Like Zlatan at Barca? £100m Grealish not working with Pep
Carlo Garganese
- 21 Dec 2021 10:22 GMT
- 4 min read
Jack Grealish’s difficult start to life at Manchester City continued at the weekend when he was left out of his team’s 4-0 win over Newcastle United for disciplinary reasons.
Amid reports from the BBC that Grealish had been on a night out with teammate Phil Foden shortly after the 7-0 victory over Leeds United, Pep Guardiola confirmed that both players had been punished.
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“I pay a lot of attention to behaviour on and off the pitch,” Guardiola said when asked why both stars were snubbed against Newcastle.
“And when off the pitch is not proper they are not going to play.
“So they have to be focused all the time because the distractions in the Christmastime and everything that happens – you have to still be focused.”
It was an untimely setback for Grealish, who had enjoyed a rare positive moment in a City shirt against Leeds when scoring the second of his team’s seven goals.
That goal was the first goal contribution by Grealish – be it a goal or assist – for nine matches for club and country.
His previous goal contribution had been on October 23, an assist in the 4-1 victory over Brighton. His previous goal for City had come way back on September 15 in the 6-3 triumph over RB Leipzig at the Etihad.
Overall this season, Grealish has managed just three goals and three assists in 20 appearances for City – 17 of these being starts.
Considering the fact that Man City smashed the British transfer record this summer to sign Grealish for £100 million, it is clear that these numbers are not worthy of this amount.
Grealish’s performances have also not been worthy of such an astronomical outlay. Tactically, he has struggled to adapt to Pep’s system and he has been accused of taking too many touches and slowing down the team’s play.
The 26-year-old is something of a throwback to the maverick English attacking midfielders of the 1970s. He loves to entertain and produces moments of magic with his flicks, tricks and creativity. But does he fit into a well-oiled system that relies on everyone strictly following Pep’s orders?
And, on the other side of the coin, is he able to perform at his best when he is restricted by Pep and not allowed to roam free and be himself - as he did so brilliantly at Aston Villa?
How Zlatan failed at Barcelona under Pep
This is the problem that Zlatan Ibrahimovic encountered during his one difficult season at Barcelona in 2009-10. He arrived from Inter at the request of Pep for a huge fee of €46m plus Samuel Eto’o.
But despite a decent season in terms of goals, Zlatan never truly fitted into Pep’s tiki-taka system. Like Grealish, he took too many touches, slowed the game down and wasn’t mobile like the rest of his teammates.
By the spring he had fallen out with Pep – who he accused of treating his players like obedient schoolchildren – and dropped from the team so that Lionel Messi could play as a false nine. He left after just one year for AC Milan.
"You bought a Ferrari and drove it like a Fiat," Zlatan famously said of Pep's restrictive tactics with him.
Could history repeat itself with Grealish now?
Off the pitch, there have been reports that Grealish is not completely happy with life at the Etihad. There have also been questions over his own relationship with Pep, which no doubt will be fuelled by this disciplinary action.
Nevertheless, it is still early days in his City career. There is plenty of time for Grealish to come good and no one doubts what a wonderful talent he is.
