da aposte e ganhe： You need to be careful with players that are being built up with extravagant price tags.
da doce： Sometimes mooted fees become burdensome and can strangle the player in question, who then never reaches his true potential.
And so to Everton’s John Stones.
At 21, and with eight full England caps to his name, many see the centre-back as a future mainstay of the national team’s defence. However, just lately he has been in and out of Roberto Martinez’s Everton team and has received some unfair and harsh criticism. Surely at such a tender age, any potentially damaging comments should be balanced with some constructive solutions, too.
The Toffees youngster has received high praise for his ball-playing ability from the back, though it has also proved to be his downfall at times this season – he’s been under fire after a string of costly defensive mistakes.
He can pass, we can see that. His accuracy with the ball this season is 88.5% – it was 89.5% last year, too. Over the last eight seasons no Everton player has a better pass success rate than him, however, he dwells on the ball and gets caught in possession, and that’s one of his defensive downfalls.
Stones, denied a move to Chelsea last summer, faces a fight to keep his place in the Everton first-team after a disastrous season on Merseyside. This was never what the board or the fans had in mind this year, and has culminated with the club having nothing left to play for now and Martinez heading for the exit.
The former Barnsley player has featured in an Everton defence that has conceded 22 goals at home in the Premier League this season. No other divisional rival has conceded more. But Martínez insists he will always protect the club’s young talents and has backed Stones to overcome his current struggles and develop into one of English football’s finest assets. Martinez said recently:
“My take is the one I always have with young players. John is 21, he’s played 68 games in the Premier League and I wouldn’t judge or assess it until a player has played 100 games in any division. What I will say is that he has incredible potential, he is still young and in the right environment to develop. Whatever criticism from outside we accept, but John Stones is in the right environment to fulfil his potential as one of the greatest players England has ever seen.”
Stones was the subject of three rejected bids from Chelsea last summer, with the final offer thought to be around £30m, but the Toffees resisted the temptation and kept hold of their man – a move that was at the time roundly praised.
Stones appears to be an enigma with Everton fans. Top class defenders have always had the ability to read the game well, yet this appears to be lacking with Stones. His elegance on the ball is undeniable, but his basic premise of defending is missing.
To others, this young man is the next Bobby Moore. With upwards of £30m securing his services in the summer, not only are the likes of both Manchester clubs and Chelsea in line to splash the cash, but there were also rumours of the Spanish giants taking an interest.
Depending on who advises and coaches Stones ,and what his mentality is like, the England defender will either shrug off the negatives and show everyone what he can do, or he will just become an expensive mistake merchant, who goes onto play for a mid to lower Premier League team and never realise his full potential.
Fortunately, time is in this young man’s favour and if he goes to a bigger club, he may receive the coaching and the confidence boost that he seems to need right now.
Next season will be make or break for Stones, and for his and England’s sakes, let’s hope he becomes what we all hope he can be.
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