John Stones

[GBrannan]

Quite a few on this thread seem happy for JS to be moved on , I wonder if Pep feels the same.

It feels like he is drinking in the last chance saloon - not sure how much his injuries have affected his performances . I want him to get his game together personally but not sure how much his confidence levels are.

I think he’s done now for us. We won’t see him any kind of meaningful game unless we’re stuffed by injuries.

He hasn’t developed. He looks like the same player we signed. He’s like a defensive version of Ross Barkley. They both look like they have all the ingredients but it doesn’t work at the really top level.

In a defensive team Stones would look fine. He could even play in midfield because his job wouldn’t be about taking and playing with initiative but instead about playing pure percentages.

It’s a shame because for a time it felt like he was progressing. I’d be shocked if we don’t move on.

 

[Andouble]

Decent squad player but 50m it’s an easy decision.

 

[Semper aggressus]

We need to give him time. He has the talent to succeed, we've all seen glimpses of that, and when on form he's perfectly good enough to play for us.

We're already short of good centre backs, so if we sold Stones even if we then bought Skriniar we'd still need to buy another top class one otherwise we're back to square one with only two decent central defenders, and a Laporte injury away from struggling in that position again.

We need to stop being so impatient with players. Keep Stones and sign either Skriniar or Koulibaly and we're sorted at centre back.

 

[Matt Diablo]

Stonesy is just too floppy and passive for what we need. With a squad of supremely talented 5"8/10 ballers we need our centrebacks to be yes good passers but ultimately absolute fukin beasts. Sorry he aint that

 

[lonestay]

Let him go to the Arse for whatever we can get out of them, I think he needs a new challenge, plenty of new bars and clubs in the Islington area for him to find that challenge if he is drinking in the last chance saloon at City.

 

[Keeper!]

Perfect for Arsenal, great player but goes missing when required.

 

[MeatHunterrr]

We need to give him time. He has the talent to succeed, we've all seen glimpses of that, and when on form he's perfectly good enough to play for us.

We're already short of good centre backs, so if we sold Stones even if we then bought Skriniar we'd still need to buy another top class one otherwise we're back to square one with only two decent central defenders, and a Laporte injury away from struggling in that position again.

We need to stop being so impatient with players. Keep Stones and sign either Skriniar or Koulibaly and we're sorted at centre back.

Nah, he needs binning off.

 

[I'm With Stupid]

I think he’s done now for us. We won’t see him any kind of meaningful game unless we’re stuffed by injuries.

He hasn’t developed. He looks like the same player we signed. He’s like a defensive version of Ross Barkley. They both look like they have all the ingredients but it doesn’t work at the really top level.

In a defensive team Stones would look fine. He could even play in midfield because his job wouldn’t be about taking and playing with initiative but instead about playing pure percentages.

It’s a shame because for a time it felt like he was progressing. I’d be shocked if we don’t move on.

I'm not ever sure that's true tbh. I think in a defensive team, that's where we'd see he weaknesses more. He's a ball-playing centre half, and his problem has always been in things like concentration and competing for the ball. But yeah, perhaps a team where every mistake doesn't lead to a goal.

 

[salfordbluetrue]

Did he play against utd no, so it is not his fault the defense was crap again, just for the haters Stones`s biggest fault is his injuries, it makes him unreliable and as such you can not build a team around him, his form is better than almost every other defender it the team, and he is a first team player, so as such we buy a replacement this summer, and if he is good enough he pushes Stones out. That is the natural order of things, lose Stones this summer and we will need 3 CB`s none of which we can guarantee will fit

 

[I'm With Stupid]

We need to give him time. He has the talent to succeed, we've all seen glimpses of that, and when on form he's perfectly good enough to play for us.

We're already short of good centre backs, so if we sold Stones even if we then bought Skriniar we'd still need to buy another top class one otherwise we're back to square one with only two decent central defenders, and a Laporte injury away from struggling in that position again.

We need to stop being so impatient with players. Keep Stones and sign either Skriniar or Koulibaly and we're sorted at centre back.

I'm not sure he'll ever be more than a squad player for us any more. But if we binned him off this summer, we'd be in for a hell of a rebuilding job. Let's be honest, Otamendi really needs to be going soon too, and Fernandinho isn't exactly a long term solution. So that's at least two centre backs we're going to need either this summer or next, and that's not a position we've had a great record in recruiting for. If we also bin off Stones, we need 3. But if we're willing to keep him as a backup with the hope he develops, then that reduces our transfer spending significantly. Having said that, he's probably the only one that we'd be able to get a fee for, so perhaps it makes more sense to sell him and persist with Otamendi and Fernandinho as the backups for next season, and bring in a new first choice.

I know that people will point to Garcia and THB, but the reality is that we're very unlikely to go into the season with an 18 year-old as one of the four. If we sell Stones, we'll be bringing in an established player to replace him almost certainly.