THE REAL GREALISH
His stats will prove Souey wrong says Smith
DEAN SMITH admits Jack Grealish is obsessed with his stats and is ready to ram them back at critic Graeme Souness after finding his “rhythm”.
The Villa captain looked back to his best against Crystal Palace for the club’s first win in 11 games on Sunday.
It was a welcome return to form for the £70million Manchester United target, who is the most fouled player in the Premier League.
But that stat sparked criticism from TV pundit Souness that the attacking ace is potentially holding on to the ball too long and missing the bigger picture.
Grealish responded, tweeting “you can’t please everybody” alongside the stat showing he is only second to Kevin De Bruyne in chances created.
And Smith knows Villa need Grealish to shine tonight at Everton as they battle the drop.
Manager Smith said: “Does he get stung by criticism? Probably. I think everybody does. If you get criticised, you want to prove people wrong.
“He has been striving to put in good performances. He probably hasn’t got to the levels he would have liked to in the first six games. I can assure you it has not been for the want of trying. But he certainly got there against Palace. He is starting to get that rhythm back that he had before.”
As well as earning a free-kick for Villa’s opener against Palace,
Grealish won possession back nine times, a post-restart high for him, had two shots on target and created three chances.
He is now looking to add to his seven league goals and six assists. Smith added: “Jack will be the first one who tells you everything about his stats. He knows more than our analysts.
“He is that in-depth and in detail about his performance. Jack analyses everything. He wants to get better and feels the way to do that is to watch games back and look at his stats. He speaks to the coaches about what he can do better.”
Smith expects a response from Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton, who were dire in the 3-0 loss at Wolves on Sunday, but hopes Ancelotti’s old Chelsea skipper John Terry, now Villa assistant, can provide some vital insight.
Smith said: “I’ll be tapping in to JT for his knowledge about how they play. Everton will be spoiling from Wolves and we expect a reaction.”
EVERTON (probable): Pickford; Coleman, Holgate, Keane, Digne; Bernard, Davies, Gomes, Gordon; Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin.
ASTON VILLA (probable): Reina; Elmohamady, Konsa, Mings, Targett; Hourihane, Luiz; Grealish, McGinn, Trezeguet; Samatta.