no... showboating is doing stepovers and the like. What ypu're describing there is hesitancy and - in the first half yesterday - a lot of poor play from the players around him
John Stones
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no... showboating is doing stepovers and the like. What ypu're describing there is hesitancy and - in the first half yesterday - a lot of poor play from the players around him
The Cowboy
Player Valuation: £60m
Bet Matty Foulds knows when to stick it in row Z. Get him in and give Stones the heave-ho.
Look no further than Funes Mori for £9 million.
Looks a far better player than Stones IMO.
I would love to see Wiliams and FM at the heart of our defence.
The only time Stones messed up on the ball yesterday (really, bar one or two miss-placed passed high up the pitch) was for their pen, where the blame lies mostly with Howard for a horrendous bit of goalkeeping.
Stones looks 10x the defender with Robles behind him... the proof was there for all to see against City. He simply just doesn't trust Howard and that's why he hesitated yesterday - you can clearly see it if you watch it back.
Haahah
God.
Mori has done well, but Stones is a different breed mate.
As for Williams, he's 31, been at Swansea years and is there club captain, plus the captain of Wales if I'm not mistaken... Somehow think he'll be staying put - plus, as good as he was yesterday, Swansea aren't 16th because they've kept tons of clean sheets...
Not sure how you can literally see mistrust unfolding but I do agree with the idea that Robles just settles the minds more.
I don't think people want to "drop him" per se, Toff.
It is just most of us don't think Funes Mori should be dropped when he is a better defender on current firm and can carry the ball as well as John can.
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Most defenders don't come into their peak until 28/29/30/31, in regards to the reading of the game and defensive side.
The fact that Stones is already so good at such a young age is why people who are saying drop him and get rid asap, quite frankly, deluded.
He's got a lot to learn, and he made an error yesterday that proved costly. I don't believe that the crowd getting on his back every time he had possession thereafter (and, actually, before it happened) helped. That's only going to make panic set in.
You really don't want to start casting up about Swansea's lack of clean sheets when comparing their centre back to ours
Rest him, then, but not for such a big game. It's his time to prove he can step up with Jagielka alongside him and a semi-competent goalkeeper behind them.
Mori has had an excellent start here, and I think he's a classy player, but I'd show faith in Stones. Heck, he might even go three at the back with our injury list anyway!
You really don't want to start casting up about Swansea's lack of clean sheets when comparing their centre back to ours
[/QUOTE]No mate, not at all. But by that token Williams wouldn't really be an improvement then would he...
He's a good, solid defender but mainly he is a leader. But that's because Swansea is 'his' club, per-say.
I think it is clear they have all been told to play it out from the back. Stones is young and well suited to that sort of play. I think the problem is that, unlike the other defenders in Jagielka and Funes Mori, he hasn't played under a defense-first coach. He doesn't fight the natural instinct to clear a ball to safety, his instincts and his instructions are to keep the ball in play. We do have to remember how young he is and I think it is also important to recognize he has really only played in the league under Martinez. I think it is up for Martinez and Jagielka to help him correct this part of his game. I don't agree with Martinez' assertion that we must always play the ball out. Some situations call for clearing the ball and re-organizing the team to defend.
There was a point mate, during the penalty incident, where the Sky camera angle went to a close up of Stones - just before he passed it.
He looks at Howard, but you can see he clearly doesn't want to go back to him. At that point, he lifts his head up - and this is where he goes wrong - because as he can't see a forward pass he finally decides he should go back to the keeper. This is when he should have booted it out into row z. Instead, he goes back to Howard, and miss-hits the pass, but... Howard still then manages to make a mountain out of a molehill.
You are contradicting yourself now, Toff.
If Stones doesn't "trust" Howard then the pass across the back line seems even more ludicrous.
If he has any doubts about him the top row of the main stand was where the ball should have gone.
Simple as.
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