Hit the road, Jack.
This summer Jack Grealish must leave Manchester City. For him but also for us, those that love to watch football mavericks. Grealish will turn 30 next September. The clock is ticking on his career.
Yet you get the feeling that the last four years at City have robbed us of something special. That is a free Grealish roaming around the pitch making things happen on a whim and dictating games as he pleases.
That is what we watched when he was at Aston Villa. A football who played with joy and made those who watched happy, unless you were one of Villa’s rivals of course.
Now when Grealish does hang up his boots in the next half a decade or so, he will look back at his time at City as a huge success. He’s won the lot. Three Premier League titles, a Champions League crown and an FA Cup. Three of those were all in the same season.
(Image: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
That was also his best campaign in a sky blue shirt. Grealish played 2,063 Premier League minutes in the treble-winning season. He was effective on the left and he was exciting to watch. But he still wasn’t the player from Villa.
That’s not a criticism of Pep Guardiola. He got what he needed out of Grealish, even if the player has not lived up to the hype of being a £100m signing. The City manager has turned many players from good to very good, or very good to great but with his shackling of Grealish in his system, it feels like it cost us.
Grealish was a throwback player at Villa. Dean Smith would let him do as he pleases. He was a player that was not of the same level of Eric Cantona but had the same freedom as the Frenchman did at Manchester United.
Although Matt Le Tissier is probably a better comparison given the level his club was at being more akin to Southampton in the 1990s. But his £100m fee helped turn Villa into a Champions League side in the long run. He turned into a Champions League winner with City.
Yet he never thrilled us the way he did at Villa and that is a shame. Grealish saw his playing time nose dive last season after the arrival of Jeremy Doku and has started just six League games this term.
(Image: Getty Images)
His days at City are clearly numbered. If he wants to be in Thomas Tuchel’s plans for England going forward then he needs a move. Hopefully somewhere where he can find freedom on the pitch and rekindle the magic of being a maverick player.
Keane wrong on Fernandes
ROY KEANE hit out at Bruno Fernandes this week but he’s the type of player the Irishman would have loved to have played with.
The rant was way over the top and quite wrong to question the work rate of the United captain as well as his leadership qualities.
Yes, Fernandes can be petulant and show his frustrations a bit too much at times but he’s the player who has dragged this United side along for the last few years.
(Image: Getty Images)
He’s without doubt their best signing since Sir Alex Ferguson departed. There is a lack of competition for that title.
Yet you only have to look at his performance late on against Everton last weekend and on Wednesday against Ipswich as he pulled his side out of the mire.
Keane would have loved that if he was in the team with him. For some reason he cannot see it from the TV studio.
ONSIDE
Jarrad Bowen. Right on form just in time for England’s squad announcement. Has to be Thomas Tuchel’s squad.
(Image: Getty Images)
OFFSIDE
Martin Odegaard. Arsenal need creativity and he has one goal and one assist in 13 games. The captain has been below par.