Benchmark performances needed Jack, not cameos from bench
JACK GREALISH’S career is at a crossroads – and the Peter Pan of football needs to grow up.
One year on from his recordbreaking £100million move from Aston Villa, there remain more questions than answers.
And it’s now up to the England international to decide which path to take: the road to glory or the road to oblivion.
For the first time as a professional footballer, Grealish now has to take stock and think how he wants the next five years to play out.
Until now, it’s all been very comfortable for him.
And this isn’t picking on him after the dramatic events in the Bernabeu in midweek, by the way. That evening in Madrid was confirmation of what has been taking place in front of my own eyes this season.
Grealish is certainly not making the difference for Manchester City like he did with his boyhood club.
For years he carried Aston Villa.
It was all ‘Jack this’ and ‘Jack that’.
But he’s 26 now and should be at his peak.
So there should be no more talk of the boy wonder or Jack the lad. It’s time to deliver the kind of performances that reflect his ability.
Not his potential, his actual ability with a ball at his feet.
There should be no more bit-part roles, either. No more appearances from the bench. No more cameos.
Top players – the ones who command £100m transfer fees – play in both legs of a Champions League semi-final. They don’t come on as afterthoughts.
According to his friends, Grealish was gutted not to have started in the first leg of that semi-final against Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid at the Etihad 12 days ago. After all, that is why he moved to
Manchester City. To feature in big games. But has he done enough to earn manager Pep Guardiola’s trust?
And what is it that has prevented him from gaining due respect from England manager Gareth Southgate?
When the nation was crying out for Grealish’s involvement earlier in the final of the Euros against Italy last summer, he was left on the bench.
And in the semi-final against Denmark he was brought on but then substituted 35 minutes later.
There has to be a reason. Against the Danes, Southgate said he wanted an extra defender on the pitch.
The 2-1 win legitimised the actions of England’s boss.
But what is it that Guardiola and Southgate don’t like? Actually, I’m not sure Raheem Sterling (left) was jumping for joy at Grealish’s arrival, either.
Ever since that first game of the season at Spurs, when City boss Guardiola played the pair of them in defeat, it’s not looked right. Former Liverpool star Sterling likes that spot on the left that Grealish tends to inhabit. He’s been pretty damn good there, too.
The burst of pace Sterling provides is missing when his Grealish hogs the touchline.
In fairness, the slow build-up doesn’t suit City’s new man.
He likes moving quickly with the ball at his feet – patient play around the edges of the penalty box isn’t something he has grown up with.
But still, you’d expect a player at that level to cope. You’d certainly expect a player who cost £100m to adapt
No, there are questions that still need answering over whether Grealish can cut it at the very top.
And he is the only one who can provide the answers.