Football pundit Michael Owen
Football pundit Michael Owen
Michael Owen raised eyebrows over the weekend when he criticised Aston Villa supporters for their treatment of Jack Grealish.
The England international was jeered by some fans at Villa Park and responded by holding up three fingers to those mocking him, indicating the number of Premier League titles he has won since he moved to the Etihad. The 29-year-old famously led Villa back to the Premier League in 2019 before securing their top-flight status with a series of standout performances after his £100million move to City in 2021.
Owen reacted angrily to the hostility Grealish faced on his return to Villa Park, saying: “But to those Villa fans who booed Jack Grealish yesterday, you fall into the second category and should hang your heads in shame.
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“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 £100m when he left.
“In Jack’s case he is and always will be very proud of where he comes from and so it must be heart breaking for him to have to endure the mindless and pathetic booing that he had to listen to yesterday.”
And Villa supporters, writing in the comments section on the Birmingham Live site, have heard their say following the remarks made by Owen.
Commenter Chosen in 1957 says: “I agree with Owen and I would never boo him but there will always be a section of the fans who will never forgive and forget. At Villa Park the truly great legends are the players who commit their careers to Villa.”
Villa56 disagrees: “I thought he behaved quite badly during the game, so he can have no complaints about boos. He is a Villa fan, but not terribly loyal. He left as soon as he could and would have gone two years earlier if Spurs had offered any money. It suited everyone for him to go when he did for the money we got. He did not 'single handedly' get us up and keep us up. We can thank the owners for that.”
Samsar11 adds: “It’s football, all players get booed when they return. I don’t believe Jack turned his back on us, he wanted to improve his game and win medals, that’s what football is about. He gave us everything plus millions in the bank, but sadly Man City hasn’t improved his game. I would have him back in a heartbeat, he would be even greater in our team.”
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Jimjamvillafan says: “Not often I agree with Michael Owen, but he's right. No Villa fans I know would boo him and most would take him back in a heartbeat. I would just remind Owen it was a section of fans, very far from all of them.”
John071961 says: “I was embarrassed by the behaviour of my fellow Villa fans. Jack was a great servant of our club and should be applauded not booed. A couple of weeks ago we played Southampton and when Archer was subbed he got applauded off, what value did he offer compared to Jack?”
Edgbaston Lad adds: “I totally agree with Michael, it was a disgraceful reception. The majority of villa fans respect Jack and remember what he did for the club.”
Scorpion32 doesn’t agree: “I personally wouldn’t boo him (although the way he went in on McGinn was out of order), but I respect others' right to boo him if they wish. At the end of the day, he did turn his back on Villa, and is no longer considered a Villa legend. He no doubt will be doing meet ‘n greets at Villa Park after he retires.”
VillaNickthepoints points out: “Grealish was a great player for Villa and could have been a Villa legend. However, he left at the right time for all concerned and he's got his winners medals so fair play to him for that. Sadly, as a player he is such a forlorn pale shadow of his former self.”
Towbartone agrees: “Unfortunately we, like all clubs, have those who drag us down. Owen is right, Jack Grealish left us nearly four years ago, at the time we were in desperate financial trouble and had only just escaped going straight back down, we needed players to stabilise and he was our most valuable asset. The money we made out of that sale started us on the road to where we are now. I will never boo him, even though I don’t like where he plays. I actually feel sorry for him, he looked a shadow of the player we had, His foul on John McGinn was out of sheer frustration and I would not have been surprised to have seen him get sent off.
"Jack is no longer our player but he doesn’t deserve the treatment he got from the mindless few, it was embarrassing”
How do you feel about the Villa fans’ behaviour? Did Grealish deserve the boos? Have your say in our comments section.