It's Quiet thread 14 - 'do one' edition

[OrigamiNinja]

All transfers can burn fingers...what convinces you Koulibaly wouldn't? He may not....but watching him in the ACON, i certainly wouldnt put money on it,he was a limping cart horse.

Of course this can happen but typically the risk is reduced when you buy a player who has been performing at a very high level for a significant amount of time. Nobody can tell me that buying Koulibaly is riskier than buying Stones from Everton and Ake from Bournemouth for a combined £90m.

 

[Tugay One Cup]

We've fucked up, whether he stays or not imo.

In hindsight, we fucked up the minute we paid £50m for him and when we gave Otamendi an extension until 2022.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

Can't say I agree with that. If he's quicker then it's marginal but his passing has become progressively more conservative throughout his time with us in the same way that he no longer gallops into midfield. Laporte is a wonderful passer of the ball.



And this could just as easily be an indictment, given the shite they've hyped up for the last decade.

I'm fine with him staying, if we can flog Otamendi and Garcia then I see no reason not to. But if he is anywhere near being our first option then he has either improved exponentially or we've fucked up with recruitment.

His passing became more conservative once Fernandinho vacated our midfield, which again tells us all we need to know about where the problem really lies.

The midfield issue has caused all our defenders to lose confidence, they are no longer convinced to play the ball into the area it needs to go, because Gundo and Rodri aren't brave enough to come into the hole and receive it.

Laporte is an excellent passer, no doubt, but Stones is easily on a par when his confidence is high.

United and Spurs play much close to their own goal, their own teams are crying out for a passer out of defence.

Put it this way, if a fit and confident Stones played next to Van Dijk, they would be the best pairing in the league as a combo.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

You think we would want to come back?

No idea.

 

[TonyColemansbagofapples]

Just been catching up and noticed a few posters saying leave Carson out of the CL squad. I believe you have to register three keepers in the squad by the rules of the competition which is why Danny Grimshaw has been registered in previous years

 

[CITYROBBO]

Denayer and Stones would be the perfect mix of competition and the right age profile, with, as you say, Harwood Bellis in reserve.

We have faced Denayer three times now and he has proved more than capable against our attack.

I don't want us blowing £70m plus on a central defender - that calibre of player just isn't out there at present IMO.

Use the money for a world class midfielder who can run and tackle.

Disagree on both points Tolmie! Stones is injury prone and overated. Denayer isnt good enough for us whatsoever.. Both of them arent what we need at all..

We NEED to blow £70 million on Kalidou Koulibaly right now URGENTLY! Our central defence needs a leader not some back up players that dont fit the void..

 

[alexmcity]

There is a huge difference between a brain fart (somewhere like Norwich) than being responsible for fucking things up at the back.

The high-line, lack of midfield protection, that is what fucks things up at the back.

Stones is quicker than Laporte, passes between the lines better than Laporte. He lacks Laporte's aerial aggression,the cynical stuff which saw him knocked off the ball in games against Liverpool and Monaco.

City are at their best when Stones is at his best, splitting to give Ederson an option down the middle, being brave into the spaces and looking for a pass, comfortable in the triangles.

If he is playing for Spurs or United, he is suddenly being touted again as a top-class defender.

He should absolutely be good enough to be the regular back-up to the Vinny heir apparent which supposedly exists out there.

I've yet to see him. They don't make them like Vinny anymore - someone who also had his fair share of fuck ups, let's be honest.

City are at their best when Stones is at his best? How many games did Stones start during our run of 14 consecutive wins which won us the title in 18/19 and during which we conceded just 4 goals?

Are there any data which back up your claims about Stones and Laporte? I can remember situations where Laporte's passes led to goals, can't say the same about Stones. And the latter isn't quicker than Laporte either. Pep was so pissed with him that he played a kid and a veteran over him.

 

[TonyColemansbagofapples]

I agree with Tolmie, I think Partey would be a good fit. I also rate Denayer and thought Pep would have loved his style of play.

 

[skyblues]

I genuinely believe he is one of the best central defenders in the world at what he does and showing patience now could see us reap the dividends for years to come.

What?...

Mate, nothing in the world suggests that. He had one good season out of the four years he has been here. One. He racked up mistakes over the years and he never seem to learn from them either. He has a weak mentality, he doesn’t look well, there’s no fighting in him.

Stones is 26 years old and you have guys like Upamecano and De Ligt who’s 4-6 years younger and already proved to be better. We’re waiting for something that will never happen. You just don’t turn 26 overnight and suddenly become a master of reading the game, add physicality to your game and become more aware defensively.
This is probably as good as it gets and it seems it’s not enough for Pep.

We know City wanted to extend with Eric Garcia. We know City are after Koulibaly, and we’ve just signed Aké.
That gives us 2 rightsided and 2 leftsided CBs with Laporte included here.

We also know 35-year old CDM Fernandinho and a 19-year old Garcia comes ahead of Stones in the pecking order. If Stones had any signs of becoming world class and shown glimpses of it, then these two guys would not start ahead of a fit Stones, and we’d have a ton of clubs after him, which we don’t.

There’s nothing world class about John Stones.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

Disagree on both points Tolmie! Stones is injury prone and overated. Denayer isnt good enough for us whatsoever.. Both of them arent what we need at all..

We NEED to blow £70 million on Kalidou Koulibaly right now URGENTLY! Our central defence needs a leader not some back up players that dont fit the void..

What we urgently need is an orthodox right-sided central defender - Koulibaly is a right-footer who consistently plays on the left.

£70m plus for another suck it and see is a terrible strategy - it was the same last summer going after Maguire who also plays on the left.

Thank fuck we didn't pay that either.

It's not rocket science - sign players for the positions they already play and we need.