John Stones

[davek]

Yep, arguably the weakest defender in our back 4. Lovely footballer mind.

Carrick type for me.

I can see Guardiola playing him in front of the defence.

 

[BlueToff]

I love Rom myself, he's ace. But I'll reserve my judgement until the window is closed on this meeting; as far as him and his agent are concerned I wouldn't trust them.as far as I can throw them. I hope the rumours are true like, but trust that bell of an agent, not a chance

Oh I agree entirely mate. Still see another twist in it, like CFC actually coming in with a real bid and of course more media pressure, but I;m fairly confident we'll stubbornly refuse to sell

 

[davek]

I do think he'll become a truly class player, but for the money we've received and considering he was a big part of our worst defence in the history of the club, I'm sure our fans aren't too heartbroken.

A real luxury player when we need a more old school beast at the back like Kone.

He's defo got a lot of talent. I just dont see a defender there. He flaps. Ok, experience gets past that, but imo he lacks the type of effortless awareness of danger and intensity to shut it down that all top defender have.

 

[BlueToff]

Carrick type for me.

I can see Guardiola playing him in front of the defence.

Depends how Pep plays it really Dave.

He usually kind of just sets the defence up (going off his Bayern days) as the free roaming unit. Can see Stones playing what could be described as a 'sweeper' kind of role - not exactly a holding midfielder but not a defender either.

We'll see soon enough.

Anyway, welcome back!

 

[Deco]

He's defo got a lot of talent. I just dont see a defender there. He flaps. Ok, experience gets past that, but imo he lacks the type of effortless awareness of danger and intensity to shut it down that all top defender have.

I think he needs a huge amount of progression to make it long term at a club like Man City (where they can buy anyone, at anytime, for any money) - if he isn't good enough quickly enough, he'll be chopped in no time.

 

[davek]

I think he needs a huge amount of progression to make it long term at a club like Man City (where they can buy anyone, at anytime, for any money) - if he isn't good enough quickly enough, he'll be chopped in no time.

It's a huge gamble for him and City.

I think we both know he has a lot of errors in him and it's a matter of how far his manager/fans/media will allow him to get away with those.

Personally I think he'll get a lot of plaudits as a footballing defender but be very costly to his team. At Everton he can get away with that; in that goldfish bowl he just stepped into - no chance.

 

[Deco]

It's a huge gamble for him and City.

I think we both know he has a lot of errors in him and it's a matter of how far his manager/fans/media will allow him to get away with those.

Personally I think he'll get a lot of plaudits as a footballing defender but be very costly to his team. At Everton he can get away with that; in that goldfish bowl he just stepped into - no chance.

The key thing that he'll rely on is how successful Pep's system is in the PL. If it works, he'll excel. If it struggles, he'll have an absolute nightmare.

My gut feeling is that Pep will be changing things around a lot as he adjusts to the league.

 

[Efcjake]

If you were as good a footballer as he is, about to earn 150k a week playing under a manager he has grown up knowing as one of the world's best, how would you react?

The lad's gone. Wish him well (relatively) and hope he goes on to become an England great. Glad I got to see him play in the Everton colours.

End of, now we make sure we get players in that overall improve us.

He wouldn't have had the opportunity to earn so much without us and as soon as he thought he could move onto somewhere bigger he jumped at it.

No way to thank the club for bringing you into the Premier League by wanting to jump ship after your first full season.

He doesn't play for Everton any more and didn't want to be here when he was so it is good riddance from me and thanks for the cash.

 

[BigDunc'sFod]

I hope City get relegated and he scores 50 own goals

 

[bizzaro]

It's a huge gamble for him and City.

I think we both know he has a lot of errors in him and it's a matter of how far his manager/fans/media will allow him to get away with those.

Personally I think he'll get a lot of plaudits as a footballing defender but be very costly to his team. At Everton he can get away with that; in that goldfish bowl he just stepped into - no chance.

He's going to get found out now. Showboating but defensive lapses all over the show.

 

[Westend Blue]

Obviously don't want to loose stones but it's a great deal kudos to city for not being thunder c words like mourhino was last season and mark Hughes during the lescott saga

 

[Cork Evertonian]

Sell to buy.The new Everton eh.

 

[mites]

Sell to buy.The new Everton eh.

and again there is certainly no explanation of this on multiple pages of the transfer thread or on twitter if you'd ever care to look for it

 

[ilikecheese]

Sell to buy.The new Everton eh.

Sell to massively increase wages you mean

 

[tommytowne]

Just seen the headline in one of the rags saying Stones was told by his England team mates he just HAD to leave Everton.
Obviously not the first time this type of thing has happened but shows its a double edged sword when your players vetted picked for national duties.