Old Stones doubts resurface at Wembley

Error for Polish goal brings back bad memories and will raise doubts about him ahead of England’s big summer

The narrative of John Stones’s reinvention has been a seductive one this season. There is his golden form at Manchester City, his thriving double act with Ruben Dias in central defence, his hopes of sealing a fresh contract with the champions-in-waiting.

But then, as one moment of scrambled thinking gifted Poland an equaliser, his stock fell faster than Deliveroo’s share price. Where England’s favourite takeaway service suffered a 30 per cent wipe-out in value on its first day as a listed company, its once flavour-of-the-month centre-back risked a similar collapse in worth in Gareth Southgate’s eyes, as his reputation for brittleness returned.

Ultimately, the damage was mitigated by Harry Maguire’s late winner, but the horror of a single absent-minded error will haunt Stones’s thoughts for weeks. His dawdling on the ball gifted a touch to Arkadiusz Milik, and within seconds Brighton’s Jakub Moder completed the punishment. Even if there were no supporters in attendance to barrack him, a crestfallen Stones still looked as if he wanted the pitch to swallow him whole. It was his first such blunder in seven weeks, but with England’s next confirmed engagement on this stage a Euro 2020 group game against Croatia in 74 days’ time, the timing was heavy with misfortune.

Stones was supposed to have left brain-fades such as this far behind.

Granted, there had been ample support for his “Calamity John” reputation: an absurd back-pass across his own penalty area for City in October 2016, a horrible miscue to allow Liverpool to score in January 2018. He had been culpable on the international stage, too, crucially losing possession against Holland in 2019.

All this had become a distant memory, thanks to his renaissance under Pep Guardiola. At 26, his sheer consistency in defence played a vital role in City’s record of 21 straight wins, with the manager understood to be keen to extend his contract beyond 2022. His improvements appeared testament to how honest graft could turn around a once-faltering career.

But then a fleeting lapse for his country brought back an unwelcome caricature.

It was for his gaffe-prone tendency that Guardiola used to look askance at Stones. Any player prone to slips in possession had no part in his quest for perfection. But by degrees, Stones won over even his most committed detractors. All the entries in his reel of lowlights were consigned to history. Then came this stumble against Poland, and the question of whether he could be trusted for the grandest occasions resurfaced.

By the end, Stones had achieved some measure of atonement, cushioning a header across to Maguire for the winner. “He has made a mistake, and he knows that,” Southgate said. “But he has bounced back.” The head coach is not the impetuous type, and he is unlikely to countenance any drastic action. But inescapably, a shadow of doubt will linger. Come June, Southgate needs to have banished any last nagging concerns, settling on a starting line-up who can lift a restless country. Is Stones a player who can produce when it matters most?

There is no question that the pressure on England increases vastly from here. When they next emerge from the Wembley tunnel, Southgate’s England team hope, like all of us, to inhabit a demonstrably different world. For all that they have grown inured to keeping the show rolling on through this tumbleweed period for the national game, they are soon to be the headline stars of a summer of love that will, to judge by this week’s lockdown-loosening revelries, make Woodstock look like a tea party. Harry Kane, while he embodied composure in lashing home his penalty against Poland, is about to discover how it felt being Paul Gascoigne 25 years ago.

Everywhere, you can sense the pent-up Euro 96 energies just waiting to be unleashed. Even Sir Keir Starmer, whose greatest sporting claim to fame is as a “midfield general” for his local eight-a-side team, has leapt aboard the nostalgia train, choosing Three Lions on Desert Island Discs.

Rocking has been conspicuous by its absence at Wembley of late, as indeed has jumping, cheering, even unrestricted breathing. To imagine that all this can be reimagined in 2½ months as a fan-friendly citadel is a stretch.

This, though, remains the intention. Against Croatia, there will be legal permission for at least 10,000 to attend, with all restrictions on social contact due to be wound down eight days later.

It is an occasion to which England need to rise, after being granted a major reprieve by Poland. Stones, likewise, must adapt, and fast. For his club, he has successfully mastered his fragilities. But for his country, there is still the suspicion he is an accident waiting to happen.