Jack Grealish has let Everton supporters down and must now face an uncomfortable football truth, according to the Liverpool Echo's Royal Blue column. The England international, the country's first £100 million player, is urged to let his football do the talking again because that is where he is most gifted.
Grealish has not only let manager David Moyes down, nor just his team-mates, but also some fifty thousand Evertonians who regularly pack Hill Dickinson Stadium to the rafters. These fans ensure the Blues are attracting the biggest regular crowds in their history, despite enduring their longest ever silverware drought that dates back to four months before Grealish was born.
Historic Context and Trophy Drought
That last success was the 1995 FA Cup, a major shock at the time as Joe Royle's 'Dogs of War' defeated Alex Ferguson's charges, who would complete domestic doubles both the year before and after. As incredible as it might now seem, Everton had lifted as many League Championships as Manchester United back then, having gone into the Premier League era some two ahead of the Red Devils.
Despite United and Liverpool being the only rivals able to top the Blues' feat of longevity, securing major honours across nine separate decades, a generation on, Everton still haven't had cause to open their trophy cabinet again. Having never triumphed in the League Cup in any of its various guises, success-starved supporters will clutch at any straw they can grasp.
The Missed Opportunity
With this week's fourth round tie taking place after the quarter-finals draw had taken place, both Moyes' men and Matthias Jaissle's Newcastle United had an enormous fillip to get through the tie as League Two Fleetwood Town awaited in the last eight. The Cod Army enjoyed arguably the greatest night in their history as they stunned Premier League champions Arsenal, managed by former Goodison Park icon Mikel Arteta, on penalties. The opportunity of having just a fourth tier opponent between you and a semi-final is a rare luxury for any top flight side.
That fact alone should have been enough of an incentive to top any team talk that Moyes or any manager could have delivered to his players. Yet one of his players, a senior pro and a star man, took his eye off the ball.
Grealish's Everton Journey
Moyes is a long-time admirer of Grealish's skills, once declaring that the Brummie ace was "probably the best player in the league right now." That was in 2021 when he was still turning out for boyhood club Aston Villa and on the cusp of his landmark nine-figure move to the Etihad Stadium.
Fast forward to the summer of 2025 when the Blues came calling. Despite having played a pivotal role in Manchester City's 2023 treble, Grealish found himself surplus to requirements under Pep Guardiola, having been left out of the squad for the FIFA Club World Cup. Moyes is understood to have taken Grealish out to dinner to outline his vision of making him the marquee signing as Everton made their historic move from Goodison Park to Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Grealish hit the ground running and after four assists in his first two starts, was named Premier League Player of the Month for the first time in his career in the week of his 30th birthday. He netted the first stoppage time winner at the Blues' new home to seal a 2-1 comeback victory over Crystal Palace, and struck again on December 2 to secure Everton's first ever Premier League success at Bournemouth, celebrating arm in arm with Moyes.
He went as far as proclaiming: "I love the manager to pieces," a remark that had the Scot on the back foot as he admitted: "I don't know if I like that because players used to not like me!"
Trust at a Watershed Moment
Despite a nasty stress fracture injury to his left foot keeping him out for most of the second half of the 2025/26 campaign, he stayed on at Finch Farm during his rehabilitation. The Blues came back in for him on September 1 (transfer deadline day) as Moyes gave him a second chance.
This week's misdemeanour seems a long way off from being the end of Grealish's Everton career, but it could prove to be a watershed moment when it comes to trust. The Blues didn't end up missing Grealish at all and without the 31-year-old, whose bumper contract at Manchester City expires at the end of this season, they promptly produced their best display of the season so far.
Ironically, the other side of Grealish's nature was seen earlier the same day as it was reported how an individual known for his acts of kindness and generosity had made a £10,000 donation to an Evertonian father of three from Southport fighting an aggressive stage four kidney cancer. Those same supporters who took Grealish to their hearts will no doubt back him again, but he now needs to start repaying their faith as time is no longer on his side.
