John Stones

[carolinablue232]

Yeah...I get what you're saying, and I may have misspoke...I think England will advance out of their group. What I was saying is that beyond the group, they won't go far.

Regarding Woy...if he loved his country he'd go with my plan

Haha that makes sense, but if he loves his job, he won't. The round of 16 draw likely wouldn't be too bad though (Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast, or Japan). If Colombia doesn't have Falcao, that game just got a lot easier as well. After that...eh probly not.

 

[bourneblue]

The young core of this team can be great if they stay together. Stones, McCarthy, Barkley, Lukaku if he stays...That's a ridiculously good spine to build around. I'm not sold on Robles taking over for Howard, but I think we'll sign another young keeper before that happens. I knew Stones was gonna be class when he had the audacity to chip his pen in preseason. He's gonna be playing with England in a few years.

What's happened to our "ageing squad" ?
An oft used buzz phrase used by the usual suspects. Hmm !!

 

[Zatara]

What's happened to our "ageing squad" ?
An oft used buzz phrase used by the usual suspects. Hmm !!

Such as:

Howard
Hibbert
Alcaraz
Distin
Osman
Barry
Kone

 

[bourneblue]

Such as:

Howard
Hibbert
Alcaraz
Distin
Osman
Barry
Kone

I think I'll side with Martinez on this one "we have a wonderful mixture of youth and experience"
Unless of course you know better.
ps, I could list a multitude of young fringe players,but duty beckons.

 

[ilikecheese]

Such as:

Howard
Hibbert
Alcaraz
Distin
Osman
Barry
Kone

Howard...like a fine wine.
Hibbo...has barely has a sniff of the pitch...not even our #2 choice at RB
Alcaraz...yeah, not sold...glacial pace. Skill on the ball though
Distin...I'd like to see a sprint off...I bet at 36 he'd win gold
Ossiesta...got a couple left in him
Barry...might not be our player of the year, but close...got a year or two in him still
Kone...who knows...might be gash on toast...might me 'meh'...might slot...


So...you were saying?

 

[Christiffa25]

A blend of youth and experience makes the best teams no doubt!

Utd's "kids" who came thru and won everything, don't forget we're guided through by some experienced players...

As for stones yeah he'd go in my England squad because he's better already than the options after jags and Cahill. Same with Barkley.

 

[Zatara]

Howard...like a fine wine.
Hibbo...has barely has a sniff of the pitch...not even our #2 choice at RB
Alcaraz...yeah, not sold...glacial pace. Skill on the ball though
Distin...I'd like to see a sprint off...I bet at 36 he'd win gold
Ossiesta...got a couple left in him
Barry...might not be our player of the year, but close...got a year or two in him still
Kone...who knows...might be gash on toast...might me 'meh'...might slot...


So...you were saying?

7 players out of the squad, forgot pienaar so 8 on last legs...done and dusted in 2 seasons tops.

 

[tommye]

feel like a tit now

 

[davek]

Jagielka back ASAP as far as I'm concerned.

Stones shows a lot of promise, but he made some howlers yesterday that could have buried us.

 

[BlueToff]

Jagielka back ASAP as far as I'm concerned.

Stones shows a lot of promise, but he made some howlers yesterday that could have buried us.

He made one slack pass, which actually led to the 1st goal. He blocked goal-bound shots a few times in the last 10 mins and all in all keeps getting better and better.

Yes I think we'd all like Jagielka back soon enough, but isn't it nice not having to worry about rushing him back, and knowing we've got one of the most able, young (English) defenders at the club.

 

[davek]

He made one slack pass, which actually led to the 1st goal. He blocked goal-bound shots a few times in the last 10 mins and all in all keeps getting better and better.

Yes I think we'd all like Jagielka back soon enough, but isn't it nice not having to worry about rushing him back, and knowing we've got one of the most able, young (English) defenders at the club.

That under hit pass could have been curtains. Howard was on his toes there, thank goodness. He also turned back into danger in the second half on the edge of his own box and was stripped of the ball (as did Mirallas, of course, but he's not a defender).

He'll cost us eventually and I think Martinez knows he should be benching him again ideally.

 

[Stutheblue]

Stones is going to be real quality in the future. Yes he's made a couple of howlers and showed some inexperience (to be expected), but what composure and confidence he has. Really think he'll be great for us.

 

[BlueToff]

That under hit pass could have been curtains. Howard was on his toes there, thank goodness. He also turned back into danger in the second half on the edge of his own box and was stripped of the ball (as did Mirallas, of course, but he's not a defender).

He'll cost us eventually and I think Martinez knows he should be benching him again ideally.

I'm not disagreeing with you about him making mistakes, but if this season has taught us anything is that Martinez isn't gonna be benching a 19 year old centre back who's playing in one of the most form teams in Europe atm and keeps looking better.

Martinez isn't afraid of players (especially younger ones) making errors, as he knows that the experienced players will more than likely make up for it (e.g. Howard yesterday). Yes it was a heart in the mouth moment, but Howard got there, got it to Baines and Cazorla had being drawn in and was way out of position. 30 seconds later we were 1 up.

When Jags does return i'm sure he'll be back in the team, but there's no need to rush him back if it's gonna cause more harm than good!

 

[davek]

I'm not disagreeing with you about him making mistakes, but if this season has taught us anything is that Martinez isn't gonna be benching a 19 year old centre back who's playing in one of the most form teams in Europe atm and keeps looking better.

Martinez isn't afraid of players (especially younger ones) making errors, as he knows that the experienced players will more than likely make up for it (e.g. Howard yesterday). Yes it was a heart in the mouth moment, but Howard got there, got it to Baines and Cazorla had being drawn in and was way out of position. 30 seconds later we were 1 up.

When Jags does return i'm sure he'll be back in the team, but there's no need to rush him back if it's gonna cause more harm than good!

He's got a big future, no question. We've unearthed another gem, but defensively he needs a lot of work on. You can see he beats himself up about making an error even when it's corrected. I think you need to protect the confidence of younger players. If it wasn't a needs must situation he wouldn't be in there, I dont think. He's way ahead of schedule now.

 

[toffeeblue9]

He's got a big future, no question. We've unearthed another gem, but defensively he needs a lot of work on. You can see he beats himself up about making an error even when it's corrected. I think you need to protect the confidence of younger players. If it wasn't a needs must situation he wouldn't be in there, I dont think. He's way ahead of schedule now.

I can see your logic on this, but overall I'm beginning to think we may be benefitting hugely from Jags' injury, in a weird way.

Yes, Stones has made a couple of mistakes but actually those mistakes have basically amounted to him taking a chance or two in possession whilst in defensive areas. His actual positioning, reading of the game, tackling, heading, marking, etc - the things you'd expect from a defender, have all been spot on. I'd struggle to think of a mistake he has made on that front.

Jags on the other hand, has equally made some mistakes in possession this season. Liverpool's 4th goal at Anfield is etched into my memory.

Stones, a couple of risks he has taken that weren't necessary aside, has helped us because his distribution is far better than Jags' (even though Jags' has improved a lot this season) - I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd genuinely keep Jags on the bench at the moment if he regained fitness for next weekend.