Michael Bridges has admitted that Manchester City superstar Jack Grealish gets on his nerves every time he tunes in to watch him play.
The pundit made his feelings clear on why it must be frustrating for a striker to play alongside Grealish on The Optus Sport Football Podcast as well.
Ironically, Pep Guardiola said that the 28-year-old has been in excellent form recently.
Michael Bridges says watching Jack Grealish “irritates the hell” out of him
Since Jeremy Doku’s arrival at the Etihad Stadium this summer, many have pinpointed the contrast between the two wingers.
While Grealish retains the ball better than most, Doku is almost the complete opposite, establishing himself as one of the most devastating dribblers in Europe this season.
Michael Bridges has now explained why watching Manchester City attacker Jack Grealish frustrates him nowadays.
“I’m not going to take anything away from Grealish but Jack Grealish irritates the hell out of me these days because all he ever seems to do is go back and give the ball back to the left-back”, Bridges said on The Optus Sport Football Podcast.
He added, “I can imagine being a striker in the box. ‘Wait, is he going to cross it? Oh no, he’s going to go back to the left-back. Is he going to cross it? No, he’s going to go into Rodri.’ This guy, with Doku, you know he’s going to create you chances, he’s going to take on defenders, left and right and you’ve got to be ready for the opportunity inside the box.”
Jack Grealish picks his moments is all
Ultimately, what Michael Bridges perhaps has not gathered while watching Jack Grealish is his role in this Manchester City side.
Last season, especially, it seemed like both wingers in Grealish and Bernardo Silva were tasked to provide control, technical security and relentless defensive workrate.
The directness and responsibility to create chances stemmed from the attacking midfield pairing of Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan.
In this campaign, however, Jeremy Doku seems to have been given a license to run the Sky Blues’ attacks singlehandedly.
As a result, Jack Grealish picks his moments when it comes to drifting inside and having a more aggressive approach going forward.
The Englishman’s exceptional display in the Manchester Derby at Old Trafford in October is the perfect example of him adapting to the system as well as the personnel’s requirements.
If Grealish was given the license to wreak havoc that Doku does seem to get to an extent, he too would look like the most influential attacker on the pitch.
