Jack Grealish

[Stuttgart88]

I'm not going all Paul O'Shea on this, but Peterborough's keeper was dreadful.

[tricky_colour]

I'm not going all Paul O'Shea on this, but Peterborough's keeper was dreadful.

Deserves a kick in the head.

[tetsujin1979]

Watching the highlight reel again, it occurs to me he could be falling into the "Robbie Keane only scores against weaker teams, therefore every team he scores against is weak" trap, i.e. Jack Grealish never gets tackled, therefore players never tackle him

[tricky_colour]

The lad who got sent off was a bit unlucky, the defender had him in a head lock before he hit him.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

The lad who got sent off was a bit unlucky, the defender had him in a head lock before he hit him.

Well spotted Tricky.

[tetsujin1979]

interview with him in the Nottingham Post today: http://www.nottinghampost.com/Jack-Grealish-Villa-Benito-Carbone-home-Notts/story-20493153-detail/story.html

[SkStu]

He could have thrown an international ambition in there, the feckin tease.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

http://thescore.thejournal.ie/interview-jack-grealish-martin-oneill-ireland-aston-villa-1279309-Jan2014/

Grealish undecided on what country he wants to play for.

Notts County 1-5 down at home to Walsall coincidentally. *edit*

CALL HIM UP!

[Charlie Darwin]

Wee turncoat.

[tetsujin1979]

http://thescore.thejournal.ie/interview-jack-grealish-martin-oneill-ireland-aston-villa-1279309-Jan2014/

Grealish undecided on what country he wants to play for.

Notts County 0-5 down at home to Walsall coincidentally. *edit*

CALL HIM UP!
seems he's happy to stay with Ireland for now

It’s hard to say (if things could change) and it depends on what happens in the future. But what I know is I do want to play for Ireland at the moment.”

[liamoo11]

http://thescore.thejournal.ie/interview-jack-grealish-martin-oneill-ireland-aston-villa-1279309-Jan2014/

Grealish undecided on what country he wants to play for.

Notts County 1-5 down at home to Walsall coincidentally. *edit*




CALL HIM UP!

Think he is raising the stakes putting pressure on O neill to elevate him to the next level and include him in senior squads before end of season once the 21s season is finished in march. Nice move young man

[Olé Olé]

The fact that he shunned the England under-19's for the Ireland under-21's is interesting. Makes me wonder what would happen if he got a call up to the England under-21's..."you want to play at the highest level you can don't you (sic)." In this case there would be a conundrum; Ireland would have to offer him senior football to ensure we offer him the higher level. Although he states "But what I know is I do want to play for Ireland at the moment", what would happen when he had to commit to one side or the other? Playing for England under-21's competitively would be sufficient to tie him.

His words remind me of when you're sleeping with a girl and she wants commitment. But you don't want commitment. You're enjoying the sex and all but you don't want to commit so you tell her you like her and things are fine the way they are... A prettier girl comes along and your head is turned. The prettier girl could burn you and might not be as committed as you and maybe you come to realise that the first girl was the one for you.

Well, Jack, we're the average girl and we want you to commit to us. We love you, Jack.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

In my opinion, it would be ridiculous calling him up to the senior squad. He's an 18 year old playing for a team engulfed in a relegation battle in League 1.

It would make more sense to call up Eunan O'Kane.

And then you have McCarthy, Gibson, Hendrick, Meyler, Quinn, Whelan, Hoolahan, Reid, Ireland, McCann, Murray and Arter playing more consistently at a higher level.

I'm not a believer in handing out call ups to people to curry favour with them, which will lead to giving them playing time in friendlies, which will lead to giving him playing time in competitive matches.

Frankly, I don't think he should be called up simply for O'Neill and Keane to take a look at him in training. There are better ways for them to spend their time, limited as it is, with players who have a justified and reasonable chance of contending for squad places in September.

The bottom line is he is probably satisfied where he is, playing for the U-21's, because he is clearly unsure where his long-term future lies.

[liamoo11]

O neill and keane are paid to make us better. Its simple you do what it takes to make us better now, next season and in the next few years. That means getting the players with the best potential on board and involved. At the moment for me there are 3 outstanding players who are eligible for us and other sides who I think at worst will be very good premiership players in the next 2-3 years and possibly may with a little luck be worldclass players. For me these players have to be fast tracked into senior squad involvement to show them they are loved by their country and to help develop them. Grealish, McLaughlin and Crowley need to be brought on board. If that means that a good professsional like mccann missesout on a squad place then Im sorry for him but that is what professional managers in all walks of life are paid to do make choices.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Crowley hasn't played a senior game yet. McLaughlin has played one. Grealish has played twenty. I just don't see who it benefits fast tracking them into the senior set up. We have finally seen what Andy Reid and Hoolahan can bring to the set up. Ireland is open to a comeback. Meyler has impressed. Quinn is extremely underrated. Hendrick is one of the most highly rated players in the Championship. McCarthy just completed a 13m transfer. Gibson will be back by next September. Whelan has....... over 50 caps.

Crowley is way too young to make a decision and his heart is with England. McLaughlin may be receptive to a call up to the U-21's but sadly we have to walk on tip toes and have to wait for these players to come to us and not the other way around, regardless of whether we are entitled to. Then, said player has to make the decision of whether the inevitable death threats and anthrax packages are worth it.

As for Grealish, the lad is perfectly satisfied where he is. He doesn't have to make a decision of who he has to play for. He, England and Ireland; no-one knows if he is up to International standard yet. My interpretation of things is that he would ultimately like to play for England, in which case we could see a protracted, bureaucratic chase a la Pilkington.

I don't think there should be any choice involved in what country you play for. You should want to play for the country you identify with. If you play for England, nobody will hold it against you. There are plenty of English Ex/International footballers who are proud of their Irish roots. The country you play football for is no indicator of national pride. I think the reasons for declaring are often motivated by things other than sentiment.

[Charlie Darwin]

Who is McLaughlin?

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Who is McLaughlin?

Ryan McLaughlin. He is on loan at Barnsley from Liverpool.

[Charlie Darwin]

Ah right, sorry, had a bit of a blank there.

[Paddy Garcia]

The country you play football for is no indicator of national pride.

Can't agree with that - for most countries it is THE indicator - I do though agree this is a reasonable conclusion watching Ireland over the last few years.

Are you a supporter who has come on board in the Stan or Trap era? If so were you previously expressing your national pride by supporting a different country?

[youngirish]

In my opinion, it would be ridiculous calling him up to the senior squad. He's an 18 year old playing for a team engulfed in a relegation battle in League 1.

It would make more sense to call up Eunan O'Kane.

And then you have McCarthy, Gibson, Hendrick, Meyler, Quinn, Whelan, Hoolahan, Reid, Ireland, McCann, Murray and Arter playing more consistently at a higher level.

I'm not a believer in handing out call ups to people to curry favour with them, which will lead to giving them playing time in friendlies, which will lead to giving him playing time in competitive matches.

Frankly, I don't think he should be called up simply for O'Neill and Keane to take a look at him in training. There are better ways for them to spend their time, limited as it is, with players who have a justified and reasonable chance of contending for squad places in September.

The bottom line is he is probably satisfied where he is, playing for the U-21's, because he is clearly unsure where his long-term future lies.

I agree. I'm against the capping of young players that qualify for multiple associations to simply tie them to us. Of course if they are truly an outstanding talent then you can make an exception. I'm thinking of Joseph Lapira here.

[Stuttgart88]

The FAI seem to be doing all the right things from a soft HR management perspective. Grealish was very clear in that interview. Just giving a player a token competitive cap runs risks. The player probably isn't stupid and would see ithe call up as a cynical gesture. It'd even run the risk of a no-show with the player's club or agent pulling he strings. The last thing we need is another McCarthy saga.

The FAI should continue to stay close to the player and maybe Keane or O'Neill should seek him out for a word of encouragement. He should be called up when ready.

Of course, O'Neill and Keane being successful in the qualifiers would help a lot.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

http://www.nottinghampost.com/Leigh-Curtis-column-Jack-Grealish-getting-right/story-20648389-detail/story.html

Complimentary article on Grealish.

[DeLorean]

8'
Goal! Notts County 1, Shrewsbury Town 0. Jack Grealish (Notts County) right footed shot from very close range to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Kieran Freeman with a cross.

12'
Penalty Notts County. Jack Grealish draws a foul in the penalty area.
Goal! Notts County 2, Shrewsbury Town 0. Alan Sheehan (Notts County) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the high centre of the goal.

They ended up losing 3-2 after having a man sent off at 2-1.

[Stuttgart88]

Noel King very positive about Grealish and said he was on MON's radar for a senior call up for the Serbia game

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/king-tips-villa-starlet-grealish-for-bright-future-260141.html

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Jack's brother is a regular poster on VillaTalk (not sure it's in his brother's best interests but none of my business).

Couple of points of interest..

Jack playing for England "at this moment in time is a non-starter".
Ireland is "the foreseeable plan".
It would be an honour to play for his "International club".

[tetsujin1979]

he posts from time to time on ybig.ie as well

[Fixer82]

Jack's brother is a regular poster on VillaTalk (not sure it's in his brother's best interests but none of my business).

Couple of points of interest..

Jack playing for England "at this moment in time is a non-starter".
Ireland is "the foreseeable plan".
It would be an honour to play for his "International club".

What does that mean?

[Stuttgart88]

he posts from time to time on ybig.ie as well
He must be a real fan.

[tricky_colour]

Just been reading up a bit about Jack, and what I read was rather disturbing.



The Aston Villa winger, 17, declared for Ireland three years ago but was offered the chance by the English FA earlier this year to switch to his homeland.

Ireland lost promising Manchester United defender Michael Keane to England in similar circumstances last year.

Their approach to Birmingham-born Grealish came after the winger didn’t get a minute of action for Ireland’s Under-19’s last October in three Uefa first-phase qualifiers.


I am not sure of the full details of this but it seems we have lost some one our best prospects to England and risk losing more
because of inept management? May be I am misunderstand what 'similar circumstances' means, but it sounds like Micheal Keane
was also left out of the team, I could be wrong on that though.

And why was Grealish left out? Presumably we have better prospects, if so who are they?

[Charlie Darwin]

Why is it inept management not to give preferential treatment to a player based on his international eligibility? Grealish is in the U21s now and is getting his game. If he goes to England, it's because he wants to, not because some manager didn't pass over another player to make him feel special. Quite frankly, if a player is that fickle, he's not likely to be much of an asset. We've had enough Stephen Irelands.

[samhaydenjr]

Just been reading up a bit about Jack, and what I read was rather disturbing.




I am not sure of the full details of this but it seems we have lost some one our best prospects to England and risk losing more
because of inept management? May be I am misunderstand what 'similar circumstances' means, but it sounds like Micheal Keane
was also left out of the team, I could be wrong on that though.

And why was Grealish left out? Presumably we have better prospects, if so who are they?


He was promoted to the U-21 squad in August so he wouldn't have been playing for the u-19s in October of last year. Although the article you quote refers to him as 17, when he is actually 18 - so I think it may be an old-ish article that was referring to the October 2012 U-19 qualifiers - he was an unused sub for all those games, but he had just turned 17, so it was probably his age at that point. Obviously he has developed very quickly since then and the FAI have, in fairness, seem to have recognised this and moved him up to within sight of the senior squad - it appears that approach from England has been declined and Grealish is still an Ireland player so there appears to be no real cause worry at this point.

[tricky_colour]

Why is it inept management not to give preferential treatment to a player based on his international eligibility? Grealish is in the U21s now and is getting his game. If he goes to England, it's because he wants to, not because some manager didn't pass over another player to make him feel special. Quite frankly, if a player is that fickle, he's not likely to be much of an asset. We've had enough Stephen Irelands.


It just is, who but a mad man would risk losing one of your best prospects?

It's perhaps closer to the truth that we create our own Stephen Irelands.

Seems to me we are creating the want by treating players badly.

It is not a case of preferential treatment, it is a case of not going out of your way to **** players off.

That is one area in which the Irish management seem to excel!!

Perhaps Trap has been giving them advice in that area becasue he seemed to be a master of the art!!!


He was promoted to the U-21 squad in August so he wouldn't have been playing for the u-19s in October of last year. Although the article you quote refers to him as 17, when he is actually 18 - so I think it may be an old-ish article that was referring to the October 2012 U-19 qualifiers - he was an unused sub for all those games, but he had just turned 17, so it was probably his age at that point. Obviously he has developed very quickly since then and the FAI have, in fairness, seem to have recognised this and moved him up to within sight of the senior squad - it appears that approach from England has been declined and Grealish is still an Ireland player so there appears to be no real cause worry at this point.

Why is it England are far more aware then Ireland are?

They were well aware him being sidelined created an opportunity to appoach him but the Irish management seem clueless.

I looked at some of the player who played when he was on the bench, some don't have a thread on here, one has 3 posts in his!

Jack has nearly 300!!

[geysir]

Tricky, are you working yourself into another frenzy? I sense some troubled times lie ahead, perhaps a rash of argumentative and pointless threads?

[Charlie Darwin]

It just is, who but a mad man would risk losing one of your best prospects?

It's perhaps closer to the truth that we create our own Stephen Irelands.

Seems to me we are creating the want by treating players badly.

It is not a case of preferential treatment, it is a case of not going out of your way to **** players off.

That is one area in which the Irish management seem to excel!!

Perhaps Trap has been giving them advice in that area becasue he seemed to be a master of the art!!!



Why is it England are far more aware then Ireland are?

They were well aware him being sidelined created an opportunity to appoach him but the Irish management seem clueless.

I looked at some of the player who played when he was on the bench, some don't have a thread on here, one has 3 posts in his!

Jack has nearly 300!!
Is Ireland the only country where being a substitute is seen as some sort of personal insult/

England aren't more aware than us. Grealish plays for Ireland England belatedly deciding they'd like him too does not make them cleverer than us.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

I'm not playing for the fackin' country to sit on the fackin' bench. I'm Jack Grealish innit? Play me or fack off! :p

[tricky_colour]

Is Ireland the only country where being a substitute is seen as some sort of personal insult/

England aren't more aware than us. Grealish plays for Ireland England belatedly deciding they'd like him too does not make them cleverer than us.

They would have looked petty clever if he had taken up their offer, and we would have looked pretty stupid.

[Razors left peg]

He seems happy to be linking up with the under 21s this week judging by his twitter account.... https://twitter.com/JackGrealish1/status/440426074863075328/photo/1

Patrick Bamford very happy to be in the England U21 squad judging by his account...https://twitter.com/Patrick_Bamford

I dont think theres a hope in hell of either lad changing allegiances

[Charlie Darwin]

Grealish not ruling out a return to England: http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/indemand-grealish-on-fast-track-to-senior-call-30075664.html

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Disgraceful and people can dress it up any way they want but that's what it is imo.

[CraftyToePoke]

Disgraceful and people can dress it up any way they want but that's what it is imo.

Do you mean what he has said there is disgraceful ?

[paul_oshea]

I feared for this I think mentioning in an earlier post. In one sense the way he keeps flirting with England its as though he wants to get pushed up the highest echelon as quickly as possible. He comes across as somewhat as a mercenary - playing u21s is better than playing u19s. The talk could be just that but it seems he wants to get to the top or play at the highest level as quickly as possible. Cap him against georgia take the decision out of his hands.

[IsMiseSean]

https://twitter.com/JackGrealish1/status/442669165087035392

Relax everyone :D

[Charlie Darwin]

His own words in the interview clearly state that he's open to changing.

[Stuttgart88]

I don't see how it's disgraceful that a guy born and bred in England to parents born and bred in England doesn't categorically rule out playing for England. I think we're doing the right thing by showing him attention and making him feel appreciated. As he said himself, he's only 18 and keeping his options open. The next "right thing" to do will be to include him in the end of season squad and for O'Neill to become more influential.

I think we're lucky to have a good chance of having him play senior football for us and my best guess is it's a lot more than an evens chance he'll stay with us. Unfortunately the rules mean we'll have to wait until September at the very earliest to find out.

[DannyInvincible]

Grealish not ruling out a return to England: http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/indemand-grealish-on-fast-track-to-senior-call-30075664.html

A return? He's never represented England at any level, as far as I know. He's played for us from under-15 level right up to under-21 level.


Disgraceful and people can dress it up any way they want but that's what it is imo.

What's disgraceful exactly?

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

From reading a lot of Jack and Kevan's own words, I would agree with Paul's intepretation.

The lad has been given a chance through every age group with us when England had higher profile alternatives. He seems to have chosen to play for Ireland - for the time being - as he has said himself several times, simply because we are offering U-21 football which is significantly higher profile than what England were forthright in offering.

He shouldn't be molly coddled and made to feel loved or special any more than any other member of that U-21 squad. Our dealings with the lad shouldn't be constantly undermined and under the shadow of him switching allegiances to an other country.

If he wants to play for England, that's his prerogative. Nobody will judge him. Just don't come crawling back at age 25 when you are not getting picked for England. But enough of this sitting on the fence and making daft comments like this.

He has been treated well. He shouldn't be called up for end of season friendlies or capped in a competitive game because we are scared of losing him. I heard that tosh when Terry Dixon was being hyped. It's ridiculous.

[Charlie Darwin]

A return? He's never represented England at any level, as far as I know. He's played for us from under-15 level right up to under-21 level.
He was involved with the U16s but never played.

[Stuttgart88]

I think the FAI would be negligent if they didn't show him some special attention, which isn't the same as saying he should be mollycoddled. I also think some of the other u21s should be in the summer squad, those earmarked as being most likely to be knocking on the door as the campaign progresses.

[Olé Olé]

Sometimes it's hard to interpret his words, I feel.

"It's hard to say what's going to happen because I'm only 18, aren't I? For the next couple of years, I want to play for Ireland. That's not saying I'm going to go back to England – just that you never know what's going to happen."

If he had said, "that's not to say I'm not going to go back to England", then that sentence would read differently. As it stands, he states that he's not going back to England but things can change. When it comes to allegiances, I'm not sure what things can change- Do you want to play for Ireland or England? Is it that clear cut? Probably not. Still though, he entertains the question a small bit too much for my liking.

By my reckoning, because he's young and playing in League One, I don't think he'll get the call before the season's end. On the other hand, if, come August/September, he's making appearances at Villa, he then becomes young and playing in the Premier League- which means he automatically comes onto the senior squads radar, such is the nature of our pool of players.

Anyways, I'm sure MON is shrewd enough to deal with this. It is MON after all. He'll ascertain if the kid wants to play senior football for us. If he doesnt, well good luck and thanks, Jack. It's up to the players he deprived of the opportunity to start for Ireland to show that they deserved to play all along and not just fall off the radar and sit on the couch watching England in the WC with Jack on the wing stating that "if it weren't for him, I'd have started for Ireland under-age."

[SkStu]

He can do whatever he likes, just like the northern born players who switch sides to us. Who are we to judge? Allegiance is a pretty big grey area for English born and bred Irish prospects. Just hope that he sticks with us.