#5 | John Stones - 2020/21 Performances

[Nicholas van Whatsisface]

I’m quite happy to admit I was one of the posters who wanted to see him out of the club during the summer.

He looked like his head had gone completely over a combination of damaging professional and personal issues, and he’d totally lost belief in himself and his ability to compete at the top.

I thought back then that he needed a change of scene and a different set of people, ideas, tactics and coaching techniques to have any chance of getting his belief back.

What I absolutely didn’t expect was for him to find the strength, resolve and determination to tackle his issues himself - and to emerge from the process stronger than before.

I underestimated him, and I’m very happy I was wrong in my opinions.

But the fact he achieved this himself - without relying solely on the support of those around him - is what gives me confidence we’re actually talking about a stronger, more resilient character than the one we used to know.

One who’s hopefully a lot less prone to the fits and starts of transient confidence than we’ve seen in the past!

I think he’s grown up a lot through this, which is great news for his future at our club.

 

[Berts Neck]

My one hope is that his pefrormance does not relate to having no crowd..he didnt always receive the best support when playing in front of a full Etihad..I think he was nervous..now we can see him at his best, when the crowds return let us be behind him... and quite honestly Raheem, Bernardo and Jesus need some positive support too. Come on, they are all Blue and need our support.

 

[shevtheblue]

The things i notice, as well as the obvious bits with better defending, are his confidence with the ball. We always knew he had the ability to take the ball and move forwards into space, but he was afraid to use it. The same with his passing, we were always told of how comfortable he was with the ball and how good a passer he was, but he would always play the safe pass. I very rarely remember him trying the switch passes, or breaking the lines (successfully) with passes, that's a regular for him now. Looking superb.

 

[jimharri]

 

[Tricky_Trev]

Here’s a stat for you. John Stones’ last 18 starts going back to the beginning of 2020:

WDWWWWWWWWWWDWWWWW

16 wins
2 draws
0 defeats
14 clean sheets

 

[mccity]

I think he struggled a bit early on with Watkins's physicality, but afterwards he looked more assured like we're used to seeing.

 

[Deleted member 77198]

Johnny Boulders! Nothing more...

 

[Tricky_Trev]

15 clean sheets in his last 19 starts.

 

[domalino]

I think he struggled a bit early on with Watkins's physicality, but afterwards he looked more assured like we're used to seeing.

Yeah, I thought today was the first game all season where he really had some trouble at points. I think Watkins is really good, so maybe that's expected, but Dias and co. bailed him out a couple of times and he got on top of things as Villa dropped deeper and had fewer players in their counters.

And then as we pressed for the goal he carried into midfield well and started some dangerous attacks.

 

[The Coaches Voice]

At The Coaches’ Voice, we work together with the greatest minds in football to provide entertaining, educational and impartial content for all football fans. We also employ a number of professional coaches to carry out tactical analysis and player scouting. Here we look at Manchester City defender John Stones following his fantastic recent form, we hope you enjoy it.

John Stones: Premier League Player Watch - The Coaches' Voice

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The Coaches’ Voice