Why Jack Grealish is Perfect for Pep Guardiola
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 9. 05. 2024
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Jack Grealish has been a polarising figure at Manchester City. Many don't believe that he has lived up to the ÂŁ100 million transfer from Aston Villa, with a poor return in terms of goal contributions since joining.
However. the England international's underlying numbers have been much stronger than his assists and goals would lead you to believe. Jon Mackenzie is here to explain just why Grealish is a perfect fit for Pep Guardiola and his philosophy.
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i think a really underrated part of grealishâs game is how much he draws fouls and attention from the opposition, like that champions league game against atlĂ©tico last season, it seemed like when grealish came on atlĂ©tico stopped focusing on trying to win and just started fouling grealish for the rest of the game, gave city so much control of that match.
A team like city don't look for fouls to create a lot of set pieces, they actually want to play football. Grealish only slows that down. You only have 3 players or less to aim at if you're crossing a ball to be headed
other men *have* to look at Jack and touch him when they see him it's like magical attractionđŻmight as well exploit that quality
I've never understood why getting fouls is seen as a positive thing unless you're running the clock down near the end or you're in a corner with nowhere to go, it just kills the momentum of attacks
@@lesliekay2097 my point isnât the awarded fouls itâs that he shifts the oppositions attention on fouling him whenever theyâre near him sometimes, like in that atlĂ©tico game whenever it was on his side of the pitch instead of doing something useful they would just foul him, it helps when weâre closing out a game and he comes on and keeps possession and gets fouls. and grealish doesnât just slow our game down lol heâs good, just hasnât been too fortunate w his numbers.
@@lesliekay2097 Respectfully, City had 21 goals from set-pieces / corners last year. That's huge number. Adding Haaland should only increase that as a threat.
Donât know if you guys could look at Ederson and how he compares to the likes of Alison and other goalkeepers. A lot of people have attacked Ederson because of his save percentage, at least compared to other top class goalkeepers, and yet he has kept a lot clean sheets. Obviously, all the data has to be taken in context, Iâd like to hear what you guys make of Edersonâs abilities and stats compared to other top goalkeepers.
Mate, even Ake looks better at City, he was bought for 40M. The ball rarely comes to the back, they counter press quickly & get the ball back, since City hog the ball a lot, so u have 60% of the game, + the time it goes to outs & all that, then you have the fact that they counter press very quickly + the depth they have. Add all this up & the ball barely sees the back line except for a counter situation. There are fewer traditional things a GK has to do in the city's system. Ederson is amazing with his feet, apart from that he does just enough to get by
@@EverydayOrdeals That is why I would like them to do a video. So that they can clear up shallow and foolish analysis like yours. City have the ball because their pressing formation, or do you think Man City plays with 9 players who do all the work and 2 passengers who are just standing there waiting for the game to end.
@@EverydayOrdeals They did not let Ake go for a reason. Ake understands the system and provide proper passing option for modfield. This reason alone makes him valuable, its hard to find smart defenders.
@@footballheritage942 His point is that Clean Sheets is a stupid stat. A good enough team can carry a keeper to several clean sheets if he rarely has to save any shots on target. Clean sheets isn't just a metric for the keeper, it also demonstrates how well the outfield players are organised when giving up possession or are pressed on a counter, or just how good they are at retaining possession and spend more time pressing forward which obviously relieves a lot of defensive pressure.
Doesn't take a genius to work out the less chances a team are allowed to get, the more likely it is a keeper will keep a clean sheet.
@@shaunhutchinson4707 ExactĂĄ.
I think a video about Manchester Cityâs defensive style would be very interesting.
I think they already made 2 or 3 videos about it but I support your claim none the less
high possession numbers tend to over inflate defensive stats
@@ektran4205 it doesn't over inflate them, it's a clever way to minimise your opponents chances. It's the same result with a different approach. Pep wants to 'defend with the ball' that's why he loves players like grealish and Rodri who are totally press resistant and recycle the ball. David Silva was the best ever for this.
@@ektran4205 stay mad
The best form of defense is attack
Nice to finally see some balance on Grealish in the media. Everything City do is a collective effort, it's not about one player breaking through a defence or producing something out of nothing. He does a lot of good for the team otherwise he wouldn't get picked to start.
Goals and assists tell a very limited story. How many times would Iniesta skip past three or four players, open up the defence, lay on a perfect pass for someone else to make the final 'assist' pass for the scorer? No assist or goal credited to Iniesta, but it was he who made the goal. Grealish has the potential to do something similar... to create chaos and space for others to benefit from. He just needs to do it whilst maintaining his tactical duties. I'm sure he is learning very quickly under Pep.
Comparing Grealish to Iniesta is offensive
@@vic19tor What???
When Grealish came I was very critical of him, but as he played I was surprised by the amount of flak he kept getting even though he played well. Incredible dude, hope he stays until the end of his contract at Man City.
Sad he wants to leave at next season.
@@muthurafahmed9752 itâs all bs rumours. Jack will likely retire with us just like stones and the other English players. Thereâs no better English team to be at for them
@@fader1912 Unless he goes back to Villa when he's older
Glad to see a video on this. People often forget that G/A tallies are influenced far more by the players role, how direct and close to the goal they will be playing, than their own ability. Particularly in a Pep system
Such a good assessment. I wasn't sure what his contribution was exactly but Pep likes him and this makes sense as to why
Knowing Pep, Jack won't be playing that much if he isn't doing exactly what Pep wants from him
One of the best tifo irl video. Great work
I wish the official stats also included secondary assists. Usually the player who sprung the counter attack or got the ball to the person in the dangerous position to allow the defense splitting pass.
The hockey assist, yea I agree alot of the time the last 2 people get the credit for the goal (assister and goalscorer) but the person that broke up play and got the ball in position to score is often forgotten
Dan James đ€Ł... perfect moment to show some love to your team John!
I like that, Grealish' extremely disciplined width for City does make Cancelo better giving JC attacking space inside
Jesus Christ?
This is an excellent video. Incredibly well-written and clearly presented. Great work, Jon and co.
Heâs so calm with the ball and he crates space and time for others.
Jon as always great video. Incredible amount of information presented in a clear concise way. Most importantly though you've reminded me how amazing the classic Oregon State logo was.
Your analysts are on par with those working for the big 4 consulting firms! Insane quality and very well presented. Kudos to your team đ
This aged tremendously after the Manchester derby, weâll see how it goes on to age
Itâs mad how often this happens, player is potentially overrated but either way almost everyone agrees heâs a very good player, player then gets a big move or more attention and then proceeds to get absolutely slated by about 50% of fans saying heâs awful, truth is heâs still a very good player he just gets used very differently by pep, their wingers never have scored loads of goals like they do at Liverpool, people just donât have a clue unfortunately.
Incredible analysis, this is some of the most detailed football content out there
Having watched (and admired) him at Aston Villa, I've felt he'd be a better fit at a club like Dortmund or Real Madrid, where his creativity would be less... constrained
true he needs more freedom because thats what he excels in
Great work Jon, fantastic video and insights!
Big ups for the Oregon State shirt with the old logo
really impressive players like Vinicius Junior, Ousmane Dembele, Rafael Leao... Dan James đŹ
Anyone watching this post treble? Wow, this analysis is so good. Tifo guys rock!
Due to his 100 million price tag jack will always be judged on his goals+assists no matter what angle you look at
true. bc people don't know how to evaluate players.
people are so daft they can't even come up with the thought that if City was so desperate for goals, they probably would not have spent those 100m on a player who scored 14 goals in his previous two season. But they did. And they played him a lot. And the team scored the most goals in Europe. Sounds like _something_ went right.
6 months later you was correct. Grealish has been fantastic this season. His become such a important player for city. Great content .
Please explain the Oregon State shirt Jon
Great analysis, thanks Jon :)
Grealish needs to be let off the positional leash to allow his flair and skill to thrive and to turn touches to assists and goals. Pep asks him to dwell in particular positions, rather like a set chess opening. This inhibits Jack's influence on the game. Look at Grealish for England vs Germany when he came on.
This makes a lot of sense Tjanks Tifo
Nice OSU shirt, shout out from Oregon, USA!!
thank you for this video , its so hard to explain this to non city fans . i feel like people should learn about tactics more than just judge players based on goals and assists .
Most people only repeat whatever journalists said, and journalists are not football coaches, just look at stats and have an opinion.
he is overhated ...... that too by rival fans .....city fans love him â„
8:17 I think the increased chances from the right hand side of the pitch might have to do with KDB's positioning as well, as we see him time and time again in the right half space and sometimes right flank trying to curl balls to the back post for Haaland or a late runner into the box (mainly Gundogan)
"He's ahead of really impressive players... Dan James" đ€Łđ€Łđ€Łđ€Ł
Vinicious Junior, Dembele and Leao đ€Łđ€Łđ€Łđ€Ł
Even Dan James better than grealish
Nice analysis.
Can u do a video on rashford as a 9 this season. I get the impression that his instructions are very different from the classic no 9 e.g. haaland.
I sense that he tries to drag defenders out of possession. I.e. his off the ball duties have increased with him playing through center.
Fantastic analysis man
And here we are on the third week of June, CITEHH won their treble-with Super Jackâs vital role in securing the line for his teammates. đ đ đ
What a great video!
not all players need to have high goals/assists or tackles/interceptions to be vital to a team's success.. great vid!
Always annoyed me how the average football fan (and alarmingly some pundits on tv) look at football stats of players like:
âYou werenât the one who passed the ball for the assist, youâre rubbishâ
Such lazy analysis đđ€Šđœââïž
He is useful for Pep but in longer term given the media pressure he suffers. That is the out of the tactics picture that is about human nature. He has to be given a little more freedom to boost the confidence up. Personally I wish to see the free Grealish in the midfield rather than the outball on the left.
@FriedIcecreamIsAReality Pep already say in his interview. The only thing he demand from his player is for them to stick to their space and don't occupied other position unless the one who occupied that space switch with you. Its a simple 5 lane football that was not made by Pep but by Johan Cryuff and that is one of the rules that is required to play at City.
And no, Pep appreciate them a lot and he give a lot of leniency to some of the players. Especially Sterling where he still kept playing him when he still has a bad form for almost half of the season. When he stop using him, Sterling become agitated and demand play time and that was when the relationship broke.
As for Gabby. It is not Pep fault that Gabby played down the wing. After world cup, he asked for a change of position to the wing because during world cup, he failed to score even 1 goal and it make his confidence fell. Since then, Pep use him as a winger more and at that time, City use other player who ain't a winger to play as a striker. But last season, he opt to play as a striker again and his form increase and his confidence also increase. But comes January, his rise of form and confidence comes too late because at that time, City already finished negotiation with Alvarez and semi completed Haaland negotiation. I heard from people ITK that Haaland negotiation has been complete before February. And from then, Gabby don't have much choice and he then leave to Arsenal.
Excellent video!
Your theory proved last night
Great video
Grealish is a one man creative outlet, but he needs more of the ball to do so. I think Pep has to let him make mistakes for him to thrive if that makes sense
allowing him to make more mistakes means City are more vulnerable to counter attacks from his side due to City more narrow structure. Jack is at his best just like he plays vs Wolves. He attacks the fullback and made runs while retaining the ball. And he clearly can do that based on the stats in the video
@@ammarbaagu he stays too out wide for him to impact the game as well as he can imo
@@conquistadorechocolate1127 Who would you rather give freedom to? Grealish or KDB? Until other city players can produce as KDB and Silva, they will always be rotational players.
@@nafiswazed8722 He's giving freedom to Cancelo in 2 ways. First, he hold the ball to make it safer for cancelo to come forward. Second, he holds his width to give Cancelo space. It would also work for KDB and Silva, but both of them prefer to drift right.
@@nafiswazed8722 kdb all day
Can not wait to see your analysis for harry maguire next.
Loving the old school OSU shirt
Grealish at Villa was always better than his "underlying numbers". If we scored, you could guarantee he either scored, assisted or played the pass before the assist which opened everything up. And he did it by putting the fear of God into almost every right back he came up against, because he was so good with the ball at his feet.
Pep doesn't want him to run with the ball, which is why he LOOKS so much worse than he did at Villa.
Pep does give the ball to Mahrez and B.Silva when they play as rw. Jack never stays wide for some reason. He drifts for some reason.
@@pumelelabanca1442 I think itâs because heâs not super two footed or fast so he prefers playing more inside than on the wing
jack grealish pr team working overtime
Nah, more like you just have a hate boner for him.
Man city pr team more like, shameful club
They even make their players change their idols when they join cos their idols were united players đđđđswear city is like a cult đđđ
Love the OSU shirt!
Is it possible to see something on West Ham? We challenged for Europe for two seasons, then all of a sudden we cannot click together. As well with very few tactical changes that make the Hammers predictable. I will say it may be because of our new signings having to adjust as well but still it feels like a horrid start to a long season.
Not a bad word said about our little bull Jarrod, mindđź
How often do you think the tifo team draw genitals on the tactics board? I wonder if you just get the one when your hired and then never again or perhaps it's more of a daily thing.
âheâs in front of really impressive playersâŠ. dan jamesâ đđ really snuck him in
Tifo: produces well argued video with statistical backing
Comments: lol Grealish is actually bad haha use ur eyes bro.
The football community has a long way to go in understanding analysis.
Its this new generation who watch match highlights and goal clips from tiktok and think they can actually understand players through that . who just can not wrap their head around anything beyond HIGH G/A = good player low G/A = bad player
So why is grealish not happy with getting goals and assists himself? Its a load of bollocks đđđđ
not everyone can do analysis fro data. its originally used by colleges and scientists, of course majority of the people wont really know what they mean.
At villa he liked to get the ball on the ring in the half way like and dribble in towards the centre. At City last year it crowded out the centre and reduced width in the left. This year he's much more discipline positionally and give and goes quicker. He's looking like a pep player now
Brilliant analysis. This guy should be a pundit. Explains Peps system perfectly
Sky aren't interested in telling you how football actually works
GREAT VIDEO 5STARssssss
In fairness I don't think he's worse than he was at villa. I just don't like his playing style much at all. People think he should be a make stuff happen guy but he slows everything down. I'm sure it's useful in specific scenarios but I just think that means he's a utility player like John o shea or Dirk kuyt. By all means good but not exactly Henry
Slowing the game down is sometimes really helpful for City to gain and regain control of certain moments in games which is crucial for how Pep wants his players to move the opposition and find spaces between the lines
@@ralphngwalla yeah I think a lot of what grealish did at villa is covered or unnecessary at city. Mind I do not like him for England either. Find he's a bit of a black hole on the ball when he comes on. Rolling the ball along the edge of the area and then getting hacked down or turn around and pass back
@@yoshooie6512 Good thing you aren't City manager though.
@@Kaisar9000 no but I am good friends with him hang on I'll get him.
Hi it's me pep guardiola, I'm good friends with yoshooie and they have incredible footballing insight
@@yoshooie6512 I love grealish for England as he passes the ball around the outside of the box which allows people to find a pass into the box and Is the one player who almost never loses it
JG is one of the best creative and exciting players in the league and now his spark is being doused. Although heâs doing a good job for Pep itâs a real shame that he went to City, he used to be one of my favourite players to watch
Jack grealish does, what david silva used to. Hold the possession and slow the tempo.
To me Grealish has gone from strength to strength each year. Finally a video that proves all the nay waters wrong.
It's not all about goals and assists, kids. It's about the result at 90 minutes!
Actually most people know that Grealish is the perfect player for Guardiola⊠the problem isnât the style of play or abilities of the player⊠itâs his output
This vid aged like fine wine
I go to OSU! Love the shirt, but I have so many questions.
Keeps the ball and moves forward, then lays it off to a more direct attacker.
Doesn't score, doesn't assist.
Good for Pep and City, but a waste of his individual potential.
He'll get money and silverware at City, but little individual acclaim.
I was looking forward to a relationship analysis, but this was nice tooâŠ
the fic pairing absolutely nobody wants
100M for small microscopic runs, that every player will do in the same position is absolute stupidity. Paying 100M for something so small is the reason we have extreme inflation in the market today.
Spot on. Literally any winger in the Prem could perform Grealish's role with (arguably) the world's best LB behind him and best CM next to him.
â@@nipplehead Btw I'm not saying that Grealish is bad. If Grealish was bought by Liverpool, I wouldn't have had this problem bc that team can use all his abilities well + add more on top of them. But in the pep's system, every guy does the exact same thing. The same side rotations, same cut back from CM to LW to switch positions, same cutbacks, same runs from the outside of the box, same runs from midfield, same pass to the cm, same pass to the winger, same lofted post to the back post, same cut back in the box. Even the long-range shots look revised & absolutely robotic, only the goal from Kompany looked anything but all of these.
And such a small details r the reason city left united way a head
@@yogeshwarvishwanath4678 They were way past United before this 100M transfer, in-fact they have regressed.
Or maybe it was Barcelona tripling back for Dembele, Coutinho, and Griezmann for 9 figure transfers years before this? đ€·ââïž How people
still blame Man City for inflation is blatant ignorance
Very impressive
Someone send this video to Souness
Grealish be like "Wha'?! That's awesome, mate!" upon watching this.
I don't know if Jack can be a starter but as a rotation choice he is doing great
Here's what boggles me. Why would one play 100M for playing someone in such a limited way? He isn't 22, He's 27. Every player in his system does the same side rotations with the CM, LW, and LB/CM. I can understand if Liverpool buys a guy for this, but when every guy in his system plays the exact same way, why would one spend 100M for the same rotation, same cut back, same lofted pass, same back post lofted cross ? Help me understand.
ÂŁ100 million rotation player
@@EverydayOrdeals So our dear Pep need a finisher on the wings (remember, this is before the arrival of Erling Monstrous Haaland). Jack has the bravery and the finishing skills suitable for Pep due to his time being Villa's carry so Boom! 100 million. Unfortunately Jack is not adjusted to the City system yet so he is just a rotation right now
@@EverydayOrdeals Jack grealish fits into registration better, and is far better for marketing reasons than an unknown youngster from a different country. Plus, he's used to the level of competition in the Premier league, and on his day is a damn good player while being happy to sit on the bench. There's not another player in world football that fits all of those categories.
@@EverydayOrdeals My guess is what Pep is doing is fine tuning his squad to get the best out of everything he wants. He has direct players in Foden, Haaland and Alvarez. He also has players good at slowing things down like Mahrez and now Grealish. He doesn't seem to go in the market anymore as a long term strategy because I think he likes his options. He is lucky enough to review his team performances, analyze what he wants to add variety to his tactics and spend a lot of money going to get it just because he can.
It's the kind of decision that only a manager extremely confident about his job security, has the resources and the squad depth to not care even if his experiment goes wrong. It's outrageous for us because no manager ever gets that luxury so we see the spending as unreasonable.
And then G.souness attacks him for hugging the ball now knowing jack about how city play and then questions grealish even when he says he's doing all the gaffer wants
I tried telling people attacking Grealish that he had great numbers last season.
I think grealish is hampered by the fact that he's not playing with a true Left back. One who can exploit the with and make crosses into the box from the left. Joao Cancelo is doing a great job but he's better at right back and he doesn't allow grealish to cut inside and create havoc. The brought in Sergio Gomez as alternative for Cucurela but clearly he's not ready.
That's why City wanted Cucurella. Biggest loser from that not happening (apart from Cucurella himself) was Grealish. Consigned to another season of suffering with Cancelo at LB, completely stifling Jack's play.
EtH my brotha take notes might help us on Sundayđđđ
Sometimes, numbers don't tell the full story.
I miss David Silva. Pep would have loved a 25y.o David Silva, alongside Rodri and KDB omg.
Nice OSU shirt!
Oregon State????
Is it time to call bluff on xG or xA? there have been instances where players consistently either overperform or underperform it, and it doesn't 'level out'? or will these inconsistencies be used to improve the model?
Vast majority of players will conform with their underlying expected numbers, the outliers are a small minority and these players are exceptional as a result. Son will always overperform his xG, and this makes him a cheat code in that he will always score more than he should. Until he physically declines this wonât change.
if a player is consistently overperforming their xg they are really good at shooting, if they're consistently underperforming their xg they're wasteful. Created xg and xa are markings of how creative a player is, which is much more reliable than actual assists
You use the xG and xA as a baseline to understand how good a player truly is at shooting/finishing. Consistantly coring well above your xG means you are a great finisher. xG is an average of all the data.
With statistics, you need a very large sample space--sometimes, infinity--to get the true values. Personally, I would rather watch a game with my own two eyes than rely on stats.
@@edwardking9359 If they're consistently underperforming or overperforming, it means that the stat should be based more on the individual than on a large database. If Son keeps scoring 25 goals from 20 xG, then the model is wrong for him.
Giroud for France in the 2018 world cup. Simply there for his role in the team and not g/a.
John you might be wrong!
He is perfect because he makes up their english quota while being satisfied to sit on the bench and play a minor role. And when he gets the chance he is not shite.
Thank you like wtf are they on about
Are you mad?? He always starts for city
Nice!
no wonder Arsenal is rumored to link with Grealish. This is exactly how Arsenal plays
as someone said there are 3 types of lies, lies, damn lies and statistics he was a big fish in a small pond at Villa now he is a cog in a machine. He is not affecting games maybe thats because Pep doesnt want him to but if you are what you say you are then you still do it as well. In all honesty City was the wrong move for him as its all about the system and individual brilliance is limited to the final 3rd with Pep so his strengths of picking up the ball deep and running at people has been clipped now and it shows
Apt, he isnât affecting games because heâs not been good enough. Of course Pep wonât criticise him in public but the fact is youâll shine if youâre good enough.
Imo Jack thrives when he is up against it, which means he's ideal for a struggling low-midtable Prem side. The lad is best in crisis mode, when it's acceptable to throw everything on the table and just gun it because what else do you have to lose? The City experiment has show us that he either can't play safe tactical games on the front foot, or doesn't want to. Don't know why he's like that---adrenaline junkie? Hero/saviour complex? Or he needs stakes and drama because he was raised on Gaelic football?
@@pendafen7405 kinda similiar to maguire. in a big team they struggle but for middle to top half team they can be outstanding
He may be a good captain like Henderson
not saying he isnât good rn but his potential is being wasted. pep isnât using him the best way, grealish is not a touchline winger. heâs best when he operates in the half spaces but he rarely gets to do that at city. he should be moved to lcm or just be played with a left back that can overlap and hold width
Spot on đŻ
Props for pronouncing JoĂŁo Cancelo correctly! Great video
Reminder that Jack wasn't fit for half of the season when he got 6G 10A at Villa. We'd have finished top 10 and he'd have had even better stats if he hadn't contracted HIV of the shins.
Superb video, it will age well when Grealish starts to get higher numbers, and everything clicks for him at City.
It felt like I was watching an Arsenal Pro version
can someone show this video to all the pundits "Graeme Souness"
how was Saka not in that list he showed at the start? So strange
OREGON STATE REPRESENT
I would love to see Pep play Jack on the right side
Super jack đ€đœ
imagine if they had Messi instead of Jack....
Same player according to the Aston Villa goalie đ
Messi was not that good at keeping possession and, even less, tracking down to defend. That is why Guardiola ended up playing him as a false 9, rather than a winger or midfielder. He was integral to that team because someone had to risk losing the ball and who better than the best of his time.
@@elr492 what are you saying? Messi was 100% better than both Eto and Henry at ball retention. Pep played messi as a false nine because he was so good at that. He could drop off from the center backs and join the midfield. Also Messi only started not defending in 2013.
@@pumelelabanca1442 there is a famous video where Guardiola explains why Messi does not run all the game and instead walks the pitch. Looking around. Messi was not that good at defending and placing defensive burdens on him was counterproductive. This happened way before 2013. Only at the very very start of his career he ran back and he was subbed when he tired, which is a waste. A player who does not run cannot actively press all game. If he is a winger, you need to find a way to solve the issue of the other team's LB. If he plays as a false 9, not so much. The CB probably wont attack you much. So changing Messi's position had both offensive and defensive reasons. The same thing has been tried in Argentina NT. In 2018 Messi was moved to the center with two wingers at his side because Sampaoli wanted someone to track back the LB and RB (it did not work).
@@elr492 Go watch rewatch Pep's Barca and see how much pressing they did. Look at who was leading that press. Messi was pressing and working hard as a false 9. Messi only started walking aroung in 2013 when he started vomiting on the field. Before then he was pressing like everyone else.
Moving messi to false 9 was a tactical choice that helped with ball retention and adding numbers in midfield. Not because he was not good at ball retention or had low work rate like you have stated. As if messi was ever worse on the ball than either eto, henry, pedro or david villa.