John Stones

[BlueToff]

Not a bad guy but I do think that today's footballers should be extremely thankful for what they have and anything that comes after that is a bonus. He has acted a bit like a spoilt brat at times, for example his reaction at some of the games last season, yeah he's young but he's also a professional.

what reaction? telling the fans in the Park End to stop panicking when he did the turn agianst Spurs (when he was completely in control all along).

Sometimes mate when you've got a talent like Stones/Ross etc it's best to let them get on with what they're good at.

And btw that's the only occasion I could think off when he 'reacted' to the crowd?

 

[BlueToff]

I think Pep may well struggle.

It'll be a drastic change to what he's used to but he's a clever enough manager to find a way around it.

 

[BlueToff]

Taking Stones to Germany just puts a bit of pressure on City, after all he is our player until we get what we want. They have deep pockets and if they really want him they will pay what we want- they will want to bed him in like we do with any of our signings.

As I said earlier, until City make a bid that meets our valuation then Stones will simply get on with his job.

He hasn't fallen out with the squad or the manager, you can guarantee that. He'll be happy been there and playing football.

 

[BlueToff]

Miserable eh?

yeh, he's obviously contemplating his life and the ongoing transfer saga having just stepped off a two hour flight

you not seen the pic of him laughing and joking when he got on the plane?

come off it lad

 

[bazzer25]

yeh, he's obviously contemplating his life and the ongoing transfer saga having just stepped off a two hour flight

you not seen the pic of him laughing and joking when he got on the plane?

come off it lad

Miserable eh? as in what do you think? Also I come of a 10-hour flight looking far happier than that.

 

[BlueToff]

Miserable eh? as in what do you think?

fairs, miss-read it pal!

 

[Khalekan]

what reaction? telling the fans in the Park End to stop panicking when he did the turn agianst Spurs (when he was completely in control all along).

Ya think?

He looked about as much in control that day as when he played the suicidal back pass to Howard which resulted in the Swansea penalty in the next home game.....or the last minute lunges which resulted in the penalty that beat us agsinst Stoke and the one which should have cost us a penalty at Man City.

No wonder the people in the Park End were yelling at him to get rid.

Every bugger in the Bullens was as well.

(except the Spurs fans )

That is the kind of thing a player has the luxury of doing when the team is a couple of goals in front in injury time.....not when a match is level and delicately poised.

And his "pipe down" gesture to the crowd was both petulant and arrogant.

And I will tell you sommat else, Toff.....he tries that in the same circumstances at the Ethihad the Kippax, or whatever they call themselves these days, will be every bit as vociferous as our fans were.....and Guardiola will have his guts for garters, don't worry about that

 

[Efcjake]

Ya think?

He looked about as much in control that day as when he played the suicidal back pass to Howard which resulted in the Swansea penalty in the next home game.....or the last minute lunges which resulted in the penalty that beat us agsinst Stoke and the one which should have cost us a penalty at Man City.

No wonder the people in the Park End were yelling at him to get rid.

Every bugger in the Bullens was as well.

(except the Spurs fans )

That is the kind of thing a player has the luxury of doing when the team is a couple of goals in front in injury time.....not when a match is level and delicately poised.

And his "pipe down" gesture to the crowd was both petulant and arrogant.

And I will tell you sommat else, Toff.....he tries that in the same circumstances at the Ethihad the Kippax, or whatever they call themselves these days, will be every bit as vociferous as our fans were.....and Guardiola will have his guts for garters, don't worry about that

Spot on.

There was no need for that spin in our own box and he had fluffed one up a few weeks before as well hadn't he?


Telling the fans off isn't really on in any circumstances, especially when they're giving you grief for acting a show off tit.

 

[BlueToff]

Ya think?

He looked about as much in control that day as when he played the suicidal back pass to Howard which resulted in the Swansea penalty in the next home game.....or the last minute lunges which resulted in the penalty that beat us agsinst Stoke and the one which should have cost us a penalty at Man City.

No wonder the people in the Park End were yelling at him to get rid.

Every bugger in the Bullens was as well.

(except the Spurs fans )

That is the kind of thing a player has the luxury of doing when the team is a couple of goals in front in injury time.....not when a match is level and delicately poised.

And his "pipe down" gesture to the crowd was both petulant and arrogant.

And I will tell you sommat else, Toff.....he tries that in the same circumstances at the Ethihad the Kippax, or whatever they call themselves these days, will be every bit as vociferous as our fans were.....and Guardiola will have his guts for garters, don't worry about that

Think we went through this at the time Khal.

He did what he did against Spurs but never looked like losing the ball.

Next time he did something similar was vs Swansea and yes, instead of trusting his own ability (which he should have done) he passed back to Howard, and got it horribly wrong (but in no way can Howard shirk at least half the blame for his ridiculous tackle).

The last minute lunger vs Stoke was one of the harshest penalties given all season, even though he got away with one vs City.

But, that happens.He's a player and player's make mistakes, especially young ones. As I believe Michael Owen pointed out prior to the Euros, how many mistakes has Smalling made that have cost his side in huge matches (penalty vs us in the semi, getting sent off in the final...)

And no, I can't agree with you Khal. Pep won't indulge him and his errors as RM might have done, but he'll encourage him to do what he's best at and play his own game.

And the pipe down gesture was nowt of the sort. Sometimes it needed to be done and I'm glad a player had the gall to do it. He wasn't having a bad game and the players were playing well at that point vs Spurs. There was no need for the crowd to jump on his back, imo. He was in complete control and in that circumstance never looked likely to lose it (I've watched that clip loads of times and still won't buy he wasn't).

I'm not saying he won't be replaced and we won't move on - we will - but don't see the need for people to claim he believes his own hype etc etc when it's nothing more than a youngster learning his trade and making a few errors along the way (in what happened to be one of the worst defensive units/teams in the league last year?)

 

[bazzer25]

what reaction? telling the fans in the Park End to stop panicking when he did the turn agianst Spurs (when he was completely in control all along).

Sometimes mate when you've got a talent like Stones/Ross etc it's best to let them get on with what they're good at.

And btw that's the only occasion I could think off when he 'reacted' to the crowd?

I saw a few but they were cited above. Just don't think a player should be inciting his own fan base, the opposition fans yes but not your own. The fans had every right to respond the way they did, many pay hard earned money for the tickets.

 

[BlueToff]

Spot on.

There was no need for that spin in our own box and he had fluffed one up a few weeks before as well hadn't he?


Telling the fans off isn't really on in any circumstances, especially when they're giving you grief for acting a show off tit.

You're getting them the wrong way round mate.

He clearly didn't trust Howard and was confident enough vs Spurs to play it himself.

A few weeks later he tried vs Swansea but (rightly or wrongly) the thing with the crowd vs Spurs had an effect on both parties. The crowd got anxious and so did Stones who, after making the initial error in that circumstance, decided to go back to Howard who made an all-mighty cock up as he did so many times last year. That's the only occasion last season where Stones' 'overplaying' cost us.

 

[Efcjake]

You're getting them the wrong way round mate.

He clearly didn't trust Howard and was confident enough vs Spurs to play it himself.

A few weeks later he tried vs Swansea but (rightly or wrongly) the thing with the crowd vs Spurs had an effect on both parties. The crowd got anxious and so did Stones who, after making the initial error in that circumstance, decided to go back to Howard who made an all-mighty cock up as he did so many times last year. That's the only occasion last season where Stones' 'overplaying' cost us.

See as a defender that's when he can put it out for a throw and the team can reorganize to defend it rather than being a prat and taking someone on in your own box. Revolutionary stuff I know.

 

[bazzer25]

You're getting them the wrong way round mate.

He clearly didn't trust Howard and was confident enough vs Spurs to play it himself.

A few weeks later he tried vs Swansea but (rightly or wrongly) the thing with the crowd vs Spurs had an effect on both parties. The crowd got anxious and so did Stones who, after making the initial error in that circumstance, decided to go back to Howard who made an all-mighty cock up as he did so many times last year. That's the only occasion last season where Stones' 'overplaying' cost us.

Didn't a slack pass gift the reds their third at anfield?

 

[BlueToff]

I saw a few but they were cited above. Just don't think a player should be inciting his own fan base, the opposition fans yes but not your own. The fans had every right to respond the way they did, many pay hard earned money for the tickets.

They pay hard earned money to watch the professionals do what they're good at.

In that instance, John Stones was doing what he was good at. He didn't mess up, he won the free-kick. The fan reaction (in that circumstance) was stupid, IMO.

If it was Jags, or flappy Funes or chuffing Hibbo doing it yeh, i'd have been worried, but Stones in those situations is composed and knows he has the ability. Let him get on with it. Once it cost us vs Swansea, (and again Howard played an equally as large part in that cock up) he learnt his lesson and didn't do it again.

He's 22. He was 21 at the time.

If he trends like most other defenders, he won't be in his prime for about 6 years. It's scary how good he's gonna be.

 

[BlueToff]

See as a defender that's when he can put it out for a throw and the team can reorganize to defend it rather than being a prat and taking someone on in your own box. Revolutionary stuff I know.

that's what I meant by the initial error mate. he should have cleared it but didn't. From then on he'd have been better off trusting himself to get out of the pickle he'd put himself in as he did vs Spurs, but I think the incident with the crowd effected both parties and that swayed him towards trusting Howard.

Yes, he under-hit the pass, but there's no way that should have resulted in Howard doing what he did either.