Yaya

[Neville Kneville]

He played in a midfield two yesterday, though, and was quite great in it.

Fernandinho was coming inside quite a lot & adding extra legs, & they had nobody especially running at him & we played on the counter quite a lot. If Fern is a bit tired in the next two & we play Yaya +1 & our gung ho style going forward without extra cover for Yaya, we will get absolutely anihilated twice.

 

[Phil1]

Fernandinho was coming inside quite a lot & adding extra legs, & they had nobody especially running at him & we played on the counter quite a lot. If Fern is a bit tired in the next two & we play Yaya +1 & our gung ho style going forward without extra cover for Yaya, we will get absolutely anihilated twice.

My big concern is people getting excited about last night when in truth the two games against Liverpool are going to be the complete opposite work rate wise.

 

[Hungarian blue]

Fernandinho was coming inside quite a lot & adding extra legs, & they had nobody especially running at him & we played on the counter quite a lot. If Fern is a bit tired in the next two & we play Yaya +1 & our gung ho style going forward without extra cover for Yaya, we will get absolutely anihilated twice.

But still, this was basically the good old South American 4-4-2 that Pellegrini loves so much. With the exception of that neither Sterling, nor Fernandinho are playmakers like Nasri and Silva were in the beginnings of Manuel's career here.

Sure, Fernandinho went central when we were defending and luckily their left defender hardly caused any harm. Will be interesting to see if we play the same team against Liverpool as Moreno likes to attack, though his final ball often goes missing (and he's a bit shit defensively, really, so maybe space to exploit again for Ferna).

Of course, it also helped that Yaya was clearly giving a shit, as it happens oftentimes in CL (see Sevilla, where he wasn't quite a no. 10, both him and Fernandinho played in a box-to-box role from midfield with Fernando playing in his usual position).

I think we will go with the same setup on Sunday and being it a final, the hunger of our players will hardly be a question. Hopefully the legs of this midfield will be fine.

 

[Neville Kneville]

I think as much as having the 'legs' is an important factor, it's also how we approach the task of nullifying what Liverpool will do, & beating them. Both v Seville & last night, with two different formations, we played with respect to the opposition & conclusively outclassed them.

When we played our Fucking Stupid plan at home to Seville, they actually looked a better team than us.

I think that any decent side who plays tight, works hard, & counter atracks Liverpool, will fucking destroy them every time. But if you get off balance & end up chasing after them, they cut you to pieces. Not just this team but Brenton's team, with Sterling etc, were miles better still at it.

Keep our shape, make them come out & try to win it. Don't hand it to them. That's what we did in Europe, last two games & still created bucketfuls of chances.

 

[ono]

Not neccessarily true.

We were better in Seville, than last night for example but couldn't create shit v Villa with the same kind of team, when a bit more tired. I doubt there is a general rule of one or the other. Just depends who we are playing against, how they set up & how fit we are on the day I recon.

If we get the opportunity, & are giving someone a good twatting, I would like to see Yaya off, & Aleix Garcia with the two Ferns. See how it looks.

Yes i think in certain games we could get by, but i think overall, we still need someone to try and control the game in the middle in my opinion.

I think Pep will use both Garcia's much more than Pellers has done.

 

[fatbloke]

Agreed 100%. I really hope he keeps last night's system. Almost everyone looked a better player because of it.

If he keeps last nights system, it'll be easily worked out and exposed. It worked last night because they weren't at the races, we were shaper than them and the early goal meant they had to open up. When we need to win a game and be on the front foot that system will be hung, drawn and quartered by a decent, fit team.

 

[ono]

If he keeps last nights system, it'll be easily worked out and exposed. It worked last night because they weren't at the races, we were shaper than them and the early goal meant they had to open up. When we need to win a game and be on the front foot that system will be hung, drawn and quartered by a decent, fit team.

How? Where was it weak? What was wrong with it?

 

[yayas trusty right foot]

we are very lucky to have him..

he has had his knee strapped up in many games this season, he is obviously playing with an injury, this is probabily restricting his performance..

 

[BringBackSwales]

His ball retention and eye for a pass are still world class, and he will always shine more with 2 others with him in midfield. This also made David more involved, as well as him being more central, same again Sunday please

 

[southstandblue27]

He is so frustrating but so brilliant.

He shouldn't really be starting games for us anymore but he still has a lot to offer.

Thought this was summed up when Kiev scored, just watched the ball go to their player with no attempt to close him down.

Then he goes and scores an absolute screamer.

Think his legacy here has been slightly tainted by the last two seasons but he will always be remembered for the huge goals he has scored for us.

Without him, we wouldn't be where we are today.

FA cup semi final and final winning goals, Newcastle away, Capital One Cup final equaliser.

Every trophy we have won since the takeover would not have been won without him.

Huge

 

[Marvin]

How? Where was it weak? What was wrong with it?

You can't cover Toure's inability to sprint entirely, but some systems are better than others.

When we don't have the ball, Fernando, Delph, Fernandinho can close the space down quickly and shepherd the opponent away but Yaya can't get close and this hurts us all the time. I think it explains in large part our poor results against the better teams who are able to retain possession.

We were reminded of the good and bad in Yaya's game last night. I think it would be much better to use him from the bench in games like the League Cup Final when its stretched in the last 20 mins or in extra time. He could be decisive then. Or start him against weaker opponents at home.

I think Pellegrini is going to carry on playing him whenever possible and that is going to limit our success this season.

We don't have a replacement, and we have injuries but there are still plenty of options eg play Kompany in the defensive midfield role, or Zabaleta. They have both done that before. None of this is ideal of course but I think if we play against any top side we'll be left chasing shadows in midfield if Toure plays.

 

[Marvin]

He is so frustrating but so brilliant.

He shouldn't really be starting games for us anymore but he still has a lot to offer.

Thought this was summed up when Kiev scored, just watched the ball go to their player with no attempt to close him down.

Then he goes and scores an absolute screamer.

Think his legacy here has been slightly tainted by the last two seasons but he will always be remembered for the huge goals he has scored for us.

Without him, we wouldn't be where we are today.

FA cup semi final and final winning goals, Newcastle away, Capital One Cup final equaliser.

Every trophy we have won since the takeover would not have been won without him.

Huge

Agree with every word of that. It's sad to see. The goal last night was a reminder of what he has done so many times. And it was very significant, but those moments are getting rarer, and more to the point in between he's a liability defensively. It was marginal last season. Now it's a real issue.

Guardian Football have an article about life left yet in Yaya Toure http://www.theguardian.com/football...-city-yaya-toure-dynamo-kyiv-champions-league

I think he'd prefer to play a meaningful role as an impact sub and leave with another winners medal than as also rans which is what will likely happen if he carries on playing every game

 

[coleridge]

Apologies if already posted.

Manchester City FC ‏@MCFC 2m2 minutes ago
.@YayaToure's strike has been nominated for @UEFA' Goal of the Week! #mcfc Vote here: http://manc.it/1XOEniX

 

[Rolee]

You can't cover Toure's inability to sprint entirely, but some systems are better than others.

When we don't have the ball, Fernando, Delph, Fernandinho can close the space down quickly and shepherd the opponent away but Yaya can't get close and this hurts us all the time. I think it explains in large part our poor results against the better teams who are able to retain possession.

We were reminded of the good and bad in Yaya's game last night. I think it would be much better to use him from the bench in games like the League Cup Final when its stretched in the last 20 mins or in extra time. He could be decisive then. Or start him against weaker opponents at home.

I think Pellegrini is going to carry on playing him whenever possible and that is going to limit our success this season.

We don't have a replacement, and we have injuries but there are still plenty of options eg play Kompany in the defensive midfield role, or Zabaleta. They have both done that before. None of this is ideal of course but I think if we play against any top side we'll be left chasing shadows in midfield if Toure plays.

Play Kompany or Zaba in defensive midfield? Where do you play Fernando then?

See this is the problem, yes Yaya's inability to hack the pace is costing us but the alternatives are worse.

 

[Marvin]

Play Kompany or Zaba in defensive midfield? Where do you play Fernando then?

See this is the problem, yes Yaya's inability to hack the pace is costing us but the alternatives are worse.

I agree they are not ideal. Not convinced by Delph. He hasn't had enough games yet for us to know whether he can play at the highest level

I'd rather play one of Delph, Zabaleta or Kompany and Fernando than Toure. I'd leave Toure to do damage off the bench. I know hese 3 don;t have Yaya's ability on the ball but we do have Silva, Nasri and De Bruyne to come back in. If they had a solid platform behind them, we'd still be able to support Aguero

If you play with Toure it exposes us defensively. We've seen it so many times this season. The question is do we have alternatives in the squad. I think so.

 

[Rolee]

I agree they are not ideal. Not convinced by Delph. He hasn't had enough games yet for us to know whether he can play at the highest level

I'd rather play one of Delph, Zabaleta or Kompany and Fernando than Toure. I'd leave Toure to do damage off the bench. I know hese 3 don;t have Yaya's ability on the ball but we do have Silva, Nasri and De Bruyne to come back in. If they had a solid platform behind them, we'd still be able to support Aguero

If you play with Toure it exposes us defensively. We've seen it so many times this season. The question is do we have alternatives in the squad. I think so.

At the moment we don't.

 

[fatbloke]

You can't cover Toure's inability to sprint entirely, but some systems are better than others.

When we don't have the ball, Fernando, Delph, Fernandinho can close the space down quickly and shepherd the opponent away but Yaya can't get close and this hurts us all the time. I think it explains in large part our poor results against the better teams who are able to retain possession.

We were reminded of the good and bad in Yaya's game last night. I think it would be much better to use him from the bench in games like the League Cup Final when its stretched in the last 20 mins or in extra time. He could be decisive then. Or start him against weaker opponents at home.

I think Pellegrini is going to carry on playing him whenever possible and that is going to limit our success this season.

We don't have a replacement, and we have injuries but there are still plenty of options eg play Kompany in the defensive midfield role, or Zabaleta. They have both done that before. None of this is ideal of course but I think if we play against any top side we'll be left chasing shadows in midfield if Toure plays.

You answered that one perfectly for me, couldn't sum it up better myself.

 

[Marvin]

At the moment we don't.

Not to the level that Yaya was at 2 years ago.

But at the moment Id rather have a defensively sound midfield plus Silva, Aguero etc than a midfield that's operating a man down when we lose the ball

 

[Marvin]

You answered that one perfectly for me, couldn't sum it up better myself.

Thanks.

 

[Rolee]

Not to the level that Yaya was at 2 years ago.

But at the moment Id rather have a defensively sound midfield plus Silva, Aguero etc than a midfield that's operating a man down when we lose the ball

I'd love a defensively sound midfield too Marvin but when Yaya has been left out this season we haven't been defensively sound, if I could see evidence where we are more defensively sound without him I'd agree with you all the way but...

all it serves to do is take away a string from our bow in attack.