The RJW63 Official Jack Grealish Appreciation Thread

[Villan_of_oz]

12 minutes ago, Keyblade said:

Quite sad, he could have been one of our all time greats.

Yesterday Martin Tyler was talking about and said "while he's a legend in these parts", I was like uhhh I don't know about that. One of the best players yes, but legend I don't think so.

It's this! He's not a Villa legend and he's definitely not a Holte end legend.

He is just a very good player that played for us for a few seasons.

 

[Caddy]

I don't think being a boyhood fan and going for the ambitious move are mutually exclusive. That much is obvious; anyone who's dealt in the professional world understands sentiment only goes so far.

I think the real frustration is that Jack seemingly took the "easy way" out when it was plain and obvious that there was something special brewing here. Guys like Emi and Luiz,  et. al. showed their loyalty because they sensed there was a opportunity to grow into a contender naturally. It's hard to swallow guys from another continent showing more loyalty to this than Jack who'd been with us since he was a youngin. But maybe it was for the best? After all, the winner against City was scored by someone who was bought with Grealish money to replace Grealish.

I will say this. He did give us a reason to love the club again after some really dark years. You can't take that away from him.

Edited December 8, 2023 by Caddy

[calcifer]

11 hours ago, osmark86 said:

McGinn and Mings are already more of club legends than him.

Definitely! While Jack was an outstanding player he tried to leave the club for 3 seasons (Spurs, ManUre then finally getting his big club move to City) yes he wanted to win things while in his prime, can't begrudge him that, but the whole my club my city bolliox when signing his contact knowing full well there was a release clause in there was poor PR. He should have said let's not go with that banner... 

He won't go down as a club legend. He will go down as a great player that played for the club

I know the Jack lovers are probably reading these past few posts seething but it's true. 

 

[GlobalVillan]

John McGinn's arse is more of a Villa legend than Grealish and thats a fact. 

[villa4europe]

The problem is modern legends at Villa include the likes of gabby... The reality is we've got slim pickings and a for a whole generation (maybe 2...) he's the best player we've seen 

His legend status will diluted by the quality players we have now and what they're doing for us and where we're going and hopefully it disappears because John mcginn lifts a trophy for us and others go on to cement it

martinez, mings, mcginn and Watkins will all get there I think 

But right now? If you're a 15 year old villa fan who is a Villa legend in your eyes if not Grealish? EL ghazi? Benteke? James Chester on one leg? 

Edited December 8, 2023 by villa4europe

[Oaks]

Jack had a good 18 months in the premier league, that does not make a legend at a club like Villa. Thats small heath like. 

[Villan_of_oz]

16 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

The problem is modern legends at Villa include the likes of gabby... The reality is we've got slim pickings and a for a whole generation (maybe 2...) he's the best player we've seen 

His legend status will diluted by the quality players we have now and what they're doing for us and where we're going and hopefully it disappears because John mcginn lifts a trophy for us and others go on to cement it

martinez, mings, mcginn and Watkins will all get there I think 

But right now? If you're a 15 year old villa fan who is a Villa legend in your eyes if not Grealish? EL ghazi? Benteke? James Chester on one leg? 

Luiz, that's who the 15 year olds would be seeing as a legend.

I'm not saying he's etched in history yet but, the book is being written match after match.

[useless]

Being linked to clubs isn't the same as trying to leave, Spurs bid £25m for him whilst we were in the Championship, if he wanted to he could have forced a move, that he didn't is to his credit and without him staying we probably wouldn't have been promoted that coming season, form without him in the team in promotion season was three wins from fifteen, he probably could have left the following season too, and the season after, he would have had many chances to leave long before he did, I don't know why some have this strange idea that he only became a good player when Smith joined the club, he was one of the biggest prospects in the country long before then.

Also I hate to break it to people but if we were still in the postion we were when Grealish left then most of our current team would leave if a team like Man City came in for them, they'd might even leave in our current position if Man City came calling, and probably none of them would stay if we battling relegation or in the Championship as Grealish did.

As for whether he's a legend, who cares about that childish stuff anyway, what is this kindergarten, it's essentially just people's opinion, so can't be proven one way or the other anyway, what I do know is that pretty much everyone on here was hailing him as one of our best ever players before he left, and most saying only McGrath was better in the last thirty or so years.

And just because I don't hate him like some fanatical nutjob, doesn't mean to say I'm a 'Jack lover', other than aknowleding that he was a very good player for us, and wishing him good health as I do each and every one, don't care about him.

Edited December 8, 2023 by useless

[villa4europe]

25 minutes ago, Oaks said:

Jack had a good 18 months in the premier league, that does not make a legend at a club like Villa. Thats small heath like. 

Who from that time period is then? 

The answer is over the course of the history of the club no one but it doesn't work like that

Grealish and deano have a legend status 

Emery and other players will go on to beat it but I'm sorry for those that don't like it but Grealish had a status while here that the highest I've seen since the 90s, him signing for Man City doesn't mean that gets rewritten 

You are better off looking at Villa as a club in a critical light and asking why people like Grealish and gabby achieved that status and put a very critical slant on the slant - which is also the truth - Grealish is a legend because we were largely shit bar 2 or 3 players for 10 years 

[Zatman]

1 minute ago, villa4europe said:

Who from that time period is then? 

The answer is over the course of the history of the club no one but it doesn't work like that

Grealish and deano have a legend status 

Emery and other players will go on to beat it but I'm sorry for those that don't like it but Grealish had a status while here that the highest I've seen since the 90s, him signing for Man City doesn't mean that gets rewritten 

You are better off looking at Villa as a club in a critical light and asking why people like Grealish and gabby achieved that status and put a very critical slant on the slant - which is also the truth - Grealish is a legend because we were largely shit bar 2 or 3 players for 10 years 

Mings is more of a legend than Grealish.

[osmark86]

38 minutes ago, useless said:

Being linked to clubs isn't the same as trying to leave, Spurs bid £25m for him whilst we were in the Championship, if he wanted to he could have forced a move, that he didn't is to his credit and without him staying we probably wouldn't have been promoted that coming season, form without him in the team in promotion season was three wins from fifteen, he probably could have left the following season too, and the season after, he would have had many chances to leave long before he did, I don't know why some have this strange idea that he only became a good player when Smith joined the club, he was one of the biggest prospects in the country long before then.

Also I hate to break it to people but if we were still in the postion we were when Grealish left then most of our current team would leave if a team like Man City came in for them, they'd might even leave in our current position if Man City came calling, and probably none of them would stay if we battling relegation or in the Championship as Grealish did.

As for whether he's a legend, who cares about that childish stuff anyway, what is this kindergarten, it's essentially just people's opinion, so can't be proven one way or the other anyway, what I do know is that pretty much everyone on here was hailing him as one of our best ever players before he left, and most saying only McGrath was better in the last thirty or so years.

And just because I don't hate him like some fanatical nutjob, doesn't mean to say I'm a 'Jack lover', other than aknowleding that he was a very good player for us, and wishing him good health as I do each and every one, don't care about him.

Well yeah, I think most of us fall into the category of wishing him well and not really caring too much. Not acknowledging that he was a very good player for us would just be silly too. He was and I loved him for it. Instrumental in our rise from the ashes, no one can take that away from him.

[blunther]

43 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

 

Grealish and deano have a legend status 

It's pretty hard to define what 'legend' status entails, but I'd put one of the key ingredients as being universally liked/thought highly of. I don't think anyone that splits the fanbase can really be a 'legend' since half the fans don't even like him. In the same way that Martin O' Neill is not a legend, despite what Amazon Prime footage says, because loads of people hate the bloke.

Modern 'legends', I guess people like Petrov and Laursen come closest, pretty much universally adored by the fanbase.

[rodders0223]

We just ignoring he could have left us many times every season before he did for a lot more money and success then. Okay.

[villa4europe]

1 hour ago, Oaks said:

Jack had a good 18 months in the premier league, that does not make a legend at a club like Villa. Thats small heath like. 

That's an exaggeration

It takes 44 games over at that shower of shite 

[Zatman]

6 minutes ago, rodders0223 said:

We just ignoring he could have left us many times every season before he did for a lot more money and success then. Okay.

Well it wasnt like he didn't try

[The_Rev]

2 hours ago, Caddy said:

I think the real frustration is that Jack seemingly took the "easy way" out when it was plain and obvious that there was something special brewing here.

 

The easy way out would have been to leave after we were relegated, instead he stayed for three seasons in The Championship.  I'm sure there were a couple of times when he was close to leaving but he stayed when we needed him and if truth be told the "one more year" thing we had going on with Jack ended up being about five more years.  The guy must have been looking at players like Wilf Zaha at Palace who spent a lot of his career in the same situation then all of a sudden he was 29 and the interest from Champions League clubs (that aren't based in Istanbul) dried up.  I get why Jack left, he was one of the best players in the world who had never played Champions League football and as being a footballer is a short career I'm sure he didn't want to regret passing up on opportunities that weren't going to be around once he stop fitting the age profile that Uberclubs are willing to spunk obscene transfer fees on.   He's done well at Manchester CIty too, obviously he's not the main man there but he was never supposed to be. He was however a key player in a team that won the Treble and nobody can take that away from him.  He can still be a massive Villa fan but he had to do what was right for him in the moment. 

The thing is we've moved on too.  We don't miss Jack at all.  It would be incredible if the 24 year old version of Grealish was in the current Villa squad  but timing is everything in football and this one didn't line up for us.  However, we got a lot of money for him and while it's possible to have a conversation about how that money was spent, two years later we find that we've got a much better team than any of the sides Grealish played in. I'm sure he's happy to see us doing well. What I don't want is us signing him on a Bosman when he's 32 and out of contract because sentimentality, but I don't think the current owners work like that.   As it stands the Grealish departure kinda worked out for everybody. 

[Wainy316]

What I wonder about Grealish is the club fought tooth and nail to keep him and said we didn't need to sell him.

That year with £100m hitting the books we turn a measly profit of about £700k.  How then, would be possibly have complied with FFP if we'd not sold him?

[Mark Albrighton]

We knew about the spurs deal in 2018 and how NWSE put an end to it. Thanks to Grealish himself we know he was expecting an offer from Man Utd in 2020 which never came so he signed a new contract with us. We know those happened. So are people saying there were loads of other offers on the table that we don’t know about and that Grealish hasn’t volunteered the information?

There was some paper talk of Boro being interesting and maybe swapping Jordan Rhodes for him. I remember that.

I think people are thinking it was obvious in 2016 that he was going to be a 100m top class player. He was of course highly thought of. The potential was there. But the potential for it to be a wasted talent was also there. To a lot of people at the time Grealish was the lad lying passed out drunk in the road on holiday. If he was widely regarded as this undeniably exceptional talent who lowered himself to play for us in the championship, it’s odd how there weren’t more offers prior to the nearly spurs deal.

[The_Rev]

You look at the dressing room at the time, it was a toxic place.  Dean Smith coming as in saved Grealish from being the next wasted talent.  

[UpTheVilla26]

F##k him, he went for the fame and dollar and he'd not get in this team now, we have moved on and we are a far better side than we ever were with him in it.