http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyo8nsiUVjM
Jack Grealish is one of the most exciting prospects for Aston Villa and this season may just be his biggest breakthrough yet. Having made a 45 minute appearance against Arsenal on the weekend under unfortunate circumstances, he seemed alive and injected fresh air into Villa park feeding the crowds ever growing opinion, but is it time to give Grealish a starting role? Let us have a look…
Grealish has made 3 appearances so far this season,
Stoke – 19 minutes (on for N’Zogbia)
Pass Accuracy | Aerials Won | Touches | Tackles |
100% | 100% | 12 | 1 |
Hull City – 15 minutes (on for Richardson)
Pass Accuracy | Aerials Won | Touches | Tackles |
33% | NA | 9 | NA |
Arsenal – 45 minutes (On for Wiemann)
Pass Accuracy | Aerials Won | Touches | Tackles |
100% | NA | 23 | NA |
His accuracy during the Hull City game may have been lacking but he has looked comfortable and inspiring every time he has stepped onto the pitch. Grealish doesn’t fear getting forward or tracking back, he has a lot of energy and reads play well with his mind set on attacking and making chances. This was evident against Arsenal when he was always expecting the ball to come back to his feet when he was near the box, but it continued to find its way wide to Cissokho, that is a different story however.
What is stopping Grealish from getting a starting role? I have been wondering about Lamberts choice of selection and have stumbled more and more when ever I see Richardson play. The results have been going our way for most part of the season, but that doesn’t mean we can’t work on the player selections to make it better right? So let’s take a quick look at Richardson’s performances this season in the same games.
Stoke – 90 minutes (Central role)
Pass Accuracy | Aerials Won | Touches | Tackles |
59% | NA | 31 | 1 |
Hull City – 75 minutes (Right wing, replaced by Grealish)
Pass Accuracy | Aerials Won | Touches | Shots | Tackles | Assists |
71% | 100% | 37 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Arsenal – 77 Minutes (Left wing, replaced by N’Zogbia)
Pass Accuracy | Aerials Won | Touches | Tackles |
53% | NA | 22 | 1 |
It is clear that Richardsons best game was when he was playing on the right wing, struggling to link play or even see much of the ball in other positions. Grealish touched the ball 23 times in a 45 minute window with 100% accuracy passing, compare that to Richardson’s 22 touches in 77 minutes and achieving just over 50% accuracy with passing. Statistics do not lie, and to give Richardson the benefit of the doubt, his best game so far was against Liverpool in the 0:1 win where he played the full game on the left wing with 31 touches and 81% pass completition. It was also in this game when I thought he wasn’t right to be on the field. The balls he did give away tended to be on the break where he over hit, under hit which broke the counter leading to another Liverpool skirmish. He seemed uneasy in the role, and when I look at his play compared to Grealish, it is an obvious choice for me. Come this Saturday, I would like to see Grealish start over Richardson.
UPDATED 23.09.14 -12:30pm
To give us all a little bit more encouragement and excitement for Mr Grealish, he has spoken to the BirminghamMail and said the following
My contract runs out at the end of the season but my eyes are on remaining at Villa
And for all those feeling negative about this weekends result to Arsenal, a quote from Jack Grealish via twitter.
Gutted about the result, was such a tough game to come on in to.. Definitely take 10 points out of 15 though! Support was great throughout😊
— Jack Grealish (@JackGrealish) September 20, 2014
For all those who have access, it would be great if you could share/ retweet this post. Keep the faith. UTV.