Jack Grealish

[SkStu]

edit: why am I standing up for the Daily Mail?

It's the bikini pictures Charlie.

[Charlie Darwin]

It's the bikini pictures Charlie.
I'll have you know I'm a feminist, Stu. I had been under the impression Bohs were equally progressive :silly:

[Stuttgart88]

Hopefully the tabloid treatment will put him off being an English international.

[tetsujin1979]

Apparently it happened six months ago, but at the time he was still an unused sub for villa. Now that he's flavour of the week, it's time to use the photos to sell some papers

[Olé Olé]

Hopefully the tabloid treatment will put him off being an English international.

Does Ireland no harm anyway. The other two players photographed were born in Burundi and Jamaica and play internationally for England, if that's any link worth drawing on the matter.

[DannyInvincible]

Does Ireland no harm anyway. The other two players photographed were born in Burundi and Jamaica and play internationally for England, if that's any link worth drawing on the matter.

It's all them johnny foreigns, innit?!

[osarusan]

Despite all his laughably fake concern, it seems like the root of all his concern is that, while he has no problem with another country taking the players England didn't want, this time a player good enough to play for England might choose to play for another country.

The rest of the article looks like a way to (weakly) mask his outrage and try and make it look like an objective argument.

[Olé Olé]

It's all them johnny foreigns, innit?!

Christ, Danno. No need to cast me as a Daily Mail-reading xenophobe! I was more referring to the fact that all 3 have/had alternative international options to England whilst being subjected to the, often unfair and frequently pointless, scrutiny of the English media.

[tetsujin1979]

Their last Under 21 squad — which did not include Grealish — was made up of 21 players, 11 of whom were not born in Ireland. That cannot be right. It is not fair on those within Ireland's club youth system. It is time for change.Samuel must lose some serious sleep worrying about those Ireland-born players not selected by the FAI... :rolleyes:
Presumably he has lost sleep thinking about former Ireland U19 player Michael Keane in the last England U21 squad also.

[Olé Olé]

From Football365: http://www.football365.com/mediawatch/9818435/Mediawatch


Hippie Crack-ing Up
Fresh from their 'picture exclusive' on Wednesday, The Sun step up their game with a 'world exclusive' on Thursday. Yes, 'hippie crack' has returned to the back pages.

The subject of this latest exposé is Aston Villa's Jack Grealish. If the timing seems more than a little coincidental, that's because it is. Whilst the back page screams out the inflammatory and scare-mongering headlines, the inside page concedes that, like Sterling before him, the photos were taken six months ago.

Mediawatch feels duty-bound to point out that a form of 'hippie crack' (or nitrous oxide If your lexicon is sculpted solely from tabloid headlines) is used to alleviate the pain of serious injuries, and thus has probably been used on the pitch, in a stadium, by a not insignificant proportion of Premier League footballers. It's just called entonox - or gas and air - in those circumstances.

For a potentially dangerous drug (remembering that too much of anything will potentially do you a mischief) it's actually used by many club's medical
departments, not to mention doctors and dentists. And it's given to pregnant women during childbirth.

Is this the future, then? The Sun sit on a bank of photos of footballers carrying out a pastime which is statistically far less harmful than drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes. They bide their time, waiting until said player's form takes his reputation to a zenith.

At that point the pictures are then splashed over the back pages, ignoring the extended period since they were actually taken. Only then can their stories
cause the most damage to the player, and garner the most notoriety for their newspaper.

Build them up, then knock them down: The English way.

Fairly well sums up what their doing to our Jack and from an English perspective.

[DannyInvincible]

Christ, Danno. No need to cast me as a Daily Mail-reading xenophobe! I was more referring to the fact that all 3 have/had alternative international options to England whilst being subjected to the, often unfair and frequently pointless, scrutiny of the English media.

Ha, don't worry. I wasn't directing it at you. Just parodying Daily Mailites.

[tricky_colour]

That's in all the papers, to be fair. Sucking balloons on film seems to be the in thing for young footballers right now.

edit: why am I standing up for the Daily Mail?


Because you get it delivered??? ;)

[tricky_colour]

The Daily Mail should be moved from the newspaper section to Fiction, or Children's Comics, or Utter ******** if they have such a section.

[DannyInvincible]

I decided to put my thoughts on Samuel's piece in blog format: https://danieldcollins.wordpress.com/2015/04/23/a-response-to-martin-samuel-of-the-daily-mail-regarding-jack-grealish/

[CraftyToePoke]

Can you tweet it to the moron ?

[Stuttgart88]

That's brilliant stuff Danny. I have asked a footy journalist and author friend to retweet it. He has around a thousand followers I think.

[DannyInvincible]

Cheers, Stutts!

Samuel doesn't appear to be on Twitter; just a parody account (https://twitter.com/themartinsamuel), as far as I can see. I've managed to find an email address (http://www.martinsamuel.org/contact/) (not moniterod by him personally, unfortunately) and I've tweeted it to @MailSport, so I hope he might see it somehow.

[Drumcondra 69er]

I decided to put my thoughts on Samuel's piece in blog format: https://danieldcollins.wordpress.com/2015/04/23/a-response-to-martin-samuel-of-the-daily-mail-regarding-jack-grealish/

Great stuff Danny, eloquently written and bang on the money as usual.

[SwanVsDalton]

Nice work Danny - comprehensive takedown. Samuel doesn't have a baldies, nothing new there.

Just listening to Second Captains at the mo, some of the same points being made by Early and co. Not much optimism he'll be playing for us mind (can't say I disagree either).

[SkStu]

Excellent piece Danny.

[DannyInvincible]

Cheers for the positive words y'all!

No luck with two email addresses through which I tried to get in touch with Samuel. I suppose it's handy for one who spouts so much crap to be uncontactable.

Instead, I've emailed the general editorial email address. And their corrections department; they deal with concerns over accuracy. :p

[DeLorean]

This could escalate. Oh wait, we want this one to escalate. Danno Danno Danno.

[DeLorean]

Paul Scholes has his say. (http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/paul-scholes-column-eden-hazard-would-be-my-player-of-the-year--but-i-wonder-if-he-has-that-appetite-for-goals-of-messi-or-ronaldo-10199645.html)


I really like the look of Jack Grealish. He has promise. I just hope he chooses England!

I had the same options as Jack Grealish when it came to international football, in fact I could have played for Northern Ireland as well as the Republic. On my mum Marie’s side, my Nana was from the Republic of Ireland and my Granddad was from the north. Lots of families in Manchester have strong Irish connections but it never occurred to me to play for anyone other than England.

I really like Grealish as a player. He has got promise. I haven’t seen enough of him to know whether he is a No 10 or better coming off the left-hand side. Only time will tell how many goals he has in him. Only time will tell if he is going to pull his socks up, too. Juan Sebastian Veron had that habit as well.

Maybe Scholesy would have been better off choosing Ireland. He wouldn't have been shafted out to the left wing to accommodate Gerrard and Lampard! We would have probably qualified as much as England if we had him too! Imagine, Keane and Scholes our centre midfield, Jayney.

[DeLorean]

Jack Grealish warned by Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood (http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/32436515)
Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish has been warned about his off-field behaviour after he was photographed apparently taking nitrous oxide.

Year-old pictures of Grealish, 19, seeming to take the legal high - known as laughing gas - from a balloon were printed in a newspaper on Thursday.

"I spoke to Jack first thing this morning as he came in," said manager Tim Sherwood.

"I explained to him his behaviour can't be tolerated."


Similar pictures of Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling and West Brom striker Saido Berahino have also emerged in recent weeks.

"We can't condone that behaviour," Sherwood said of Grealish, who has not been fined for the incident.

"He is now in a responsible position as a professional footballer, he's got to make sure it won't happen again, he's assured me it won't.

"But, as I said about Raheem last week, he's a young man, he was even younger a year earlier when the picture was taken."

The Villa academy product has made 18 first-team appearances and was involved in both goals in their 2-1 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup semi final on Sunday.

Grealish, who qualifies to play for both England and the Republic of Ireland, is set to be included in the squad for Saturday's Premier League game with Manchester City.

And Sherwood says the recent off-field attention will be a learning curve for the Birmingham-born teenager.

"I'm not worried. To be honest there is only one form of discipline - that's self-discipline. That's what really matters," added the Villa boss.

"Jack has to take that on board now. This is an eye-opener for him, he has to realise he has to be very careful who he can trust out there."

[DannyInvincible]

This could escalate. Oh wait, we want this one to escalate. Danno Danno Danno.

Ha, surprisingly, the corrections team have sent me a very cordial reply to inform me they've forwarded my email on to Samuel.

[Bungle]

Paul Scholes has his say. (http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/paul-scholes-column-eden-hazard-would-be-my-player-of-the-year--but-i-wonder-if-he-has-that-appetite-for-goals-of-messi-or-ronaldo-10199645.html)



Maybe Scholesy would have been better off choosing Ireland. He wouldn't have been shafted out to the left wing to accommodate Gerrard and Lampard! We would have probably qualified as much as England if we had him too! Imagine, Keane and Scholes our centre midfield, Jayney.

Gerrard, Rooney and Carragher could have played for us too. As could Rio Ferdinand. There may even be a few that we don't know about that could have played for us.
Alot of their "golden generation" may have done better at tournaments if they were away from the madness of the English media.

[DeLorean]

Carragher is another that would been better off.

[nigel-harps1954]

Scholes grandparents are in Letterkenny as far as I'm aware but I've never heard of him visiting or being in around the town. Grealish seems to have a much stronger connection than Scholes has had.

[SkStu]

Carragher is another that would been better off.

the thought of that scummer in an Irish jersey sickens me.

[SkStu]

Scholes grandparents are in Letterkenny as far as I'm aware but I've never heard of him visiting or being in around the town. Grealish seems to have a much stronger connection than Scholes has had.

Exactly. Which is precisely the argument that Danny makes so well about varying degrees of nationality and making your own decisions based on how you feel.

PS - Rio Ferdinand was another who could have played for us and he used to come over to visit his family here quite regularly when he was with Leeds. I seen him and his personalized number plate quite a few times in some of my old haunts. (I presumed he took the ferry once and left a car over here?)

[Charlie Darwin]

the thought of that scummer in an Irish jersey sickens me.
Why? Carragher always seemed alright.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

My neighbors were Irish father and English mother with children raised in Ireland. The extended family members on the mother's side came to Ireland every summer; very much English. They said they were in the Leyton Orient youth team but they were pretty sh*t at football so I took it with a pinch of salt.

Apropos of nothing.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Why? Carragher always seemed alright.

He talked openly about getting some old school pals to commit grievous bodily harm against Lucas Neill when he was shopping in Liverpool city center.

Neill was "spared" an assault because David Thompson was with him and Carragher didn't want him to be a witness to it.

Charming character.

[Charlie Darwin]

That sounds completely out of character. I'm sure they just wanted to have a friendly chat.

[DeLorean]

the thought of that scummer in an Irish jersey sickens me.

I wouldn't be mad about Liverpool by any means, okay I can't stand them, but I always liked Carragher. Super player and seems like an honest, down to earth sort. Very Roy Keane-like with his intolerance for excuses which I find refreshing. Himself and the Dunney Monster could have been great :)

[DannyInvincible]

I've always thought Carragher was alright. More info on the Neill matter here, although I sense Carragher must have been using some poetic licence to stir controversy for the promotion of his autobiography: http://www.thespoiler.co.uk/2008/09/04/carragher-nearly-had-lucas-neill-assaulted/


When my leg was broken in an horrific tackle by Lucas Neill in September 2003, my mates were ready to hunt him down if I gave the go-ahead.

A few weeks later I received a phone call. “You won’t believe this, Jay. We’re in the Trafford Centre and Lucas Neill is walking straight towards us. What do you reckon?”

Did I really want Neill to take a crack? “There’s only one problem,” added the voice. “Little Davey Thommo is with him.”

That was that. I could hardly let one of my best mates, David Thompson, now a Blackburn player, become a witness to an assault. Besides he’d have recognised the attackers. The impromptu mission was aborted and I sent a text to Thommo telling him Neill should give him a hug of thanks.

As word got back to Blackburn about the near miss, or should that be hit, their coach Terry Darracott, a Scouser, appealed to one of my friends to call the boys off. I agreed.

[DeLorean]

Was just about the post the same thing. Predictably, not exactly as TOWK reported it, where he implied that Carragher premeditatedly set about organising the assault.

[SkStu]

I wouldn't be mad about Liverpool by any means, okay I can't stand them, but I always liked Carragher. Super player and seems like an honest, down to earth sort. Very Roy Keane-like with his intolerance for excuses which I find refreshing. Himself and the Dunney Monster could have been great :)

He was a good player alright, one we could have done with but as set out by the others his off field behavior was very questionable.

[SkStu]

Was just about the post the same thing. Predictably, not exactly as TOWK reported it, where he implied that Carragher premeditatedly set about organising the assault.

in fairness DeL...


Terry Darracott, a Scouser, appealed to one of my friends to call the boys off. I agreed

[DeLorean]

It seems he never gave the go ahead though, either initially or when his friends came across him in the city centre. That's hardly the same thing as "getting some old school pals to commit grievous bodily harm against Lucas Neil". Sounds like a bit of a non-story to me. There was nothing overly "charming" about the leg breaking tackle either... not that it deserved 'off the field' retribution.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CEyTHbllwU

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Come on DeLorean....

[DeLorean]

Okay so, I take it back. Carragher clearly went about organising a mob to break Lucas Neil's knee caps, but the deal fell through because Neil was in the company of somebody Carragher knew one day. The story wasn't at all exaggerated for the purposes of a more interesting autobiography, in fact, it was probably toned down.

Back on topic, young Grealish better hope he isn't subject to tackles like that with his shin pads, not that grown ups ones did Carra any good.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

No need for the sarcasm and surliness, DeLorean. If you are going to take back something you said, be genuine about it or don't do it at all. We are all grown ups here. If you weren't compelled to find faults - even where none exist - in what I post, this wouldn't be an issue in the first place.

For God's sake, even SkStu thinks you took it too far this time.

I think Grealish has enough wits about him not to get his mates to commit GBH on someone because he got his legs broken playing a contact sport.

[DeLorean]

Well obviously I wasn't really taking it back. I just wanted to move on as I'm sure that will be forced upon us anyway seeing as we've drifted miles off topic. I believe what I said, agree to differ, okay so.

[DannyInvincible]

Exactly. Which is precisely the argument that Danny makes so well about varying degrees of nationality and making your own decisions based on how you feel.

PS - Rio Ferdinand was another who could have played for us and he used to come over to visit his family here quite regularly when he was with Leeds. I seen him and his personalized number plate quite a few times in some of my old haunts. (I presumed he took the ferry once and left a car over here?)

Yeah, identity isn't really something that can be conveniently quantified, and it certainly isn't what you could call a zero-sum situation either where identification with one badge, group or community impinges upon or negates any possibility of identification with another. Identity can be overlapping, fluid and, of course, very much subjective. I mean, if Grealish does eventually switch, it won't mean he has no sentiment for Ireland.


He was a good player alright, one we could have done with but as set out by the others his off field behavior was very questionable.

Was he known for being nasty and getting into trouble? Not necessarily disputing what you say. I'm just not up on my Carragher private life. :p

The story about Neill just reads like it's been slightly dramatised to me, and there's obvious motive there for Carragher to have used poetic licence seeing as he was using the anecdote to promote his autobiography in the Daily Mirror. I would guess something like this is closer to the truth; he would have felt bitterness towards Neill, naturally, and had perhaps discussed with his friends how he deplored the tackle, probably even cursing Neill. He then gets a call from his mates one day to say they've seen Neill and Thomson in the Trafford Centre and they jokingly ask if Carragher wants them to beat Neill up. Carragher probably laughs it off and says "no". It's just too implausible for me to believe that Carragher would be stupid enough to write something like that if it was a completely serious account of an incident that had actually happened as it not only gives a very unsavoury impression, but it's teetering on the criminal. The Trafford Centre is an exceptionally busy shopping centre with CCTV everywhere; you'd have to be an absolute idiot to beat someone up in there if you were hoping to get away with it. If Carragher had actually wanted Neill hit, I'm sure he could very easily have found out Neill's address or regular whereabouts from his friends at Blackburn.

[SkStu]

Last bit on Carragher (sorry for dragging us off topic). The story being referenced is the one that doesn't read well to me irrespective of what spin he is putting on it. However, there has been for a few years on the Everton forums talk of Carragher around town but mostly the friends he has away from the game moreso than anything he has done per se. He grew up in a rough part of town and his friends are an assortment of thieves and dealers if rumours are to be believed - granted this is Liverpool we are talking about ;) . Doesn't mean Carragher is a dealer or thief but there is a level of guilt by association or acquiescence...

Anyway, not worth this being a big deal. Hes a bit of a scally. Hes not the only scally in the world.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

I'm not going to try and convince people that someone saying they called off a gang assault on somebody means that someone called off a gang assault on somebody - suffice to say that the words were spoken/dictated from Carragher himself and his book wasn't in the fiction section. It is what it is at this stage...

Just to add on to what SkStu said, the same rumors that surround Carragher have always surrounded Gerrard too. It's common knowledge. And Carragher is renowned for his tempestuousness, forthrightness and (lack of) intelligence.

I find it hard to believe that Carragher wasn't retrospectively punished for this considering how Roy Keane was hauled over the coals for the Haaland comments.

[Bungle]

I have only heard good things about Jamie. He's meant to be very decent and good with the fans. I met Gerrard in a Glasgow pub before a Celtic match years ago with a load of Gerrard's mates from Huyton and found them really sound. They were singing all the Celtic songs and took the banter off this mad Everton fan from Derry in the pub. Gerrard was laughing his head off at the songs your man was singing.

an Everton supporting mate from Limerick met Jamie after he retired from playing with England in Liverpool and Jamie turned to him and said "**** it la (Scouse) it's only England, who gives a ****"!! He said he was a good man who didn't take himself too seriously. This fella is Everton mad, so he wouldn't praise a Liverpool player unnecessarily!!!!

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Irish face, English hair.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villas-jack-grealish-birmingham-9109760

[DeLorean]

Just to add on to what SkStu said, the same rumors that surround Carragher have always surrounded Gerrard too. It's common knowledge.

So which is it, rumours or common knowledge? Is it rumoured to be common knowledge or is it common knowledge that there are rumours? :p