Grealish left out of the CWC squad (pg34)

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I listen to David Mooney & Sam Lee every week and something that's happening more and more frequently is Sam kinda dropping his guard RE: Grealish. He was pretty tight-lipped at first but he seems less and less bothered about it slipping out that Grealish has a drink problem. Not to the point where he's an alcoholic (yet) but to the point where he's maybe starting to enjoy the demon drink a bit more than football. I hope a fresh start can turn him around and he can avoid the same path that Jack Wilshere went down. Grealish has already reached the pinnacle, a higher peak than Wilshere ever had, and I don't agree with accusations he's pissed his career away. He worked very, very hard to get to the top and then win that treble with us. But it seems a combination of factors have hit his love for the game and hampered the effort he wants to put in.

I listened to that episode too and thought the same thing.
 
I listen to David Mooney & Sam Lee every week and something that's happening more and more frequently is Sam kinda dropping his guard RE: Grealish. He was pretty tight-lipped at first but he seems less and less bothered about it slipping out that Grealish has a drink problem. Not to the point where he's an alcoholic (yet) but to the point where he's maybe starting to enjoy the demon drink a bit more than football. I hope a fresh start can turn him around and he can avoid the same path that Jack Wilshere went down. Grealish has already reached the pinnacle, a higher peak than Wilshere ever had, and I don't agree with accusations he's pissed his career away. He worked very, very hard to get to the top and then win that treble with us. But it seems a combination of factors have hit his love for the game and hampered the effort he wants to put in.

It's a great accolade to have, but that treble winning season will be the only plus when his whole career is looked back on, one could argue he's messed up the rest of it for some reason, but not the first and won't be the last
 
lots in common with Wilshire though if you hear them speak. I never thought of the comparison but, yeah, it's apt.
I know with Wilshere that it all seemed a bit like hearsay, and some of it was exaggerated, but on more than a few occasions in the 2010s he was allegedly (shall we say) "politely escorted" out of some top nightclubs in London in the early hours, occasionally brushed shoulders with the wrong sort, and was papped while smoking and drinking.

And that's just the stuff they caught on camera.

I'm sure we also all remember the incident with Joe Hart at that England training camp in Las Vegas (below), when Joe had to pull him to the side and tell him to get his head screwed on. He wasn't the only one - Wenger apparently tried (and spoke publicly) several times to get him off the drink and fags but sadly to no avail.

It's never been a coincidence that Wilshere was injured so often between 2012 and 2016, until he was finally loaned to Bournemouth, away from his mates in London. That was when he was suddenly able to play almost as many games in one season (27) than he'd played over the last three years (28).

The stories about him doing cocaine every weekend are way over the top from what I was told about a decade ago, but... he was a party boy. Much like Balotelli for us actually, he was a 90s/00s footballer in his head who came along about a decade too late to keep up the habits he wanted and still play at the top level.

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I can't think of any player with ability who hasn't improved under Pep apart from Grealish if I'm honest. I think Grealish is a good player but let's be honest, he's not a £100m player and doesn't win us any games. If he left tomorrow, I don't think we would be weakened. If he was (say) Moroccan then there wouldn't be much fuss about him. He's a good player but isn't world class when we signed him and hasn't improved much in my opinion. When he gets the ball I know where it's going - either backwards or we get a free kick. He's a boring footballer and carries absolutely no goal threat.

Pep has turned plenty of players from good to great/world class and if you can't improve under him then maybe you are best playing for the likes of Moyes/Nuno/Potter/etc - good but will be delighted with 1 League Cup win in your career.
 
I listen to David Mooney & Sam Lee every week and something that's happening more and more frequently is Sam kinda dropping his guard RE: Grealish. He was pretty tight-lipped at first but he seems less and less bothered about it slipping out that Grealish has a drink problem. Not to the point where he's an alcoholic (yet) but to the point where he's maybe starting to enjoy the demon drink a bit more than football. I hope a fresh start can turn him around and he can avoid the same path that Jack Wilshere went down. Grealish has already reached the pinnacle, a higher peak than Wilshere ever had, and I don't agree with accusations he's pissed his career away. He worked very, very hard to get to the top and then win that treble with us. But it seems a combination of factors have hit his love for the game and hampered the effort he wants to put in.
You’d think a video or two of what Gazza is up to these days would straighten him out
 
You’d think a video or two of what Gazza is up to these days would straighten him out

the problem is it's hard to get through to people, especially young millionaires who have a lot going for them.

Not comparing Jack to Pete Doherty by any means but I remember people trying to straighten him out but in his own mind he's thinking "i'm in a big critically acclaimed band, in a relationship with the worlds most famous model, I can sell gigs out up and down the country, why is everyone telling me things are bad?" Obviously he wasn't thinking logically because of substance abuse.

Not that Jack is anywhere on that level, but the point remains. So many young famous people have fallen into these traps and it's extremely difficult to get them straightened out because they look around them and see everything they've got and it all seems fine.

I don't believe Jack is an alcoholic. Players are monitored extremely closely these days, medical staff are on top of everything and they're very strict with players condition. The club would know if he was and he wouldn't have been in the match day squad and playing throughout the season if it was as bad as some make out. But I'd say he enjoys himself more than the club like and his time is up here and that's why he wasn't taken to USA.
 
I can't think of any player with ability who hasn't improved under Pep apart from Grealish if I'm honest. I think Grealish is a good player but let's be honest, he's not a £100m player and doesn't win us any games. If he left tomorrow, I don't think we would be weakened. If he was (say) Moroccan then there wouldn't be much fuss about him. He's a good player but isn't world class when we signed him and hasn't improved much in my opinion. When he gets the ball I know where it's going - either backwards or we get a free kick. He's a boring footballer and carries absolutely no goal threat.

Pep has turned plenty of players from good to great/world class and if you can't improve under him then maybe you are best playing for the likes of Moyes/Nuno/Potter/etc - good but will be delighted with 1 League Cup win in your career.
Kalvin Philips says hello.
 
When you look at his endorsements and image rights alone that could earn him close to 400k a week before his salary....
 
I’m not hearing about a big queue of clubs wanting to sign him.

Maybe the penny will drop with him when he realises this?
 
the problem is it's hard to get through to people, especially young millionaires who have a lot going for them.

Not comparing Jack to Pete Doherty by any means but I remember people trying to straighten him out but in his own mind he's thinking "i'm in a big critically acclaimed band, in a relationship with the worlds most famous model, I can sell gigs out up and down the country, why is everyone telling me things are bad?" Obviously he wasn't thinking logically because of substance abuse.

Not that Jack is anywhere on that level, but the point remains. So many young famous people have fallen into these traps and it's extremely difficult to get them straightened out because they look around them and see everything they've got and it all seems fine.

I don't believe Jack is an alcoholic. Players are monitored extremely closely these days, medical staff are on top of everything and they're very strict with players condition. The club would know if he was and he wouldn't have been in the match day squad and playing throughout the season if it was as bad as some make out. But I'd say he enjoys himself more than the club like and his time is up here and that's why he wasn't taken to USA.

I know what you mean. Addiction is addiction. I was a massive Libertines fan back in the day.

It’s actually incredible that Pete has managed to survive all that, albeit with a lot of destruction left in his wake.

I thought the Louis Theroux interview he did was wonderful.
 
When you look at his endorsements and image rights alone that could earn him close to 400k a week before his salary....

Endorsements and sponsorship offers come flying in when you’re a treble winning poster boy of English football.

Less so when your reputation is one of a pissed up bench warmer.

And I say this as someone who likes Jack and wants him to get his shit together.
 
I know what you mean. Addiction is addiction. I was a massive Libertines fan back in the day.

It’s actually incredible that Pete has managed to survive all that, albeit with a lot of destruction left in his wake.

I thought the Louis Theroux interview he did was wonderful.

We're you on the .org forum. 188020.?

There was someone there with your username and I always wondered if it was you

If so, Witm8.
 
It's a great accolade to have, but that treble winning season will be the only plus when his whole career is looked back on, one could argue he's messed up the rest of it for some reason, but not the first and won't be the last

I suspect he'll look back and see a lot more medals than just for that one season.

He actually only played about 150 minutes more in the league when we won the treble, compared with the year before, when he also picked up a winners medal. He started all four of the finals we won while he was here, and even in his third season still played 2000+ minutes despite being a couple of injuries causing him issues.

He's certainly not been as successful personally as he could be, and it's definitely been downhill since the treble season, but I bet he's got a lot more good memories either side of that year.
 
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