Is John Stones City's best centre back option?
Manchester City have three world class centre backs in their squad but is the an from Barnsley the best of the three?
In a game where Manchester City were largely shut out from creating chances of quality it was centre back John Stones who unlocked the persevering Dortmund defence with a strike from twenty five yards out. A momentum shift that saw City pile on the pressure and the seemingly inevitable Erling Haaland netting the winner in a finish maybe only achievable by Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
However, it is not the goal scoring touch that is the most impressive attribute within John Stones’ game. Frequently, the expression ‘jack of all trades master of none’ is used when discussing players but John Stones is quite the contrary.
An elite ball playing defender suited to a Guardiola system, he has since been nurtured into a reliable defensive asset while providing passes that are largely press resistant and splits opposition midfields. He also possesses the backbone of ‘old school’ defenders when challenging for the ball. This is a component of Stones that is often unaccustomed and majorly underlooked as he has demonstrated time and time again for Manchester City and England the capacity to do the ‘dirty work’ required.
As well as this, the ‘Barnsley Beckenbauer’ has been setting the standard in modern times when it comes to being acumen and having a deep understanding of a game. The adaptibility of slotting into a four at the back or three at the back formation seamlessly is undervalued and rather those that stumble in doing so are criticised and even ridiculed. In numerous cases it is the 28 year old’s partner that gathers the majority of plaudits whether it be Harry Maguire during England’s run to the Euro’s final or Ruben Dias’ player of the year award during City’s title winning season of 20/21. While these players deserve such praises, a share must go to the common denominator in these successful teams. John Stones.
When cult icon Jamie Vardy humiliated the then 22 year old Stones during a 4-2 demolition, many were hastily sceptic in not only the capability of the inexperienced latest £50 million acquisition from Everton but also the practicality of Pep Guardiola’s vision in English football. Individual errors and the exposure of the demands in possession from the manager led to John Stones gathering a swift reputation from inpatient supporters as another overhyped English prospect. There is often a tendency within football fans of retaining original opinions of a player that has since advanced yet still can’t shake off the reputation previous.
Adversity has been squaring up to Stones several times during his City career. Competition for places is maximised with Vincent Kompany, Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte all endowed with world class faculties of their own. Despite this, ultimately, John Stones has racked up over 200 appearances in a side that has every right to be put aside the greatest in Premier League history. Coupled with the fact he has been a mainstay and integral element of the most successful England side in decades. It may take its time but upon retirement his career will be reflected upon with immense admiration, with plenty of years left on his clock.
In late 2020, Man City endured a difficult start to the season with some pundits writing off Guardiola’s side and questioning the consistency of the team. Started by the development of a partnership of John Stones and Ruben Dias, City went on a title winning run of fifthteen wins and one draw over the course of sixteen games. A momentous run in which, astonishingly, the pair contributed to as many goals (3) as they conceded over the sixteen games. This momentum shift fuelled by a centre back partnership is golden and very infrequent with only the likes of Ricardo Carvalho and John Terry and also Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand boasting a similar type of streak.
The partnership was recognised by fellow professionals as both were elected to the PFA team of the season. City’s defence were without doubt the most crucial piece to winning the Premier League that season as none of City’s forward line broke into the same team of the season yet four out of five made it from the backline.
Taking this momentum into Euro 2020 (played in summer of 2021) John Stones started every game in a team that conceded only two goals in seven matches, with one of those being a 30 yard free kick planted into the roof of the net.
The current England side has proved to be a breath of fresh air amongst England supporters. While in the past ongoing club rivalries put a sour taste into the camps of hugely talented players this seemed to be a sharp contrast to the side managed by Gareth Southgate. Despite the Manchester rivalry at club level, Kyle Walker, John Stones and Harry Maguire have shown a harmonious relationship that represents three Yorkshiremen playing for their country rather than enemies.
Following on from a physically gruelling schedule of the Euros, Stones had to be patient to regain his place in the side. However, this time it proved to be Stones and Laporte who shared the most balanced and functional partnership amongst the three City options. Conceding just six goals in fourteen Premier League games with Stones in the side compared to 20 goals in 24 games shows why he could be the most important part of the centre of City’s defence. Especially as City crashed out of the Champions League in his absence as they conceded six goals over the two legs to Real Madrid.
While each choice would be, there should be no raised eyebrows in claiming that John Stones is the superior centre back in City’s rotation. All three will have their advantages and arguments to take that place but Stones has definitely shown in recent years he deserves to be towards the top of the conversation of not only City’s best centre back but also the Premier League’s. Manchester City have the fortune of having three centre backs who would arguably start for any other team in the Premier League so picking between them isn’t straightforward. Nevertheless, it is a fortunate problem to solve as far as Pep Guardiola is concerned.