Jores Okore, left, and Jack Grealish have yet to make their mark on Aston Villa’s first team (Picture: Getty Images)

One is a gifted teenage midfielder who has been linked with a move to Chelsea, the other an international centre-back with Champions League experience.

Yet neither Jack Grealish or Jores Okore are able to break into an Aston Villa team who, prior to Saturday’s goalless draw at West Ham, were on their worst losing streak for half a century.

Both had to watch from the stands at Upton Park, their places on the bench taken by a 33-year-old Joe Cole and a painfully out-of-form Ciaran Clark. It was the third Premier League match this season that both have sat out.



Paul Lambert’s stock at Villa has never been lower, and what’s compounding the current malaise is the baffling treatment of two players who many fans would have in their starting XI.


The longer they’re left out, the more they become martyrs to supporters, another stick with which to beat the management. When a team is playing poorly, those who aren’t involved appear better simply by default.

Lambert and Roy Keane may well have good reason to be holding them back. The clamour for Okore, in particular, may be premature – his recovery from a serious knee injury was arduous and he’s only played four games, two for Villa’s reserves and two for Denmark’s under-21s.

The Dane has apparently looked a little rusty in those matches, which by their nature won’t be quite as competitive, quick or physical as the Premier League.

Certainly, when everyone’s fit I think he’d be behind Ron Vlaar, Philippe Senderos and an improving Nathan Baker based on displays this season – but how Clark gets on the bench ahead of Okore is anyone’s guess.

Jack Grealish would add some invention to the Aston Villa attack (Picture: Getty Images)

Grealish, however, is a more curious case. Not only is this Villa side lacking creativity and invention, it’s also fairly predictable and one-dimensional. Grealish would be a bit of an unknown quantity, and stretch games in the last 20 minutes.

Aside from the Arsenal match, when he came on for a poorly Andi Weimann at half-time, 20 minutes is all he’s had in each of his three other substitute appearances.

Lambert has so far resisted calls to give Grealish a start, hinting there is too much expected of the 19-year-old.

It’s true that some fans may be pinning too many hopes on an inexperienced youngster to turn our fortunes around. Like Okore, the less we see of him, the more we convince ourselves he’s the answer.

But unlike Okore, Grealish can bring something we don’t already have. Fresh legs, fresh energy and fearlessness, unburdened by previous failures. At the very least he should always be primed to come off the bench, just to see what he can do.

Both may yet still have a big part to play. Okore should take heart from Fabian Delph, whose Villa career stalled due to injury but recovered in spectacular style.



Grealish, when he is entrusted to start games, could surprise not only the opposition – but his manager.

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