Stones OR Bolasie + Williams ?

[peteblue]

Stek was a nominal fee and Gueye was £7.1mil...and the less said about Valencia the better. We could have signed them with no sales.

Going off the higher numbers quoted for Bolasie (£28mil) and Williams (£12mil) it matches the £40mil we ended up with for Stones after paying Barnsley and i think their agent fees and signing bonuses would cover any difference.

So the question is...what would you prefer, Stones OR Bolasie + Williams?

It doesn't really matter. Stones was always going to move on. For us he was a liability which hopefully Williams will not be. We are in a better position......

 

[Saint Domingo]

There's no debate as John Stones had long given up wanting to play for Everton.

 

[Jags..class]

There's no debate as John Stones had long given up wanting to play for Everton.

Yep if stones wanted to stay and signed a new contract then it's a different question but a small group of fans didn't get stones and hated the way he wouldn't boot the ball out of play.

 

[4737carlin]

Really we did well there, him going has improved the squad if it means we got the players in we did.

 

[StatesideBlue3]

This season and maybe even next? Bolasie and Williams. Long term? Stones.

 

[4737carlin]

This season and maybe even next? Bolasie and Williams. Long term? Stones.

See I would say the opposite if you are talking long term. To be looking good long term we need to get back up to a top 6 side ASAP and then push on from there, and Bolasie and Williams can help us do that far better then Stones could. We need something to build on now, thanks to the mess Martinez made.

 

[Mutzo Nutzo]

Williams was a great buy - exactly what we needed. Not sure about Bolasie though, time will tell.

 

[MartyMcFly]

It doesn't really matter. Stones was always going to move on. For us he was a liability which hopefully Williams will not be. We are in a better position......

For this season. In a few years we are going to have to replace a lot of players and if as it looks we don't have money we could be storing up big problems.

 

[MartyMcFly]

Yep if stones wanted to stay and signed a new contract then it's a different question but a small group of fans didn't get stones and hated the way he wouldn't boot the ball out of play.

Same with the manager which in the end is why I accepted it was probably the right decision not to get FDB.

God I hate it that Jamie Carragher was right.

 

[Goat]

WE SHOULD HAVE KEPT JOHN STONES LOCKED UP AT FF FOR THE WHOLE SEASON, LET IT BE A LESSON TO THE WHOLE SQUAD, THE LESSON WOULD BE IF YOU KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN FOR 12 MONTHS AND QUIETLY REQUESTED A MOVE THE CLUB WOULD STAND IN YOUR WAY AND REFUSE TO SELL YOU

NSNO

 

[ianefc]

Maaan, he is not good at rapping.

Word.

 

[StatesideBlue3]

See I would say the opposite if you are talking long term. To be looking good long term we need to get back up to a top 6 side ASAP and then push on from there, and Bolasie and Williams can help us do that far better then Stones could. We need something to build on now, thanks to the mess Martinez made.

Fair point. If this helps us be successful enough over the next two years to draw top talent, I would amend my statement.

 

[Whistlin' Dixie]

Will he get a future sell on fee though? £47m is a lot of dough to make a profit on for a defender.

PSG probably thought the same when they bought Luiz but they just sold him back to Chelsea at £16m loss.

Plus it's not just about money. It's about what's right for the team and Williams is what we need right now, not Stones. I do really wish it were otherwise.

Look at it this way, the market decides the worth, generally speaking. You pay more for better, younger players.

You won't get a lot (if anything) for Williams - who by the time his contract expires will be almost 36. Bolasie will be 32 - that's ancient for a winger; so not a lot coming back from him.

Neither are gonna produce the performances week in week out to attract a club who'd pay enough for us to make a profit on.

Stones will still fetch a fee in 5 years time. City might well sell him for less, but they'll have had the time out of him, and the next club will get 'x' amount of years from him.

In essence, we've got one more body & £10m for Stones.

As for the footballing aspect; is Williams better than Stones (Whether they're both on top form or not?) I don't think so.

But it's all by-the-by now, and Stones wanted out anyway.

 

[Whistlin' Dixie]

Who will affect our team the most, to get us to where we need to be, within the next 2 years?

Are we any stronger in defence with Stones leaving? We have the same amount of centre-halves, and the quality debate's far from concluded.

We'd have been better off with both Stones and Williams, rather than one or t'other. But it's not to be.

 

[ilikecheese]

Might be an interesting debate in a couple of seasons.

Today it's Williams and Bolasie. We improved defensively immediately when Stones left. Yes...even before signing Williams.