Do Villa fans want Jack to win the PL?

Avlk said:
I can answer this on my behalf, but am aware I don't represent all my fellow Villa fans.

I'm a fan of both Villa and Jack, but Villa comes first.

The only way I can think of to describe it in Man City terms is, imagine if Phil Foden was 20-odd years older. The best player your club's produced in most of your lifetimes, a local boy who lives and breathes your club, coming through into your first team in the late 90s.

He's the best player in your squad, and they all play better with him on the pitch. He sticks with you when you get relegated, and plays a key part in getting you promoted again. By his mid-20s he's your captain, your talisman, the one player you look forward to seeing every week because you know he works as hard for the club as you would.

And he's entwined in your local area. Everyone you know has a story about him meeting them or a friend or a friend of a friend, about him being absolutely sound and a great laugh and so generous with both his money and his time.

So, on and off the pitch, you love him. He's not perfect but he is great, and he's spent 20 years of his life including his entire career with your football club, it runs through his veins like it runs through yours. But he's approaching his peak and he's never won anything, never played in Europe, is a peripheral player in the national team, and looks like going down in history as one of football's great wasted talents, a player who could have torn up the biggest stages if only he was at a club whose quality matched his.

Then, early 2000s, Arsenal want him. The top club in the country, winning trophies every year, playing in Europe, want your little Phil. And they offer your club more money than anyone's ever paid for an English player. And you can afford to keep him, but his contract means it's his choice.

He loves your club, but he has one life and one career and he chooses to take the opportunity of a lifetime and make the move, and you're gutted. Maybe you understand his reasoning and maybe you don't. Some of your fans are pissed off that he's chosen to go to a team that's already top of the league, rather than spending the rest of his career trying to drag your club up there. Some think he's just gone for an easy payday.

I hope that makes sense and explains whybthere's a lot of bitterness in some sections of our fan base. But there are still a lot of Villa fans who wish Jack well.

I want him to win trophies. I've always thought he was the most talented player I've seen in a Villa shirt, and I don't begrudge him his ambition.

I'd rather City win the league than Liverpool this year, because Liverpool will be unbearable if they win.

But I can't quite bring myself to cheer on you guys against us this weekend. Villa don't have a lot to play for this season, but still, it's a matter of pride. I want Villa to play as well as they can, and I'll be cheering on my team, more in hope than expectation of getting any points.

If we win that match I'll be delighted for my team, and comfortable in the knowledge that the opportunity of a trophy will come time and time again for Jack and the rest of your team.

If you guys win the league, I'll be happy for Jack. He deserves it.

As for what our players want... They'll have their own sense of pride to want to win on Sunday. But you've probably noticed, he's a player whose current and former teammates adore him. I expect they'd be pleased to see him succeed too.
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We kind of had it with sweep when he went to Chelsea.

Although not a local lad he was our Jack Grealish in a mediocre team. Sold for 25m I think, which at the time the club probably needed that to pay debts.
 
manimanc said:
We kind of had it with sweep when he went to Chelsea.

Although not a local lad he was our Jack Grealish in a mediocre team. Sold for 25m I think, which at the time the club probably needed that to pay debts.
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I think what sticks in a lot of Villa throats is that we didn't need the money.

100 million is a hell of a lot of cash but our owners are wealthy and the players we've spent it on still don't replace what he was to us.

It's a long road to walk to get away from that dependency on one player.

He was out injured for three months last season and we were still a better team across the balance of that season than this.

We sold him because we had to, because of the release clause. It made you pay more than he's worth to you, but it was less than he was worth to us.

Without the release clause, there might not have been any fee high enough to get us to part with him.
 
Avlk said:
I can answer this on my behalf, but am aware I don't represent all my fellow Villa fans.

I'm a fan of both Villa and Jack, but Villa comes first.

The only way I can think of to describe it in Man City terms is, imagine if Phil Foden was 20-odd years older. The best player your club's produced in most of your lifetimes, a local boy who lives and breathes your club, coming through into your first team in the late 90s.

He's the best player in your squad, and they all play better with him on the pitch. He sticks with you when you get relegated, and plays a key part in getting you promoted again. By his mid-20s he's your captain, your talisman, the one player you look forward to seeing every week because you know he works as hard for the club as you would.

And he's entwined in your local area. Everyone you know has a story about him meeting them or a friend or a friend of a friend, about him being absolutely sound and a great laugh and so generous with both his money and his time.

So, on and off the pitch, you love him. He's not perfect but he is great, and he's spent 20 years of his life including his entire career with your football club, it runs through his veins like it runs through yours. But he's approaching his peak and he's never won anything, never played in Europe, is a peripheral player in the national team, and looks like going down in history as one of football's great wasted talents, a player who could have torn up the biggest stages if only he was at a club whose quality matched his.

Then, early 2000s, Arsenal want him. The top club in the country, winning trophies every year, playing in Europe, want your little Phil. And they offer your club more money than anyone's ever paid for an English player. And you can afford to keep him, but his contract means it's his choice.

He loves your club, but he has one life and one career and he chooses to take the opportunity of a lifetime and make the move, and you're gutted. Maybe you understand his reasoning and maybe you don't. Some of your fans are pissed off that he's chosen to go to a team that's already top of the league, rather than spending the rest of his career trying to drag your club up there. Some think he's just gone for an easy payday.

I hope that makes sense and explains why there's a lot of bitterness in some sections of our fan base. But there are still a lot of Villa fans who wish Jack well.

I want him to win trophies. I've always thought he was the most talented player I've seen in a Villa shirt, and I don't begrudge him his ambition.

I'd rather City win the league than Liverpool this year, because Liverpool will be unbearable if they win.

But I can't quite bring myself to cheer on you guys against us this weekend. Villa don't have a lot to play for this season, but still, it's a matter of pride. I want Villa to play as well as they can, and I'll be cheering on my team, more in hope than expectation of getting any points.

If we win that match I'll be delighted for my team, and comfortable in the knowledge that the opportunity of a trophy will come time and time again for Jack and the rest of your team.

If you guys win the league, I'll be happy for Jack. He deserves it.

As for what our players want... They'll have their own sense of pride to want to win on Sunday. But you've probably noticed, he's a player whose current and former teammates adore him. I expect they'd be pleased to see him succeed too.
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Good post. Though there's been an increase in antagonism and bitterness from a proportion of Villa fans I still know many who have a more balanced view and wish Jack well but inevitably it is the bitter ones who make their voices heard the most.
 
manimanc said:
We kind of had it with sweep when he went to Chelsea.

Although not a local lad he was our Jack Grealish in a mediocre team. Sold for 25m I think, which at the time the club probably needed that to pay debts.
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The difference is that we didn't dislike SWP for the move, between the scousers and Villa fans their ex players don't exactly get the same cordiality.

I can't remember anyone booing SWP.
 
mexico1970 said:
The difference is that we didn't dislike SWP for the move, between the scousers and Villa fans their ex players don't exactly get the same cordiality.

I can't remember anyone booing SWP.
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We knew we needed the dosh.

We were here when we were shit.........sadly ha
 
Fuzzy80 said:
They absolutely loved Jack, but where upset he left.

They got paid well, should understand why he left for footballing reasons (widely reported Villa offered to match his City wage), for those of us who remember SWP (I believe or certainly I did, wished him well).

All of the above makes me think Villa fans may well hope he wins on Sun, but they are a real strange set of fans, so I don’t think they will?

Thoughts and if we do have some Villa fans on here, it would be great to hear and don’t feel you need to say what we want to hear. Just trying to get a feel for Sunday.

Also Villa players, what do they think flash bastard don’t want him to win or genuinely happy for him and want him to do so?
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As a Villa fan, I'd like him to win the league & as a club I find city was more tolerable Liverpool.

I know his family and they're good people, from the area & villa through and through and I know how difficult the call was for them/him. Jack's a loveable rogue as well, thick as mince but heart fully in the right place. I even think his fuck ups off the pitch make him a little more endearing in some ways.

It might just be the circles I mix in but I've always found most people seem to have the same preference and wish him well. Twitter's not the real world, it gives a platform for teenagers with footballers as their display picture to scream about how much they hate him, or the odd weird middle aged man that's still bitter at the fact they had his name on the back of their shirt at the start of the season .

He'll get a few boos Sunday, if 200 boo and 2800 don't you'd still hear the 200 nice & clear so if I was him I wouldn't give a fuck, I'd bet my bottom dollar if all those booing saw him down the street next week they'd be asking for a photograph.
 
Personally, I wouldn't play him on Sunday. If he's in the squad, or playing, it will get the Villa fans fired up and it might encourage their players to try a bit harder to get one over on him.

Let's be honest, he isn't in our best XI anyway this season. I fully expect that next season though he will become an unbelievable player though. We've seen it so many times with players under Pep - they come in, struggle a bit, then kick on. Every player who comes in says it takes time to get to grips with Pep's ideas but if you have the ability then you will become world class and I do think Grealish has the ability.

If I was the club, I'd say that he picked up a knock in training and will miss the rest of the season. Don't give Villa any opportunity to get fired up!
 
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