6 months ago
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It is almost 12 months since Jack Grealish stood at the front of the Manchester City bus in the pouring rain, arms out, top off, taking in the adulation of the fans who turned out to hail their Treble-winning heroes.
Grealish was the star of the show, taking to the microphone as he stood with his team-mates on stage to admit he hadn’t slept for 24 hours, in the gap between conquering Europe in Istanbul and getting soaked in front of thousands in Manchester.
It was entertaining to see Kalvin Phillips pour liquid from a bottle straight into his mouth, Gazza-style, as the party began.
Grealish had earned this frivolity.
As City closed in on a historic Treble, the 28-year-old, who became the most expensive player in English football history when City signed him from Aston Villa for £100m in 2021, had played a central role.
He had started the crucial Premier League game against Arsenal on 28 April, played every minute as City destroyed Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final, 89 out of 90 minutes in the FA Cup final success against Manchester United and finally, the entire match as City beat Inter Milan to lift the Champions League for the first time.
Grealish was at the top of his game, justifying City's spend on him and why coaches at Manchester United had wanted the England international themselves.
Grealish was centre stage in another City parade last month, almost tripping up at the front of the bus, which could have had disastrous consequences.
Yet somehow, it doesn’t seem quite so amusing - not now that Grealish has missed out on selection for the Euros, to the benefit of West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen and young trio Cole Palmer, Anthony Gordon and Eberechi Eze.
It is possibly no surprise - if City boss Pep Guardiola wasn’t picking Grealish, why should England manager Gareth Southgate?
Grealish featured for 10 minutes for City in May against Wolves, when he came on with his team already 4-1 up.
He remained on the bench as City beat Tottenham and West Ham to become the first team in England to win the title in four successive seasons and, when Guardiola needed someone to try to turn the FA Cup final around at Wembley, the attacking players he brought on were Jeremy Doku and Julian Alvarez. Grealish got no further than a warm-up.
“Devastated” was Southgate’s assessment of how Grealish was when he gave him the bad news.
“Gutted” was long-time team-mate and close friend Declan Rice’s view.
Rice sensed something was wrong when he saw Grealish on the phone as he was getting treatment.
“He told me over lunch he had been left out,” the Arsenal midfielder told BBC Radio 5 Live. “I am gutted. We are best friends. He is like a brother, someone you sit with every day, go in the hot tub with and now they are gone.”
Southgate didn’t want to go into a detailed assessment of what has gone wrong for Grealish this season, stating firmly "it wouldn’t be fair" to talk about the bigger picture.
But two aspects did shine through. Firstly, he sensed the shock his choice would create.
“It is a tough call. You go over and over and over to try to be sure,” he said.
“You deliberate and ask all the questions. We could have gone a different route. All players believe they should be in, that is why they are top players. They are big characters and it is sad to have to deliver the news.”
But in the brutal world of football management, Grealish’s massive transfer fee and 36 caps counts for nothing.
“Other players had a stronger end to the season,” Southgate added.
The big question for Grealish is: what happens now?
With three goals and one assist, his Premier League output this season was minimal compared to the corresponding figures of five and seven in 2022-23.
The fear factor for defenders when Grealish has the ball is not there right now. At his best, Grealish holds his wide position and then attacks opponents by showing them the ball, offering just enough encouragement to lure them into a tackle.
Then he either ghosts past them or goes over. Grealish has the ability to be one of the most dangerous players in England.
But that devastating talent has not been seen often enough this year.
He has a contract to 2027 but his lack of recent game time has raised suggestions Guardiola might be willing to sell if the right offer comes in.
Chelsea, Tottenham and his old club Aston Villa – buoyed by qualification for the Champions League - have been mentioned but the costs involved would be huge and the financial realities created by the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules do not make it an easy deal for buyer or seller.
Questioned about Grealish after the FA Cup final, Guardiola said: “Jack struggled this season but he will be back. I’m pretty sure of that.”
These are uncertain times at Manchester City, with Guardiola’s future beyond the end of the next campaign uncertain.
But it is fair to assume in the interim, his seemingly insatiable desire for perfection will remain and only the highest standards will do.
So, Grealish finds himself at a crossroads.
It is similar, in a way, to another brilliant former Aston Villa player who liked a laugh and left to become a key figure in a Treble-winning team.
Without Dwight Yorke, Manchester United would not have achieved what they did in 1999. But Yorke didn’t have the focus needed to go again and again at the very highest level.
He featured in three successive title wins but part-way through his fourth season, he was sold and spent the rest of his time in England at Blackburn, Birmingham and Sunderland.
Now he is remembered as much for stories about what happened off the field as what he did on it.
There is nothing wrong with that. Not everyone has the mindset required to win seven or eight times, when three or four are more than most can even dream of and there is a life to live.
But when the devastation and any anger have subsided, Grealish can go one of two ways.
The challenge has been laid down by Eze, Gordon and Palmer. The warnings have effectively been issued by Guardiola and Southgate.
Only he knows whether he has the desire and capability to meet the challenge.
