John Stones

[Dax777]

If he's 'snubbing' Utd then the whole deal becomes more desirable ;)

Lol

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

2014/15 group game at our place, gave the ball straight to Kun which allowed us to win the game.
2014/15 Semi-Final 2nd leg v Barca, no control over the backline despite him leading it, yes Benatia was awful but even then his own decision making was poor, and he made virtually no attempt to go and block the ball for the 2nd goal, as well as the defensive line which is something Vinnie is really good at, being all over the place.
2013/14 semi-final 2nd leg, same problems, out of position, not committing to tackles meaning Real ran through into dangerous areas, gave up on trying to cut Bale off at source for the third and instead let him run. Jumped over the ball in the wall for the 4th, turning his back on it, generally doing a Nasri and being a coward.
2013/14 against us in the Allianz, not only let the ball bounce past him for Silva's goal, but also put the lamest Nasri-like boot out to try and stop the ball coming back in, dreadful defending. His pathetic attempt at a clearance also gave Milner the winner.
2015/16 against Arsenal, his dreadful attempted marking of Giroud gave Arsenal the lead. Yes Neuer cocked up, but Boateng still allowed Giroud to beat him. Didn't do enough to block Bellerin's cross for the 2nd despite getting there.
2012/13 in the final, it was him stumbling over after heading the ball away that put Reus through on Dante which led to the penalty and Dortmund's equaliser.
2015/16 v Atletico 2nd leg, caught jogging around putting half a leg out miles up the pitch when Atletico broke for their goal.
2013/14 first leg v Madrid, let Coentrao round the back of him for him to cross to Benzema for the only goal.

And of course he was made to look a tit in the Nou Camp. Messi was indeed brilliant for that goal, and Boateng also managed to embarrass himself. Also in that game managed to step up poorly and play Suarez onside for a clear 1-on-1 that Neuer bailed him out of, let Suarez past him again for another clear chance, again half-committed in the build-up to the first goal which allowed Barca to play round him, then he was made a complete tit of by Messi, mainly because he faced up the wrong way and then fell over himself, he tried to turn around from running towards his own goal and tackle Messi with his right foot, such was his terrible positioning, body shape and decision-making. I'll let him off another non-tackle for the 3rd goal.

if that's not enough to show Boateng isn't top class, then I don't know what is. Yes he's played with Dante and Benatia who have been calamities at times, and yes the midfield losing the ball in dangerous areas and the counter-attack being sprung doesn't help, but part of his job, especially in a Pep team, is to manage to deal with at least some of the above, a lot of which was either basic mistakes, basic defending which he did poorly or a complete lack of leadership, awareness and initiative to bail the team out, which is what the best defenders do. Yes, on a number of occasions someone else made a mistake where Boateng ended up the last line of defence before Neuer, but I don't think it's unfair to say on many of those occasions he picked the wrong option, which was normally backing off, letting the opposition run towards the goal at the angle they wanted and create the chance.

He's a coward, he switches off, he has no leadership skills, too often he chooses to jog around, his decision-making is poor and often when it comes to the crunch he chooses the option which will mean he doesn't get a kick, rather than the one which is best for the team.

He's not top class and I genuinely believe he's a key reason why Pep didn't win a CL at Bayern.

Yeah, but apart from that?

Haha - I agree, an absolute fraud shit house.

 

[Neville Kneville]

I don't think pep would have chosen another player for that position in all honesty.

Pep doesn't say things to please employers. And he could have bought anyone he wished. No one at Bayern was forcing him to play Lahm there and it was noticeable that Germany moved Lahm's position for the national team.

Don't deny that, but I don't see Lahm as better than, for instance, Barca's options under Pep personally & I don't believe he does either. Excellent cog in the team plan, which I strongly believe in, as it happens, & don't think every player has to be a worldbeater. No need to change it if it doesn't need fixing.

 

[g180aj]

Half of the Everton squad already live in Hale. I don't know if he has bought a house or if he's moving to City, but I certainly don't think an Everton player buying a house in Hale should be seen as a hint that he's moving to a Manchester club.

There is a couple who do but the majority of them live towards southport and in a few of the nice area's in south Liverpool same as the Liverpool players.

 

[Neville Kneville]

I think you'll find, if this were to happen, he wouldn't be snubbing Utd, they would have pulled out as they didn't want him.
A bit like them letting us have Pep......

Which was of course, because they already had Mourinho lined up.

 

[Tugay One Cup]

Never thought I'd say this but I agree



Prick

Hahaha, it's bound to happen from time to time.




Tugay ;)

 

[aguero93:20]

I had been confused as to why we were chasing so many new center backs when both fullback positions seemed so in need of investment, but I think we will see Stones play RB a fair amount for us next season and beyond. I had read that Pep believes the winger and fullback should never play in the same vertical plane, that is if you have a fullback that plays wide and overlaps a lot, the winger needs to tuck inside more often and provide the midfield with support. Alternatively, with wingers that hug the touchline until the final third the fullback is required to play closer to the midfield.

At Bayern, both Alaba and Lahm tended to tuck in and the wingers were very wide to stretch the opposition, and you would see a lot of quick switches of the ball from side to side. Stones would play very well in that role, although like Alaba he will also play CB often. That versatility would make him a really good fit for us. We may also see the same of Laporte on the left which explains the summer's approach to buying so many CBs and maybe not selling Mangala and hopefully promoting Denayer.
GK- Hart
RB - Stones
CB - VK
CB - Mangala
LB - Laporte
Pivote - Gundogan
CM#8 - Fernandinho
CM #10 - KDB
RW - Sane
LW - Sterling
CF - Kun

Perhaps we could look like this sometimes, and play Clichy or Sagna partnered with Silva on the left or right in the event we want a winger who plays closer to the middle and our fullback to play with more width.

Where's our width coming from with a centre half at RB and a left footed RW? Guardiola loves his width.

 

[Shaelumstash]

I had been confused as to why we were chasing so many new center backs when both fullback positions seemed so in need of investment, but I think we will see Stones play RB a fair amount for us next season and beyond. I had read that Pep believes the winger and fullback should never play in the same vertical plane, that is if you have a fullback that plays wide and overlaps a lot, the winger needs to tuck inside more often and provide the midfield with support. Alternatively, with wingers that hug the touchline until the final third the fullback is required to play closer to the midfield.

At Bayern, both Alaba and Lahm tended to tuck in and the wingers were very wide to stretch the opposition, and you would see a lot of quick switches of the ball from side to side. Stones would play very well in that role, although like Alaba he will also play CB often. That versatility would make him a really good fit for us. We may also see the same of Laporte on the left which explains the summer's approach to buying so many CBs and maybe not selling Mangala and hopefully promoting Denayer.
GK- Hart
RB - Stones
CB - VK
CB - Mangala
LB - Laporte
Pivote - Gundogan
CM#8 - Fernandinho
CM #10 - KDB
RW - Sane
LW - Sterling
CF - Kun

Perhaps we could look like this sometimes, and play Clichy or Sagna partnered with Silva on the left or right in the event we want a winger who plays closer to the middle and our fullback to play with more width.

Good post mate, I understand where you are coming from. But the way I read the "vertical plain" thing was that it was interchangeable during a game. So for example if the full back overlaps on the outside, the winger tucks inside. If the winger is wide then the fullback goes narrow. It's not fixed for the whole game.

I think the idea is to create better angles for passes so players aren't stood in a straight line of each other. Playing a ball at an angle means it's easier to control and move in one fluid movement. Also defensively it means you are restricting space for opposing wide players and full backs.

I understand your idea that he could play left back and Stones right back, but I've just watched this video of Laporte playing left of a back 3 and he looks like he'd be an absolute liability at left back to me. He looks too immobile and clumsy on the ball to play as a full back, particularly in a Guardiola team.

 

[Tugay One Cup]

Where's our width coming from with a centre half at RB and a left footed RW? Guardiola loves his width.

Messi played on the right for quite a while with Pedro on the left. Ribery, Robben, Costa and Coman have been used on either wing. The width comes from holding your position rather than sticking to the right if you're right footed and visa versa.

 

[Maly]

I know this has been mentioned already regarding the new house in Manchester, pretty confident @tolmie's hairdoo mentioned it but it's not like it's happened in the last few days or even weeks, he moved to Manchester shortly after the turn of the year.
Maybe the waters had already been tested and he knew we were interested, would be strange to buy a new house without an idea of what his future may hold.

I know this has been mentioned already regarding the new house in Manchester, pretty confident @tolmie's hairdoo mentioned it but it's not like it's happened in the last few days or even weeks, he moved to Manchester shortly after the turn of the year.
Maybe the waters had already been tested and he knew we were interested, would be strange to buy a new house without an idea of what his future may hold.

i heard of City's interest & his potential interest in us in January....so it could make sense.