01 Feb 2016 03:03:46
John Stones clearley does not wish to be here, clubs are still lineing up to offer us 50m+, take the money, invest some of it in one or two player that we seem not quite able to aford, plus a top class keeper, and the club will be the stronger for it. Don't care who it is, if they start to think they are bigger than the club, (no matter how talented) show them the door.
01 Feb 2016 07:03:07
I don't get how yourself, and others on here, wind yourselves up over the Stones situation. You're not the first to state that 'he doesn't want to be here' but there is no basis to your argument. We know he put a request in months ago but he has had plenty of good games since that came out in the press. He has lost form and confidence like all players do from time to time. He will also continue to make mistakes as he gains experience.
Two things spring to mind. The first is he has a manager who encourages him to play from the back and, when things go wrong he doesn't seem to have words with him. The fans need to shoulder a bit of blame for putting him on such a high pedestal in the first place. Now he is having a blip those same fans are calling for him to be sold. Football supporters are certainly fickle.
Even if we did sell him, it wouldn't be this window as there will be no time to get the replacements you want, so he will be with us until the summer.
01 Feb 2016 07:58:56
As he hasn't put a request in this window I can't see why anyone could presume he wants out. I think the lad just wants to get on with his work.
01 Feb 2016 08:32:01
Not the fans spud the press they did exactly the same with Barkley and made him and now Stones out to be some sort of footballing god's. Don't blame the fans you sound like Martinez.
01 Feb 2016 09:10:58
When you have such talented players as Stones, Barkley and an inherited renowned miserly defence you have to ask is it down to individual players or a collective failure brought about by a Manager and his Staff that have already taken one Club down.
01 Feb 2016 09:58:01
You can't say there's no basis when he handed in a transfer request, he wanted to go and he's handled the situation well but it Dosnt get away from the fact he wanted to go, if we get 50 mil then business has been done and we have done well out of a prospect that may or may not for fill his potential to say there's no basis is delusional.
01 Feb 2016 11:12:29
OK so here is a hypothetical one for all of the let's sell Stones brigade. If we get taken over and the new owners give the manager a new pot of cash say £100m for transfers do you want a good majority of it spent on a new central defender to replace Stones who you would have just sold to a what would now be a rival club? let's see if we get taken over before we sell our potential stars of the future. Today would definitely not be the best time to sell and of our 1st team regulars.
01 Feb 2016 16:28:21
Not all fans soldier but it can't be denied that there were plenty singing his praises who have now jumped on the sell him band wagon. I sound nothing like him, I never used the word phenomenal at all :)
01 Feb 2016 18:05:18
Totally agree with every word you said spudv and also Toffe Ace and sa90.
Think about it. If we sell Stones, where and how much would we have to pay to get a player of the same standard and future?
If we want to progress we have to keep our best players. Don't care if we get £50m. The chances of that improving the team without Stones is small imho.