Too much too soon for Jack Grealish

Aston Villa youngster Jack Grealish has been sent to train with the Villa development squad and will miss Saturday’s crucial clash with Watford

The sports media in Britain tend to have a habit of over-hyping any young British football player that plays more than one game for a Premier League club.

There is a long list of players who have fallen by the wayside after being labelled the next big thing.

One of the most recent examples of British media hyping-up is young Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish.

He played a few games for Villa and showed some skill and intelligence on the ball, which is more than can be said about many of his teammates.

Suddenly he was hailed as the next big rising English star. England and the Republic of Ireland were fighting to secure his allegiance for their national team. At the moment he would be lucky to be cleaning the England or Ireland shirts, let alone be wearing one.

Too much too soon

I hate to make a sweeping generalisation of young British footballers, but Jack Grealish is a typical example of what happens when a young kid is handed too much money, too much attention and too much admiration.

Grealish will not be in Aston Villa’s squad this weekend to face Watford. Grealish was forced to train with the development squad after reportedly partying on Saturday and Sunday night.

His social excursions came after the Villans were hammered 4-0 at Everton on Saturday at Goodison Park. It is fair to say that his boss did not take too kindly to his behaviour. Garde’s decision to demote Grealish to the junior ranks should be applauded.

It is not the first time that Grealish’s off-the-pitch adventures have got him in trouble. During the summer Grealish was pictured past-out in a Tenerife gutter while on holiday. He was also fined for inhaling nitrous oxide in a hotel room earlier this year.

Still has a lot to learn

Jack Grealish is just 20-years-old, but has to realise he cannot do what other people his age do, as he is regarded as a room model like it or not. As his boss stated after the game it is simply not professional to act like he has done so far in his career.

The youngster has a lot to learn, both on and off the pitch. Granted Grealish does seem to have a bit of potential, but in most of the big European countries he would not be considered anything out of the norm.

If the youngster was Spanish, Italian or German, there would not have been such hype surrounding him, or his football ability.

In truth Grealish has been poor for much of the current campaign and maybe that is because he is acting like a big time Charlie off the pitch. Maybe football has taken a back seat to being a rich kid who can do whatever he wants.

Grealish has made nine appearances in the Premier League and contributed just one goal for Villa. With creativity sparse in that Villa midfield everybody is looking to the youngster to do that something different to help the Villans win games.

Maybe the unfair weight of expectation on his shoulders is the reason he has not produced, but something has not been right for the youngster this season. Whether he is only 20 or not he should trying hard on the pitch and not concentrating on the high-life off it.

Will he fulfil supposed potential?

So many young English players have crashed into the Premier League looking like the next big thing, yet have endured poor careers because they have been handed everything on a plate and had their every need taken care of.

In truth, Jack Grealish may have decent potential, but if he keeps behaving in the manner he is currently, then he will end up plying his trade in the lower leagues, or even worse falling out the game altogether. That may sound harsh it has happened before and will happen again.

His supposed potential will be left unfulfilled and the British press will be the first ones to knock him down after building him up.

Hopefully Grealish will learn from these recent events, work hard and starting performing for Villa, because right now the Villans need all the help they can get.

Can Jack Grealish fulfil his supposed potential?