by Jack Grealish is an open book. He is loved by sponsors because he brings such authenticity to those commercials and, in the case of community and charity arms Aston Villa, Manchester City and England, his interactions with fans and the public alike are warm and genuine. . What you see with Grealish is what you get. Charming, lovable, charismatic – above all true.
That’s why Grealish has been hampered – withdrawn, even – and second-guessed on the pitch this season after playing such a big role in City’s march to the Treble last term. in trouble This being Grealish, he doesn’t hold back when discussing his struggles, however, and mainly what he cites as a loss of confidence. “I think sometimes if you’re not playing and you’re probably not up to it in training, you don’t feel confident in yourself,” he said.
Injuries didn’t help either. A dead leg sidelined him for a month early in the campaign. He came back but couldn’t force his way back into the team on a regular basis and his performances suffered even more. Then in January there were more niggling injury problems, this time with his groin. Rinse, cycle, repeat.
“At the beginning of the season, I don’t know, I didn’t really feel like I was playing well,” he said. “I didn’t feel that fit to be honest. Coming into the team, playing a game, then out of the team, in and out, it was a bit difficult but I feel good now.”
There were certainly signs over two goals in City’s Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid of Grealish’s re-discovery of fitness. The tie may not have gone to plan, with City coming off penalties after leading for long periods of Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium, but Grealish looked confident and strong and has he aims to take that into Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea. at Wembley, when Pep Guardiola will hope that his team can bounce back quickly.
“It’s not even about scoring and assisting. It’s like now, I feel confident even though I didn’t score,” he said. “Obviously I got help last week at the Bernabeu [in the 3-3 draw] but i have said before that nowadays everyone loves to talk about goals and it helps.
“The way the game is playing is ruining the game because you can have a great game and not get a goal or an assist and they say, ‘Ah, he didn’t do this or that.’ And then you can score two tap-ins at the back post and not play well at all and everyone’s like, ‘Ah, he’s great.’ Right now, I feel good and I feel confident.”
The situation around the goals is clear and it helps thanks to him, however. As England’s first £100 million footballer, he will inevitably be expected to deliver big numbers and he would be the first to admit that his three-goal return this term is not enough for a player in his position with his price tag.
“For me, it’s about playing stuff and winning,” he said. “Last season, for example, I played a lot of games but I think I only got five goals and 10 or 11 goals. It’s not loads, but I had such a big part in it. I had times when I was at Villa when I scored eight goals and got 15 assists or whatever – more goals and more assists – but I didn’t win anything. What season will I look back on and think, yes, it was a success?
“When I’m playing and I’m in a rhythm and I feel important to the team and we’re winning things as a team, that’s when it’s important and that’s what you look back on.
“I don’t think I’ve ever scored more than eight goals in one season so it shows that they weren’t buying me to be Erling Haaland and this crazy goalscorer. Obviously I want to score more. Who wouldn’t? But I think City knew how much I offer in different areas. Everyone is so obsessed with statistics these days.”
One player posting big numbers is Cole Palmer, who left City for Chelsea last summer in a £42.5 million deal and now tops the Premier League scoring charts alongside Erling Haaland. Grealish is delighted to see his team excel but hopes to have a stronger side at Wembley.
“I was one person who was always rooting for Cole,” Grealish said. “I always said how good he was. I could see him every day in training. I am very happy for him that he has gone somewhere and is playing because he is a very good man.
“I’m happy that he has progressed and is playing well and playing regularly. I think that’s why he left here because he wanted to play. I hope he doesn’t have his best game on Saturday!”
Grealish’s own playing time is far below where he wants it and in February there was a call to arms from Guardiola, who told the player that he was the first to convince himself that he deserved it, not his manager. Confident again, Grealish is looking to repay his manager’s faith.
“I’ve had my own problems, even off the field, and he always talks to me and he’s been there for me,” he said. “That’s where that came from, I think I owed him a bit. Hopefully as I go towards the end of the season in these big games, that’s what I can do. I think sometimes when he says things like ‘When Jack trains, the better he plays’, I think he can make a big deal out of it but he and I have a great relationship.”
If there’s one thing for sure at Wembley, Grealish is likely to be booed by Chelsea fans, as he’s the opposition’s biggest supporter these days, but the player has no problem with the role of pantomime villain. “It doesn’t bother me but I like it,” he says.
He likes the trophies, though, and Grealish hopes to take another step towards one on Saturday.
