Football- John Stones Robbie Savage column: John Stones can be an England great - but MUST be given leeway to learn his craft

The Everton defender has come in for plenty of criticism in recent weeks but he needs to be encouraged to play out from the back

 Developing: Stones must be given chance to make mistakes

 

Lay off John Stones – the knives have come out for one of Everton’s crown jewels and it’s time somebody stood up for him.

From what I’ve seen, there are no doubts about Stones’ potential: If he is allowed to develop, he could become England’s best centre back since Rio Ferdinand.

He was criticised, in some quarters, for the backpass to Tim Howard that led to Swansea’s opening goal at Goodison Park last Sunday.

But in my book, goalkeeper Howard was the one at fault.

Error: Howard gives the penalty away against Swansea

He was on his heels and instead of giving away a soft penalty, he would have had plenty of time to clear his lines if he had been more alert

I also don’t think Everton manager Roberto Martinez did him any favours by playing him at right-back against Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling.


Stones has been accused of trying to play his way out of trouble too often, or attempting Cruyff-style turns in his own 18-yard box.

In pictures: Man City 3-1 Everton

Yes, he has to strike the right balance between risk and safety. But if we want him to become a cultured centre half in the mould of Ferdinand or Bobby Moore, he must not be inhibited.

He needs to be encouraged to play out from the back instead of hoofing clearances into Row Z as a default safety-first option.

On Merseyside, there are high hopes that Stones could turn into a class act like Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson in the great Liverpool team of the 1980s.
But let’s not forget that football has moved in the last 30 years.

Whenever Hansen or Lawrenson was under pressure, they could simply pass it back to the goalkeeper, who was allowed to pick up backpasses in those days.
Give Stones the leeway to learn his craft and he could become one of the best centre-backs England have ever produced.

Luck was certainly not on Stones or Everton’s side at the Etihad in a thrilling Capital One Cup semi-final.
In the 21st century, it is totally unacceptable that they may have missed out on a Wembley final – and a route to European football – because of a simple line decision.


Out of play: Everton were harshly done by at the Etihad

When Sterling pulled a cross back for Kevin de Bruyne to level the tie on aggregate, it was clearly out of play. The whole of the ball had crossed the line, no question.
People sitting in the stands 80 yards away called it immediately, and at least two Everton players appealed straight away, so how did the officials miss it?

If their view was obscured, let’s help them. We’ve got goal-line technology to determine whether goals have been scored, so let’s use it to determine whether assists have gone out of play, too.

We are not talking about subjective incidents like fouls, which are often a matter of referees interpreting what they see.

Line decisions are black and white. It would only take five seconds to check a replay monitor.
For what it’s worth, I thought City played well on the night and they deserved to go through. The Quadruple is still on.

But controversy does not reflect well on football when it is generated by a straightforward case of whether the ball crossed the line.