{"id":557161,"date":"2020-07-09T04:33:17","date_gmt":"2020-07-09T08:33:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonfootball.com\/?p=557161"},"modified":"2020-07-09T04:53:23","modified_gmt":"2020-07-09T08:53:23","slug":"how-do-aston-villa-solve-the-jack-grealish-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2020\/07\/09\/how-do-aston-villa-solve-the-jack-grealish-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do Aston Villa Solve the Jack Grealish Problem?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zero goals and zero assists. Aston Villa\u2019s<\/a> captain, Jack Grealish, hasn\u2019t had the best of restarts since the Premier League resumed. Villa\u2019s seemingly slow descent back to Championship football has not been halted by their star man chipping goals and dragging his team forwards. If anything, his performances have been a far cry to the man who catapulted Villa to promotion this time last year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Solving the Jack Grealish Problem at Aston Villa<\/h2>\n

Lacking in Attack Recently<\/h3>\n

\u201cThe final third is the bit that\u2019s just missing at the moment,\u201d Dean Smith said to Match of the Day following his side\u2019s 2-0 defeat to champions Liverpool.<\/a> Surely, if Grealish was at his mercurial best, this wouldn\u2019t be the case? After all, attack has not been Villa\u2019s issue all season, it\u2019s their defensive record that has seen them unable to climb the table.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Grealish has been moved back into the middle, instead of on the left wing where Smith played him much of the season. He now operates behind the striker, Keinan Davis<\/a> or Ally Samatta, and fans thought this would get Grealish more involved in the game, but the opposite has been true with both of Villa\u2019s goals coming from set pieces.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moving to Manchester?<\/h3>\n

Reports from the <\/span>Sunday Express’<\/span><\/a> Neil Fissler indicate that Grealish has already plotted his move away from Villa Park and found a home in the North West \u2014 with Manchester United<\/a> his new club \u2014 which could explain his dip in form. His head simply isn\u2019t at Villa Park anymore, but instead fantasizing about the Theatre of Dreams. United are currently flying high, scoring an average of 2.8 goals per game and failing to win only once. Bruno Fernades has continued his sparkling form, Paul Pogba<\/a> looks every inch the midfielder United paid for and the front three of Marcus Rashford<\/a>, Mason Greenwood<\/a> and Anthony Martial<\/a> are deadlier than ever. Which begs the question: where would Grealish fit in?<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s true that he has some of the best stats in the league for chances created. He has created 80 chances, second only to Kevin De Bruyne<\/a>\u2019s 101, a fact which he was very happy to <\/span>share<\/span><\/a> when he came under attack from Graeme Souness following Villa\u2019s performance against Liverpool. But Fernandes, who plays in Grealish\u2019s favoured role, has only played for half the time and is already racking up the assists for United.<\/span><\/p>\n

Running Out of Games<\/h3>\n

Micah Richards<\/a>, who was relegated with Aston Villa in 2015, said on Match of the Day 2 that Villa \u201ccan get out of this [relegation], especially when they\u2019ve got a player like Jack Grealish. He didn\u2019t have the best of games today but he can make the difference.\u201d But can he? Whether this speculation is true or not, Villa\u2019s talisman has been anything but in recent weeks. With only five games, and Watford<\/a> now a gaping four points clear, Villa are running out of time for their star man to get firing. It seems unthinkable, but could the best move for Villa be to bench Grealish? In part to rest him after such a congested run of games but also to get used to life without their star man and pull together as a team.<\/span><\/p>\n

More than a few times this season Villa players have been guilty of just passing the ball to Grealish and hoping he can do something. More often than not he has delivered, particularly with a sensational strike against United at Old Trafford. The trouble is, teams know that and so mark him out the game. He drops deep to get the ball and then is ineffectual, which Smith himself has remarked on multiple times. Grealish is then frustrated, perhaps thinking of a future without Villa in it and most importantly not scoring.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If Villa were to drop Grealish, John McGinn<\/a> could step into his role having made it his own for Scotland. Marvellous Nakamba and Douglas Luiz<\/a>, who has been sensational for Villa since the restart, could hold the midfield with Smith able to pick from Jota, Trezeguet and Anwar El Ghazi<\/a> on the wings. Without him Villa fans may say they\u2019ll be unable to score, but it\u2019s not as if they\u2019ve been scoring with him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It might be worth a roll of the dice and, who knows, from the bench he might just score.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Main Photo<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>