10 | Jack Grealish - 2024/25

[Johnny Mars Bar]

Agree with this. I would add the maxim that the best ability is availability and he's hardly ever available.

That is another major problem. We have far too many sick notes in our team and we can’t carry them anymore.

 

[hammocity]

Jack has let himself and the club down with his off field behaviour on more than a couple of occasions.

I remember a boxing pundit saying about Ricky Hatton that his lifestyle would catch up with him, he was correct, he couldn't binge drink in later years and just do a 2 months training camp. The last fight he won was when he was aged just 30, he really regressed.

I wonder if Jack is experiencing something similar, he's just not the player he was.

 

[applejuice]

But he’s not made an impact this season at all when we desperately needed him to. We need leaders and he should be one by now but it’s not really in him.

Bossed the midfield and that was the one win in the past 2 months. I guess that it should be called "an impact" if the team only won 1 in 13 matches.

Did ok-ish in the midfield vs Juve for the 1st half. Then Pep quickly put him back to the wing again when everyone can see the obvious problem was someone else in the midfield who could barely move.

It is just obvious he is a midfielder and Pep for whatever reasons does not like that. Pep only wants midfielders to be a certain type and it is certainly not the type of Grealish Palmer or McAtee.

 

[Johnny Mars Bar]

Bossed the midfield and that was the one win in the past 2 months. I guess that it should be called "an impact" if the team only won 1 in 13 matches.

Did ok-ish in the midfield vs Juve for the 1st half. Then Pep quickly put him back to the wing again when everyone can see the obvious problem was someone else in the midfield who could barely move.

It is just obvious he is a midfielder and Pep for whatever reasons does not like that. Pep only wants midfielders to be a certain type and it is certainly not the type of Grealish Palmer or McAtee.

“Bossed” might be over egging it a little.

He started well against Villa too but faded away.

It makes me sad but he is one of the problems in our squad, he is far too inconsistent and far too unavailable.

 

[applejuice]

“Bossed” might be over egging it a little.

He started well against Villa too but faded away.

About that Villa game Pep changed the tactic HT and apparently it was not to pass to the left despite Grealish already got Cash on a yellow.

 

[sir baconface]

(Emphasis added in your words above to show you the key phrase)

If you cannot see that as the squad has dramatically aged, sometimes as a result of progressive injuries and workload, and as the tactics have received more study and scrutiny, we have found it increasingly more difficult to penetrate the opposition, while they have found it increasingly easier for them to absorb the pressure and break on us, then we are unable to have a discussion, because we are watching different football…or at least seeing different things from the game.

As time has marched on, we have been increasingly fortunate to not only scrape victories, but also have to rely on others tripping themselves over, to win the League. It has happened that way REPEATEDLY, and it has only been a fantastic run in of games that has salvaged the season and the titles.

2012 was a prime example, with United dropping points, not the least of which were the 2 they dropped against Everton at home in a 4-4 draw. The difference that season was literally the 6-1 at their place! That 10 GD swing and the “six-pointer” nature of the game won the League, even though it required Vinny’s header and the craziness of injury time against QPR!

Then, Liverpool…Steve Gerrard slipped on his arse and they gave away 3 goals, after being up 3-0, at Palace to hand us the advantage.

And so on and so forth!

We DOMINATED once, as did Liverpool in the COVID season, but the others were all down to the other team blinking and us managing not to lose any more points than they did in the run in.

That is clearly not happening this season, and we look to be nowhere near it, as Liverpool continue to pull away. They are where we were about 2 years ago…players in the prime of their careers, with all systems firing and the squad feeling interchangeable without losing a step. We are two years away from that with this squad, and it was not fixed on the fly, so it’s going to be painful trying to play catch up by bringing in new talent to return us to the top.

All I’m saying is that there has been an increase in the ability to nullify our possession AS our possession-based game has become increasingly stale and our defence has become more porous.

Yes, of course injuries have exacerbated that, but that would be just a result here and a result there, not this relative freefall, such that we would be BOTTOM OF THE LEAGUE if it started two months ago!

The two things have combined to make us a soft touch…even when we do have 60+% possession. Therein lies the problem…or one of them, at least!

If we are light on personnel, then let’s address that by tightening up and making us harder to beat, not play a bunch of patched old players, who can no longer press or perform as they have, in the exact same system…which had already been sussed and overcome repeatedly, often by teams nowhere near our supposed standard!

Top post, Chicago.

I’m getting more worried about how neat, quick and well organised a lot of the so-called middling teams look these days. The competition for top 4 will be more fierce than I previously thought.

(Apologies for digressing from Jack Grealish.)

 

[kaz7]

Hmm so Grealish is being blamed for this poor run of form, is he?
Or is he being blamed for not turning games around when we're not winning?

Because last time I checked, there were 9 other outfield players who haven't exactly been playing well. Why is it "expected" of Grealish to turn defeats into wins when none of his teammates seem capable either and haven't for the past couple of months. Last time I saw Grealish put in a good performance was when he was being played in the middle, the position he prefers and excels in, and we commanded a fine 3-0 victory against a very strong Nottingham Forest side, in which Grealish was instrumental.

But no, it's the "He cost £100m, so he should have scored 100 million goals!" crowd. He does exactly what is expected of him to do out on the left, and I don't recall many times he didn't do precisely what he's being told to do. He creates chances for others, who then fluff their lines and it's Jack's fault. He tries a shot himself and misses and Jack is "useless in front of goal". Some people just love to hate the guy when he is no worse than quite a number at the club, yet he gets it in the neck all the time.

I think a lot of people will be very sad to see Grealish leave the club; they'll have lost their scapegoat.

All the other players threads are lit up , why not this one ?

 

[Worzel Gummidge#9]

I hope he leaves as part of the rebuild, can’t see his performances getting much better than what he’s shown since he’s been here.

He hasn’t scored a goal for us in over a calendar year and has about 1 or 2 assists this season.

 

[Churchlawtonblue]

About that Villa game Pep changed the tactic HT and apparently it was not to pass to the left despite Grealish already got Cash on a yellow.

How do you know that Pep said don't pass to Grealish on the left?

 

[Churchlawtonblue]

I hope he leaves as part of the rebuild, can’t see his performances getting much better than what he’s shown since he’s been here.

He hasn’t scored a goal for us in over a calendar year and has about 1 or 2 assists this season.

I'm with you on this, for whatever reason it hasn't worked out for Jack. The sooner he goes the better.