#5 | John Stones - 2020/21 Performances

[5 Hit Gibbon]

He's been unbelievable this season. Really pleased for him.

 

[Easy]

Class.

Loving his aggression, thought that was the attribute he was missing the most in past seasons, simply was too soft. Not anymore though.

 

[eyalluvitt]

John Stones telling Dias how many he is going to score against the Rags next week

 

[BlueMoonAcrossThePond]

Class.

Loving his aggression, thought that was the attribute he was missing the most in past seasons, simply was too soft. Not anymore though.

Yes, that part of his game is admirable.

What's let him down in the past though is lack of concentration; 6 months or so ago, Stones would have a world class performance going, and then, for whatever reason, he'd do something totally stupid and often disastrous, frequently leading to an opposition goal.

The biggest change for me in Stones' play is that he's now far, far more focused throughout the game - he's eliminated the once-per-game bonehead mistake.

 

[SPIDERBOY]

The Barnsley Beckenbauer.

 

[kaz7]

Watched the cup final yesterday , him falling over just summed him up, the turn around is fucking amazing

 

[jay_mcfc]

It was touched upon on a 93:20 podcast that maybe it’s actually Stones who is the rock and Dias is the benefactor rather than the other way round as has been touted most of the season. I think that’s true, there’s a noticeable difference when Stones doesn’t play. He looks like a man mountain and the opposition struggle to get anything. In the games he hasn’t played it feels like we are a bit more open even though we’ve still been very good.
Still an unbelievable position to be in after the previous 18 months.

Stones by name, Rock by nature.

 

[Saddleworth2]

It was touched upon on a 93:20 podcast that maybe it’s actually Stones who is the rock and Dias is the benefactor rather than the other way round as has been touted most of the season. I think that’s true, there’s a noticeable difference when Stones doesn’t play. He looks like a man mountain and the opposition struggle to get anything. In the games he hasn’t played it feels like we are a bit more open even though we’ve still been very good.
Still an unbelievable position to be in after the previous 18 months.

Stones by name, Rock by nature.

I have thought the same. Initially I thought it was Laporte that wasn't quite at the same level but Dias seems to drop a little when Stones isn't beside him. Maybe its simply that Stones/Dias have a chemistry and either one of them drops very slightly when partnered with Laporte. I can see exactly what Pep is trying to do - keep rotating and try and build three partnerships (or more when Ake returns) that are just as good as the Dias/Stones one. Its a good trick if he can pull it off.

 

[jay_mcfc]

I have thought the same. Initially I thought it was Laporte that wasn't quite at the same level but Dias seems to drop a little when Stones isn't beside him. Maybe its simply that Stones/Dias have a chemistry and either one of them drops very slightly when partnered with Laporte. I can see exactly what Pep is trying to do - keep rotating and try and build three partnerships (or more when Ake returns) that are just as good as the Dias/Stones one. Its a good trick if he can pull it off.

Pep's got no choice but to carry on the way he has. No point having 3 good centre backs if one just rots away. You can see the improvement in Laporte recently with more game time so it's only a matter of time before all three are playing at a very high level and all three can form solid partnerships.

 

[Saddleworth2]

Pep's got no choice but to carry on the way he has. No point having 3 good centre backs if one just rots away. You can see the improvement in Laporte recently with more game time so it's only a matter of time before all three are playing at a very high level and all three can form solid partnerships.

We better prepare for the introduction of Ake into the mix. He is back in training this week according to Pep.