5 | John Stones - 2022/23

[howfen blue]

Can anyone imagine Rio Ferdinand playing right back?

Exactly. Because he's so good technically he's being hung out to dry while someone who's not half the player is playing where he should be.

 

[MadchesterCity]

Is a great centre half but a terrible right back

The fact he’s a terrible right back especially attacking isn't his fault though and he’s definitely not the answer with Walker out.

Perhaps the club need to buy a top left back now or trust Lewis at right back or Gomes or JWE at left back, if Cancelo is first choice left back and right back cover

 

[simon23]

most disinterested performance Ive seen from any city player in a competitive match since Pep arrived.

Appalling...

Needs to remember that its City that pays his wages and not England

 

[simon23]

He's a centre back.

No more to be said.

There is no excuse for not trying though..the lack of effort was appalling and regardless of everything else there is zero excuse for that.

I know he aint a fullback but its also not exactly alien to him as he played there for Everton on occasions before he even came to us.

Had his head elsewhere and that aint good enough

 

[Bluewonder]

There is no excuse for not trying though..the lack of effort was appalling and regardless of everything else there is zero excuse for that.

I know he aint a fullback but its also not exactly alien to him as he played there for Everton on occasions before he even came to us.

Had his head elsewhere and that aint good enough

There was no lack of effort, this is nonsense.

He's a centre back playing out of position so when he gets the ball he doesn't know what to do with it.

The team is totally unbalanced.

 

[simon23]

There was no lack of effort, this is nonsense.

He's a centre back playing out of position so when he gets the ball he doesn't know what to do with it.

The team is totally unbalanced.

there absolutely was.....strolling back at times...nowhere near a sprint.

Im not criticising him going forward....Im criicising his defensive effort and that wasnt acceptable

his overall passing was poor at times as well which is usually a strong point for him

 

[alexmcity]

I appreciate his efforts at RB and willingness to play there in the first place. He was a CB playing out of position and thinking, like the other lads, about the WC. Any of them is absolutely desperate to play in Qatar. It sucks, but the WC is a big, big deal for the players.

 

[Lauz9888]

I'm struggling to think of a single centre-back in the league who could do anything like the job John's been doing at right-back, especially in a Pep team where the demands made of full-backs aren't always particularly straightforward.

But he is always only doing a job, and that means he's going to have moments and matches where he's out of his depth and it's really obvious that he's out of position.

I think he and the team are suffering as a result of his versatility. Stick Stones at right-back, he's a talented professional who can fill in. But that means we miss what he offers centrally (for me he's still our best centre-back, only not playing there because none of the others can manage as he does at right-back). And we miss the chance to properly assess our full-back options.

We should have bought an experienced full-back in the summer. Having an ageing and increasingly-injured Walker and a wildly unpredictable Cancelo as our only senior options is insane. When they're both fit and in form, they're fantastic, but they need rest and competition.

Not having brought in anyone to challenge for their places (Gomez being very inexperienced and raw), and then Walker being injured, we should have taken the hit and played those young players. Gomez, Wilson-Esbrand, Lewis - none of them is really ready, but they are full-backs. We should be giving them experience and supporting them through it in the knowledge that they will absolutely make mistakes because they're kids. But at least in doing that, they grow and learn and we get to work out just how good they are and if they're an option long-term and what kind of player/s we need to bring in to offer other options in those positions.

Playing Stones on the right and running Cancelo into the ground on the left is just papering over cracks. No-one learns anything.

 

[FantasyIreland]

I'm struggling to think of a single centre-back in the league who could do anything like the job John's been doing at right-back, especially in a Pep team where the demands made of full-backs aren't always particularly straightforward.

But he is always only doing a job, and that means he's going to have moments and matches where he's out of his depth and it's really obvious that he's out of position.

I think he and the team are suffering as a result of his versatility. Stick Stones at right-back, he's a talented professional who can fill in. But that means we miss what he offers centrally (for me he's still our best centre-back, only not playing there because none of the others can manage as he does at right-back). And we miss the chance to properly assess our full-back options.

We should have bought an experienced full-back in the summer. Having an ageing and increasingly-injured Walker and a wildly unpredictable Cancelo as our only senior options is insane. When they're both fit and in form, they're fantastic, but they need rest and competition.

Not having brought in anyone to challenge for their places (Gomez being very inexperienced and raw), and then Walker being injured, we should have taken the hit and played those young players. Gomez, Wilson-Esbrand, Lewis - none of them is really ready, but they are full-backs. We should be giving them experience and supporting them through it in the knowledge that they will absolutely make mistakes because they're kids. But at least in doing that, they grow and learn and we get to work out just how good they are and if they're an option long-term and what kind of player/s we need to bring in to offer other options in those positions.

Playing Stones on the right and running Cancelo into the ground on the left is just papering over cracks. No-one learns anything.

The best English centre back this country has and arguably City's best footballing centre back,and we have him playing full back......fuck me sideways.

 

[@+>]

The best English centre back this country has and arguably City's best footballing centre back,and we have him playing full back......fuck me sideways.

Been turned into an expensive John O’Shea; Mancini would have made him the best centreback in the world.