What can I say about Demarai Gray. His perfectly shaped hair shimmers in the lovely Midlands sun; his cheeky smile glinting all the time…
*Ahem* Sorry, I got distracted. Despite his devilish good looks, it is Gray’s feet that astonishes me. On the official Blues’ Website, the youth players in the past have done an interview. This includes a question; ‘Who is the most skillful player?’
Demarai’s name constantly crops up in this category. This may show that he is a menace in training with his trickery and also pace. I can’t be certain of this, but what I do know is that he has incredible talent on the pitch.
After scoring his first goal in a 4-2 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers a couple of seasons ago, I thought that he would be challenging for the golden boot last season. This wasn’t the case and Gary has said in a recent interview with the official site, that Gray is working on his finishing. A sign of real intent to better himself; an attitude that is appreciated by the fans.
Despite the lack of confidence in front of goal, he still manages to bag himself goals. Whether it be a skillful dribble from inside his own half to simple tap ins, he has a lot in his locker which is certainly a good sign of someone so inexperienced. This was shown with a remarkable shot against Leicester City in the last pre-season game of 2015.
As a lover of youth football, I have seen Gray play at a lower level for the development teams. During this time, I was often very skeptical of Gray’s ability to make it. This was purely based on his tracking back.
When a player doesn’t track back, it means one of two things. Firstly, he doesn’t have the required fitness to track back. This shows that the player doesn’t work hard at training and may be an indication of arrogance. Secondly, it may be the fact that he is oblivious to his responsibilities.
However, as he has progressed through the ranks, he has been more likely to help out with his defensive duties which is a definite positive to his game now. He links up with Grounds especially well due to the fact that Grounds is happy for Gray to attack and Gray is happy for Grounds to defend.
As has been quoted on this site in previous pages, Rowett has told the official site that he sees the re-signing of Gray almost as a new signing and that he is happy that it could be done. I couldn’t agree more. Dimmy gets the midfield ticking and with the extra strength that he will have this year, I believe he will be virtually unstoppable!
Source – Rowett’s Interview about Gray on the Official Blues’ Site.
What do you think? Leave a Comment Below!
For business enquires please click Here
Join Vital Birmingham
It’s easy to REGISTER HERE, simply click the link and enjoy getting involved!
