When Man City needed a goal Jack Grealish was ignored – his career is at a crossroads
As the Manchester City players hung around on the Wembley pitch after the final whistle, Jack Grealish stood on the periphery. Arms across his chest, the club record £100 million signing had been overlooked by Pep Guardiola.
Even when City were 2-0 down at half-time Guardiola, who later admitted he got his “gameplan” wrong, did not turn to Grealish. Instead the manager brought on Jérémy Doku, who almost saved the FA Cup final for City. Even when Kevin De Bruyne was taken off with less than an hour played, it was not Grealish who came on. Instead it was Julián Alvarez.
City were chasing the game. They were desperate for some attacking impetus. They need a match-winner. A game-changer. Guardiola made two positive substitutions. He brought on two forward players. And not one of them was Grealish who played just 10 minutes in the last month when the business end of the season was upon us.
That cameo for the 28-year-old came as an 80th-minute substitute, replacing Phil Foden in the 5-1 rout of Wolverhampton Wanderers, when the score was 4-1 and the game was won. He did not play a minute against Fulham, against Tottenham Hotspur, against West Ham United and now against Manchester United.
That is in such sharp contrast with the vital role he played last season in City’s brilliant march to an unprecedented Treble. Injuries have played a part – with a dead leg putting him out for a month early in the campaign. Then in January there were more niggling problems, this time with a groin issue. But Grealish has been chasing his season and his form ever since.
It is curious though that Grealish started both legs of City’s Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid and performed well, albeit in exiting on penalties, and the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea but has slipped out of contention since then.
It means there must be a question as where Grealish goes from here. His most discussed contribution in recent weeks has been being surprised at how a confetti cannon works, as he enjoyed City’s Premier League title win last weekend, and emerging from the Fenix restaurant and bar in Manchester at 5am as the celebrations continued.
Grealish was not alone. De Bruyne was spotted slumped in the back of a taxi, Rodri was bleary-eyed and Erling Haaland also led the revelry. City had hired out the venue, the celebrations were sanctioned, the players did nothing wrong and Guardiola had given them time off.
“We celebrate good this week,” Guardiola said before being asked whether those celebrations may have gone too far. “Completely opposite,” he insisted. “They [the players] were focused.”
City will rightly press ahead with their title parade on Sunday, from the National Football Museum and along Deansgate in the city centre, to celebrate winning the league title for an unprecedented four times in a row. But it might be judicious for Grealish to dial down his involvement on this occasion.
The winger seems to have struck a crossroads. For club and, potentially also, for country.
He made it into England’s provisional 33-man squad for the European Championship but the discarding of Marcus Rashford by Gareth Southgate has to be a warning to him.
Grealish certainly cannot take his place in the final 26-strong squad for granted. On form he is in danger with just three goals this season and none since Dec 16. His goals came in a four-match burst – against Tottenham Hotspur, Luton Town and Crystal Palace. And, along with just three assists, that has been it.
Grealish has understandably pointed out it is not about goals and assists for him but performing well and winning. But he has not been doing enough of that for City either and here he was overlooked in a final they were chasing.
There are others posting big numbers and big performances. Contrast Grealish’s toils with the form of Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Anthony Gordon, Jarrod Bowen and Eberechi Eze then he – and James Maddison – are two of the big names among England’s forward options who are under the greatest threat.
As Southgate showed – and as Rashford and Jordan Henderson found out – the manager will not stand on ceremony.
Will Guardiola? In announcing his squad Southgate warned against “complacency” and that is the enemy of every successful football team and, maybe, there was an air with City that all they needed to do was turn up to defeat such a wounded, vulnerable United.
If City were possibly over-confident, then Grealish has spoken honestly about how his own self-belief has dipped. Although he also claimed it was returning. Even so he suffered a set-back here with Guardiola trusting more in Doku and talking up the Belgian’s contribution afterwards. Grealish has slipped down the pecking order. Where does this leave him? We know Guardiola does not stand on ceremony when it comes to making changes. It may be an interesting summer ahead.
