GrandOldTeam TV Stones Leaves

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Coffee and TV said:
I don't know if Stones would stand out as a defensive midfielder. He's good on the ball for a defender but I don't think he's up there with top DMs.
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jinkyali said:
For me he is to slow to be a DM and not disciplined enough. Never will be.
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I think he could play that role in front of the back four in a 4141 very effectively. His major problem (and one IMMEDIATELY identifiable from just watching him play in isolation when you see him play) is that he cannot work in unison with other defenders. He is simply all over the place because he plays for himself primarily. He could do a job like Busquets does: he's tasked as a free floating defensive midfielder who can move toward danger when his own team's attack breaks down and gets them going the right way again. Unlike Busquets at the moment, though, he's not that safe pair of hands/feet to turn to in order to own the ball for a few vital seconds in order that his own team get back into formation - he's got ball retention skills, but Guardiola needs to teach him how to act in the Busquet snide way by winning cheap free kicks.
 
But we were all told that stones had learnt so much from guardiola, that he has eradicated mistakes from his game. I stand by my statement at the time that stones would have learnt just as much from koeman in the art of defending. Stones is a very good footballer, but at present not a very good defender as he doesn't sense danger like a 'natural' defender would.
 
What I find most perplexing is this expectation that he will be a "World Class Centre Back" one day.

Mainly because of his skills on the ball, I do still doubt whether he will ever be the best centre back in the leagueas Henry Winter et al would have you believe.

His weaknesses are just as noticeable as his strengths in my opinion. I don't think he's good in the air, he's not particularly fast nor is he very strong, not vocal and also appears to go walkabout quite a lot

. A lot of his positives come from "Modern Defending" and the art of reading the game well. But as long as he continues to constantly overplay everything I don't see where this sudden surge in ability is going to come from.
 
He really should have stayed for one year under Koeman who is proven in getting defenders better.

Modern day defending is rubbish. It's a non entity in the PL. The last two teams to win league was built on great defences.
 
davek said:
I think he could play that role in front of the back four in a 4141 very effectively. His major problem (and one IMMEDIATELY identifiable from just watching him play in isolation when you see him play) is that he cannot work in unison with other defenders. He is simply all over the place because he plays for himself primarily. He could do a job like Busquets does: he's tasked as a free floating defensive midfielder who can move toward danger when his own team's attack breaks down and gets them going the right way again. Unlike Busquets at the moment, though, he's not that safe pair of hands/feet to turn to in order to own the ball for a few vital seconds in order that his own team get back into formation - he's got ball retention skills, but Guardiola needs to teach him how to act in the Busquet snide way by winning cheap free kicks.
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Needs to have a word with him about passing to team mates. We had a few problems with his erratic passing if you recall. But yesterday was a real clanger.
 

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