Jack Grealish scored his first Premier League goal of the season over the weekend as Aston Villa thrashed Norwich City at Carrow Road.
Garth Crooks has claimed that he has not seen an Aston Villa captain who has had ‘such an appetite’ for the game since their 1982 European Cup winner Dennis Mortimer.
That night in Rotterdam in May 1982 is the greatest night in Villa’s history, with ex-captain Mortimer being the man who was given the honour to lift the trophy aloft.
Since then, Villa have had some great leaders take to the Villa Park pitch, but it has been a while since the fans have taken to a player as they have done with Grealish.
Over the weekend, he helped Villa thrash Norwich City 5-1 at Carrow Road, and former Spurs striker Crooks had nothing but praise for the playmaker.
“It has not been an easy journey for Jack Grealish over the years but he seems to have found his destination,” Crooks told BBC Sport. “To captain Aston Villa in the Premier League is no mean feat. Villa are a big club.
“Grealish was outstanding away at Crystal Palace and he led his team to victory against a Norwich team that was demolished by a rampant Villa.
“I have not seen a Villa captain with such an appetite for the game since Dennis Mortimer, who played for the club between 1975-85 and skippered them to the 1982 European Cup.”
For some time now, Villa have been threatening to dispatch their opponents and walk away with the three points, but they simply haven’t been able to hold onto a lead.
Prior to that game against Norwich, Villa had dropped eight points from winning positions – five from their last two matches, at home to Burnley and away at Arsenal.
But against Norwich, they produced their best performance of the season, with Grealish running the show, alongside the likes of John McGinn, Conor Hourihane and Marvelous Nakamba.
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