@tar88s- It's far from a joke, it's actually a good idea to try out. Needless to say, when you play a position irregularly then you will struggle but Man City don't have a genuine alternative to Fernandinho and although Stones doesn't possess the same level of passing range, he is no worse than N'Golo Kante and Eric Dier in that regard. Having a CB playing as the middle of a 3-man midfield also gives you the (genuine) option of switching to a back 3 during a game without personnel change. Fernandinho can do this to a degree but Stones is more adept defensively. Clearly, nobody in the squad is going to oust Fernandinho but given the importance placed on the DM in City's system, it makes sense to try to find a viable alternative in case of injury. The domestic cups give you the opportunity to see if it will work.
@SteveHyland As experiment and an idea with weaker opponents - yes. From the other side - I do not recall any central defender switching successfully to midfield position. Pellegrini tried it once with Demichelis in one of the CL games, it didn`t end good for City. Guardiola will rather buy replacement for Ferna, than "reformat" Stones to that position. I do not doubt John`s' quality at all, but for the Pep`s style of play - he is not looking to be right choice for defensive midfielder position.
@tar88s - Sorry, accidently hit reported instead of reply. Well, Rafa Márquez? World Cup winners Edmílson or Ginter? Or the other way, Mascherano, Emre Can or Dier? Centre-half and defensive mid aren't so different that one couldn't possibly play one if he excels at another. And the talk was about this match, about who should spell Fernandinho for this match. Buying a replacement/sub for him is another matter, one that isn't timely for another two weeks.
This Foden is a great player and has a bright future. 5 dribble. 3 shot . 3 key passes. 3 tackles.
Garcia Martret in defense, is this some sort of joke?
@uefalona and the other joke is Stones as defensive midfielder:)
@tar88s- It's far from a joke, it's actually a good idea to try out. Needless to say, when you play a position irregularly then you will struggle but Man City don't have a genuine alternative to Fernandinho and although Stones doesn't possess the same level of passing range, he is no worse than N'Golo Kante and Eric Dier in that regard. Having a CB playing as the middle of a 3-man midfield also gives you the (genuine) option of switching to a back 3 during a game without personnel change. Fernandinho can do this to a degree but Stones is more adept defensively. Clearly, nobody in the squad is going to oust Fernandinho but given the importance placed on the DM in City's system, it makes sense to try to find a viable alternative in case of injury. The domestic cups give you the opportunity to see if it will work.
@SteveHyland As experiment and an idea with weaker opponents - yes. From the other side - I do not recall any central defender switching successfully to midfield position. Pellegrini tried it once with Demichelis in one of the CL games, it didn`t end good for City. Guardiola will rather buy replacement for Ferna, than "reformat" Stones to that position. I do not doubt John`s' quality at all, but for the Pep`s style of play - he is not looking to be right choice for defensive midfielder position.
@tar88s Can also be a helpful development tool for a player, experiencing a different position...
@tar88s - Sorry, accidently hit reported instead of reply. Well, Rafa Márquez? World Cup winners Edmílson or Ginter? Or the other way, Mascherano, Emre Can or Dier? Centre-half and defensive mid aren't so different that one couldn't possibly play one if he excels at another. And the talk was about this match, about who should spell Fernandinho for this match. Buying a replacement/sub for him is another matter, one that isn't timely for another two weeks.
LEICESTER Ward , Simpson , Söyüncü , Maguire , Fuchs , Iborra , Choudhury , Ndidi , Ghezzal , Iheanacho , Gray SUBS Morgan , Maddison , Albrighton , Ricardo Pereira , Jakupovic , Okazaki , Mendy
MAN CITY Muric, Walker, Stones, Aguero (C), De Bruyne, Mahrez, Otamendi, Zinchenko, Foden, Garcia, Diaz SUBS Ederson, Sterling, Gundogan, Delph, Jesus, Sandler, Nmecha