Micah Richards believes John Stones, in his signature hybrid role could prove to be a “secret weapon” for Manchester City.
After City’s 1-0 victory against AFC Bournemouth, the popular pundit had claimed that the 29-year-old’s “all-round game was magnificent.”
Gary Lineker added that he was “absolutely mesmerised” by John Stones’ showing, especially due to the positional fluidity he showcased while being a centre-back.
Micah Richards claims John Stones could be a “secret weapon” for Manchester City
Ian Wright also claimed that the £47.5 million (Manchester Evening News) man “ran the game” against the Cherries in what he described as an “amazing” performance from him.
Pep Guardiola also hailed the former Everton defender for his “really, really good” display after the contest.
Micah Richards believes John Stones, in his hybrid role, could become a tactical joker in the pack that Manchester City can use to stun opposition.
“But also, it’s not just what [John] Stones can do on the ball, it’s the opposition”, he said on The Rest Is Football podcast.
“So, you know Gaz [Gary Lineker], when you’re playing against a team and you know how the team plays, because [Manuel] Akanji has done it in a couple of games, not really worked out, he did it against Chelsea and you work three, four times a week to stop Man City.”
Micah Richards went on to analyse how Manchester City colossus John Stones’ role dismantled Bournemouth.
“But when you’ve got John Stones against Bournemouth, who’s basically going into the number 10 and I showed it on my fourth clip on Match of the Day on Saturday night, it was interesting to see because the midfielders didn’t want to drop back because they’ve been given a role to do it with the rest of the team.”
“Then, the centre-halves didn’t want to step out because they’re worried about [Erling] Haaland and the movement around so it’s how do you defend that when you’ve not planned for it. That’s what so difficult to stop and if he’s got the confidence to do that for Man City, for England, it could be a secret weapon. It really could.”
John Stones has been a headache for the opposition since last season
John Stones could not only be a “secret weapon” for Manchester City this season, as Micah Richards claimed but he has been since last season, in our view.
In the Champions League knockout rounds in particular, Stones thrived against the likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Inter Milan, who failed to track his positions across the pitch for much of the game.
Especially offensively, the fluidity of the five-time Premier League winner’s positioning meant City always had more control and an extra body in attack, as exemplified by his tremendous displays in the second leg of the semi-final against Los Blancos and the final against Inter.
Now that John Stones is starting games for City again, teams across Europe will have the challenge of assessing how to limit his influence, which they have been unable to do since last season.
