looked the part but I don’t think he’s had a good game for us since Real at home. He finished the season with his performances on the slide and that’s continued into this season. Doku being so impressive is just making it harder for Jack. I’ll be surprised if he is still here at the start of next season

 

[HypnoticBlue]

I think this is the beginning of the end for Jack unfortunately. You can tell he’s never fully believed he fitted in with us. He had a few months early last year where he looked the part but I don’t think he’s had a good game for us since Real at home. He finished the season with his performances on the slide and that’s continued into this season. Doku being so impressive is just making it harder for Jack. I’ll be surprised if he is still here at the start of next season

Ditto.
Also with Doku we attack, with Jack we dont.
Jack looks to come back or across the pitch or looks for a foul, that just isn’t good enough unfortunately.
Like you say I don’t think he’s ever believed he’s good enough for us, shame as nobody wants to see him fail, it’s an important run til the Euros for him.

 

[Platt Lane 59]

I think this is the beginning of the end for Jack unfortunately. You can tell he’s never fully believed he fitted in with us. He had a few months early last year where he looked the part but I don’t think he’s had a good game for us since Real at home. He finished the season with his performances on the slide and that’s continued into this season. Doku being so impressive is just making it harder for Jack. I’ll be surprised if he is still here at the start of next season

Cannot believe that Pep will not play Jack in certain games.
Jack has had injury issues and was ill for Saturday's match.
When he is fully fit, he will once again be a key contributor.
At the moment, Doku is flying down the wing. He has no fear and looks a huge threat.
That doesn't mean he will be automatically selected for every game.
City need at least 18 top quality players.
Both Jack & Jeremy have different strengths, with both being crucial to City's success...

 

[applejuice]

Grealish is a limited player who is asked to perform a particular role and does so adequately and occasionally very well.

Unfortunately, his 2-3 month spell after the World Cup last season is starting to look like a purple patch in the context of the rest of his City career.

Don't be ridiculous. He was one of the best in January February March and April and May.

Not good today. I agree.

 

[Blue Steel]

While it was a poor first half from the team as a whole, Jack actually did little wrong compared to the others.

Was baffled as to why he got hooked. Pep isn’t giving him any time at all to work his way back from injuries or illness and is sapping his confidence as he goes. I know one other poster got the piss taken out of him earlier but Grealish is a confidence player in his own words. And no, Doku didn’t impact the game any more than Grealish did.

Look at it this way:
- No shortage of goals, assists and flair performances at Villa, all over the pitch
- Fits into City’s controlled way of playing and really settles into it second season. Control was crucial to us winning the treble.
- In his own words countless times, he’s been mostly concerned with not losing the ball. His natural way of playing thus coached out of him.
- Pep decides this season he wants to relinquish control and gets a right winger into the team who covers for injured Grealish on the left and is allowed to play *his own game* unrestricted. After two years of Grealish having his own game coached out of him.
- Pep decides he prefers this and sets up Doku against Grealish (no one is talking about Doku vs Foden or Doku vs Bernardo) and while I KNOW criticism of Pep is largely forbidden I do not believe he has done Jack any favours so far this season because I don’t think he “gets” him.

Call me soft or stupid or whatever, but part of man management is finding different ways to get the best out of all your players and hooking a confidence player after 50 mins of his first game back from illness where he didn’t really put a foot wrong isn’t going to work.

The City fanbase inexplicably don’t love Grealish either by and large (they already seem to love Doku more who hasn’t even got a great big game record, whereas Grealish has for this club) so that won’t help him either.

 

[applejuice]

He had a few months early last year where he looked the part but I don’t think he’s had a good game for us since Real at home.

What's your opinion of his derby performance and Sheffield?

 

[BlueMoonie]

Jack is player of confidence, typical virgo...

He is born on 10-th of September, me myself 20..

So how I work as usual. As soon as I feel challenge at work or manager hires someone like me, I as usual seek another job, where I work alone and feel safety in terms of competition, that's when I operate better and do my best.

I like when I have something guaranteed and don't feel someone's breath behind my back. I don't say that it's good, but that's how I am and definitely not gonna change.

Jack also needs that guarantee, otherwise he ain't gonna play his best football.

Right now he feels challenge and lacks assurances from the manager I guess.

As soon that situation is resolved and gats guaranteed place, I'm sure he will be as good as he was last year.

Last year he knew that he will always play, no matter what and eventually he progressed to the world-class level..
At Aston Villa he was captain, one-man-team and also he was world-class there..

Challenge ruins him, safety makes him stronger.

Manager's job is to know each player and what makes them tick and manage team accordingly.

Wtf did i just read.

 

[applejuice]

While it was a poor first half from the team as a whole, Jack actually did little wrong compared to the others

- Pep decides he prefers this and sets up Doku against Grealish (no one is talking about Doku vs Foden or Doku vs Bernardo) and while I KNOW criticism of Pep is largely forbidden I do not believe he has done Jack any favours so far this season because I don’t think he “gets” him.

100% on this. More important Pep changes the system when he switches players. When Doku plays Pep often asks the right hand to attract opposition to create space for left hand side. So ideally Doku will have space to showcase his ability. I am not against this idea. IMO it is the correct way to utilize a winger.

However most of the time when Grealish plays, Pep puts him deeper and sometimes as a left back position (vs Newcastle) and often the space is very limited. We only saw once he got the "good treatment" and that was the Derby. Played really well. Today the game plan was asking Grealish to stick to the touchline again creating space for others to run into while no one tried to create space for him. Did nothing really wrong in the first half compared to most of the team. Then in the 2nd half the team worked to create space for the sub.

Of course the team is bigger than individuals.

But Pep constantly does it against a certain player. I call it unfair.

 

[FJRMCFC]

Was baffled as to why he got hooked.

We were 2-0 down and he had offered absolutely zero in the final third or in terms of control.

And no, Doku didn’t impact the game any more than Grealish did.

Really? Because we seemed to play with a lot more urgency when he came on. Something that Pep also alluded to in his presser. Of course this would’ve been helped by Alvarez and Rico’s change of position.

- No shortage of goals, assists and flair performances at Villa, all over the pitch

Villa don’t play against deep blocks anywhere near as much as City do. His skillset has actually proved to be somewhat limited without the time and space he was afforded in his Villa days, hence the lack of goals, assists and flair.

Pep decides this season he wants to relinquish control and gets a right winger into the team who covers for injured Grealish on the left and is allowed to play *his own game* unrestricted. After two years of Grealish having his own game coached out of him.

Was his game coached out of him or was he unable to adapt? Why did we never hear about Sane, Sterling or Mahrez not being able to play their own game wide?

they already seem to love Doku more who hasn’t even got a great big game record

This seems a tad harsh since he just arrived. But still, Doku has already scored the same amount of Champions League goals for City as Grealish has. He’s also scored just 1 less goal than Jack for City this calendar year.

I still think Jack has a role to play this season but there’s no need to coddle him or make it out as if he’s being treated unfairly. He’s our £100m player for Christs sake