Michael Owen tells Aston Villa fans to hang their heads in shame after booing Jack Grealish during the game against Man City.
Owen took to social media to highlight Grealish’s significant contribution to Aston Villa, noting that he came through the club’s academy, supported the team throughout his life, and played a pivotal role in bringing Villa back to the Premier League.
He criticised the fans for not showing the same loyalty that Grealish had demonstrated to the club, urging those who booed to feel ashamed of their actions.
Owen’s comments were made in the context of a match where Grealish returned to Villa Park, and despite his history with the club, faced negative reactions from some supporters, with the footballer showing three-fingers towards those who goaded him.
Jack Grealish held up three fingers to the Aston Villa fans at full-time.
He’s won a treble and three Premier League titles since leaving the club. š pic.twitter.com/ITBlchVGL1
ā Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 21, 2024
Emi Martinez saying to Jack Grealish āyou think youāre a big boy now huhā as they walked down the tunnel at Villa Parkā¦ pic.twitter.com/8MgiPUPC8T
ā george (@StokeyyG2) December 23, 2024
Michael Owen said via Twitter: I often hear or see things in football that makes my blood boil. Most people will probably feel the same at some point or other. I guess thatās quite natural when you care passionately about something, or in my case, when itās something that has consumed your entire life.
The current capitulation of reigning champions Manchester City is enough of a story to fill back pages and jam radio stations up and down the country. But there was another story at Villa Park yesterday that genuinely left me feeling sick to the bottom of my stomach.
Of course, tarring a set of people with the same brush is not something Iām into. Iāve lived a life whereby myself and my teammates have been stereotyped and itās pretty annoying. There will always be kind, honest, generous, respectful, caring people in all walks of life just as there will always be nasty, jealous, spiteful, bitter people too. Your job or where youāre from doesnāt necessarily make you fall into a certain category.
But to those Villa fans who booed Jack Grealish yesterday, you fall into the second category and should hang your heads in shame.
Here is a lad that came through YOUR academy. Supported The Villa all his life and no doubt still does. He single-handedly dragged YOUR team back into the Premier League when you were bang average at best. He kept you up and in hindsight, showed you ten times more loyalty than you are now showing him. He was hardly ever injured and delivered Man Of The Match performances on a regular basis. He cost you nothing, gave you incredible service and made YOUR club over Ā£100m when he left.
I donāt know Jack; Iāve interviewed him a couple of times and thatās as far as it goes. I also donāt generally stick up for footballers purely because I was one myself. But Jackās story is as near to perfect as it gets:
He joined his local club and rose through the ranks from a six year old boy to Club captain. He has played over 200 games for the club and has stamped his mark as one of the best players to ever wear the famous claret and blue shirt. After gaining promotion and as club captain, he undoubtedly did more than his fair share of turning his team into a respectable and established Premier League side which arguably formed the foundations for how the club is viewed today. He then moved to one of the worldās best teams, one that has won absolutely everything and will go down in history as one of the greatest teams ever to set foot onto a football pitch. Who knows what will come next but Jack could retire tomorrow and will have had a career most footballers can only dream of.
Iāve said it many times but Iāll say it again. Footballers are generally fans before they sign their first professional contract and when they retire they become fans once again. In between itās a job!
Fans who donāt ever become footballers can happily declare their undying love for any particular team and thatās absolutely great.
Footballers on the other hand, have a limited time in the game and clearly want to be as successful as possible in that short time between first and last contracts.
Itās impossible for 99% of players to stay with their team throughout their careers because if they are good players the best teams will want to sign them and if theyāre not good players theyāll be shown the exit door pretty swiftly.
When fans see their team going through a bad run, they all clamour for the club to buy new players. When a new player is signed, do fans of the new club call them Judas and boo them for leaving what could easily have been their boyhood club? Of course not; they sing their name and welcome them with open arms.
Why then is it so different when itās the other way around?
In Jackās case he is and always will be very proud of where he comes from and so it must be heartbreaking for him to have to endure the mindless and pathetic booing that he had to listen to yesterday.
Jack Grealish 1 of 2:
I often hear or see things in football that makes my blood boil. Most people will probably feel the same at some point or other. I guess thatās quite natural when you care passionately about something, or in my case, when itās something that has consumedā¦
ā Michael Owen (@themichaelowen) December 22, 2024
Jack Grealish 2 of 2:
I donāt know Jack; Iāve interviewed him a couple of times and thatās as far as it goes. I also donāt generally stick up for footballers purely because I was one myself. But Jackās story is as near to perfect as it gets:
He joined his local club and roseā¦
ā Michael Owen (@themichaelowen) December 22, 2024
Here’s how Twitter users reacted after Michael Owen tells Aston Villa fans hang their heads in shame after booing Jack Grealish…
@Peachy1223:
1. His first season he missed 24 games
2. Then he was injured and missed 16 games in the year we got promoted.
3. In the season we stayed up he missed 8 games. 4. Then his final season he missed 17 matches. Pretty shocking for someone who was “hardly ever injured”!
@avfc_stef: Youāre a Liverpool academy graduate who shamelessly signed for Man Utd. Excuse us if we disregard your opinions on football tribalism āš¦
@ev_fit2024: McGinn was our player of the season we got promoted. Tammy scored over 20 goals. Jack was injured for a lot of that season. Yes he was instrumental in that 10 game run in. But so was Mings, Hause, Tammy, Hourihane, El Ghazi, McGinn. Promotion was a group effort šš¼
@utv58: Using Jack to voice your own insecurities due to how Liverpool fans treat you. Yesterday was pantomime & nothing more. His reaction at FT a lad who wanted to win. Our boos a reaction to put off an ex opposition player. Jack is always welcome back to VP when not in opposition kit.
@coopsrun: Wait, are we getting a lecture on morales from a guy who left Liverpool to end up at Man United?
@B6Nigel: I donāt advocate booing Jack but those fans are only expressing their view. Grealish looked at property in Manchester well before he left Villa, he celebrates goals against us and dived for a penalty when there was no contact too. Respect cuts two ways.
@F9der84: Here is a lad who at every opportunity has wanted to leave but from one reason or another didnāt materialise. He gets stick because every since he has been at city and spoke about the club that put him on the map he speak about us like weāre beneath him
@liamtweetsavfc: Also crying on Grealishās behalf due to what you did in your own career is embarrassing. You left your boyhood club and went on to join their biggest rivals. I dont think itās for you to take the moral high ground. š¤£š¤£š¤£
@TheHolteHub:
1. Grealish didnāt keep us up, it was Trezeguet.
2. Loyalty yet wanted to leave at every opportunity that came.
3. Ā£100m or not, heās turned into a boring winger with everything unique sucked out of him.
4. I respect him for his service to Villa, but heās a rival player now.
@stephenlwright: City cheated the system to take four of our captainsā¦ after the Delph experience, Grealish knew full well his; āMy City, My Homeā statement would not go unnoticed. He shat on us.
@LewispAVFC_: Here is a lad who tried to leave every transfer window, this is a lad who came out saying his club, whilst putting in a release clause so he could leave the next summer. This is a lad who dived to win a penalty last time he played us
@avfcdrew: Dragged us to the premier league šššššš Same season Tammy Abraham scored 27 goals and Jed steer won us the penalty shootout in the playoff semis?
@iamivank: Oh boo hoo. For almost 4 years, Jack has had the understanding of Villa fans. But his behaviour on pitch yesterday was going to lead to a reaction. Even the fact his former teammates had something to say on the issue, should be enough to show Villa fans would have something to say in the matter. In any case I’m sure the millions he has in the bank, all the trophies he’s won and the achievement of his goals, will dry any tears he may have. Football is a team sport and he didn’t alone drag us up to the premier league. Not did he keep us up all on his own. It was our squad. Yes he helped and made a big contribution. But it was a combination of factors, that got us up. McGinn was there, Mings was there. We stayed up because Konsa was there, Cash was there. The club worked as a group, & since he left, we’ve done better without him. Sure we got 100m which helped the team. But he benefitted as well. He also was injured often, (which shows just how little you know about the subject) but the club nurtured and managed his recoveries. He personal life also affected the club in multiple occasions, yet again we all backed him. So when his behaviour on the pitch shows that he’s forgotten how much he owes OUR club, the fans will remind him. Maybe you haven’t played for so long that you’ve forgotten about remembering where you came from. By your own admission, you don’t know him and you clearly have no real idea of the relationship between Villa fans and Jack. If you did, you’d take a more nuanced approach to your comments rather than an emotional one. Which just makes makes it seem like you’re just a BANG AVERAGE pundit, trying to be relevant but talking on something you have little understanding of. Maybe stick to talking about Liverpool and Manchester if you’re not going to do your research.
@_stonyd: Michael, I have huge respect for you as one of the best English footballers Iāve ever seen and I know this subject is probably close to your heart as I know youāve not had the greatest receptions when going back to Anfield. That said I think this is a case of no player is bigger than our club. What does he expect? That we would adore him when playing for another team? Villa fans support the badge on the front of the shirt, not the name on the back.
@LiamSroka: This is more about you isnāt it? You are talking about you and your relationship to Liverpool fans who donāt like you. This post is not about Jack Grealish and Villa.
@chrisw333: Most fans appreciate what he did for the club. But it hurt when he left just as we were on the cusp of doing something special. It hurt when he dived. It hurts that he tries to get our players booked. The booing was pantomime stuff. Heās well compensated for his feelings.
@DAMcGuffie: He left for trophies and success, thatās his choice. He traded his Villa legacy for it and we have to accept it. What we donāt accept is him saying heās a boyhood fan and then his antics when he plays us. Itās literally that simple. He doesnāt need to do it.
@dannypea: Booing really isn’t that deep, of course when Grealish retires he’ll be welcomed back with open arms at Villa, but yesterday Villa fans gave him a good old fashioned boo to simply say.. “You should have stuck around”. Grealish won’t care one bit, his trophies will vouch for that!
@stevesanderstax: We boo’d to put him off. Pantomime stuff. I agree with much of this. We owe him a lot, he’s one of us & deep down we still love him. But yesterday was about 3 points, not laying out the red carpet for Jack. The booing had no malice. It was just to unsettle him. And it worked..š
@steveAVFC: Our job as fans is to make opposition players feel uncomfortable, not make it a nice experience, he didn’t react well to it and it affected his game. Happy days. Bloke is a legend at villa but not when he’s playing for the other team. That’s how football works so fuck off
@villarich1982: Says the man who couldnāt wait to leave his boyhood club, and happily signed for their biggest rivals in Manchester
@benired: Calm down Michaelā¦. The booing was mainly pantomime and died off fairly quick. No nasty chants either. Standard for a returning player so should view it as a compliment
@AV_B_ZA1DI: Man said biscuit shins “was hardly ever injured” š¤£
@theavfcfaithful: Also hardly ever injured is false. He was out ALOT for us with injuries, do your research
@paddyhennessy83: My City my clubā¦ then leaves š what did he or you expect? Same as you were Liverpool through & through then went to United! Zero loyalty.. fans pay the money, their entitled to their opinion! Spent the game diving & fouling, trying to get Villa players bookedā¦
Three points. For the Villa. pic.twitter.com/Qi9WO1W4Od
ā Darren A (@dazthevillan) December 21, 2024
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