John Stones - 2016/17 performances

[Benarbia]

Needs to be taken out the firing line and rested. His confidence is shat on and I blame the constant formation and team changes.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

I'd honestly rather go through the Christmas period with Tosin and Sagna as our two centre halves with Willy in nets, and Clichy and Zaba either side of them.

Somehow I think it is not impossible to imagine Tosin making that back pass yesterday. I've seen him give the ball away, more noticeably going forward than backward and two or three passes later we're picking the ball out of our net.

We've spent a lot of The Good Sheikh's loose change and we haven't got a CB capable of defending in the mode of Kompers\Lescott.

Mangala might be as bad but bad in a different way to the current crop we have.

 

[Kinkladze 1]

He's the only senior defender who should be kept and that's not because he's pulling up any trees at the moment it's because he's young, was horribly expensive any may turn out decent fingers crossed. The rest can gladly fuck off the sooner the better.

 

[TonyM]

I am jumping on the bandwagon I know but he is now playing like I feared he would. In the summer inwas hoping we'd either not get him or hold out for an appropriate price. The idea that he's a good footballer has been for a long time now very debatable. Personally I think he slows down our game when building from the back and is not very good in defense.

I don't think we have much choice but to change our tactics to adapt to our poor defenders. Pack the defense and middle and invite the opposition on to us to catch them on the break. It'll mean not winning the league for certain but maybe we could still make top 4 and another year to build.

We should remember the long term goal and not waste time this year chasing an unattainable title. Just find a formation and style that with the right players can push on next year.

 

[cibaman]

He needs to play in a structure that suits his strengths. If he's going to play in a 3 he needs to be partnered by robust, experienced centre backs, not two natural full backs. He needs to be the one given license to play, not the one that's having to hold the defence together whilst his partners are dragged out wide into their normal full back positions. For large parts of the game it wasnt a back 4 or a back 3, it was a back 1.

 

[TonyM]

But he's not good going forward either cibiman:-)

 

[Helstonblue]

Whilst I have no doubt Stones in some way is a technically good footballer he is not a world class CB. To be such you need to be a leader, someone who has vision, brave and an example to all. Unfortunately our only one is Vinny K, who I fear may not return to our ranks the force he was..

 

[Deleted member 77198]

Agree but his howlers this season can now nearly be counted on 2 hands and thats not great.

Has everything to be world class but he needs to switch on, concentrate and whilst doing what his manager is asking, now and then just think no, its needless risk and dangerous and just defend correctly.

He has no pace and no strength so I'm struggling to see where he'll be a world class defender.

 

[mosssideblue]

Never really rated or wanted him, but he's playing like shit at the moment, he looks all over the place. When he's in form and feeling confident with those around him he looked a lot better than I expected, but putting him in a shaky defence is suicide. Also, just fuck off the stupid 3 at the back, we get fucked every time we try it. We don't have one reliable CB, so why on earth we insist on playing 3 of the fuckers is beyond me

I think the three at the back would work a lot better if we had three. We end up with two and Kolarov has decided he's a flying winger and fails to get back.

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

Whilst I have no doubt Stones in some way is a technically good footballer he is not a world class CB. To be such you need to be a leader, someone who has vision, brave and an example to all. Unfortunately our only one is Vinny K, who I fear may not return to our ranks the force he was..

so the only way you can be world class is if you have those qualities. ?