CITY SPECIAL Legend tips Stones to be the next Bobby Moore
CITY legend Mike Summerbee thinks John Stones could be the next Bobby Moore.
The former Blues winger has explained how he sees similarities between England regular Stones and the World Cup great.
Stones has become an integral part of Pep Guardiola’s plans at City since signing for £47.5m in August 2016.
His performances with City caught the eye of Gareth Southgate and Stones played in all seven games and contributed two goals, as England reached the semi-finals at the World Cup in Russia.
“He’s playing fantastically well, and he is also a leader, you can see that from his games for City and England,” Summerbee told the club’s website.
“Stones likes to bring the ball forward, as Bobby did, and he was one of the great readers of the game, as Stones is.
“He’s a good passer of the ball, too, as Bobby was and without a shadow of a doubt, he has everything he needs to become the second Bobby Moore.”
Under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola, Stones is now a Premier League champion, and his development and progress at the Etihad have been clear to see.
His exceptional form for club and country has drawn praise from fans and pundits alike and Summerbee was the latest to heap praise on the defender.
“John Stones is playing exceptionally well,” he said.
“He is playing in a different era to Bobby and in different conditions, but I can see a lot of similarities.”
Summerbee added: “You would be hard pushed to find somebody better than Bobby in that position so if Stones can get anywhere near that level would be fantastic, but I don’t feel he is far away.” CITY’S spirited comeback at Lyon leaves them needing just a point to top their Champions League group.
Finishing first always seems to be an attractive proposition, as European football’s aristocracy all tend to finish top of their group, and the draw only pairs first-placed teams with second-placed teams.
Real Madrid and Barcelona are already assured of top spot in their respective groups this season, and Atletico Madrid, Paris St Germain, Bayern Munich and Juventus are likely to join them after the final round of matches.
If City avoid defeat at home to Hoffenheim in a fortnight they will avoid that difficult list of top names, and would be set up to face the likes of Schalke, Ajax, Roma or Borussia Dortmund.
Ask the suits at City and they would be happy with that, as it would make the Blues favourites to reach the quarter-finals, and it is all about going deep into the competition.
The players and Pep Guardiola should be less bothered. The manager knows his squad needs to find a mentality which considers themselves to be part of that Euro elite, rather than rookie contenders who are trying to break through. The Blues have now made the last 16 for six seasons on the bounce, and in the previous five they have made the semi-finals once, the quarter-finals once and been eliminated at the first hurdle in the other three, by Barcelona (twice) and Monaco.
Those two Barca knockouts helped to establish the mentality that top spot in the group is a necessity.
It is time that the Blues shed that mentality and welcomed the prospect of facing Barca, Real or Juve in the last 16.
In fact, it could be a positive blessing.
The Blues have been on an upward trajectory for the past ten years, and that ballistic curve has been getting steeper under Pep Guardiola.
They have become the most consistent force in the Premier League in the last six years, have stormed every English fortress apart from Anfield – which should have happened this season – and have become a team to avoid in the Champions League. One thing which is missing from their collective CV is a big Champions League win in a knockout match. When they have faced a club with a real European pedigree – Barcelona, Real Madrid and even Liverpool – they have frozen. Guardiola thinks that is a barrier the entire club, including the fans, need to overcome if City are to fulfil the owner’s desire to lift the ultimate European club trophy. When Manuel Pellegrini’s team shaped up to face Real in the 2016 semi-final, it was an opportunity to be grasped, but City froze in the glare, while Madrid’s superiority complex was enough to see them through. If the Blues could face one of those big clubs early in the knockout phase, and beat them, the barriers would all come down. They are favourites with the bookies to win the competition this season, and a big win over a superpower in the last 16 would set them up to go all the way. Stuart Brennan