For youngsters like Jack Grealish and Jack Wilshere, it's all about learning to grow up in public
It happens gradually and then all at once. There’s always whispers around training grounds discussing who the next big prospect might be. As soon as one of these young men begins to show any sort of spark, they jump on him.
Everyone wants the bragging rights of having been the first to have picked the diamond from the rough, the one who predicted that the skinny winger with no end product might just be the one to defy the odds and break into the starting eleven.
From there, the ball is set rolling and the momentum can either build or subside depending on the player. A few more good performances and a scout might be sitting in the stands for that U-18 fixture on the waterlogged pitch.
A couple more match-winning displays and the boy might even be invited to train with the first team. Before you know it, he’s out there on the world stage and he no longer solely belongs to his early admirers. Suddenly the whole world is watching everything he does – both on and off the pitch.
Jack Grealish is coming off the back of the sort of breakthrough season that academy players across Britain can only dream of. Following the appointment of Tim Sherwood as Aston Villa boss in February, the midfielder was able to make the coveted No 10 position his own and went on to play a major role in the Villa’s march to the FA Cup final.
Misunderstood and misjudged
Grealish’s form was even good enough to catch the eyes of Martin O’Neill and Roy Hodgson – both of whom are eager to add Grealish to their squads for future campaigns. It seems like the stuff of fairy tales but Grealish’s season has ended on somewhat of a sour note this week after the teenager was photographed seemingly unconscious and intoxicated in the street while on holiday with friends in Tenerife.
‘Jackass’ read the headline on the back page of the Mirror, while BBC Sport described Grealish and the younger generation of footballers as being “spoiled by success” and “intoxicated by money.” Amidst all the media furore and righteous indignation, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that the young man in question is still only 19 years old. In one year, he has gone from virtual anonymity to front page news.
The grainy images that have been doing the rounds online show the sort of mistake that any young man new to alcohol and personal freedom is liable to make while on holiday this summer. The only difference is that Grealish’s mishap has been shared thousands of times on social media and dissected intensely in the tabloids.
There is a valuable lesson within for Grealish. From now on, he knows that the learning curve afforded to other youngsters will no longer be offered to him. He’s now aware that he is public property and his every action will be held under intense scrutiny.
Adjusting to the spotlight
A couple of hours south on the M40, another Jack is still struggling to adjust to life in the spotlight. Jack Wilshere first burst onto the scene in similar circumstances to Grealish back in 2008, having made his way up through the Arsenal youth teams.
Since then, he has gone on to become a key player in the Arsenal and England set-ups, despite a lingering feeling that he hasn’t quite lived up to the explosive potential which had many fans anointing him the successor to Cesc Fabregas before the Spaniard had even packed his bags for the Nou Camp.
Many people chalk up Wilshere’s supposed stunted development to a lack of dedication. Over the past six seasons, the England international has been caught in a series of compromising situations including being recorded drunk in Las Vegas as well as being caught smoking on separate occasions.
As isolated incidents they might not seem significant, but when computed together, they start to paint the picture of a young man who refuses to offer his full respect and commitment to the club and game that have given him everything.
This isn’t the full story, however. The Englishman has also had to contend with his fair share of injuries and the level of responsibility handed to him by Arsene Wenger at such a young age. Also, the notion that Wilshere is spoiled and disconnected does not quite make sense when contrasted with his dogged and tenacious performances for Arsenal and England.
Treated as public figures
Yet, despite his obvious passion, Wilshere still struggles to grasp the reality of his situation as a public figure and the confines that accompany it. His most recent controversy – which saw him fined for misconduct by the FA - came last month when he was videoed leading Arsenal fans in the singing of anti-Tottenham chants in the aftermath of the Gunner’s FA Cup victory, suggesting that he still has some learning to do.
Against Slovenia, however, Wilshere answered his critics in the best way imaginable by putting in one of his finest performances in the England shirt and scoring two genuinely world class goals in the process. Grealish can take solace in the fact that if you’re capable of coming up with the goods, the public is willing to forgive a whole lot.
It’s all part of the pact. For all the incentives on offer for these young men – the lavish lifestyle, the exorbitant wages – being a professional footballer is not without its drawbacks. And the first thing to go is one’s privacy.
The likes of Beckham and Rooney have learned this the hard way through trial and error. It’s now the two Jacks’ turn to grow up in public.