John Stones

[Khalekan]

We're nowhere near being a top side so you need to have defenders who can actually defend first. Look at the clubs that finished above us last year.

Leicester with their legendary ball playing centre backs Huth and Morgan just won the league.

Arsenal with Mertersacker and Koscielny, who are both just solid defenders and release the ball to better players immediately.

Liverpool with the technically brilliant Sakho and Skrtl...

West Ham with the incredibly gifted James Collins and not at all hoof merchant Ogbonna.

I could go on.

These lads can defend, and their teams all finished comfortably higher than we did. A ball playing centre half is a massive luxury, we need someone who can dominate the aerial battles and stop us conceding from every other cross, John isn't that player.

Great post.

 

[KaiserEFC]

Unless he does a Rodwell...

In that case we'll be laughing all the way to the bank

 

[APN_EFC]

I don't think we should build our team around ball-playing centre halves. Watching Germany, you see Hummels, Höwedes & Boateng with a lot of the ball, spraying around passes all the time. I think we should keep it simple, let Baines & Coleman play to their strengths & everyone else can attack. Jags & Mori, with Stones as the third of a back 3 makes more sense, or make Stones an understudy to Barry, and he becomes a holding, passing, deep-lying playmaker in the future. If only young players had the patience to learn and go through a real apprenticeship. Will Man City give him time to develop?

 

[APN_EFC]

In that case we'll be laughing all the way to the bank

We haven't done badly on 'star player sales' you know..
Jeffers, Michael Ball, Arteta, Barmby, Rodwell, Rooney (I don't think he would have won us the league in the last 13 years if he'd stuck around), just to name a few. We've survived ok!

 

[bicycleheader]

I bet you'd say the same about rodwell few years back. "Future england captain" etc etc time will tell as for today he is a shy bloke from barnsley. Skillfull defender who can't defend and can't score goals

No.

You'd be betting wrong. Rodwell seemed decent but was a bit too.....okay at everything but not great at any one thing.

Stones for me is the best I've seen at the club since Rooney when it comes to potential to be one of the best in the world. (Ross I think will be very good but not quite a world beater, and thats fine by me)

Its a bit silly to say he can't defend when he has clearly shown in many many games that he can. He's had some poor games yep as have most of our players in the last 2 seasons, but he has also had long runs of looking great. José doesn't go lobbing megabucks at just any young defender. I think José knows better than you and me what makes a potrentially great player.

So, no. I dont think he will be playing at Sunderland or Newcastle in a few seasons. You can vault me in 5 years and see where he is at (Disclaimer: unless his progress is messed up by serious or repitive injuries!)

 

[Polish_Blue_Army]

I think José knows better than you and me what makes a potrentially great player.

Probably better but looking at his signings like Jiri Jarosik, Steve Sidwell, Shaun Wright Phillips, Tal Ben Haim, Andrej Szewczenko, can name a few more, i wouldn't say he is always 100% right. Why did he lose his interest now when he is at man utd ?

Still i think no one from "the experts" that know football so well and are so smart is saying that stones is a great player now or had a great run of form at anytime at Everton. All the hype is that he may become great or good. But as well he may not. Is Phil Jones a great player ? Surely not but a few years back Sir Alex Ferguson who knows football better than me and you was wanking all over him. Is sterling a great player ? Surely has to be. He was exlensive and signed by city

 

[Dymak]

I wish we would just hurry up and sell him.

 

[bluestevon]

I wish we would just hurry up and sell him.

It's going to be dictated by PR the timings of a few things mate, don't think there is any chance we sell Stones unless we can sandwich it between two big signing announcements, bad PR otherwise if we do it any other way

 

[Zatara]

Because it hasn't increased our revenue or shown profit.

@scratchnsurf has described it brilliantly, and @The Esk wrote a great article about it.

If we have players finishing their contracts then their wages are removed from expenses. Meaning we can use the same amount +£7mil. Revenues are separate.

 

[Osamabindiesel]

Roberto is partially responsible for Stones becoming lacksadaisical. Stones was brilliant at first he just needs to adopt a more serious mentality.

 

[loooweee]

Probably better but looking at his signings like Jiri Jarosik, Steve Sidwell, Shaun Wright Phillips, Tal Ben Haim, Andrej Szewczenko, can name a few more, i wouldn't say he is always 100% right. Why did he lose his interest now when he is at man utd ?

Still i think no one from "the experts" that know football so well and are so smart is saying that stones is a great player now or had a great run of form at anytime at Everton. All the hype is that he may become great or good. But as well he may not. Is Phil Jones a great player ? Surely not but a few years back Sir Alex Ferguson who knows football better than me and you was wanking all over him. Is sterling a great player ? Surely has to be. He was exlensive and signed by city

I think Tal Ben Haim.was avram grant signing?

 

[Khalekan]

Roberto is partially responsible for Stones becoming lacksadaisical. Stones was brilliant at first he just needs to adopt a more serious mentality.

If you are going to blame Roberto for the decline in Stones then in the interest of fairness you should also give him great credit in the rise of Stones.......after all, it was Roberto whom elevated him in status from back up right full back to a first choice centre back who played for England.

 

[bicycleheader]

Probably better but looking at his signings like Jiri Jarosik, Steve Sidwell, Shaun Wright Phillips, Tal Ben Haim, Andrej Szewczenko, can name a few more, i wouldn't say he is always 100% right. Why did he lose his interest now when he is at man utd ?

Still i think no one from "the experts" that know football so well and are so smart is saying that stones is a great player now or had a great run of form at anytime at Everton. All the hype is that he may become great or good. But as well he may not. Is Phil Jones a great player ? Surely not but a few years back Sir Alex Ferguson who knows football better than me and you was wanking all over him. Is sterling a great player ? Surely has to be. He was exlensive and signed by city

So you are saying Stones has not had any great runs of form for us?

I could only assume then that you've missed a lot of games in the last 3 seasons sir

 

[bicycleheader]

I also dont know why the assumption that Stones would be mainly on the bench if he went to Man City. I'd be certain he would be a very regular starter under Guardiola.

 

[malfosse]

He'll turn out to be a world class defender, and it will be a shame if he leaves.