Why Grealish and Gabby Need To Take A Long Hard Look At Themselves

Jack Grealish and Gabriel Agbonlahor. Two players who at the moment are out of favour in a big way - with management and with fans alike.

Gabby especially seems to have every single fan against him right now. His days at the club seem numbered and the rumours are that we are keen on shifting his huge wage off the books. Grealish, due to his glimpses of undoubted talent and young age is being afforded a gentler ride but the frustration with him is certainly prevalent.

But these are two players who should not be in anywhere near the positions they find themselves in.

Because these two players are Aston Villa supporters. They could, and should, be absolute heroes for this club.

The absolutely infuriating things about it all is that they ether don’t realise that, or even more worryingly, just don’t care enough.

It makes it so much worse that they are supporters of the club. Because they are both completely lacking in the absolute basic requirements right now - workrate, attitude and effort.

It’s hard to completely judge things, as we’re not in their position. No one knows the ins and outs of things that may or may not be going on. However, what I do know is that if I had the chance to represent the club that I had supported as a boy and be on that pitch, the very least that I would do is put in 90 minutes of hard graft and would give my absolute all. And I don’t think a single Villa fan would disagree with that.

I can also bring Joleon Lescott and Micah Richards into this - we should be so lucky to have a team with four boyhood Villa fans in the side.

Yet, for all Richards’ mistakes this season, I cannot fault his effort at least. His passion has been clear to see from the start of the season and I do believe it is genuine from him. I still believe playing him at right back would be good for us, but this is for another time.

After a less than impressive start, Lescott has been looking more and more assured. While I find it hard to see him as a true Villa fan (remember his reaction when he scored in the last minute for Everton against us - y’know, when Ashley Young then mugged him off to win the game for us 3-2!) there should be some connection within him to want to see this club do well and I don’t think he is particularly failing us in any way right now.

My real problem here lies with Agbonlahor. Yet my concerns lie mostly with Grealish and that he could follow suit.

Agbonlahor should be so much more revered amongst fans. It’s a shame it has gotten to this point with supporters wanting him gone from the club. But it is entirely down to himself. I don’t like to use the ‘look at how much he earns’ as a sole argument to beat a player down with. But you definitely can’t help but think that earning around £60k a week has made Gabby so comfortable that it has affected his game and attitude.

I’ve always thought of him as more athlete rather than a footballer. His finishing has never been great and I would never feel comfortable backing him in a one-on-one situation. Yet, that explosive pace was so important in creating chances for the team and for himself. A willing runner at the least, he frightened the life out of defenders. There is no doubt that he has lost the edge of this raw speed with age and bulking up too much, but he is still much quicker than most other players.

But we have seen less and less from Gabby over the last few years. The game against Spurs at White Hart Lane back in December has become well known for the stat that he touched the ball just 8 times in the first half and two of those were from kick offs. Hauled off in that game at half time, apparently through injury which may explain this poor effort, he has yet to be seen since. But even if injury played it’s part on that occasion, the general consensus is that the player is too comfortable. Certainly, as a striker, he is not contributing enough in the way of goals and just doesn’t seem to get himself involved in games. A questionable workrate now engulfs him, and those electric runs in behind defences are so few and far between over the last few seasons. After presumably becoming financially set for life, just what is Gabby’s motivation at this point? It should be a love of playing for Aston Villa and wanting to give everything to our cause. But that certainly isn’t coming across and hasn’t done for what feels like a long time.

Whilst it may be too late for Agbonlahor, the concern is that Grealish’s attitude will see his potential unfulfilled and simply becoming another promising academy prospect falling by the wayside. A languid style of football is his manner, but despite what some people may think or have even told him, he isn’t good enough for the talent he possesses alone to see him through. He needs to work hard and get himself involved in games and make things happen. His off pitch antics are worrying, and there seems to be a petulance within him which hopefully can be eradicated. If Tim Sherwood was the fun big brother leading him astray and letting him do what he wants, Remi Garde is certainly the strict father trying to instill the discipline that will ultimately determine how successful he’ll be.

Grealish should not be in this position at this stage in his career. If his enthusiasm and respect for playing for his beloved boyhood club is already on the wane already then he is in big trouble. A young kid can have his head turned, and having thousands of pounds a week flooding into your bank account can understandably have a crazy effect on you. I can only imagine what I would’ve been like at that age with that sort of wealth. But seeing Villa cut adrift at the bottom of the table should break his heart still and provoke the realisation that he is in an incredibly fortunate position where he could at least try to have some affect on the situation. How many times have you felt like you wish you were on that pitch and could just have a go at putting in some real effort for Aston Villa. Why is this not happening with Grealish and Agbonlahor?

I get infuriated with lack of effort and movement from players like Rudy Gestede, Charles N’Zogbia, etc...but at the end of the day, they are not tied to this club emotionally, so I don’t have the expectation of things to affect them or care what state the club is in. I hope they are professional enough for it to bother them when they see the fans suffering as we have this season, but in reality it doesn’t really affect the vast majority of players.

However, it should matter to Grealish and Agbonlahor. They both have enough talent and attributes to make a difference to this side. But the very least they should contribute is a game full of effort and passion.

Oh, and to go over to the fans at the end of each game, especially away from Villa Park, no matter the result.

With Agbonlahor rumoured to be in contention to feature in the F.A Cup 4th round tie with Manchester City this weekend, it will be interesting to see if his recent lay off has ultimately had a positive effect and a desire returns.

I just wonder how much being within a professional football environment can remove that natural love for the game that you grow up with. Does the lifestyle it affords change those priorities and passions?

I just wish that all our boyhood fans who are lucky enough to make it as a player for Villa appreciated it as much as Ian Taylor did. It should be the ultimate dream after all.