Garry Thompson: Aston Villa must get Jack Grealish firing
Club hero Garry Thompson claims Villa must get more out of Jack Grealish if they are to beat the drop.
Villa, still mired in the Premier League’s bottom three, travel to champions Liverpool on Sunday and former striker Thompson reckons boss Dean Smith needs to find a way to get Grealish more involved.
He said: “There was a big clamour for Villa to play two strikers but for me that was never the issue.
“It is all about finding a system which gets their best player more involved and on the ball as much as possible. They need to move the ball quicker and get it to Grealish quicker as he is the biggest attacking threat.”
Villa have scored just twice in four matches since the restart with neither Keinan Davis or Mbwana Samatta, their two senior strikers, finding the net.
The trip to Liverpool, who are yet to drop a point at Anfield this season, is followed by a home match against fifth-placed Manchester United next Thursday. Thompson said: “If they can take anything from either of these next two matches it would be a huge bonus. They are big underdogs in both.
“You look at the league table and it is still very tight. The good thing for Villa is that Bournemouth and Watford are also struggling to pick up points so it is a long way from over.”
