John Stones

[davek]

I'm not saying that Stones necessarily made the right choice, he probably did over do it and ignored a chance to batter it away, and I can understand why some fans were going ape, but the lad has made up his mind, that's the way it is going to be. We can huff and puff and fume and scratch our heads and cover our eyes as much as we want, but I can't see any outbreak of more pragmatic defending any time soon. Roberto tells our players to go and out and be arrogant and I'm sure he is a big supporter of Stone's approach.

I'm not sure in that particular incident he'd approve. As @kenada_blue said above, Martinez would have wanted options open to Stones after he'd originally mopped up, but it wasn't there. The choice at that point was NOT to continue to arse about with it until those choices became available.

He was deep in his own box and up against good attackers pressing him.

 

[Woolly Blue]

He's also got into the bad habit of taunting forward players by waiting until the last minute to release the ball.

One man's taunting forward players is another mans making space for the person he's going to pass the ball to.

 

[ToffeeDoug]

One man's taunting forward players is another mans making space for the person he's going to pass the ball to.

Fair, as long as the other player wants the ball passed to him.

 

[davek]

One man's taunting forward players is another mans making space for the person he's going to pass the ball to.

I think what he does well is wait for the pursuer to get that close they have trouble adjusting to his change of direction and pace when carrying the ball. @atrottel is right too though that he can dilly dally a bit releasing a forward pass and it looks like it has a bit of the ole's about it.

 

[dublinbluenose]

I don't think you can have it both ways with Stones. Yes he got away with it a bit in that incident but just before that he did something very similar about 10 yards in side his own half and left Lamela (I think) for dead and strode forward into spurs half and set up an attack.

Those calls are so marginal you have to trust the player to get it right, in the majority of cases his ability will get him out of danger and us on the front foot.

 

[Woolly Blue]

I think what he does well is wait for the pursuer to get that close they have trouble adjusting to his change of direction and pace when carrying the ball. @atrottel is right too though that he can dilly dally a bit releasing a forward pass and it looks like it has a bit of the ole's about it.

It works well in the first 60 or 70 minutes, when the likes of Barry etc are fresh. Later on in the game, it's not as effective, unless we have a fresh sub on in front of him

 

[atrottel]

One man's taunting forward players is another mans making space for the person he's going to pass the ball to.

Maybe taunting was the wrong word. But when you are passing sideways to your defensive partner or a five-yard pass to the same midfielder that you could have passed to a few seconds before when they were more open, it slows the whole game down. Yes, it probably takes your man more out of the play but quicker movement also has its own advantages. We were doing that for fun at the start of the second half and Spurs were cutting through us at will with quick one touch pass and move in the first half.

 

[Woolly Blue]

I don't think you can have it both ways with Stones. Yes he got away with it a bit in that incident but just before that he did something very similar about 10 yards in side his own half and left Lamela (I think) for dead and strode forward into spurs half and set up an attack.

Those calls are so marginal you have to trust the player to get it right, in the majority of cases his ability will get him out of danger and us on the front foot.

This is where I am with him now.

I've got such confidence in his ability that my heart's no longer in my boots when he's doing stuff which, for most other players, would be overplaying it. He's also stronger than he was twelve months ago which means he can use that strength now, whereas last season he was bullied quite easily sometimes.

 

[Woolly Blue]

Maybe taunting was the wrong word. But when you are passing sideways to your defensive partner or a five-yard pass to the same midfielder that you could have passed to a few seconds before when they were more open, it slows the whole game down. Yes, it probably takes your man more out of the play but quicker movement also has its own advantages. We were doing that for fun at the start of the second half and Spurs were cutting through us at will with quick one touch pass and move in the first half.

That's a fair point. He's actually improved that side of his game ( quick passing ) this season, but it's still work in progress.

 

[Gwladys St. Glory]

I'd rather have this type of conversation about a 21 Y/O Everton CB than not...that's where I'm at with it all.

 

[MACCA75]

There is a time to launch the ball tbh. When you've just dribbled it pretty much onto your own goal line, that is the time.

 

[LAToffee]

What I don't like is that players of lesser ability in this area are starting to do it. Seamus and Besic come to mind. Sometime you just need to hoof.

 

[MartSlinger]

Those turns in our box at the end were brilliant. Everyone around me was flapping and i was calm because i have the utmost faith in the lad.

It told me though that under no circumstance did he want to pass to Howard, i remember Coleman doing it once or twice throughout the game.

 

[bicycleheader]

Faff on you crazy diamond.

I'll be expecting nutmegs against Aguero and Yaya on our own penalty spot on Wed night.

 

[LinekersLegs]

It works well in the first 60 or 70 minutes, when the likes of Barry etc are fresh. Later on in the game, it's not as effective, unless we have a fresh sub on in front of him

Also later in the game there is less time for any mistake to be repaired, especially when we are drawing 1-1 in the 88th minutes would prefer a safety first approach rather than Cruyff turns in the box.