Good article on Toure by Howard Hockin

[bornblueegg]

ALL players have limitations, its how you combine them that makes the difference. Yaya is a City legend but it is interesting how 'us' fans debate the nature of how we perceive these cyclical changes as weaknesses

 

[cibaman]

A very good article.

Going to be fascinating to see how Pellegrini uses Yaya over the remainder of the season and whether he uses him off the bench more or mainly sticks to starting him; and if he starts him, does he do it as part of a midfield three.

I think much will depend on how well Delph performs. It seems that Pellegrini believes that Delph can do a job (not the same job) in midfield that would allow Yaya to be rested more often.

The other pragmatic issue is that our injury crisis has robbed us of most of our tall outfield players. Which presents a serious problem defending corners and set pieces.

 

[moomba]

Good article. I think his time with us is close to being done, but he has been such an important player and it would be lovely if we could give him a proper sendoff in May.

Suspect it will be more bitching and moaning followed by an acrimonious sale in August.

 

[jared]

Good article. Always a club legend. Complicated man with his off field business, probably too sensitive for his own good, but doesn't take away his contributions and achievement for our recent success.

With his age, i always envisioned maybe a deep lying role like pirlo, flanked by 2 energetic midfielder to cover for him and win the ball back. His bursts and runs might lessen with age but he still is among the best in controlling the pace of the game and spraying those pinpoint passes from deep like pirlo. Obviously he is more physical than pirlo and still can occasionally provide those lung bursting runs from midfield.

 

[Gorton_Tubster]

Wow, I didnt know Yaya ran as much as others, the stats dont lie I suppose.

Yaya will be on his way when / if Pep arrives. It will be sad to see him go, and Delph wont be an exact replacemnet for him, our style in that part of midfield will have to change, but from what I have seen Delph is going to be a perfect workhorse (and creative) in midfield.

 

[jay_mcfc]

Spectacular.

 

[bugsyblue]

Great article except one line stuck out for me in relation to him being lazy '(perhaps because) he doesn't rush back to track runners'. Well in that moment, a crucial moment that could lead to us conceding, if Yaya doesn't track his runner as a central midfielder then yes I'm afraid I would call that lazy.

However as the article rightly points out, he's being failed at times by his manager. And for all his, casual liabilities shall we say, he is still a remarkable player. He's up there with Sergio for being able to complete turn again and for a midfielder to do that.

He's definitely undervalued and perhaps it is because of his off field antics.

 

[ono]

Superb article. Best I have read in ages. Sums up exactly how I feel about him

 

[Bayblue]

I thought this was a great piece of writing. The author nails the alternative views of Yaya and captures his essential genius. There was one extract that for me summed him up:
"Yaya Toure is a player with magnificent ball retention skills, almost impossible to tackle, world-class passing skills, a deadly long-range shot, a footballer with pure power and poise who has a knack of scoring crucial goals. He is a destructive not a restrictive player. They’re his skills, so utilise them"

Looking ahead the author also put into words a couple of things that I've felt. Firstly it's about how City will probably change post Yaya:
"What’s also simple is that he is close to irreplaceable. When he goes, City’s style may change as he has a skill-set close to unique, certainly unique to his current club".

Secondly (and I hope he's wrong but it's a real possibility based on recent events) there is a prospect of it all ending badly. I hope in this bit alone that the author is wrong and he leaves us at the end of this year as the champion that he is.