City fans need to stop comparing. It isn't Grealish vs Doku. We have Grealish AND Doku.

"Comparisons are a natural human tendency, and aren't inherently bad," is a common theory in the world of psychology; that quote is copied straight from an article on the Mind, Body and Soul blog.

However, comparing the actions of two or more individuals can be seen as a bad thing, as it causes over-competitiveness and resentment, as well as an unnecessary sense of disunity and rivalry in a group setting.

Essentially, the competition brought from comparisons can be negative at two different extremes. It can make individuals rest on their laurels, but it can also make individuals over exert themselves beyond their natural ability, such is their desire to get one over their opponent.

The reason all of this is being mentioned is regarding the current situation Manchester City find themselves in surrounding their two left wingers - Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku - who, for whatever reason, keep on getting compared to one another by none other than our own fanbase.

First, let's talk about Grealish. Charismatic, friendly, polite and popular; the 28 year old has been one of the faces of English football ever since he signed for City from his boyhood club Aston Villa for £100 million in the summer of 2021.

After a rocky first season, where, like Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Joao Cancelo and Riyad Mahrez before him, he struggled to adapt to the highly complex system Guardiola has his players operate in, Grealish settled down in his second season and became one of the squad's most valuable members.

Despite all of his achievements, he remains unpopular with some of the fanbase. Some of the more traditional fans perhaps disapprove of his celebrity status and lifestyle, and prefer the days when Manchester City footballers were no more than just Manchester City footballers.

These same fans are also more likely to prefer to see young players come from the academy and make it into the first team, and may object to a big money player taking the minutes of promising young creative midfielders.

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For other fans, they're just unable to see what he provides to the team. They long for the days of Sane and Raheem Sterling on the wings, where everything was about direct, decisive action.

This isn't Grealish's game, largely due to a lack of pace, but also a better technical ability and his preference to play on the left hand side as a right footed player, with Sterling and Sane playing predominantly on their natural sides when they played together.

What makes Grealish especially suited to Guardiola's system is a word that many City fans who don't understand its importance have come to loathe: control.

And no, control isn't just passing the ball backwards aimlessly. It's knowing exactly what to do with the ball in certain moments, and what will eventually give the team not just the best goalscoring chance, but the best chance of defending a potential counter attack if they lose the ball.

Instead of trying to beat three men and put a cross into the box, which, if attempted ten times by a world class player, will likely only create a clear chance once, by keeping possession, City have a greater chance to create a clearer, much more appealing opening.

Control is something that isn't fully appreciated until it's taken away. Look at the 4-4 away draw to Chelsea just before the international break, and the losses to Arsenal and Wolves when Rodri was suspended. In those games, City struggled to impose themselves and create chances, but it isn't because they have a chance creation issue, as many supporters dismissed it as.

It's because they didn't have a full grip on the game, and were therefore less willing to take risks and throw players forward in order to prevent a counter attack. As well as this, due to having less control of the game, there was less opportunity for themselves (and more opportunity for the opposition) to create chances. These things are intertwined.

But none of this is to take away from Doku, who has been a breath of fresh air ever since he arrived from Rennes for approximately £55 million in the summer to replace the departing Mahrez.

He's already shown that he's a step up from Grealish regarding goal output. One criticism that I will happily make about our number 10 - and one that he has made about himself too - is that he must provide more goals and assists. Particularly, I feel he should be getting himself into goal scoring positions and providing tap ins, just like Sterling did throughout his City career.

Doku's remarkable performance against Bournemouth, in which he got 1 goal, 3 assists, and a long range shot that deflected in off Manuel Akanji, was the obvious highlight of his City career to date.

He also got goal contributions against Brighton, West Ham and RB Leipzig, and did an excellent job in ruffling Antony's feathers when he came on the pitch in City's 3-0 derby win against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

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But if you put him in the team for big games at his young age, he's still likely to struggle. His end product and decision making in front of goal could be more consistent, and he has plenty of maturing to do to fit into Guardiola's system better (which is perfectly understandable, given the fact he's 21 years old and has been at City for less than four months.)

And whilst he himself didn't have a particularly poor game against Chelsea, it cannot be denied that his involvement in the game caused an extra dimension of chaos, at the expense of perhaps a bit more control if Grealish were to start in his place.

So there we have it. Two remarkable options on the left wing. For tough games, where the priority is keeping possession and imposing dominance on the game, there is nobody better to start than Grealish. For games where City can release the shackles a bit, and concern themselves more with scoring goals than keeping them out, then setting Doku loose should do just the trick.

As simple as that, yes? Not with Manchester City and our increasingly fickle fanbase.

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A growing fanbase is, of course, a large part of success, and this has positive and negative side effects, as shown recently in an excellent article by Sheikh for Man City International.

And whilst I recognise, accept, and even embrace this, it does puzzle me as to why some of our newer fans always have to find a negative about something, whether this be to force an individual agenda, cause controversy and debate with other fans, or simply because they don't appreciate what they have in front of them.

Doku scores a brilliant goal? That all of a sudden becomes a criticism of Grealish, and his lack of output, rather than focusing on Doku's goal. Grealish doesn't beat a man, and chooses to play it safe instead? That all of a sudden means we should, and I quote, "BRING ON DOKU AND SAVE US FROM GREALISH BALL!!!"

And alternatively, some supporters speak about Doku as if he's a complete reckless liability. Yes, he isn't fully polished yet, and is prone to the odd act of selfishness with the ball, but as a technical player, he is arguably already more refined than either Sane or Sterling were during their periods at City.

So back to the link on comparisons. It seems they are a part of natural human nature, as suggested by numerous renowned psychologists, but it is no doubt a confusing one.

Comparing two luxuries, in particular, is baffling. Grealish is the best winger in the world at controlling the game, winning fouls and ball retention, whereas Doku is up there with the best in the world at beating defenders in 1 vs 1 duels. These are their contrasting strengths, which makes them different types of player.

Thankfully, both players recognise their strengths and limitations. They have both been assured of their worth by Guardiola, and that is shown by the fact they've both started big games so far this season, with Grealish starting against Manchester United and Newcastle in the Premier League, and Doku starting against Chelsea.

Instead of viewing this as City having two dangerous yet different weapons in their arsenal who are suited for different games and scenarios, certain elements of the fanbase insist on finding negative comparisons between the two players, which is completely senseless.

Doku may be easier on the eye, but Grealish plays just as important a role to the City side. I'm sure Doku is taking notes from watching Grealish play in City's system, as a way of fine tuning his own game to become more of a controlled maverick.

It'd also be beneficial for Grealish to take some elements of Doku's game. The young Belgian is more decisive, and therefore threatening, when going forwards, and is already at the stage where he takes risks without being reckless. Grealish could take a leaf from his book, as he often neglects the opportunity to create a direct chance for a player in the middle in order to preserve control at the wrong time.

Having two different players who can feed off each other and improve each other's game through healthy competition for places only benefits the team. Hopefully, we soon see them start a big game together, to reinforce the fact they're both Manchester City players, and they both have vital qualities that'll help us win trophies soon. And, as is natural with human opinion, people have one that they favour over the other.

But debating fiercely amongst our own players just seems completely pointless to me. We should instead appreciate the weapons we have at our disposal, and that we currently have the best and most varied option of left wingers in world football.