Jack Grealish | Man City

Amar__

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What were Iniesta's stats like? He was pretty entertaining. Though, despite playing in the most dominant team of all time and spending 60%+ of every game around the oppositions box, his goal and assists stats were horrendous, so he mustn't have been that entertaining I guess.

@dal , please don't tell me you found Iniesta entertaining, too?!
Now comparing Grealish to Iniesta. Keep them coming.

You want list of Iniesta's trophies?
 

3KDré

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So did O Shea but it was done occasionally , wasn't it Van Gaal who actually tried to convert Rooney into CM maybe I am misremembering .
Yeah he did. He also played Ashley Young in midfield in a game:lol:
 

Schmeichel's Cartwheel

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Because Jack is someone you buy, regardless of what you have. City have Sterling, Mahrez and Foden and they still went for Grealish, he’s brilliant.

We currently have Rashford, Greenwood and Pogba in those positions, Grealish is completely different to all three as he’s an elite, world level ball carrier and would be great for us in Europe not to mention he’s probably the most entertaining player on the planet.

Put Grealish where Sancho has played for us and in each game he would do better than what Sancho has done.
the most entertaining player on the planet? Hahaha I’ve heard it all now. What Jack Grealish does with a football Neymar could do with a marble, and it’d still look better.
 

Highfather_24

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A good player, but a generational talent he is not. Anyway, don't really care much for him. City had excellent wide players even without him so he doesn't really improve them much, if at all. Kane, on the other hand, would have made them nigh on impossible to catc - at least in the League.
My point was how that is absolutely irrelevant. What matters is City are better with him, and he's playing well. Yeah they would have been better with Kane, but now they will target Haaland next season, which is a much scarier thought. They didnt have a pure CF last season either, and they still walked the league.
 

Highfather_24

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He's a good player but seeing some United fans drool so much over him is pretty strange.
Some people can appreciate talented footballers without being tribal, its just a game. I love watching Veratti play, and he will never join United.
 

Highfather_24

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One thing is appreciate the other is going well over the top.
I dont have any issue with any United fan with over the top appreciation of any other player. Weird thing to gate keep about tbh. Like I said, its just a sport at the end of the day, despite people taking it too seriously and linking their identity with the football club they watch every week.

Rather have a United fan show their overt love for other footballers, than spew extreme hate on current United players.
 

NK86

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My point was how that is absolutely irrelevant. What matters is City are better with him, and he's playing well. Yeah they would have been better with Kane, but now they will target Haaland next season, which is a much scarier thought. They didnt have a pure CF last season either, and they still walked the league.
They did walk the league but Liverpool won't be that shite this season, Chelsea is scarily strong and we are also much stronger (although our manager could be our undoing).
Grealish is not going to change a lot for them in terms of results. They already had the wide players equally capable to provide that moment of individual brilliance. However the striker position is still their weakest. Not sure about Haaland, they might still target Kane next season. Haaland will have the pick of the bunch next season. Madrid, Bayern, PSG, United will all target him. Let's see where he lands.
 

Highfather_24

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They did walk the league but Liverpool won't be that shite this season, Chelsea is scarily strong and we are also much stronger (although our manager could be our undoing).
Grealish is not going to change a lot for them in terms of results.
I wouldnt be so sure of that. All I see from fans is a lot of mental gymnastics about how signing a top player that is playing well for them, can actually be a bad/irrelevant thing.

Your point is not much different from us buying a CB or RW over a CM, when we could have used the funds for a midfield, where our needs were far more drastic(lets not go into a debate about RW/CB vs CM, you get my point). Yeah they needed a CF more, but they couldnt get it. That doesnt make Grealish a bad signing.

Not sure about Haaland, they might still target Kane next season. Haaland will have the pick of the bunch next season. Madrid, Bayern, PSG, United will all target him. Let's see where he lands.
Imo, City are favourites. Madrid dont have a lot of money, and are getting Mbappe. Bayern isnt much of a step up, considering its the same league and a one horse race. No way he is going to France in his prime. And United just got Ronaldo for CF. City got the money, the need, and a top manager and promise of guaranteed trophies.

I like him... but is he as good as Bruno or even Rashford ??
Very different players. He is more comparable to Pogba, and I dont think there's much between them, and its not a reach to say Grealish is better. Many on this forum were saying it not too long ago, but then again I've always maintained Pogba is terribly underrated on Caf.
 

Pickle85

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I wouldnt be so sure of that. All I see from fans is a lot of mental gymnastics about how signing a top player that is playing well for them, can actually be a bad/irrelevant thing.

Your point is not much different from us buying a CB or RW over a CM, when we could have used the funds for a midfield, where our needs were far more drastic(lets not go into a debate about RW/CB vs CM, you get my point). Yeah they needed a CF more, but they couldnt get it. That doesnt make Grealish a bad signing.



Imo, City are favourites. Madrid dont have a lot of money, and are getting Mbappe. Bayern isnt much of a step up, considering its the same league and a one horse race. No way he is going to France in his prime. And United just got Ronaldo for CF. City got the money, the need, and a top manager and promise of guaranteed trophies.



Very different players. He is more comparable to Pogba, and I dont think there's much between them, and its not a reach to say Grealish is better. Many on this forum were saying it not too long ago, but then again I've always maintained Pogba is terribly underrated on Caf.
The point is very different from us buying a CB or a RW as opposed to a CM. Both Varane and Sancho (assuming he comes good, which I fully expect) immediately and obviously improved our starting eleven. City had a number of players that filled Grealish's spot more than adequately, so let's not pretend that their need for an upgrade there was comparable. I don't think Grealish was a bad signing by any means. Just another example of City buying a good player in a position in which they were already stacked because oil.

Also, I don't think Pogba Vs Grealish is particularly close at the mo. Pogba has a better range of passing, is better physically and better at shooting from distance. The only thing Grealish is arguably better at is carrying the ball into the penalty area and then fannying about with it to try to win a pen.
 

Highfather_24

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The point is very different from us buying a CB or a RW as opposed to a CM. Both Varane and Sancho (assuming he comes good, which I fully expect) immediately and obviously improved our starting eleven. City had a number of players that filled Grealish's spot more than adequately, so let's not pretend that their need for an upgrade there was comparable.
How big an upgrade Sancho is on either of Rashford or Greenwood is yet to be seen. I have belief in Sancho too, but its not a blind belief. Things can go "wrong" and have gone wrong before. I will liken it to City getting Grealish despite having Sterling and Foden, until Sancho proves otherwise and becomes much better than them both. Grealish right now is a starter at City.

However my point was more about how CM was the more immediate need than CB or RW, consider we still had decent options there(Lindelof or Greenwood) rather than at CM(Matic, Fred, McT). Similar point can be made about City's midfield options vs CF. Its less about how much an upgrade the new signing is, and more about which was the more necessary signing.

Also, I don't think Pogba Vs Grealish is particularly close at the mo. Pogba has a better range of passing, is better physically and better at shooting from distance. The only thing Grealish is arguably better at is carrying the ball into the penalty area and then fannying about with it to try to win a pen.
Laughable. Grealish was the third best creative midfielder in the PL last season, behind only KdB and Bruno. Stats back this up, the eye test does too imo. I'm one of Pogba's biggest fans in this forum probably, and I do think he can be better than Grealish if he consistenly is given a chance at LW, but he is not, due to many reasons. Pogba has more attributes(versatle, aerial ability and passing range) but Grealish is a much better dribbler, at carrying the ball, more press resistant and much more creative(only behind KdB last season). There's not much between them, they are both top midfielders imo, but on last season's form Grealish edges it for me, albeit slightly. This season Pogba has had a far better start, while Grealish has not yet hit his peak AV form. But its wild to think its not close between them.

And this is coming from someone who thinks Pogba being inconsistent is a myth, and regularly mocks people on Caf who thought we should have sold Pogba for 30-40M this season(there were lot, which tells you about his stock here).
 
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Pickle85

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How big an upgrade Sancho is on either of Rashford or Greenwood is yet to be seen. I have belief in Sancho too, but its not a blind belief. Things can go "wrong" and have gone wrong before. I will liken it to City getting Grealish despite having Sterling and Foden, until Sancho proves otherwise and becomes much better than them both. Grealish right now is a starter at City.

However my point was more about how CM was the more immediate need than CB or RW, consider we still had decent options there(Lindelof or Greenwood) rather than at CM(Matic, Fred, McT). Similar point can be made about City's midfield options vs CF. Its less about how much an upgrade the new signing is, and more about which was the more necessary signing.



Laughable. Grealish was the third best creative midfielder in the PL last season, behind only KdB and Bruno. Stats back this up, the eye test does too imo. I'm one of Pogba's biggest fans in this forum probably, and I do think he can be better than Grealish if he consistenly is given a chance at LW, but he is not, due to many reasons. Pogba has more attributes(versatle, aerial ability and passing range) but Grealish is a much better dribbler, at carrying the ball, more press resistant and much more creative(only behind KdB last season). There's not much between them, they are both top midfielders imo, but on last season's form Grealish edges it for me, albeit slightly.

And this is coming from someone who thinks Pogba being inconsistent is a myth, and regularly mocks people on Caf who thought we should have sold Pogba for 30-40M this season(there were lot, which tells you about his stock here).
One of the positions that we've been crying out for more than any other over the past few years is a right winger/RF, so to say that a CM was always a much bigger priority is a nonsense and is just posting in hindsight. I guarantee you if we'd bought a central midfielder and not a right sided attacker this transfer window we'd have a couple of variations on a WTF WHY NO RF thread. The majority of our fanbase was rightly made up when we signed Sancho as it seems to have solved our issues in a position we've been crying out to upgrade.

As for player comparisons, I think we'll have to agree to disagree. I think Pogba has much more in his locker than Grealish - he's stronger, better at shielding the ball, better range of passing and better at shooting from distance. Grealish is better at carrying the ball (though that's an area in which pogba also excels). I like to watch Grealish but I do think too much of his game revolves around dribbling and trying to commit defenders.
 

Highfather_24

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One of the positions that we've been crying out for more than any other over the past few years is a right winger/RF, so to say that a CM was always a much bigger priority is a nonsense and is just posting in hindsight. I guarantee you if we'd bought a central midfielder and not a right sided attacker this transfer window we'd have a couple of variations on a WTF WHY NO RF thread. The majority of our fanbase was rightly made up when we signed Sancho as it seems to have solved our issues in a position we've been crying out to upgrade.

As for player comparisons, I think we'll have to agree to disagree. I think Pogba has much more in his locker than Grealish - he's stronger, better at shielding the ball, better range of passing and better at shooting from distance. Grealish is better at carrying the ball (though that's an area in which pogba also excels). I like to watch Grealish but I do think too much of his game revolves around dribbling and trying to commit defenders.
As for player comparisons, I think a uni-dimensional player can be a better player than a more "complete" player. We have seen that lot before I think. Sometimes you know what a player is going to do, but still cant stop him : See Arjen Robben.

I definitely think we needed a CM over RW though. Because I'm one of the few ones who thinks Greenwood is a better RW than a CF. But Sancho is an elite signing, and will come good I'm sure. I think it was the right move to target a RW over CM, because Sancho was available. No clear favourites like that existed at the CM position. Which is my point, you cant always target the position you need first, it depends on the market too, and that doesnt make the player you signed(Grealish, Sancho) etc a bad signing, just because they werent the biggest priorities.
 

Pickle85

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As for player comparisons, I think a uni-dimensional player can be a better player than a more "complete" player. We have seen that lot before I think. Sometimes you know what a player is going to do, but still cant stop him : See Arjen Robben.

I definitely think we needed a CM over RW though. Because I'm one of the few ones who thinks Greenwood is a better RW than a CF. But Sancho is an elite signing, and will come good I'm sure. I think it was the right move to target a RW over CM, because Sancho was available. No clear favourites like that existed at the CM position. Which is my point, you cant always target the position you need first, it depends on the market too, and that doesnt make the player you signed(Grealish, Sancho) etc a bad signing, just because they werent the biggest priorities.
I take your points. I definitely don't think Grealish was a poor signing for a club with limitless resources, I just think he should have been further down their list of priorities than he was. For what it's worth I also definitely agree that we are desperate for a cm (or two). Here's hoping next summer brings us one (Jan would be lovely but unlikely).
 

Pep's Suit

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They did walk the league but Liverpool won't be that shite this season, Chelsea is scarily strong and we are also much stronger (although our manager could be our undoing).
Grealish is not going to change a lot for them in terms of results. They already had the wide players equally capable to provide that moment of individual brilliance. However the striker position is still their weakest. Not sure about Haaland, they might still target Kane next season. Haaland will have the pick of the bunch next season. Madrid, Bayern, PSG, United will all target him. Let's see where he lands.
City are more likely to target someone like Vlahovic, Isak, Nunez etc. I think they would also take Felix if he became available. But no chance that new player earns more than KDB and that they pay ridiculous money to his family members and so. Also Haaland must have some ego already and again that's something what doesn't work well with Pep.
 

Pep's Suit

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Iniesta... I always found it a bit ridiculous he moved to Japan when he was just 34. David Silva was the same age when he returned to Spain and help Sociedad win their first trophy in 20+ years. Can't help but Premier League players are held to this ridiculous standard that if Van Dijk does something stupid 3 mins later it has thousands of retweets on Twitter. If Maldini made a mistake somewhere at Brescia almost no one would know about it. It reached that point when everyone can be called a 'fraud' or overrated or something. If you play in PL you can never be good enough.
 

giorno

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He's the real Eden Hazard

We should be asking for a refund
 

amolbhatia50k

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He's the real Eden Hazard

We should be asking for a refund
He'll be the real Eden Hazard when he's been the dominant player in the league twice in titles wins. Right now he's more Love Island Hazard.
 

roonster09

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Iniesta... I always found it a bit ridiculous he moved to Japan when he was just 34. David Silva was the same age when he returned to Spain and help Sociedad win their first trophy in 20+ years. Can't help but Premier League players are held to this ridiculous standard that if Van Dijk does something stupid 3 mins later it has thousands of retweets on Twitter. If Maldini made a mistake somewhere at Brescia almost no one would know about it. It reached that point when everyone can be called a 'fraud' or overrated or something. If you play in PL you can never be good enough.
Same is true in the opposite direction. If Papu Gomez was playing in PL, he would be called as generational player.
 

amolbhatia50k

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Iniesta... I always found it a bit ridiculous he moved to Japan when he was just 34. David Silva was the same age when he returned to Spain and help Sociedad win their first trophy in 20+ years. Can't help but Premier League players are held to this ridiculous standard that if Van Dijk does something stupid 3 mins later it has thousands of retweets on Twitter. If Maldini made a mistake somewhere at Brescia almost no one would know about it. It reached that point when everyone can be called a 'fraud' or overrated or something. If you play in PL you can never be good enough.
Very strange theory. The PL is apparently the only league with high expectations. Whereas at Madrid and Barcelona clearly you can get away with anything.

And Iniesta was far better than Silva.
 

jamesjimmybyrondean

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One of the positions that we've been crying out for more than any other over the past few years is a right winger/RF, so to say that a CM was always a much bigger priority is a nonsense and is just posting in hindsight. I guarantee you if we'd bought a central midfielder and not a right sided attacker this transfer window we'd have a couple of variations on a WTF WHY NO RF thread. The majority of our fanbase was rightly made up when we signed Sancho as it seems to have solved our issues in a position we've been crying out to upgrade.

As for player comparisons, I think we'll have to agree to disagree. I think Pogba has much more in his locker than Grealish - he's stronger, better at shielding the ball, better range of passing and better at shooting from distance. Grealish is better at carrying the ball (though that's an area in which pogba also excels). I like to watch Grealish but I do think too much of his game revolves around dribbling and trying to commit defenders.
Is it?
https://www.redcafe.net/threads/priority-signing-cb-vs-dm-vs-rw-vs-striker.461558/
 

jamesjimmybyrondean

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It's certainly up for discussion. To categorically state it as if there's no discussion is wrong imo. You look at most of the 'what we lack' threads over the last five years and the most consistent missing piece has been on the right
Personally Greenwood solved our RW, I don't know why but people just weirdly ignore Greenwood's contribution and growth as an RW. This is a player who already has a trade mark goal coming from that position. I think if he played for another team those same people would list him as a possible Rw target .

Fred and Lindelof were lesser players in their position than Greenwood at RW so to me a DM and CB came first. That's not to say RW wouldn't have been a weak spot if we got a DM instead because we were really lacking in depth at RW. So getting Sancho was still a good move. That's not the transfer I criticise anyways. We should have sold VdB and Lingard and gotten a DM
 

Pickle85

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Personally Greenwood solved our RW, I don't know why but people just weirdly ignore Greenwood's contribution and growth as an RW. This is a player who already has a trade mark goal coming from that position. I think if he played for another team those same people would list him as a possible Rw target .

Fred and Lindelof were lesser players in their position than Greenwood at RW so to me a DM and CB came first. That's not to say RW wouldn't have been a weak spot if we got a DM instead because we were really lacking in depth at RW. So getting Sancho was still a good move. That's not the transfer I criticise anyways. We should have sold VdB and Lingard and gotten a DM
Yeah, agree with all this. Particularly the last bit. I personally still think Greenwood will end up at CF and that's why Ole wanted a RW, but time will tell on that. As you say, Mason has looked great on the right and really grown into that role.
 

RooneyLegend

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Very strange theory. The PL is apparently the only league with high expectations. Whereas at Madrid and Barcelona clearly you can get away with anything.

And Iniesta was far better than Silva.
I understand you saying he was better than Silva, but far better is a stretch surely? Statistically speaking, both playing under pep, they were very similar. Always found both to be amazing players and im not at all surprised that they each considered the other the best Spanish player.
 

Eddy_JukeZ

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I understand you saying he was better than Silva, but far better is a stretch surely? Statistically speaking, both playing under pep, they were very similar. Always found both to be amazing players and im not at all surprised that they each considered the other the best Spanish player.
Don't think it's a stretch at all. Iniesta is levels above him.

Silva never really played well in the CL. Even under Pep, he was fairly anonymous. Iniesta excelled in multiple CL campaigns and he was much better/more important for Spain as well.
 

littleman

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I love that Guardiola playing 10 midfielders is really NOT a surprise if you went back in time and told the footballing community this while he was still at Barca.
 

amolbhatia50k

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I understand you saying he was better than Silva, but far better is a stretch surely? Statistically speaking, both playing under pep, they were very similar. Always found both to be amazing players and im not at all surprised that they each considered the other the best Spanish player.
Comfortably. Iniesta is one of the very best of his era. Truly truly elite player.
 
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Eddy_JukeZ

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Because Jack is someone you buy, regardless of what you have. City have Sterling, Mahrez and Foden and they still went for Grealish, he’s brilliant.

We currently have Rashford, Greenwood and Pogba in those positions, Grealish is completely different to all three as he’s an elite, world level ball carrier and would be great for us in Europe not to mention he’s probably the most entertaining player on the planet.

Put Grealish where Sancho has played for us and in each game he would do better than what Sancho has done.
:lol: :lol: :lol:

I honestly don't understand what Grealish has done to warrant this type of praise. It is laughable.
 

dal

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Quality control
:lol: :lol: :lol:

I honestly don't understand what Grealish has done to warrant this type of praise. It is laughable.
Well the British transfer fee record has been broken by the best manager that has ever lived, so it looks like the hype is agreed with.