JACK CLUBS OF
Villa win but it’s all about absent Grealish
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IT took just a few minutes for Aston Villa’s travelling support to make their feelings known about Manchester City’s approach for Jack Grealish.
“You can stick your 100 million up your a**e” was the defiant response to Pep Guardiola & co, as the prospect of losing the England international was given an indisputable thumbs-down.
Villa were limited to 1,000 supporters at Ashton Gate – the tickets sold out in just four minutes – and that was about as long as it took after kick-off for Dean Smith’s claretand-blue army to deliver its verdict on the long-running transfer saga.
Sporadic chants of
“Super Jack Grealish” also rang out from the away end, with the man himself still on leave following a successful stint with Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions at the European Championship.
Grealish (above) was pictured on holiday in Croatia with his girlfriend this week as he was given additional time-off along with Villans team-mate Tyrone Mings.
And so while the world waits for the light-blue smoke to appear from the Etihad, announcing the champions’ new arrival, Villa have been left in limbo.
As have their supporters with the club slapping a ban on manager Dean Smith speaking in public ahead of the new season’s start – mainly because any conversation will revolve around you-know-who.
And while Smith stood on the sidelines as rival boss Nigel Pearson saw the Robins’ shoot themselves in the foot by gifting two first-half goals to the visitors, he was also under no obligation at the final whistle to address a subject that remains the hottest topic to have gripped the Villa faithful for many a year.
The support-base itself is torn between gratitude for dragging the club up by its bootstraps from the Championship and longing to see someone act as they would, playing for the love of a claret-and-blue shirt – feelings that Grealish has always professed to share.
Unfortunately, given the size of the contract on offer to a player valued at £100m, that would involve the gifted playmaker turning his back on a potential £40m uplift on the £35m five-year deal he agreed with Villa just 12 months ago.
Still, Grealish apart, manager Smith had plenty to smile about at Ashton Gate.
More than his opposite number, Pearson, anyway.
It took just six minutes for the visitors to fashion the opening goal.
Anwar El Ghazi spotted Ollie Watkins ghosting down the left and the England international had all the time in the world to swing a cross to the near post which was slotted home by Jaden Philogene-Bidace.
Ashley Young crashed a free-kick onto the crossbar before a howler from Bristol City goalkeeper Dan Bentley – who simply dropped John McGinn’s free-kick at the feet of Ezri Konsa – allowed the defender to walk home the second just before the break.
The Robins made a better fist of it after the interval but paid for more defensive sloppiness on the hour.
El Ghazi pulled the ball back from the left byline for Watkins to nod home Villa’s third.