We've got Christensen so there is really no need for Stones.

If Terrys going a high class mature CB is needed. Stones is not that.

Amen. I lit a candle in prayers to this.

He's brave enough to trust his own ability on the ball.

Me personally, I like that about him.

The biggest fault with Cahill and Zouma is their inability to play out from the back which I think is a key attribute for top quality centre backs.

It's a big key in what made Terry and Carvalho such a brilliant pairing.

I very much agree but having that ability is secondary for a defender. Like you said that separates top quality and just good or very good CBs.

We've got Christensen so there is really no need for Stones.

If Terrys going a high class mature CB is needed. Stones is not that.

 

I've watched Christensen come through the ranks and I'm sorry to disappoint, but he doesn't have quite the composure on the ball that Stones does nor is he a faultless defender. He can appear a little lightweight at times but he'll get better with time.

 

I think patience is something we might have to learn as a fanbase if we actually want young players to come through. Loftus-Cheek has already been written off by some after a few hundred minutes of football and Stones is going through a tricky period under a coach who can't coach defenders apparently. It's fair to say that Coleman and Baines are also a fair bit behind where they were under Moyes and the sooner Stones gets away from Everton the better.

No need for disappointment mate, ive seen them both play plenty and im pretty happy for us to have Christensen(and Zouma for that matter) over Stones as a long term CB.

His form at Monchengladbach and Denmark has been excellent. Stones on the other hand has been disappointing and looks a decent sized bullet dodged.

We just need a quality mature CB to complement our two young guns (if Terry isnt kept).

I think it's a bit harsh to say Stones has been disappointing. I think he's suffering from playing under Martinez and from the heightened expectations, but we've seen even players like Courtois having a bit of a rough time and it's likely that Christensen will have that at some point too.

 

If we do go for a back three then I'd be more than happy with Zouma, Christensen and Stones forming it because I'm not sure who this quality, mature CB is who we could get in. I know Bonucci is the one people are mentioning but I'm not entirely sold on him at the moment. Great player but similar to Stones in a number of ways and I think we need that English spine in the club.

did you think he was worth 30 mil? I didn't & Saint fans will tell you that Bertrand is better - they are happy w/ the money they received for him

LoL what Saints fans are those? Shaw showed he was on his way to be a top class LB and one of the best in the premiership, Bertrand is pretty much bang average and doesnt have much ceilong to improve.

LoL what Saints fans are those? Shaw showed he was on his way to be a top class LB and one of the best in the premiership, Bertrand is pretty much bang average and doesnt have much ceilong to improve.

Not that Shaw has been much better but I never saw why some people are upset by us selling Bert. He started the CL Final so we'll always remember him warmly for that but he was very underwhelming the vast majority of the time he played for us.

 

On a related note, did anyone else notice he NEVER used his right foot with us? I'm not exaggerating, I remember watching games and he never intentionally touched the ball with his right foot. Incredible.

Not that Shaw has been much better but I never saw why some people are upset by us selling Bert. He started the CL Final so we'll always remember him warmly for that but he was very underwhelming the vast majority of the time he played for us.

 

On a related note, did anyone else notice he NEVER used his right foot with us? I'm not exaggerating, I remember watching games and he never intentionally touched the ball with his right foot. Incredible.

 

I always thought he was very solid every time he played for us. There was never a game that went by where i thought that Bertrand had a bad game for us. He would have got better the longer he stayed here.

I always thought he was very solid every time he played for us. There was never a game that went by where i thought that Bertrand had a bad game for us. He would have got better the longer he stayed here.

 

Why would he have gotten better? It could just be that 'very solid' was his level and he'd have just plateaued especially behind Azpilicueta. I have no idea how many times I watched Bertrand play between the ages of 16 and 24 but I couldn't name a single time he was exceptional, good or anything more than solid. I think he once put in a beauty of a cross at the Matthew Harding End but I can't remember to whom.

 

And that's it. 

 

It's definitely better than Rahman but Bertrand clearly wanted more than just being a squad player and he's found that. Maybe he'd have had a couple of decent 20 game seasons here but players like Ake and DaSilva are far better prospects than Bertrand ever was. Lamenting the loss of someone who was a back-up left-back at best is one of the oddities of some of the Chelsea support but I kinda get it.

Why would he have gotten better? It could just be that 'very solid' was his level and he'd have just plateaued especially behind Azpilicueta. I have no idea how many times I watched Bertrand play between the ages of 16 and 24 but I couldn't name a single time he was exceptional, good or anything more than solid. I think he once put in a beauty of a cross at the Matthew Harding End but I can't remember to whom.

And that's it.

It's definitely better than Rahman but Bertrand clearly wanted more than just being a squad player and he's found that. Maybe he'd have had a couple of decent 20 game seasons here but players like Ake and DaSilva are far better prospects than Bertrand ever was. Lamenting the loss of someone who was a back-up left-back at best is one of the oddities of some of the Chelsea support but I kinda get it.

Im sure he's happy with a champions league medal in he's pocket and first team football

Agree with Scott bertrand was pretty solid other than the game at home to schakter where he looked vulnerable. At the end of the day though, I can see why he pushed for a move, as he hung around to replace ash, but fell behind azpiliucueta in the pecking order.

Was he good enough to be a starter here 2 years ago? I'm not sure, I'm not sure he is good enough now either tbh, and there's no way he would've waited around any longer as a back up.

With regards stones, I still think he is a great prospect, however I think the money would be better spent elsewhere in the summer, and we can review it again in a years time, when we see how zouma recovers, and how christiensen has progressed.

Is it just ironic that it is rumoured Roy will be asking JT to join the England squad to bolster the defence after the Netherlands game and (amongst other Incidents) the John Stones slip? We are chasing John stones and still not offering JT a contract???

Is it just ironic that it is rumoured Roy will be asking JT to join the England squad to bolster the defence after the Netherlands game and (amongst other Incidents) the John Stones slip? We are chasing John stones and still not offering JT a contract???

Who says we're chasing Stones anymore? I think the heat has died down quite a bit

Shouldn't bother stones when we have Zouma, Christensen and a couple other upcoming CB's.

Not to mention if we're looking for a new CB, i'd muchh rather it be Marquinhos than Stones

Not that Shaw has been much better but I never saw why some people are upset by us selling Bert. He started the CL Final so we'll always remember him warmly for that but he was very underwhelming the vast majority of the time he played for us.

 

On a related note, did anyone else notice he NEVER used his right foot with us? I'm not exaggerating, I remember watching games and he never intentionally touched the ball with his right foot. Incredible.

 

Are we talking about Matic here? 

Are we talking about Matic here?

Robben

Are we talking about Matic here? 

I think we only WISH he didn't use his right

If we are unhappy with Baba @ 17 mil then we are going to be definitely super disappointed with Stones @ 50 mil! Too inconsistent 

His value has defintely dropped. Back down to £30m I reckon.

OVERRATED

V

E

R

R

A

T

E

D

Edited April 4, 201610 yr by lesblues

His value has defintely dropped. Back down to £30m I reckon.

 

I think that was always the fair price anyway to be honest. If we'd have gone in with that off the bat rather than faffing around then maybe we'd have got him. 

 

Not sure why there's been a recent pile-on other than that tendency we have to build someone up and then knock them down. He was always going to have a tough season but I still think he'll come good.

I can see him going to United if Jose goes there. United will just pay the money and not faff about.

Edited April 4, 201610 yr by JM7

I can see him going to United if Jose goes there. United will just pay the money and not faff about.

 

More fool them. They will probably sell Mata to help finance it.

Name me 1 english player of today generation that is actually world class?  I really don't get the hype about this stone..