Former Manchester United manager Tommy Docherty says that if he were to give Louis van Gaal any advice on who to sign, he’d advise him to look further North West for a player linked with a move this summer – but admits that even if United were to sign Everton’s John Stones, the highly rated centre half may not presently be of the ability to walk into the defence and improve it.
‘If I was to pick a name I think United should sign, it would be the boy John Stones, he’s a tremendous prospect,’ says Docherty. ‘You almost wonder whether Everton can afford to keep him. Having said that, I’m not too sure from what I have seen of him that he has of the calibre to improve Manchester United’s defence at this moment in time. I’m a big admirer of Roberto Martinez at Everton, he seems an astute judge of talent, and he seems to really rate the boy. He’s British, which is a positive thing, but the cost for these players these days is so high.’
Everton so far have stood firm on their stand to keep hold of the former Barnsley defender amid interest from Chelsea, who have had two big bids rejected already. United’s interest is coming from the periphery and the general consensus is that the Toffees, if forced to sell him, would prefer a bidding war. Docherty has slammed the game playing by today’s chairmen who he feels are not being realistic.
‘I get annoyed with chairmen at football clubs claiming ‘Oh he’s not for sale’. Why say that? All players are for sale if the price is right. It’s stupid. Eventually the chairmen will be proved to be wrong and they’ll look like liars.’
We still have a number of limited edition copies of the best selling book ’74/75′ by Tommy Docherty, with worldwide delivery options available here.
