THE contrast was clear as day at the end of the Carabao Cup final.
Manchester City teenager Phil Foden was crowned man of the match following a breakthrough performance.
Phil Foden enjoyed a brilliant Carabao Cup final but is still getting relatively few chances for Man City this seasonCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Jack Grealish has been out in front so often this season that he should go to the Euros with EnglandCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Aston Villa skipper Jack Grealish slumped on the turf, frustrated at his inability to take a showpiece occasion by the scruff of the neck.
Should Gareth Southgate be tempted to thrust a previously-uncapped bolter into his England plans for Euro 2020, Foden would get the nod purely on the basis of that one-off head-to-head.
There will be a buzz around Foden for England now and rightly so after he made such a wide-ranging impression at Wembley.
Here is a richly-talented product of the FA’s pathway who had been waiting patiently for this true coming-of-age display.
Grealish, five years older at 24, was a teenage sensation himself.
And the FA fought hard to persuade him to ditch the Republic of Ireland and switch to England at Under-21 level.
But for some time, Grealish became better known for his use of a hippy-crack balloon.
There has certainly been something of the hedonistic hell-raiser about Grealish.
Grealish was assaulted on the pitch by a Birmingham fan and responded with the winner… He has thrived on captaining a major club
In the 1970s, when footballers earned far less money, they smiled and called them mavericks and wondered why Stan Bowles, Alan Hudson, Tony Currie & Co didn’t get more chances for England.
During these high-earning, less-forgiving times, football’s free spirits tend to get labelled as multi-millionaire wasters.
Anyway, over the past 12 months Grealish — the man in the miniature shinpads — has matured.
He took over as Villa captain a year ago and inspired a club-record run of ten straight victories, skippering his side to a play-off triumph and establishing himself as a Premier League match-winner.
Grealish was assaulted on the pitch by a Birmingham fan and responded by scoring the winner to settle a tempestuous derby.
He has clearly thrived on the responsibility of captaining a major club.
And if Villa survive in the top flight, he will have done more than anyone to preserve their safety.
Manchester United are now seriously interested and despite his boyhood Villa allegiances, Grealish may be on his way this summer.
As a former Villa skipper, Southgate will appreciate the status of Grealish’s role — and the England manager has never been obsessed with selecting only players from clubs at the top end of the table.
Despite Wembley agony, Jack Grealish finally seems to have shaken off past problems away from the fieldCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Chelsea midfielders Ross Barkley and Mason Mount are also vying for the England role of midfield creatorCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Southgate — who was at Everton against United while his No 2 Steve Holland took in Sunday’s final — will also appreciate it is far easier to influence a game when your side have 71 per cent of possession, as Foden’s City did, rather than the 29 per cent of Villa.
It might not be a straightforward case of either Grealish or Foden for Southgate. The pair have many of the same attributes but there are also differences.
Grealish has settled on the left of a front three, where he cuts in on his favoured right foot, although he can operate at No 10 or as a deeper midfielder.
Foden prefers to play as a No 10 — don’t they all? — but he shone in a wide-right position on Sunday and can also play deeper, where boss Pep Guardiola believes he can succeed David Silva.
UNLIKELY BOTH FODEN AND GREALISH WILL GO
Yet Southgate has options in the three positions supporting the main striker — Dele Alli, Mason Mount, James Maddison and his favourite, Ross Barkley.
Then there are pacier, more natural wide players such as Raheem Sterling and Jadon Sancho, as well as Marcus Rashford.
So it is highly unlikely both Grealish and Foden will make the Euros squad.
Grealish, with more than 200 games and the proven ability to inspire a struggling team, should not be considered a wildcard.
Were Foden to get the nod — with only five Prem starts to date — Southgate would be gambling on potential.
Phil Foden was named Carabao Cup man of the match but over the season so Jack Grealish has impressed enough to earn the nod for Euro 2020
It would be pleasing if Guardiola rewarded Foden’s Wembley display with a run of starts.
After all, City’s league campaign is dead as they can neither catch Liverpool nor fail to qualify for the Champions League, if their two-year ban appeal succeeds.
Unless Foden is given the chance to light it up between now and May, Grealish should gatecrash the summer’s big football party.
Because, for now, a Grealish v Foden dilemma is a case of man against boy.
LOV CAN’T CONQUER
DESPITE their extraordinary hammering at Watford, Liverpool remain on target to achieve historic levels of greatness this season.
They should still beat Manchester City’s 2017-18 Premier League points record of 100 and, should they achieve knockout victories over Chelsea and Atletico Madrid in the next eight days, they will have an eye on emulating Manchester United’s 1998-99 Treble.
But Arsenal’s 2003-04 side were Invincibles because they didn’t have a glaring weak link.
As Saturday’s events at Watford proved, you cannot be invincible if you have to employ Dejan Lovren too often.
And it’s also true that you only fully appreciate Jordan Henderson’s leadership qualities when the Liverpool skipper is absent.
One thing Liverpool’s shock 3-0 loss at Watford showed was how important Jordan Henderson’s energy and leadership areCredit: PA:Empics Sport
CITY BUILD SO TOUGH
AS usual there was much amusement about empty seats when Manchester City failed to sell out their 35,121 allocation for the Carabao Cup final — falling short by about 500.
Yet City have been to Wembley 16 times in the last decade and those unsold tickets cost more than £100.
OK, so City do not have the vast global fanbase of Liverpool or Manchester United. Historically, they are not a bigger club than Aston Villa.
But the empty seats are closely related to the Financial Fair Play situation — how does a club achieve significant expansion when there are so many artificial restrictions placed upon them?
NOW ‘MOUR’ NICE GUYS
JOSE MOURINHO claimed his Tottenham team are ‘too nice’ after Wolves inflicted their third straight defeat.
Yet largely the same group of players certainly weren’t too nice under Mauricio Pochettino — they were aggressive, hard-working and proactive.
Under Mourinho, Spurs are often too defensive and passive.
And it seems Mourinho is no longer even the most influential Portuguese Jorge Mendes client in Premier League management — that accolade now rests with Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo.
FLOP AND TOP GEA
DAVID DE GEA is still described by Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the best goalkeeper in the world.
And, yeah, he might well be — so long as you overlook the Spaniard’s tendency to chuck one in his own net roughly once a month.
IT’S HALL TOO MUCH
THE Premier League Hall of Fame will spark debate over who should get in.
But the only argument to be had is do we need a Premier League Hall of Fame, so we can pretend football began in 1992, when there’s already an English Football Hall of Fame at the National Football Museum?
‘RIDGE TOO FAR
AS injuries trouble England, it was sad to see Daniel Sturridge banned for a betting breach and his deal with Trabzonspor terminated.
Sturridge, 30, was one of the most gifted of his generation. Partly his own doing, he may never fulfil his promise.
Man City kitman Brandon Ashton celebrates in traditional style after Carabao Cup win
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
