Everton are badly missing Jack Grealish | OneFootball

There’s a lot to be frustrated about with Everton at the moment.

The fact that European qualification is a tantalising prospect, and still — annoyingly — within reach, but time is running out to string together the run of results needed to separate from the pack.

The fact that Everton have not won a home game since December 6.

The fact that the team simply do not create anywhere near enough chances, and that David Moyes keeps making some baffling line-up selections.

There’s lots to be frustrated about, and that makes taking things into perspective all the more difficult.

But one of the huge frustrations, in this writer’s view, is one that really cannot be helped by anyone.

Jack Grealish last played on January 18th, when Everton beat his former club Aston Villa 1-0.

He will not play again this season. In the wake of that win at Villa Park, Grealish sustained a serious foot injury, and that will be that for his 2025-26 campaign.

And boy, are Everton missing him.

Bafflingly, there were genuinely some Evertonians who seemed to think Grealish was the issue. “He slows it down too much”. “He doesn’t provide chances for the strikers”.

Neither of those criticisms were valid, of course. But there is a tendency at this club of seemingly pinning the blame on the better players, and then protecting those who consistently underperform.

Grealish’s absence has been felt, badly.

Everton did not create enough chances even with Grealish in the team, but without him, they are even poorer in that department.

Grealish still leads the way for Everton when it comes to chances created (38), just ahead of James Garner (36). However, 19 of the opportunities Garner has created have come from set-pieces. Grealish created 36 chances from open play.

Worryingly, only once in the last 18 league matches have Everton recorded an open-play xG of over 1.0. That shows just how poor the Toffees are when it comes to creating opportunities, but then take out the best player at doing just that, and it’s a double whammy.

But as big of a blow as losing Grealish’s creative influence has been, his absence has perhaps been felt most when it comes to helping Everton keep their shape, and keep things ticking.

Grealish regularly picks the right pass. The right weight. The right moment to release the ball. It can at times be frustrating if it stalls a breakaway, but that was really very rarely the case. Grealish is not perfect, but the crispness and precision of his passing cannot be overlooked. On Monday, as Everton went down to Manchester United, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Tim Iroegbunam, Idrissa Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye were all guilty of sloppy passes in key moments.

Grealish’s ability to hold the width, keep his position and retain possession is top tier, and no player in Everton’s squad comes close to being able to replicate all of those attributes.

A quick look at the ball-carrying stats shows how important Grealish has been, too. Only Garner (344) has made more carries than Grealish (326), while the 30-year-old tops Everton’s squad for carry distance, with 3,927.6 metres, and progressive carries (178).

Ten of Grealish’s carries resulted in a shot, 14 with a chance created, and three in an assist — all of those are team-highs, too.

Moyes has turned largely to Harrison Armstrong in the last few weeks, crowbarring the youngster in on one of the flanks. It seems to be that Moyes is valuing Armstrong’s ability to keep the ball (he is regularly clocking up 80%+ pass accuracy) and hold the shape, but that is making Everton disjointed in attack.

Tyrique George has featured in all three games he has been available for, with two of those substitute appearances, and he brings a direct approach and plenty of pace, but then Moyes — especially against the traditionally bigger sides — is always going to revert to a safety-first approach.

Moyes is certainly struggling to cope with the loss of his best player, which most bosses in the league would, but the lack of invention in trying to come up with a solution isn’t helping either.

Could Ndiaye not switch over to the left every now and then, and Tyler Dibling — who does keep the ball well — given a chance in certain moments? How about being bolder with the use of George?

Carlos Alcaraz, it seems, was actually set to be given a go off the left against United, but a late injury meant he missed out. It is not his natural position but he is another option there. Dewsbury-Hall has even played there in the past, and provides a natural left-footer; if Moyes really is insisting on having Armstrong in the team, then he shouldn’t be crowbarred out on the wing.

But again, taking everything into context, the injury to Grealish really has derailed things. Maybe not in terms of results, but it has certainly left Moyes and his staff rather muddled, and the lack of quality in the final third is painful at times.

Grealish’s eight goal involvements top Everton for the season, and while his absence is not the only issue, it is a cruel blow that cannot be ignored.