Jack Grealish / signs new 5 year contract

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amolbhatia50k

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Donny Van De Beek, Zakaria, Kai Havartz, or Dani Olmo would improve us. You really think Jack Grealish would help us win titles again or even make us a consistent top four side? Liverpool and not even Chelsea or Tottenham would sign this guy.
Van Den Beek doesn't look very impressive to me. Grealish is technically more gifted isn't he?

Zakaria isn't even an attacking midfielder.

I'm not sure Grealish is perfect for us or ready to be a top player but I do like him and he seems better than some players you seem to be listing on account of "not being English".
 

amolbhatia50k

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I would take Grealish as long as that wouldn't be an excuse for us for not signing Sancho because that'd be silly.
Yeah, Grealish looks good but A) given we have Fernandes , any more attacking midfield signings need to be spot on and B) he's not in the same category of talent as Sancho IMO who has to comfortably be the priority.
 

yo@Kirk

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Jack Greilish has played 135' on the right side of the attack in his entire EPL and Championship career with no goals or assists. Mason Greenwood has played on the right side of the attack 621 minutes in the EPL and EL this season with 8 goals (1G/78') and 10 goals or assists (1G or A/62'). You spend 40m on a player to start in his best position, not a position he's barely played. Use the 40m on CB Dayot Upamecano or DM Denis Zakaria and upgrade a position.

If Ole wants to improve the depth at all three attacking mid positions (and replace at least Lingard and possibly Mata), for 12m he can get Hwang Hee-Chan, RB Salzburg. Hwang had 3 goals and 3 assists in 540' of CL play (7.69 player rating at WhoScored) this season with a goal and assist at Anfield against Pool's best 11. Hwang is quick, fast, and stout with an impressive work rate. He's a good dribbler, passer and is a monster in high press. His contract runs out 6/30/2021 so he's likely to move this summer.
 

Baneofthegame

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Van Den Beek doesn't look very impressive to me. Grealish is technically more gifted isn't he?

Zakaria isn't even an attacking midfielder.

I'm not sure Grealish is perfect for us or ready to be a top player but I do like him and he seems better than some players you seem to be listing on account of "not being English".
Bruno and this pandemic has taken us away from Grealish in my opinion, unless we sold Pogba.
 

amolbhatia50k

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Bruno and this pandemic has taken us away from Grealish in my opinion, unless we sold Pogba.
It was always a no go if we kept Pogba. You can have Pogba, Fernandes and Grealish in one squad. Not one that's still building its way to the top.
 

Striker10

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It was always a no go if we kept Pogba. You can have Pogba, Fernandes and Grealish in one squad. Not one that's still building its way to the top.
I disagree. I think he's capable of moments of quality. Sometimes people just need the inspiration and hopefully we're on way to some momentum. Look at some of Liverpools buys and how people turned their nose up. Look when we were linked to Vardy briefly years ago. You just never know how someone will settle and what they can bring to the team. We could if we wanted to rotate Pogba and Fernandes in a central position. We can try many things but who knows.. Maybe Ole is using the situation to help others grow up by making them think they're on their way out. Only time will tell
 

Trex

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If u look at man utd transfer policy going back summer 2018 its been about spending big to pluck a hole in the starting eleven or signing relatively unknown for low fees to add depth
SUMMER 18
Fred 50m :He was brought in to give Matic support and free Pogba of his defensive responsibility
Dalot 20m: unknown rightback,not expected to immediately jump into the team
SUMMER 19
Wan bissakka 50m:young but epl proven,a straight replacement for Antonio Valencia
Dan James 15m:youngster relatively unknown,he has played more games than both He and Ole would have expected but on the long run a squad player
Maguire 80m:He was brought in to bring leadership,composure to our defence,qualities that were previously lacking
JAN 20
Fernandes 47m:Was brought in to take the number 10 spot due to how poor the unholy trinity are

So based on this i don't see United buying grealish because he won't improve the first 11,most likely we would go for Sancho since right wing is the most obvious position to improve and maybe Salisu the centre back with the 12m release clause if we manage to ship out the likes of Rojo and Smalling
 

NoPace

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However United don't need to make those 5 quality players because that's pretty much asking for top class players that aren't going to be available. United already have requisite quality in DM, LB, CB. The DM is Matic, but you can make a double pivot for more solidarity or put Pogba with Fred with Bruno above. LB is covered with Shaw and Williams or both if going with 3 at the back with Shaw as the LCB and Williams as the LWB. Lindelof is quality, not world class but he's working well and developing with Maguire. Within the next two summer transfer windows, the squad should be close to complete with players at or near their consistent peak with a good floor.
Too conservative thinking here. Goal is still to get back to being a title competing team not go from our now usual 60 something point season (Mourinho got to 81 but then was on pace for one in the 50s so same shit just wider range) up to a 70 something point season.

Williams gave us very little going forward as a 5 man backline. Lindelof and Maguire did well together but people here were ready to give Bailly a shot at taking Lindelof's job for a reason. Also Wan-Bissaka is probably going to take a while to improve going forward as he's got some dribbling ability but can't really cross yet and his passing is definitely a work in progress. We should think of him as our Arbeloa or a similar defensively very good fullback who doesn't provide much attacking yet. If we're playing 3-5-2 with Wan-Bissaka as a wingback on one side and the left-sided guy isn't a serious offensive threat we're probably gonna struggle to score goals.

Matic is a backup quality player at this point for us and probably only for this year as it's his age 32 seasons.
 

NoPace

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It's amazing how people think about squad building. United went into this season ridiculously short of attackers. Martial got injured in the 3rd game of the season and United went from looking dangerous to never looking like they'd score again with a front 4 of Lingard, Pereira, James and Rashford.

Now it's "we don't need Grealish, we have Bruno and Rashford". What if one of them gets injured, suspended or is out of form? Back to Pereira or Lingard as first choice?

Under Mourinho, United looked like they lacked quality in attack. Since then, they've lost their 2 marquee forwards (Lukaku and Sanchez) and the likes of Mata, Lingard and Pereira are being phased out. Bruno has come in but in the front 3, they've added a winger from the championship and a striker on loan from China.

The club is desperately in need of attacking quality. If Grealish has the right attitude and is willing to come in and fight for his place by putting pressure on the attacking players, he will be a far better addition than some budget back up player to sit on the bench.

High quality squads aren't built on guaranteed starters and lesser players as back up. If Grealish was on fire and pushed Rashford or Bruno onto the bench, that would be fantastic and far more beneficial than a having a significant downgrade in reserve.
Hell, to your point, we could sign Sancho and keep Pogba and even then Grealish would still just be fighting for a starting spot with Martial in games where everyone was healthy and nobody was suspended or needed a break.

Our 2 most likely starting XI after both those potential miracles:

---------------Martial------------
Rashford--Bruno--Sancho
--------Pogba----Fred----------

OR

-------------Rashford------------
Grealish--Bruno--Sancho
--------Pogba----Fred----------

TLDR: We need more good, versatile players
 

UNITED ACADEMY

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Means nothing unless top reliable journalist says, ‘’United made a bid on him‘’ or ‘’United makes him as top priority for the summer’’.
 

croadyman

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Means nothing unless top reliable journalist says, ‘’United made a bid on him‘’ or ‘’United makes him as top priority for the summer’’.
Yeah I don't take much notice of transfers until the top tier sources speak out on them
 

edcunited1878

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Too conservative thinking here. Goal is still to get back to being a title competing team not go from our now usual 60 something point season (Mourinho got to 81 but then was on pace for one in the 50s so same shit just wider range) up to a 70 something point season.

Williams gave us very little going forward as a 5 man backline. Lindelof and Maguire did well together but people here were ready to give Bailly a shot at taking Lindelof's job for a reason. Also Wan-Bissaka is probably going to take a while to improve going forward as he's got some dribbling ability but can't really cross yet and his passing is definitely a work in progress. We should think of him as our Arbeloa or a similar defensively very good fullback who doesn't provide much attacking yet. If we're playing 3-5-2 with Wan-Bissaka as a wingback on one side and the left-sided guy isn't a serious offensive threat we're probably gonna struggle to score goals.

Matic is a backup quality player at this point for us and probably only for this year as it's his age 32 seasons.
United have all but one player to push them towards challenging and that's Sancho. The midfield is one of the better ones, variety of players who can do various jobs against different teams, but the front line of Rashford, Martial, Sancho is top 3 possibly only behind Liverpool. But, and it's a big one, is how well does United's attacking options play together and can they sustain or improve their outputs throughout a season. That's always the big question. Until you do it and you do it repeatedly, you'll only be as good as your potential. By then, time will have caught up to you and you'll be judged on your actions. Rashford was having his best season until he got injured, and he needs to match that output for seasons to come if United want to challenge. Same with Martial. I stand by my opinion that the requisite quality is there, aside from Sancho. But the player quality will need to match the manager/coaching staff and the individual players to be consistent throughout a season. United don't need LBs or RBs score goals or contributing over 10 assists. They will supplement the attack for sure, but in reality they need Rashford, Martial, Greenwood, James, Pogba, Bruno, Fred to drive the team forward and score goals. Open play, good set piece/corner delivery, and a resilient mindset. I think we've seen that much more as the season went on.

United have a better squad or at least on level terms with Leicester and Chelsea. They've proven that they can beat City multiple times this year. But their consistency compared to Leicester and City haven't been there. Although, like Chelsea, Leicester slowed down. The league is such a long slog and players typically go through a few up and downs. It's the teams like City and Liverpool that have remained consistent at picking up points...not so much this year re: City.
 

NoPace

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Our consistency isn't there because we don't have enough great players and a good system our manager is world class at putting in place.

Liverpool have 7 top players (front 3, fullbacks, Van Dijk and Allison) and Klopp is the best in the world at applying is system and so has turned their midfield 3 into a fine unit by unexpectedly getting Wijnaldum and Henderson to perform at a high level (the latter might even win PFA player of the year). Fabinho, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Keita are all good players capable of putting together a first great season for Liverpool.

City have even more, but they all play in attacking positions except for Ederson, Laporte and the always injured Mendy, so they also field 7-8 great players in a system Pep is the best in the world at playing. Rodri had a mediocre first season in England but should be better next year, though they need to find a CB to pair with Laporte or get the first really quality Stones season(he's 25 for a CB with more skill than physical prowess it's hardly impossible). But yeah they need a CB.

We however, do not have a manager with a defined system that he is unquestionably the best in the world at playing. We do have Pogba, Bruno, Rashford and De Gea. Sancho would be a 5th. Maguire, Wan-Bissaka and Fred have all shown enough to be good candidates for spots 8 through 10 or so, but I think Martial, Shaw, and Lindelof I'm less sure about. Though Greenwood may pass Martial soon; only Vardy and Aguero played as much while scoring at a higher rate per minute this year and Greenwood was at the same rate as Ings, Rashford, Salah, Aubameyang and Jesus.

As for the fullback stuff, we've just seen Lahm and Alaba, Dani Alves (a key man in Juve making a final too), Alba, Marcelo and Carvajal and Robertson and Alexander-Arnold win 9/10 Champions league. The last team to win it with a similar FB situation to what we currently expect to field the next 3 years is the Chelsea side that won with Ashley Cole blanketing his wing and no longer a great offensive fullback which is the expectation for Wan-Bissaka. The others got creativity and really strong final 3rd contributions at fullback.

We need 2-3 more quality starters in addition to Sancho, particularly at CB (I like Lindelof as a 3rd CB just fine) and probably an LB who can provide assists as a wingback in a 3-5-2 since the case for Ole over a pure system guy like Klopp or Pep is that Ole is open to playing different ways against different opponents, which I'm not crazy about in the league but do think is fine in Europe. We might be able to still be very good with Fred or McTominay at DM, Wan-Bissaka below average going forward and Maguire's inconsistency but those are the kinds of problems the great teams have in their first XI, not those and then a whole other set of issues in their 2-3 weakest spots.

I believe we can finish 3rd next year by adding Sancho and retaining Pogba alone, but we're still miles away from challenging for a title with Ole managing and a Shaw-Maguire-Lindelof-WanBissaka backline.
 

edcunited1878

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Our consistency isn't there because we don't have enough great players and a good system our manager is world class at putting in place.

Liverpool have 7 top players (front 3, fullbacks, Van Dijk and Allison) and Klopp is the best in the world at applying is system and so has turned their midfield 3 into a fine unit by unexpectedly getting Wijnaldum and Henderson to perform at a high level (the latter might even win PFA player of the year). Fabinho, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Keita are all good players capable of putting together a first great season for Liverpool.

City have even more, but they all play in attacking positions except for Ederson, Laporte and the always injured Mendy, so they also field 7-8 great players in a system Pep is the best in the world at playing. Rodri had a mediocre first season in England but should be better next year, though they need to find a CB to pair with Laporte or get the first really quality Stones season(he's 25 for a CB with more skill than physical prowess it's hardly impossible). But yeah they need a CB.

We however, do not have a manager with a defined system that he is unquestionably the best in the world at playing. We do have Pogba, Bruno, Rashford and De Gea. Sancho would be a 5th. Maguire, Wan-Bissaka and Fred have all shown enough to be good candidates for spots 8 through 10 or so, but I think Martial, Shaw, and Lindelof I'm less sure about. Though Greenwood may pass Martial soon; only Vardy and Aguero played as much while scoring at a higher rate per minute this year and Greenwood was at the same rate as Ings, Rashford, Salah, Aubameyang and Jesus.

As for the fullback stuff, we've just seen Lahm and Alaba, Dani Alves (a key man in Juve making a final too), Alba, Marcelo and Carvajal and Robertson and Alexander-Arnold win 9/10 Champions league. The last team to win it with a similar FB situation to what we currently expect to field the next 3 years is the Chelsea side that won with Ashley Cole blanketing his wing and no longer a great offensive fullback which is the expectation for Wan-Bissaka. The others got creativity and really strong final 3rd contributions at fullback.

We need 2-3 more quality starters in addition to Sancho, particularly at CB (I like Lindelof as a 3rd CB just fine) and probably an LB who can provide assists as a wingback in a 3-5-2 since the case for Ole over a pure system guy like Klopp or Pep is that Ole is open to playing different ways against different opponents, which I'm not crazy about in the league but do think is fine in Europe. We might be able to still be very good with Fred or McTominay at DM, Wan-Bissaka below average going forward and Maguire's inconsistency but those are the kinds of problems the great teams have in their first XI, not those and then a whole other set of issues in their 2-3 weakest spots.

I believe we can finish 3rd next year by adding Sancho and retaining Pogba alone, but we're still miles away from challenging for a title with Ole managing and a Shaw-Maguire-Lindelof-WanBissaka backline.
Mane, Firmino, and Salah were players who improved under Klopp as they matured as players. Mane and Salah were good/very good players at Soton and Roma before hitting their peak at Liverpool. Why cannot that be the same for Rashford and Martial? The signs are there, that's the route the team is headed. Go ahead and find those 3 more class, not more quality, but bang on class players who are ready made and just slot in. It's not going to happen because it's too expensive and not realistic. The league is too competitive and there aren't enough top players who are of the right mental and physical/skill level to come into United and transform them overnight. It's a gradual improvement not only transfer wise, but really the core of the team need to step it up another level. Playing together and playing to their capabilities as individuals and team will define Rashford, Martial, Pogba, Bruno, Fred, Maguire, etc.

City will need to refresh their squad quite a bit within the next couple of seasons. CB, RB, CF and hope that Bernardo Silva, Foden, Gundogan, Rodri and Jesus are able to improve. Maybe not Gundogan as he's pretty much as his best, but the others have to improve. KDB can only do so much and he's had more injuries the past couple years already. City also lost Kompany, their best ever captain in PL history, and will be losing their current captain David Silva after this year unless he decides to come back. So who is the player to lead them? KDB would be a good shout, but not sure. City aren't as ahead of United as they once were because United have better players and an understanding of how to beat City with their current setup.

Bayern have arguably the best center forward in the world in Lewendowski. That guy can score from nothing it's amazing. Lahm (was), Kimmich, and Alaba are great players but their versatility is so vital. But Bayern haven't won the CL in 7+ years, so not sure your example there is relevant, but I do understand what you're saying in terms of having good quality in the fullback position. United have good quality and are more solid at the back. AWB is average going forward and is getting better, but pinning hopes on a fullback's offensive output because other teams (one, two, maybe 3) are doing it that way is wrong to compare. That's what works for them, fine. Dani Alves as amazing as he is, has always won the CL w/Barca. They didn't exactly win the CL because their RB was the focal point of their attacking.

Thing is, United are giving these young and talented players to grow their game and challenge for the league. United are seriously ascending and only getting better and have room to bring in players who will make them clearly better such as Sancho. But talent alone will not win and as we're seeing, the player character is finally being incorporated more and more from previous years. Maguire is already club captain, AWB just gets on with his game and is no nonsense, James is a fiery young player who is mature beyond his years because of his father.

Anyways, if United can get Grealish for a reasonable price and his transfer is exclusive/unattached to a potential Sancho deal, then all for it.
 

Ibrahimorich

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I'm happy with not signing Grealish.

I still can't get over that he actually went to party, and crashed cars while drunk driving during a pendemic quarantine. And at this point I probably never will. 0 character.
Quite, he's clearly a moron. I'm not sure he's the type of character we want.
 

BenitoSTARR

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I'm happy with not signing Grealish.

I still can't get over that he actually went to party, and crashed cars while drunk driving during a pendemic quarantine. And at this point I probably never will. 0 character.
I thought given time my view might change but I’m with you on this.
 

jesperjaap

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My only concerns regarding Grealish would be:

He is a Villa boyhood fan, same passion for another club?
He has been in headlines a fair bit already in his career for bad reasons, does he have the right mentality?
His best positions seem to be as an attacking midfielder or on the left....we have Fernandes and Rashford?....Can he adapt and fit in to our system?

Purely as a footballer though, I think he is a fantastic young player and its good to see him doing so well this season in the premiership. Think he has been massively under rated by many. Remember ridicule when we were linked with him a few years ago and when Spurs were.

Should be in the England side too, he is made for International football and very much the attacking player we missed in the last world club in midfield.

Im very surprised Liverpool are not in for him, he would be the perfect signing for them
 

Bebestation

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Getting a player like Grealish to potentially replace the likes of Lingard,Pereira & Mata all at the same time to me, shows me that we are more of an intelligent transfer team these days.

Something about Grealish just feels right at United. The alcohol stuff doesn't bother me - its overrated, we've had it before and with older people & once hes at a bigger club with more eyes on him it will die off.
 

jesperjaap

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Getting a player like Grealish to potentially replace the likes of Lingard,Pereira & Mata all at the same time to me, shows me that we are more of an intelligent transfer team these days.

Something about Grealish just feels right at United. The alcohol stuff doesn't bother me - its overrated, we've had it before and with older people & once hes at a bigger club with more eyes on him it will die off.
Have liked him as a player for years but really not sure exactly where he fits in the side. Especially if relegated, its great playing for home town club but he really should be on a bigger stage and should already have several England caps by now as well. Grealish and potentially Foden would add so much to an England midfield that has lacked creativity for a while now as the likes of Wilshire and Barkley never really stood up.

Same token though does he really fit into our set up and does the transfer make sense considering all the hype around Mjebri maybe even stepping up next season for appearances? I would really like us to sign Grealish but it seems a lot of money for someone whose ideal position is already filled by two of our best performing players. As you say though would be an ideal replacement in the worst case scenario of replacing Lingard and Perreira in one go.
 
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Hawks2008

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Dont think he's a necessary signing even if Pogba goes. In a vaccum he is a decent player but his best positions already belong to Bruno and Rashford who are both better than him. I don't see how we could play him and Bruno together and still be balanced or without sacrificing one of them in a deeper role. Our most pressing need in the midfield is still a holding midfielder IMO so Grealish shouldn't be a priority.
 

SpyLuke10

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Dont think he's a necessary signing even if Pogba goes. In a vaccum he is a decent player but his best positions already belong to Bruno and Rashford who are both better than him. I don't see how we could play him and Bruno together and still be balanced or without sacrificing one of them in a deeper role. Our most pressing need in the midfield is still a holding midfielder IMO so Grealish shouldn't be a priority.
100% he is necessary if Pogba was to leave. But Pogba aint leaving, so...
 

Hawks2008

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100% he is necessary if Pogba was to leave. But Pogba aint leaving, so...
Even then, I would rather build the midfield around Bruno and sign players that will compliment him. In a vaccum Grealish would replace Pogba's creativity but I dont see how he fits with Rashford and Bruno unless we move them into roles that aren't their best. I would prefer we bring in a creative box-to-box or a deep playmaker type instead of another advanced midfielder.
 

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I think someone does deserve an apology. I judged Jack Grealish for what I thought was him breaking lockdown rules and drink driving when he was clearly just checking to see if he could drive and was well within his 30mile test drive allowance. The only difference is he found out it wasn’t safe when he crashed so sorry Jack!
 

jesperjaap

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Dont think he's a necessary signing even if Pogba goes. In a vaccum he is a decent player but his best positions already belong to Bruno and Rashford who are both better than him. I don't see how we could play him and Bruno together and still be balanced or without sacrificing one of them in a deeper role. Our most pressing need in the midfield is still a holding midfielder IMO so Grealish shouldn't be a priority.
I have this line of thinking....on the other hand though, I really want us to sign him. I would happily sell Pogba and replace him with Grealish personally. Without getting into the why I think Pogba should go etc etc, I just think Fernandes is already the Pogba replacement but Grealish potentially replaces Pogba too, he is also adaptable so he can cover Rashford, he can cover on the right (sure he started there), he can also play in central midfield. He pretty much replaces Perreira, Lingard and Mata all in one go.

Part of me also wonders just how good he can be? Is he really good at Villa as its the hometown club, he is captain and all the play goes through him......or in a team of better players can he actually go up a level. I think he could really excel for us, not to overhype him I mean of course he isnt on that level, but there is a little bit of Iniesta about him the way he glides with the ball and the turn of pace over 5yds, i certainly dont get the Maddison o Grealish argument of a few months ago, he is by far the better option in my opinion
 

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Career trajectory in terms of playing style it feels like he will become more of a Modric mould playing as a central midfielder and not attacking midfielder or left winger/midfielder.
 

BenitoSTARR

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Career trajectory in terms of playing style it feels like he will become more of a Modric mould playing as a central midfielder and not attacking midfielder or left winger/midfielder.
He’s nothing like Modric as a playmaker and I’d argue while he’s a good dribbler Modric’s ability both on and off the ball is/was better.

Grealish for me is not really suited to CM long term unless he makes significant improvements to his mid-long passing and his awareness of ball retention scenarios.

I’m not saying he couldn’t do it with the right coaching but at this point so much of his game is about him on the ball being centre of attention in the attacks I’ve yet to see him put in a traditional midfield maestro kind of performance. James Maddison is closer to being a CM playmaker than him IMO.
 

NoPace

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He’s nothing like Modric as a playmaker and I’d argue while he’s a good dribbler Modric’s ability both on and off the ball is/was better.

Grealish for me is not really suited to CM long term unless he makes significant improvements to his mid-long passing and his awareness of ball retention scenarios.

I’m not saying he couldn’t do it with the right coaching but at this point so much of his game is about him on the ball being centre of attention in the attacks I’ve yet to see him put in a traditional midfield maestro kind of performance. James Maddison is closer to being a CM playmaker than him IMO.
Grealish has the ability to be a special midfielder with his agility if he’s turned into a full time CM, but I have no idea if he’s mentally capable or if always drawing fouls as your method of escaping situations would work that deep or occasionally lead to counter attacks.

I don’t think he’s gonna be Modric at all but that sort of mobile ball player as opposed to his partner like Kroos who I would compare more to Maddison.

If we’re hoping Grealish becomes a star midfielder I would say it’s more in the way Giggs eventually did, by being too quick and clever for 99% of opposing central midfields to handle, but at time susceptible to great midfield opponents with more nous.

Maddison has the ability to contribute in attacking play without leaving his position as he’s a better passer, so could be played in a 2 man midfield without killing his team like Cesc did for Arsenal and Chelsea. I’d also prefer him behind a front 3 like Sneijder did for Inter or Ozil for Madrid just from pure playmaking alone.

My guess is De Bruyne leaves City at some point in the next few years and they sign Maddison, while Grealish goes to Everton (Sigurdsson is washed) or Leicester (he’d start at LW, be their 2nd best front 3 player after Vardy immediately, ahead of Barnes’ potential or Perez being pretty good, and he could replace Maddison when he leaves).

If Pogba goes though, I could absolutely see us signing Grealish and him getting games in tons of places:

-LCM in a typical Barca/Ajax/Pep triangle Grealish next to Bruno and ahead of the new DM/Fred/McTominay.

That type of midfield apparently seems too defensively weak for many on here but you gotta score goals and dominate and while Liverpool do it with a system and runners and maybe doping, we might not have the manager or fullbacks to instead provide creativity for that. Shaw-Fred-McTominay-WanBissaka just isn’t a lot of passing quality for the 4-7 spots on the field behind a front 3, especially if we’re playing 3 forwards, but we could upgrade at one fullback spot and make it work with a quality backup for Bruno as he would have a massive creative burden and need cover and rest.

-LW and we play 4 across with James on the right and 2 forwards, or just 4-3-3 with Fred, Bruno and DM and Grealisha our left and 2 of Martial, Rashford and Greenwood up top and out right (presumably Martial not out right but any other permutation).

-He could play as a false 9. Hungry to get involved and nimble are good qualities for that role and Greenwood as a goal scoring RW who doesn’t come deep much to get the ball might be our best attacker sooner than we realize, as his numbers so far and his hype do suggest a Kane or Shearer level forward. If he’s a Salah/Cristiano type, it could go either way as to if he plays better with a Firmino (Grealish) or Benzema (Martial) type centrally.

-All of Bruno’s backup minutes
 

cyberman

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Grealish will be 25 in a few months, he isnt converting into a top CM as this stage of his career
 

cyberman

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Yeah it's like that movie Logan's Run. Except without apostrophes.
Who learns a complex position like CM at 25? To a level where we spend 50m on him and ignore actual excellent CMs to sign him?
People are just making things up now to fit him into our side. He's at his best coming in from wide so we either need him there or we don't.
 

BenitoSTARR

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Who learns a complex position like CM at 25? To a level where we spend 50m on him and ignore actual excellent CMs to sign him?
People are just making things up now to fit him into our side. He's at his best coming in from wide so we either need him there or we don't.
If we want a CM we should sign a CM. Simple.
Grealish has the ability to be a special midfielder with his agility if he’s turned into a full time CM, but I have no idea if he’s mentally capable or if always drawing fouls as your method of escaping situations would work that deep or occasionally lead to counter attacks.

I don’t think he’s gonna be Modric at all but that sort of mobile ball player as opposed to his partner like Kroos who I would compare more to Maddison.

If we’re hoping Grealish becomes a star midfielder I would say it’s more in the way Giggs eventually did, by being too quick and clever for 99% of opposing central midfields to handle, but at time susceptible to great midfield opponents with more nous.

Maddison has the ability to contribute in attacking play without leaving his position as he’s a better passer, so could be played in a 2 man midfield without killing his team like Cesc did for Arsenal and Chelsea. I’d also prefer him behind a front 3 like Sneijder did for Inter or Ozil for Madrid just from pure playmaking alone.

My guess is De Bruyne leaves City at some point in the next few years and they sign Maddison, while Grealish goes to Everton (Sigurdsson is washed) or Leicester (he’d start at LW, be their 2nd best front 3 player after Vardy immediately, ahead of Barnes’ potential or Perez being pretty good, and he could replace Maddison when he leaves).

If Pogba goes though, I could absolutely see us signing Grealish and him getting games in tons of places:

-LCM in a typical Barca/Ajax/Pep triangle Grealish next to Bruno and ahead of the new DM/Fred/McTominay.

That type of midfield apparently seems too defensively weak for many on here but you gotta score goals and dominate and while Liverpool do it with a system and runners and maybe doping, we might not have the manager or fullbacks to instead provide creativity for that. Shaw-Fred-McTominay-WanBissaka just isn’t a lot of passing quality for the 4-7 spots on the field behind a front 3, especially if we’re playing 3 forwards, but we could upgrade at one fullback spot and make it work with a quality backup for Bruno as he would have a massive creative burden and need cover and rest.

-LW and we play 4 across with James on the right and 2 forwards, or just 4-3-3 with Fred, Bruno and DM and Grealisha our left and 2 of Martial, Rashford and Greenwood up top and out right (presumably Martial not out right but any other permutation).

-He could play as a false 9. Hungry to get involved and nimble are good qualities for that role and Greenwood as a goal scoring RW who doesn’t come deep much to get the ball might be our best attacker sooner than we realize, as his numbers so far and his hype do suggest a Kane or Shearer level forward. If he’s a Salah/Cristiano type, it could go either way as to if he plays better with a Firmino (Grealish) or Benzema (Martial) type centrally.

-All of Bruno’s backup minutes
Ok here goes nothing...

Grealish is agile but a CM needs more than just that. Vision, composure and the right balance between risk/reward. As a CM you need to dictate play and if he continues his current playstyle which draws lots of fouls it would only serve to disrupt the tempo of matches. It’s fine for Aston Villa who would want the set pieces in forward areas but if you aren’t entirely aware of players around you and consistently make top decisions you aren’t going to cut it at CM. In terms of mental load is arguably the one position where most decisions are made you have both offensive and defensive duties and you literally have half the pitch behind you and half in front so your vision and awareness are key as I’m assuming you’d want Grealish to develop into a box to box CM?

His dwelling on the ball is likely down partly to his teammates but it would be suicidal in a central role not in the attacking third.

Why compare to Modric then and not just say he could be a mobile CM instead? Also Maddison is far from a non mobile player! He’s one of the hardest working CAM in the league look it up and isn’t a slouch in terms of pace either.

Giggs had better vision and passing ability then Grealish does I’m not saying Grealish is a bad player but I just don’t see the transition being made. His game is centred around him being the focus not on getting the best of everyone around him. I don’t mind that at all in a player but certainly not a CM.

I think the CAF at times has a big issue of wanting to change a players position or looking too far into their futures hoping this or that might change when it’s much better to just go for the player you want now. If they aren’t suited to CM now don’t buy them as a CM and you won’t be disappointed. It takes years to reach the understanding to do what Giggs did and move to central midfield from wide positions effectively and I don’t see Grealish doing it. Becoming a CAM absolutely, LM no problem.

There is nothing wrong having a CDM and two creative CMs if they are capable of playing that position. Bruno is capable of doing that so is Pogba. They have the range of passing and the vision and all else that comes with the role because it’s what they’ve done their whole careers so far. Grealish has been out wide or No10 and rarely if ever plays CM. It would IMO be a stupid risk.

On the wings Grealish would be an upgrade on Mata so maybe there is an argument for having a mobile passer out wide but if you want that why not just go for Sancho?

Grealish as a false 9? He’s not shown at any point ability to play this position. Theoretical skill and actual observed skill are very different things and I prefer to judge a player based on observation and certain stats not what I think they might be able to change into. He’s not a Fiminho type forward he’s currently a good LAM/LM/LW who would be a good squad option for those roles.
 

lenny_1248

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If we want a CM we should sign a CM. Simple.

Ok here goes nothing...

Grealish is agile but a CM needs more than just that. Vision, composure and the right balance between risk/reward. As a CM you need to dictate play and if he continues his current playstyle which draws lots of fouls it would only serve to disrupt the tempo of matches. It’s fine for Aston Villa who would want the set pieces in forward areas but if you aren’t entirely aware of players around you and consistently make top decisions you aren’t going to cut it at CM. In terms of mental load is arguably the one position where most decisions are made you have both offensive and defensive duties and you literally have half the pitch behind you and half in front so your vision and awareness are key as I’m assuming you’d want Grealish to develop into a box to box CM?

His dwelling on the ball is likely down partly to his teammates but it would be suicidal in a central role not in the attacking third.

Why compare to Modric then and not just say he could be a mobile CM instead? Also Maddison is far from a non mobile player! He’s one of the hardest working CAM in the league look it up and isn’t a slouch in terms of pace either.

Giggs had better vision and passing ability then Grealish does I’m not saying Grealish is a bad player but I just don’t see the transition being made. His game is centred around him being the focus not on getting the best of everyone around him. I don’t mind that at all in a player but certainly not a CM.

I think the CAF at times has a big issue of wanting to change a players position or looking too far into their futures hoping this or that might change when it’s much better to just go for the player you want now. If they aren’t suited to CM now don’t buy them as a CM and you won’t be disappointed. It takes years to reach the understanding to do what Giggs did and move to central midfield from wide positions effectively and I don’t see Grealish doing it. Becoming a CAM absolutely, LM no problem.

There is nothing wrong having a CDM and two creative CMs if they are capable of playing that position. Bruno is capable of doing that so is Pogba. They have the range of passing and the vision and all else that comes with the role because it’s what they’ve done their whole careers so far. Grealish has been out wide or No10 and rarely if ever plays CM. It would IMO be a stupid risk.

On the wings Grealish would be an upgrade on Mata so maybe there is an argument for having a mobile passer out wide but if you want that why not just go for Sancho?

Grealish as a false 9? He’s not shown at any point ability to play this position. Theoretical skill and actual observed skill are very different things and I prefer to judge a player based on observation and certain stats not what I think they might be able to change into. He’s not a Fiminho type forward he’s currently a good LAM/LM/LW who would be a good squad option for those roles.
He played in 433 as a left CM/number 8 in Championship when Villa were promoted.
 

Tom Cato

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Still waiting for the headline "Apologetic Premier League player volounteers free time at the childrens hospital wing"
 

BenitoSTARR

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He played in 433 as a left CM/number 8 in Championship when Villa were promoted.
I’m aware of this but when hes made the move to the PL where has he been put? Out wide where he has space to do his job. He wasn’t a pure CM in the Championship either.
 

NoPace

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I’m aware of this but when hes made the move to the PL where has he been put? Out wide where he has space to do his job. He wasn’t a pure CM in the Championship either.
Eh I wouldn't make much of that, Villa have no talent so they've opted to get Grealish closer to goal where he can create for himself or others and play on the break. When McGinn and Heaton went down that took 2 of their 4 quality Prem players (Grealish and McGinn the other, and I guess Targett is a good backup left back for a mid-table side).

The case for signing Grealish is that we don't have a player like him and we need more quality players. Also we're one Bruno or Pogba injury away from the other representing a shocking amount of our creativity. If we sign Sancho and a fullback who can really contribute in attacking play than maybe we don't need a guy like that, but right now he'd be useful for us in a variety of roles.

If we don't sign Sancho, now that Ziyech is gone, there's a pretty good chance we won't be bringing in a RW who we know can start every game. Having Grealish free to create for 2 of Rashford/Martial/Greenwood with 3 of Bruno, Pogba, Fred and McTominay behind them is a proper lineup.

Also bench players matter and he's got the sort of brio in his game and mobility you associate with excelling in that role.

If Pogba leaves, I think he has to be replaced with a similarly world class type or more realistically with 2 players. Let's say Partey and Grealish for the sake of it, so we have a trio to play in tough midfield battles with a quality #10 type to change the game by coming on or letting us move into a diamond or 4-4-2 (he can play out left) but also one for sweeping bad teams away and breaking down good teams.

Balanced midfield:
Fred---Bruno (Grealish)
----Partey------- (McTominay)

Attacking setup:
Grealish---Bruno (Fred)
----Partey------- (McTominay)

We need a 4th man in midfield to play best, like Madrid do with Isco and is common enough in football:
---Grealish---
Fred--Bruno (Fred)
----Partey------- (McTominay)

There may be better bets than Grealish for that role, but we will need that type of player unless we replace Pogba with a box to box midfielder with the creativity to be the main playmaker when Bruno is out, and I haven't seen who that would be.

A #10/AM type with mobility to help out and split the job with a more defensive option in Fred is just more realistically available. I haven't seen much of Olmo but he made sense and obviously there are many creative types around Europe who can play centrally or wide from breakout types who have now proven themselves with at least one very good top flight season like Golovin or Aouar or Amiri or Nkunku or Maddison to talented players needing a move like Lemar.
 
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