Everton missed the trick not cashing in on him earlier his value surely would have dropped now after a string of awful performances, Realistically he's not even that great a player he just plays a very different style from what we are used to seeing from English CB's playing the ball out from the back. May well be a bullet dodged here would much prefer we give Christensen a chance instead.

Martinez picking up his P45 at the end of the season and the Money cant buy you Stones song now obsolete,oh how we laughed.

I wonder if the Everton fans who joined last summer are wishing they'd taken the £40-45m now.  We turned his head and he doesnt want to be at Everton. 

We'll be laughing when Everton finish 8th, Stones hands in a transfer request and they get 20 mil next summer.

Not far off

#Chelsea do not share a lack of faith in Stones. They remain convinced he will become a high-class CB, with the right leadership. [Mirror]

#Chelsea will make a fresh attempt to sign John Stones after having a string of big-money bids rejected last summer. [Mirror]

#Chelsea want to make John Stones the first signing of the Antonio Conte regime - despite the criticism he has been receiving. [Mirror]

Sounds like we're still interested in him and will go back in for him. You would think that the clubs would agree £30m which is a fair price.

I can't conte-n my excitement at the idea of a footballer as good as Stones being moulded into a satisfactory defender in the eyes of our new gaffer.

Still a hard pass for me right now. Especially if 30m is the number

I think this transfer has always been club driven rather than Mourinho driven.

Has been rumours of our interest in Stones for a few years now so it wouldn't surprise me if we did go back in for him again this summer.

Funnily enough we were told last summer that his value will only increase and that the likes of Barca and Bayern would come knocking at the end of this season.

But what now, do Everton still value him at £40/45m?

If Everton sack Martinez, which I think there is a very good chance of happening, will the club maybe look at cashing in to free up funds for the new manager?

Not half as good as other options and seemingly twice as expensive.

 

Would rather have any of Bonucci or Manolas. Let him go to united or city. They have money to burn.

Not half as good as other options and seemingly twice as expensive.

 

Would rather have any of Bonucci or Manolas. Let him go to united or city. They have money to burn.

 

Manolas is apparently going to cost about £30 million and Bonucci has already ruled himself out hasn't he?

 

I honestly don't think there's a JT replacement on the market to be honest. There's young kids with potential to be great but Manolas isn't great yet is he?

 

Stones is young, has every tool needed to be a top defender but just isn't there yet. Neither was JT at the same age but he got there playing alongside people like Desailly and being coached by some really brilliant managers.

 

His problem at the moment is decision-making in my opinion. He sometimes tries to overplay it, but apart from that what are his actual flaws?

 

Physically, he's perfect. He's fast, he's good in the air, he can play the ball, he's good in the tackle, he reads the game well and he's actually pretty brave.

 

If you watch the game he played against us at the start of the season, he was brilliant. Defensively he handled Costa as well as any defender, but he was also key to beating our press. When Costa et al would push up on the defence, he'd find a pass or dribble the ball out and start an immediate counter.

 

Yes he's had a poor season under Martinez, but I'm not sure if there are many other defenders out there with the raw skillset that he has. He NEEDS proper coaching alongside top-class players though.

I still rate stones, but I think we need an experienced top class defender with zouma and christiansen.

I know there isn't many available at the moment, which is another reason I would hold on to jt.

Maybe jt, stones, zouma, Cahill next season, and hope zouma and stones really step up.

Then the following season stones, zouma, christiansen, and jt/Cahill.

I do think stones will look more like the finished article playing under a more competent manager though.

Honestly for the price being touted about, a marquinhos or laporte would be more ideal. Inter's murillo is also a very good player, way better than stones and he's 23.

Honestly for the price being touted about, a marquinhos or laporte would be more ideal. Inter's murillo is also a very good player, way better than stones and he's 23.

 

Marquinhos and Laporte could be great players too, but both are as least as expensive as Stones if not more. Laporte is also out injured until August so misses most of pre-season. Neither is going to count as homegrown either which might be a consideration going forward (Stones would be FA-trained I think).

 

Each is a gamble for different reasons and Stones does at least have experience of playing in this league. I personally believe we need English players at this club as well.

 

Murillo is an interesting one. Not likely to be expensive, probably doesn't have the potential of the other two but certainly worth a look. 

We have to accept the inevitable that Marquinos and Laporte will come no where near Chelsea in the current market. Although, both are stellar players and far far better than Stones.

 

The major issue with paying 50m for stones is that he still requires a couple of seasons of work on him. I would put him at par with Zouma at this moment.

This leads to two problems.

 

1) We will come up short defensively atleast for next season with a combination of - Zouma, Stones, Cahill, Ivanovic and Miazga.

2) If Conte gets fired in the next 18 months and the next manager is not defensivly as astute, then stones will play like he does now.

 

I would much rather get a ready made player at the top of his game for the next 2-3 seasons that will also mean that Christensen has a starting spot open to him when he comes back in 2017.

 

On a seperate note, if it wasnt for our idiotic persuit of Stones last summer, we would have got Alderweireld. We would have had a much better season if Jose had been given some options in Defense.

We have to accept the inevitable that Marquinos and Laporte will come no where near Chelsea in the current market. Although, both are stellar players and far far better than Stones.

 

The major issue with paying 50m for stones is that he still requires a couple of seasons of work on him. I would put him at par with Zouma at this moment.

This leads to two problems.

 

1) We will come up short defensively atleast for next season with a combination of - Zouma, Stones, Cahill, Ivanovic and Miazga.

2) If Conte gets fired in the next 18 months and the next manager is not defensivly as astute, then stones will play like he does now.

That's fair. I would put him on par with Zouma while he has only one good ACL too.

Manolas is apparently going to cost about £30 million and Bonucci has already ruled himself out hasn't he?

 

I honestly don't think there's a JT replacement on the market to be honest. There's young kids with potential to be great but Manolas isn't great yet is he?

 

Stones is young, has every tool needed to be a top defender but just isn't there yet. Neither was JT at the same age but he got there playing alongside people like Desailly and being coached by some really brilliant managers.

 

His problem at the moment is decision-making in my opinion. He sometimes tries to overplay it, but apart from that what are his actual flaws?

 

Physically, he's perfect. He's fast, he's good in the air, he can play the ball, he's good in the tackle, he reads the game well and he's actually pretty brave.

 

If you watch the game he played against us at the start of the season, he was brilliant. Defensively he handled Costa as well as any defender, but he was also key to beating our press. When Costa et al would push up on the defence, he'd find a pass or dribble the ball out and start an immediate counter.

 

Yes he's had a poor season under Martinez, but I'm not sure if there are many other defenders out there with the raw skillset that he has. He NEEDS proper coaching alongside top-class players though.

 

I'm not seeing those things you say he is good at.

 

He's not that good in the air, i have seen him getting beaten all season, the latest being against Liverpool 2 days ago.

He's not that good with the ball at his feet either. Just because he likes to pass the ball around at the back it doesn't mean he is actually good at it. The amount of times he gives it away proves that he isn't as good at passing it around as he thinks he is.

He doesn't read the game that well either, he's been getting caught out of position defensively all season. If he read the game well, he wouldn't be making the mistakes he keeps on making.

 

I don't get why people keep comparing Terry and Stones to be honest. Apart from the fact that at the same age Terry was a lot better than Stones, they aren't even the same type of player. Stones is closer to being like David Luiz than John Terry.

 

I think Stones has had a really poor season to be honest, Martinez and his tactics can't be all to blame. The way Stones likes to play should actually suit Martinez tactics. Maybe Stones himself is the real problem here.

I'm not seeing those things you say he is good at.

 

He's not that good in the air, i have seen him getting beaten all season, the latest being against Liverpool 2 days ago.

 

 

I'm not going to defend him being anything more than below average against Liverpool. In fact his form has been off for a while, but if you go back to when he was playing well then I think you'll see a different player. Now if you think he was playing above himself then then that's fine, but I disagree.

 

He's not that good with the ball at his feet either. Just because he likes to pass the ball around at the back it doesn't mean he is actually good at it. The amount of times he gives it away proves that he isn't as good at passing it around as he thinks he is.

 

 

This I just straight up disagree with. Does he take risks? Yes. He's a young lad learning the game so he probably takes too many but for me, he has innate passing ability and a lot of other people I trust in the game see that too. But it's your opinion and you're entitled to it.

 

 

He doesn't read the game that well either, he's been getting caught out of position defensively all season. If he read the game well, he wouldn't be making the mistakes he keeps on making.

 

If every defender read the game perfectly, you wouldn't see any goals. I've seen great defenders make mistakes so I think you're nitpicking.

 

 

I don't get why people keep comparing Terry and Stones to be honest. Apart from the fact that at the same age Terry was a lot better than Stones, they aren't even the same type of player. Stones is closer to being like David Luiz than John Terry.

 

 

JT has always been a very underrated passer in my opinion. He's never been one to take risks but the guy is reliable as any defender moving the ball off both feet over 20 yards. But the comparison is probably because they're both young, English defenders. I don't know if JT was hugely better than Stones at the age they are now but if you go back to a season or two then I think Stones was ahead of JT when he was the same age (and close to leaving the club).

 

I think Stones has stalled this season under Martinez which is why Everton are playing so poorly and why Martinez will be sacked. 

 

I think Stones has had a really poor season to be honest, Martinez and his tactics can't be all to blame. The way Stones likes to play should actually suit Martinez tactics. Maybe Stones himself is the real problem here.

 

I think when you see Barkley, Coleman, Baines and pretty much every other player having a bad season and the fans calling for Martinez's head, you have to think it might be the coach.

 

I'm not going to say he's had a good year though. He was great last year and if you want to see him at this best then I'd suggest you watch the match against us at Goodison. He's not the finished article though. He's 22 and needs proper coaching. JT came through and had Marcel Desailly holding his hand, Stones has Jagielka and Funes Mori. 

 

He might bust though. He might never fulfil his potential or his potential might've been smoke and mirrors. But having Zouma, Stones and Christensen in defence for the next decade.....the potential there is mouthwatering.

Edited April 22, 201610 yr by ShedEnder91

 

JT has always been a very underrated passer in my opinion. He's never been one to take risks but the guy is reliable as any defender moving the ball off both feet over 20 yards. But the comparison is probably because they're both young, English defenders. I don't know if JT was hugely better than Stones at the age they are now but if you go back to a season or two then I think Stones was ahead of JT when he was the same age (and close to leaving the club).

 

At 20 JT won our payer of the season and had already captain the side whereas Stones has probably been one of Everton's worst players this season but you know they were probably at a similar level Christ.  

At 20 JT won our payer of the season and had already captain the side whereas Stones has probably been one of Everton's worst players this season but you know they were probably at a similar level Christ.  

 

Firstly, you don't have to address me as Christ ok? 

 

What I said was that if you went back a couple of seasons to when they would've been 19 then I think you could say that Stones was probably ahead of Terry in their development. JT's development in his first real season was spectacular as I'm sure you'll remember, and he did win the POTY award but I wasn't talking about that year. I thought I made that clear but I obviously didn't. 

 

Now what that speaks to is the importance of coaching in my opinion, both on the pitch and off it. JT played alongside some absolute legends of the game under a good coach - Stones hasn't and that's affected his development in mine (and other's) opinion.

 

That clear it up for you?

Edited April 22, 201610 yr by ShedEnder91

I think stones bought into his own hype of this once in a lifetime ball playing defender, some kind of reincarnation of beckenbauer. He played like he was making a point, when he should really have just been getting on with it. Mind you it doesn't help having a manager with the defensive tactical knowledge of a badger.

A Dumb and Blind Badger as well apparently...

 

He might bust though. He might never fulfil his potential or his potential might've been smoke and mirrors. But having Zouma, Stones and Christensen in defence for the next decade.....the potential there is mouthwatering.

 

I see those 3 as players with potential who needs a leader, experienced defender alongside them to flourish.. With both JT & Ivanovic on their way to retirement, the priority should be like-for-like replacement.. blowing another 50mils on someone who is not better than zouma is a bit luxury.. 

 

Sure, i don't rate stone as much as you do but when there is hype about english player, it is usually just hype and I have yet to see it's gonna be anything different in stones case.. I don't necesarily disaprove of this potential signing but I don't think it's worth the risk to find out if his price is above 40mils.. 

Played really well today. Especially 2nd half where he really drove Everton forward.

At fault (lost his man each time) for both the goals, so can't agree with you there

He's still a class act, would have him at us in a heartbeat.