Allardyce warns Stones to cut out costly mistakes
New England manager highlights high error count Walker sickness means he could miss Slovakia game
John Stones has been warned by new England manager Sam Allardyce to cut out the mistakes if he hopes to flourish at international level.
Stones was a marquee signing for Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola last month after completing a £47.5million move from Everton, and Allardyce is keen to work with the 22-year-old defender.
Stones’s progress at international level has halted after a series of costly errors for club and country, most notably in England’s 2-1 defeat by Holland at Wembley in March. That performance appeared to end his hopes of partnering Chris Smalling at Euro 2016 and he did not play a single minute in the doomed tournament campaign under Roy Hodgson.
The expectation is that there will be no shocks in Allardyce’s first squad, which means that unless there are a lot of withdrawals, there will be no call-up for the likes of Mark Noble, Michail Antonio or Michael Keane. There is a doubt over Tottenham Hotspur right- back Kyle Walker, who came off in the first half of his side’s draw with Liverpool yesterday with an illness.
Allardyce will name Stones in his first squad today, for the World Cup qualifier against Slovakia next Sunday, but admits the centre-half needs to recover from a difficult season.
“The mistakes that have been highlighted recently seem to have knocked him back a little bit,” Allardyce said. “You have to make fewer mistakes at international level than at Premier League level and that is the difference between success and failure.
“Everyone gives the ball away or makes a mistake, but if the mistake costs a goal, then it’s a problem. There is an element, as he gets more experienced, to learning when it is too danyoung gerous to hold on to the ball, when it’s right to hold on to the ball and come up and play. It is not just come out and play every time. I am sure Pep will be the same, you can take a risk but it has to be minimal because if you lose the ball and they score, it can be a problem.
“England lost their opportunity to go farther in the European Championship because of our mistakes, not the opposition’s brilliant football.”
Stones’s ability with the ball and reading of the game, however, have never been in question and he already appears to be benefiting from Guardiola’s tutelage. “Hopefully, he manages to challenge the size of the fee at such a age,” said Allardyce. “And then there is the criticism he had at the back end of last season. “So, how well has he handled that and the £47million fee, that he is the most expensive centrehalf in the country. It is a big challenge and hopefully he lives up to it.” Meanwhile, Stones has revealed the extent of the destabilising effect of Chelsea’s interest in signing him last summer. Chelsea lodged a £30 million bid for Stones, who submitted a transfer request, only for Everton to refuse to sell.
“It is difficult when there is a lot of speculation, a lot of things happening in your personal life,” said Stones. “It unsettled not just me but my family, and all I wanted to do was knuckle down and keep playing for my teammates, for the fans at Everton.
“I would never have questioned my professionalism at the time. I stated what I wanted to do and it didn’t happen, and I just wanted to get on with it, keep going out and winning games for my club and improving as a player.”