Jack Grealish could not have played in any of the teams I did at Liverpool. The way he plays, it would not have been accepted.
He takes too many touches and does not see the picture early enough - he slows the team down. Put it this way, I can understand why Pep Guardiola is picking Jeremy Doku ahead of him for Manchester City.
Grealish has become very predictable. He takes his full-back down the line before checking inside and playing it square. There is no threat, no end-product. He has not scored in his last 30 appearances for club and country and has only two assists this season, so there you go. He’s a forward!
Ask 10 full-backs if they’d rather play against Doku or Grealish, and I think it would be Grealish every time. Defenders don’t like pace and players who are direct. The way it is today, you dangle a leg and that’s a penalty. Grealish isn’t showing any intent to get by defenders.
He is, for me, at a crossroads in his City career. Doku is 21 years old and is only going to improve. Jack is 28. He needs to have a close look at himself. He should be in his pomp. Between 26 and 30 you have the knowledge, you’re physically and mentally stronger. He will not be getting any better. This should be his time.
So, if I was him, I would be very concerned. I’d be sitting in front of the manager and asking him, ‘How do you see it for me? I’ve won all these trophies with you but the new guy is the go-to player in my position.’
With the Euros coming up, and World Cup beyond that, he cannot afford to be sitting on the bench as a bit-part player. Only he can decide if he’s happy to be that. It’s not something I would have tolerated. I wanted to start every game and I did, if I was fit.
But my criticism of Grealish has always been the same, and it comes back to the time he spends on the ball. I thought he was the same at Aston Villa, by the way. I don’t go along with the idea that Guardiola has coached the individuality out of him. He plays the same for England, too.
My football education was all about taking as few touches as you possibly could and being accurate with your passing. What that basically meant was, if you’re taking all those touches, you’re not seeing things as quickly as a top player does.
The whole game is based on getting the ball to the guys who score the goals as quickly and as accurately as possible. They are the people in the team who matter most, because they put the ball in the net. They need time and space. The longer you spend on the ball, the more it denies them that. I still believe my education was right then, is right today and will be right in 100 years’ time.
No coach would tell a player to linger on the ball like Grealish does, and that is why he’s found himself out of the team. They paid £55m for Doku, a little over half of the £100m they paid for Grealish. That shows you the premium there is on Premier League players. There are no bargains to be had in England, they are overvalued.
And if you’re City, spending £100m, it’s not for a squad player. It’s for someone who gets in the strongest XI and makes a difference in every game they play. Jack is not that, and I’m not sure he ever will be.
