Jack Grealish was in the wrong. He missed multiple training sessions, he breached club discipline, and he was unavailable for 4 games, 3 of which were absolutely key for Everton.
He let the club down; he let his team-mates down; he let David Moyes and Angus Kinnear and the rest of Everton’s leadership down. He let the fans down, badly, and he, ultimately, as clichéd as it sounds, he let himself down, too.
But now, Jack’s back.
He made a return to individual training late last week, prior to Everton’s 3-1 win over Coventry City. The 31-year-old then re-joined team training this week and, on Thursday, he featured in a behind-closed-doors friendly — or ‘bounce game’ — against Derby County. Everton won 4-1. Christian Nørgaard also featured, and scored, as he aims to build up to match fitness.
Grealish will almost certainly have been fined heavily for his misdemeanour(s), and even though we can’t know what is going on in his private life, we can say that right now he needs to get a grip of himself and make sure this doesn’t happen again.
He’s at a crossroads. Not just in his Everton career, but his career as a whole. He has only just turned 31, he still has so much to offer. He still has more quality than many other players in Everton’s squad, and he can still be the difference-maker the Toffees need.
But this is his last chance. It has to be.
In the eyes of many fans, Everton should already have cut ties. But frankly, it was just never realistic. It is also an emotive reaction to what has to be a cold decision.
For one, Manchester City are unlikely to have had any requirement to agree to the cancellation of the loan. Secondly, Everton will already have put a sizeable fee down to cover a certain amount of Grealish’s wages. Thirdly, Moyes just doesn’t have the squad depth available to him to be cutting his nose off to spite his face.
On Thursday evening, Grealish finally spoke publicly for the first time in weeks, posting on social media.
“Nice to be back out there with the boys today after a good few days training!” Grealish wrote.
“I want to apologise to the fans and (sic) everyone at the Club for not being able to help the team the last few weeks. I love playing for this Club and can’t wait to be back playing in front of you guys in an Everton shirt. See you all soon.”
Actions, of course, talk louder than words.
The first step was for Grealish to get back in the building at Finch Farm. Check. The next one, was for him to train fully. Check. Then, it was about getting him back onto the pitch. Check.
Now, he has apologised, and now, it’s time for everyone to move forward. Because moving forward is the only option here.
Assuming Everton don’t lose anybody to injury, Grealish should not be straight back into the team against Brentford on November 23rd. He must be on the bench, and available to come on if required, whether that’s to try and get a goal or to hold out for a positive result. There is definitely a role for him in the short term, and then, as the fixtures pile up, we will hopefully see him integrated back into the XI when required.
And that’s now on Moyes, too. He has to realise this doesn’t have to be the Grealish show. Tyrique George has earned his place on the left wing on merit.
George will have his ups and downs — he gets a free pass from fans in some cases because of his youth, but he has a long way to go. However, we know how much dynamism and flair he has, and if Grealish does eventually come back into the line-up, then George should, in this writer’s view, be the first-choice right winger.
It’s also about other players — and the manager — realising that they can take more responsibility. Not everything has to go through Grealish.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, for example, must carry on as Everton’s main man. He has picked up the slack in Grealish’s absence, and Grealish owes him big time. He owes all his team-mates big time, and those players owe it to themselves to keep on showing they are more than capable.
Everton must also continue to play with pace. The idea that Grealish can’t do that is, again in this writer’s view, wide of the mark. However, if Everton direct all the play his way, then Premier League defences are too switched on; they will simply double up and force it all to slow down.
Grealish has a long road back, but there is a road back. He’s started on the journey and must now show the desire and intensity to prove he has a future, whether that’s at Everton, or just in the game as a whole.
Now, let’s all move forward.