John Stones

[davek]

Not a CB in a million years. Said it from the outset.

 

[Eggs]

Not a CB in a million years. Said it from the outset.

....I think he's brilliant, said it from the outset. Only time will tell.

 

[LinekersLegs]

I don't know how these fans manage to type, with their bleach in one hand and their pitchforks in the other.

Half of them probably wanted to name him captain last season.

 

[davek]

....I think he's brilliant, said it from the outset. Only time will tell.

Looks more like a defensive mid to me. The feller looks uncomfortable doing the bread and butter stuff. No good to anyone as a CB if that's correct...and having seen him for two seasons, I think it is.

 

[bluestevon]

Looks more like a defensive mid to me. The feller looks uncomfortable doing the bread and butter stuff. No good to anyone as a CB if that's correct...and having seen him for two seasons, I think it is.

When he first broke into the team mate he excelled at doing 'the bread and butter stuff', is your memory that short?

He's been playing here 3 seasons btw Dave...

 

[davek]

When he first broke into the team mate he excelled at doing 'the bread and butter stuff', is your memory that short?

He's been playing here 3 seasons btw Dave...

He's not a CB I'd feel comfortable with, that's for sure.

He didn't come in and do the bread and butter stuff, btw. He was positionally all over the shop and remains so.

I would take daft money for him and reinvest it in another CB plus keeper.

 

[bluestevon]

He's not a CB I'd feel comfortable with, that's for sure.

He didn't come in and do the bread and butter stuff, btw. He was positionally all over the shop and remains so.

I would take daft money for him and reinvest it in another CB plus keeper.

I was talking about when he first came in mate and yes he did do the bread and butter stuff and his positioning initially was one of the thigns that made him stand out so much as a young player for us - unless your thinking about the rs game when he played as a rb and was all over the show

then again you may have missed it with you having only seen him play 2 seasons apparently

P.S. Anyone advocating we sell him as anything other than a last resort is absolutely mad as a brush

 

[PhilM]

It's fair to say that I believe we've been better without him as of late, however that does not mean he's a poor player or should be sold.

People seem to forget (or ignore) that he's only the tender age of twenty-one and is still definitely learning his trade and not the finished article.

He'll make mistakes, go through periods of poor form and be open to criticism, yet he will certainly become a much better player for it.

A period out of the team will let him rest, gather his thoughts and get some much needed training done, and as a result will come back stronger.

Mori is playing better than Stone at the moment and as such should rightfully retain his place, but I'm sure John will be challenging for it.

 

[TommyDavo]

With Dave on this one

 

[II McColl II]

I just personally think his head isn't in it any more and when you look over some of the games unless you're in denial its quite obvious to see. Take the Chelsea game as a prime example, i struggle to think of a game where he was more lost positionally and had a complete inability to make the most simple choices and passes on a regular basis, reason for this probably being due to trying to impress too much.

There is no question that he CAN defend, his partnership with Distin as a rookie thrown in at the deep end was our best pairing in the last 2/3 seasons and resulted in us going on a great run of form results wise and defensive record. But right now at this moment our best partnership is Jags and Mori who is playing alot like the Stones we were accustomed to in his first season e.g looking to bring the ball out when possible, solid defensively, not taking too many risks and ocassional wtf moment

Its all down to Stones now to knuckle down and either earn his place in the team again or look to move on, we have managed to put ourselves in a position were a potential £50 million defender is already replacable so if hes not prepared to get his head down and show what he is worth then we just go about our business, let the lad move on and build with the money he brings in.

 

[davek]

I was talking about when he first came in mate and yes he did do the bread and butter stuff and his positioning initially was one of the thigns that made him stand out so much as a young player for us - unless your thinking about the rs game when he played as a rb and was all over the show
then again you may have missed it with you having only seen him play 2 seasons apparently
P.S. Anyone advocating we sell him as anything other than a last resort is absolutely mad as a brush

I think you'll find that is a growing constituency...and for good reason.

 

[bluestevon]

I think you'll find that is a growing constituency...and for good reason.

Aye mate same ones most likely that advocated selling Lukaku after last season and Barkley too, and yup remember distinctly a fair few people giving those shouts

 

[Joey66]

Not a CB in a million years. Said it from the outset.

So ideal to play the Gareth Barry role eventually?

 

[davek]

Aye mate same ones most likely that advocated selling Lukaku after last season and Barkley too, and yup remember distinctly a fair few people giving those shouts

Certainly wasn't me on those two counts...and that's because those two could easily be seen as future top performers in their positions.

I just dont get how anyone can view Stones performances and think he can be placed at the heart of a defence. He's got bags of talent, but he needs to be played in front of the back four, not in it.

 

[davek]

So ideal to play the Gareth Barry role eventually?

Wouldn't argue with that. It's not an attack on Stones, it's a view that he needs to find his position and if we have loads in that position to choose from then we might think about taking the cash and recycling it.