Pantomime villain Jack Grealish has the last laugh over Irish boo-boys

Man City star’s strike in England victory the perfect riposte to hostile Irish reception and a sign he is back to his best

When a charm offensive was launched by Wayne Rooney to recruit Jack Grealish for England, he also revealed how a certain Lee Carsley had tried to persuade him to play for Ireland during his early days at Ireland.
It was 2015 and Grealish was the talk of Dublin — born in Solihull, playing for Republic of Ireland Under-21s but firmly on the radar of the English Football Association.
Rooney made his feelings clear when asked on the eve of England’s last clash at the Aviva Stadium before tonight’s 2-0 victory. “Lee Carsley asked me but I’ve never thought about playing for Ireland. I was born in England, I’m English,” said Rooney.
Roy Hodgson said he would welcome Grealish into the England set-up and it was not long before he switched football nationalities to wear the Three Lions.
On his first England match in Ireland, the home fans made their feelings clear. “The Snakes Are Back,” read one banner within the stadium, with photos of Grealish and Declan Rice, who also earned three senior caps for the Irish before switching.
When Rice scored the opening goal he dampened his celebrations out of respect for the country he once played for. In contrast, Grealish refused to hold back when he found the back of the net, running towards the crowd and punching the air as he jumped as high as he could. Sticking his fingers in his ears afterwards said it all.
Who could blame Grealish for his joyous celebration? There must have been a sense of relief for getting his season up and running, almost as much as being a riposte to home fans jeering his every touch on the ball.
“Yeah, I think me and Dec expected it. I said before the game I think it’s different — me and Dec have nothing bad to say,” Grealish said. “We both enjoyed our time playing here, I certainly did. I have a lot of Irish in my family so there is no bad blood whatsoever from my side.”
Since his name was on the lips of Rooney and Hodgson nine years ago, it was continuous upwards trajectory for Grealish in his career: Aston Villa talisman, £100 million move to Manchester City, tournaments with England. That was until last season.
Grealish himself admits that winning the Treble with City left him with a feeling of “what now?” and the 2023/24 campaign was one to forget. At the end of the season, Pep Guardiola left him as an unused sub when City needed a goal in the FA Cup final. Then he was left out of Gareth Southgate’s squad for the Euros.
“I’m sure Jack was devastated in the summer,” said England team-mate Harry Maguire, who also missed the tournament through injury. “He’ll be happy to be back in the squad and back in the team.”
It feels like a big season for Grealish. He travelled to Portugal in the summer for “pre” pre-season training with elite trainer Jamie Reynolds, who goes by the name of “Jamie Velocity”. His extra sessions in searing heat was an attempt to be up to speed quicker than usual when he returned to City.
He suffered a minor injury ahead of the Community Shield which ruled him out of the season curtain-raiser and made a substitute appearance against Ipswich before his first start of the season last weekend, against West Ham. His goal at the Aviva, along with his unbridled celebration, was the signal of the start of his campaign.
“I need to start playing regularly and scoring goals, which is what I did in this game. I’m not 100 per cent fit but I’m getting there so from a personal point of view I’m happy,” said Grealish after the final whistle.
“It meant everything. Going to the fans at the end and hearing them sing my name. Everyone will say the same thing — there is no better feeling than playing for England, especially in games like this when the whole nation is watching.
“I’ve said it before that over the summer it was one of the the worst summers of my life because you can’t not see everything in front of you. It was difficult but makes me want to bounce back.”
Carsley stressed that Grealish has “nothing to prove” after deploying him in a No10 role, which was a problematic position at the Euros under Southgate. 
But while Harry Kane tends to drop into this position, Grealish still found plenty of space to operate and did not get in the way of his captain.
At Villa he thrived on being the pantomime villain, booed by supporters but thriving off the energy. The more he was fouled, the more he was jeered, the more he would get on the ball and run at defenders. In Dublin, it was the same story. The invective came even before he got on the ball, with boos coming when it looked like he would receive a pass.
His off-the-ball clash with Jayson Molumby signalled that he was up for the fight against the country that wanted him orchestrating their attacks and nurtured him through their youth teams.
Grealish did well dragging defenders out of position, which helped Anthony Gordon have a positive impact on the match. He drew fouls, which earned Molumby a yellow eventually, and his dribbling had confidence. When the goal came, it was a late run into the box and a neat, side-footed finish into the bottom corner — exactly what Carsley wanted from his No10.
You couldn’t write this…Declan Rice finds Jack Grealish who scores for England against the Republic of Ireland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇮🇪#IREvENG pic.twitter.com/6nRvwuxMfX
“You just knew he wasn’t going to hold back his celebrations,” said Andros Townsend, the former England winger, on ITV.  That, along with the huge grin on his face when he was floored by a foul next to the technical area, showed that Grealish was back enjoying his football again. The challenge now is to continue over the course of the season.