yeah England for the win. That works well in World cups and Euros....
Laughed more than i should.
John Stones
- Thread starter ottosec
- Start date
Laughed more than i should.
Chris Smalling looked the real deal in his first season here. Everything gradually went downhill due to injuries and SAF constantly rotating the back line to keep the old guard playing.
Stones looks as close to nailed on as you can get in terms of becoming a top player. Similar to watching Rio at West Ham. Everyone knew he was destined for the top.
Fingers crossed me sign him.
Fingers crossed me sign him.
Laughed more than i should.
Seriously if they are available at reasonable prices that we should go for them both
Far from convinced about his defending and really don't see anything special there but he's ridiculously good on the ball.
Bring him in...We need our defence locked down for the next 10 years. Darmian, Smalling, Stones, Shaw. That's looking pretty solid if you ask me.
To be fair, most defenders that are similar to Stones in terms of skill and comfort on the ball start out as average defenders, or even luxury glorified versions. Gerard Piqué was found out early on (a lot - had to be saved by his defensive partner Gabriel Milito) at Zaragoza on loan, but because of Barcelona's system - he wasn't asked to do that much defensively and was in his element as a distributor from the deep. Ramos too was error prone and rash in central defense, and frequently played as a defensive midfielder (at Sevilla) or a fullback because of his versatility, and the fact his defensive skills weren't at the level of his athleticism and offensive technique. Even Rio Ferdinand was almost guaranteed to make a mistake per game until he reached his mid 20s, and settled down with Vidić.
There are very few great pure defenders among the younger lot, it's just the way football is progressing with a lot of top teams even playing midfielders at the back because of their distribution. Once Stones finds his way into a fixed system and builds chemistry with the supporting cast, he's going to get better (or one would hope he does, instead of stalling and not learning from his mistakes). Plus, he's only 21 - baby years for a centerback. Once he gets more experienced and works on the fundamentals, we'll see incremental growth. His fee won't necessarily reflect what he is right now, but what he could develop into (something approaching Rio if things go well). In the old days, defenders like him would play in midfield and work their way back into defense once they were a little seasoned and mature (something @Devil may care brought up). But very few coaches do that in modern football.
Another deceptive thing about Stones is that because he's a relatively clean tackler, and fast - he doesn't necessarily have to do the blood and thunder defensive stuff. A lot of times, he just catches up with opposition attackers and dispossess them - without sliding or tackling, so maybe there's a stylistic element to that too. Needs to work on his positioning and anticipation though - but that should come with time. At United, his role would be similar to Blind (initially), with Smalling acting as the more astute stopper. And as he gets more comfortable in the role, his defensive skills should catch up.
Agreed. What was that saying (which I don't necessarily agree with btw) - a slide tackle is a sign of desperation! And SAF used to harp on about Maldini hardly ever having the need to tackle
Him or Stormzy would be a expensive but brilliant january signing.
We need a CB to partner Smalling for next season. I want Stones or Laporte.
Awesome tonight. Everton have clearly worked on having the whole team be more disciplined these last two games and lo and behold he puts in two great performances against two of the leagues best strikers. Same goes for Mori who has been probably been even more impressive.
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Barcelona centre half written all over him
Good again, but yeah it was Funes Mori who looked particularly solid tonight.
Stones must love having someone like Besic in front of him. He'll tackle and block and foul his heart out to stop anyone getting a run at a CB, but the second you win the ball he becomes one of those clever players who is always available for a pass, always looking to provide a route forwards.
Stones must love having someone like Besic in front of him. He'll tackle and block and foul his heart out to stop anyone getting a run at a CB, but the second you win the ball he becomes one of those clever players who is always available for a pass, always looking to provide a route forwards.
Every time I watch him, I'm impressed. Going to be proper unlucky when Jags is fit, as it's obvious they'll drop him.
£50m sounds crazy, but not my money, and Shaw, Smalling and Stones would be ace. Just need another young English defender with a name beginning with S and we're sorted for the long run.
They won't spend 70m euros for him. Especially with Laporte costing cheaper and at the moment being a bit better than Stones.
He will be good enough to play for Barca though, IMO.
Still has errors in him but I bet Vickery feels a bit silly now. Seems to love playing for us too.
He's going to be top class without a doubt. Future captain of his club and country.
My old man is making the Bobby Moore comparisons and that's not happened before.
My old man is making the Bobby Moore comparisons and that's not happened before.
more and more convincing every time he plays now
the new Rio
the new Rio
Could he be as good as pique?
We simply have to get him.
My Everton supporting friend said that a while back that they will go for him.
Well, Laporte and Stones has been linked to them, but i doubt they would buy both. Let us have any of them and i'll be happy
Even though he will be expensive, he worth it. I can see him signing for one of the top premier league teams next season. Barcelona also need a defender, but I think they will sign someone like Laporte or Gimenez.
Not sure how likely that an English lad would go over there, still a rarity even these days. I know English players have gone over to Spain before but it seems to be the exception and not the rule.
I'll drink to that!
He's a cock
He is?
What happened?
Did anybody see his challenge on Sterling in the last minute of City-Everton match? Blatant penalty which was somehow not given.
Stupid would be better word. Every Chelsea attack has come about because he thinks he's Messi on the ball.
Supposedly being looked at by Barcelona isn't going to help.
Think the media hype is getting to his head.
He's given the ball away so many times today.
He is such a liability at the moment. Every game gives away chances through overplaying and trying to be like Maldini. Not worth £15m, let alone £40m+.
So you don't want him and we might be going off him.
I call total bs on Barca rumors. I doubt we will make any big money signings next season, we already had lots of high value signing recently and have a upcoming Neymar contract. Laporte is more likely, also cheaper.
He is a maniac. Thinks he is Beckenbauer and tries charging forwards every ten seconds. As bad as David Luiz for trying to be a smartass. I would rather play one of our own then pay nearly £50m for him.So you don't want him and we might be going off him.