Garth Crooks has raved about John Stones following his performance for Manchester City against Bournemouth on Saturday – believing his development has been huge.
The England international started against the Cherries and played a big part in the 1-0 win at the Vitality Stadium.
It was Phil Foden who grabbed the only goal of the game, as he followed in a saved shot from Erling Haaland.
City had a lot of opportunities but, as was the case against Brentford in the game before, it was a narrow scoreline in the end. But all that matters right now is winning, as City seek to keep pace with their title rivals.
John Stones has come in for plenty of praise since the weekend, and Garth Crooks has now named the player in his latest Premier League Team of the Week…
Garth Crooks hails John Stones as he names one ‘travesty’ in Bournemouth v Manchester City
Stones moving into midfield is something we see a lot these days.
The 29-year-old is very comfortable operating alongside Rodri, given how good he is on the ball.
But against Bournemouth, he often found himself very high up indeed, and his positioning left Micah Richards and Gary Lineker amazed.
Ian Wright stated that he was ‘amazing’, and Garth Crooks was also blown away, as he told BBC Sport: “I knew something wasn’t right when I saw Stones move into an advanced position, play a ball into Bernardo Silva and have the nerve to run into the six-yard area and expect a return pass before playing a square ball across the face of the opposition’s goal line. It was a travesty there was no one there to finish the move and put the ball into the back of the net.
“Stones has always been comfortable on the ball but not always in advanced areas. What I am seeing now is a player who wants to play in the last third of the pitch. However, far more importantly, his teammates are prepared to trust him with the ball in those positions which is a huge compliment and a massive indication of the player’s development.
“This kind of progress with players only happens under certain coaches and Pep Guardiola is one of those coaches.”
What a player
It is such a shame that John Stones has been as injury-prone as he has in his career, because he truly is an incredible footballer when fit.
The £250,000-a-week star was amazing on Saturday as he pushed on into the final third.
To do what he does must be so difficult and require the highest levels of tactical intelligence. He performs multiple roles in games, but he just seems to do everything so seamlessly. The hybrid role he plays is so complicated, you hardly see anyone else doing it in the game today, at least to the standard he sets.
City need him to stay fit for the rest of the season.
For all the talk about the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland and Rodri, Stones is an absolutely fundamental part of the system and the team feels stronger with him in it.
