A fully fit stones is a huge asset to any club why on earth would we sell him !!
What model mouth organ did you say, mate?Haha, you're asking the wrong club for that. We'll probably offer you 20 Benson & Hedges, a Mouth Organ & a McDonald's Monopoly Old Kent Road sticker.
Either that or Mateo Guendouzi, as Arteta seems desperate to get rid of him.
Not sure what would be the best offer of the 2.
that should be an issue a manager is able to coach then. If we are getting rid of him then there must be something Pep thinks is un-coachable?Concentration,
That is his only problem,he drifts and then it affects his actions.
Just my opinion.
Who says we're getting rid of him ?that should be an issue a manager is able to coach then. If we are getting rid of him then there must be something Pep thinks is un-coachable?
With Garcia likely to be Barcelona bound, Otto seemingly surplus to requirements and Ferno starting to show signs of age it might not be wise to let him go this window as that would mean we need 3 new centre backs for next season unless we promote HB or bring back loanees. Not an ideal situation tbh.Who says we're getting rid of him ?
He cost us a goal in our most recent cup final when he fell over for no apparent reason like an old lady in a shopping precinct
TBF we managed to get 2 PL's, an Fa Cup and 3 league cups with him playing a lot of games. Think we've got as much out of him as we can.I think City needs to have a come to Jesus moment with respect to Stones. Ever since he has arrived he has been inconsistent and has been plagued by injuries as well as what seems to problems in his personal life. Maybe there's a psychological problem with him. But we paid 50 million for an asset who just has not panned out the way we thought he would. It's a tough pill to swallow but I think you have to. We were talking about him as Captain material when he arrived and it just doesn't look like its gonna happen here.
TBF we managed to get 2 PL's, an Fa Cup and 3 league cups with him playing a lot of games. Think we've got as much out of him as we can.
And i think it's a bit harsh, he's clearly a good defender and *had* the potential to be world class. There are games where he has been brilliant, even for England in the world cup, he was arguably the best defender. And he looks to make himself available for the pass, which is really what Pep wants.I think this is giving him a bit too much credit. Think about how much we keep the ball. The team doesn't really need to do a lot of defending, and when we get attacked and he's responsible to stop it, he usually don't.
By the way, any indications he's leaving, any clubs interested?
And i think it's a bit harsh, he's clearly a good defender and *had* the potential to be world class. There are games where he has been brilliant, even for England in the world cup, he was arguably the best defender. And he looks to make himself available for the pass, which is really what Pep wants.
Sadly clubs will always take the piss when buying our players, Stones probably on double Lovren wages also. If we get 20m+ its a done deal. For accounting purposes it will be a profit anyway won't it? hes been here a good few years so amortization has kicked in.Liverpool charged 11m pounds for Lovren who is 32 and and pretty shit. Zenit paid it.
A 27 year old, English Stones who could have 5-6 year left in PL top half team surely has to be more than 20m fee.
Liverpool charged 11m pounds for Lovren who is 32 and and pretty shit. Zenit paid it.
A 27 year old, English Stones who could have 5-6 year left in PL top half team surely has to be more than 20m fee.
If it was that easy, then Mangala would have been a superstar for Pep. Positional awareness, ability to know when to make yourself available and where to move to provide out balls when required, ability to break the lines and having the balls to do it, he has all those. He also has the technical and physical attributes to defend well and he does for the most part of it, but he has failures and they're always big failures. I agree that him and Otamendi need moving on and i also agree Ake will be a good player for us, but i think he'll be part of the squad and rotate out Laporte for rests when needed. Pep really likes that left and right foot dynamic as it allows for much quicker switches of play.Yes but it's really not that hard to move into empty spaces and receive a pass. His job is still defending and that's where he lacks ability.
I think people will realize once Aké joins the team, that he will be a good upgrade on Stones, and I do think it's necessary to sell both him and Otamendi and bring in some fresh blood. These guys in a partnership is nowadays a synonym for failure. I would've agreed with you 1-2 years ago regarding Stones and his potential, but he's had too much time on his hands to prove he's Laportes partner long-term. Pep clearly don't trust him anymore, and neither do I.
They got 11 million for Lovren during a pandemic? FFS.Liverpool charged 11m pounds for Lovren who is 32 and and pretty shit. Zenit paid it.
A 27 year old, English Stones who could have 5-6 year left in PL top half team surely has to be more than 20m fee.
£11m for Lovren is probably the going price and around what we would be looking for Otamendi i'd assume (not sure of his contract situation in comparison to Lovren though). However the others are proof that the market is in England, i think if we could sell someone like Zinchenko for instance to an English team we would get upwards of £25m but if we sell him abroad we are getting between £15-20m. Coutinho is a bit of an anomaly, at the time he was their only world class player and Barca had money to burn with the Neymar sale (although they never actually handed over the money for Coutinho!). As a comparison, if we sold someone like Sterling to Real Madrid it would be for mega money.A bit of digression but how do Liverpool and Chelsea are able to sell their players at such a good price something we could never do.
Liverpool in a last few years have sold Benteke, Ibe Solanke Coutinho and now Lovren at a very good price. It is almost criminal!
A CL club like RB Leipzeg won't pay 20 mil for Angelino who actually is a first team player with huge potential.