I'm definitely not going to fall out with you on this Kaz as life is far too short and I can see the argument on many of your points.
Personally, having forgiven Phil for the incident where he and Jack turned up worse for wear, and for breaking lockdown in Iceland, and various other incidents, and having forgiven countless other of our players for moments of shitty judgement on the pitch and in their personal lives, my preference is to extend the same courtesy to Jack.
I can fully understand and won't dispute the point of view that one such incident is one too many, and there are some things I'm inclined not to forgive. But getting pissed with Phil that time and training poorly in the run-up to that Fulham match are the only two such instances I'm aware of with Jack for us and on the other hand I've seen his teammates etc. describe him as a good trainer and that combined with his visible work rate on the pitch makes me inclined to think it's a case of occasional poor judgement rather than a general bad attitude. It's disappointed me when it's happened and I sympathise with anyone who can't get past it but like I said, having made it past judgement lapses by countless other players, I won't make an exception to that leniency here.
I think there's definitely a reasonable chance that the treble messed with his head a bit, but it's very unlikely that that impact lasted a year. I think it's more likely that the groin injuries he's been picking up across the past season or two have stopped him from getting into any kind of rhythm. Like many players, he's always taken a little while to come back after an injury, and unfortunately recently he seems to have been picking up new injuries or exacerbating the old ones before he gets properly into the swing of things. There may well be something that can be done to prevent those injuries through adjusting training and recovery etc. but considering how devastated he's been every time we've seen him get injured, I doubt he's not doing exactly as he's told. Like any player he wants to play as much as possible.
I also think we can't underestimate how last season was impacted by the robbery at his house, his family having been in danger and the aftermath of that coinciding with his partner and sister's pregnancies, and knowing that the perpetrators are still out there. I know, we all go through tough times and still have to do our jobs, but still - I sympathise.
As for his performances, I think that when he's been actually fit this season (and in pre-season) he's been good and has added a bit more directness back into his game. I'd love to see him get more goals and assists and I think those numbers are a fair criticism and I understand if you see them as the be all and end all for a player in his position.
Personally I think that when he's at his best he's very involved in the build-up to a lot of goals and I'm not going to get hung up on where in that process he happens to get his touches.
He's very good at drawing opponents to him and then putting the ball into the space they've vacated. He's very good at protecting the ball, which helps stop counter-attacks. I find him to be a very unselfish player who often does the thankless tasks that help others shine. He works particular well with whoever the left back is, making space and offering cover when the LB goes forward and making himself available for an easy ball whatever situation the LB is in.
He's an imperfect player who plays an important role in our squad. I don't know what's going on with his health, fitness or personal life but I trust Pep's decision making on whether or not to play him.
If he goes to the England camp, and especially if he plays, he'd better return to City after the international break with a boost in fitness and form and raring to go for us.
