How good was Yaya?!

alexmcity said:
Toure scored just one goal in KO CL games for Barca and City combined (vs Kyiv) and 0 goals after the last 16.

That's poor for a player supposed to be better than KDB.

Bernardo has done a lot more vs the biggest teams (4 goals vs Madrid alone). Even Rodri, playing 30 yards deeper than Yaya, scored crucial CL goals.

The argument that if you put Yaya against other City legends 1 vs 1 he will get the better of them is simplistic. It's a team sport. The question is, would player X contribute more than player Y? And the clear answer is that KDB has done it at the biggest stage, vs the best teams in Europe, whereas Yaya hasn't (if one doesn't count his appearance as a CB in a CL final due to injuries to first-choice defenders).
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Yeah but your forgetting . Yaya was chosen to play in deep central midfield for Manchester City,esp away from home in big European matches
His goal scoring exploits have come somewhat as an addendum to his main role in the team which was to keep possession..along with David Silva...a big part of our game under Mancini and Manuel.
Time and again ..in matches if you actually think back ..in tight matches where our strikers hadn't scored it was often Yaya who late on took the game by the scruff of the neck and dragged us over the line .
In one interview with the great man I listened closely and he said " I do what the manager tells me to do"
Ultimate professional and a nod to the fact that Yaya Toure could do anything on a football field
but played for the team not himself ....until it was necessary for him to step up as goals were needed
Looking at just goals is not really a fair method to assess our Great midfield players
Could kdb or Silva have played centre back in a European final ?
And my final point ..it was Yaya who said to the rest of the team at half time.....v utd at Wembley nil nil fa cup semi final " just give the ball to me I'll sort it"
And he did. ...
But his main role for us ,people forget ,was playing keep ball in central midfield along with Nasri and Silva...esp away from home to quieten the crowd...no one took the ball off those 3. It was central midfield play of the highest level I've ever seen. Proud to have watched it.
 
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dennishasdoneit said:
Yeah but your forgetting . Yaya was chosen to play in deep central midfield for Manchester City,esp away from home in big European matches
His goal scoring exploits have come somewhat as an addendum to his main role in the team which was to keep possession..along with David Silva...a big part of our game under Mancini and Manuel.
Time and again ..in matches if you actually think back ..in tight matches where our strikers hadn't scored it was often Yaya who late on took the game by the scruff of the neck and dragged us over the line .
In one interview with the great man I listened closely and he said " I do what the manager tells me to do"
Ultimate professional and a nod to the fact that Yaya Toure could do anything on a football field
but played for the team not himself ....until it was necessary for him to step up as goals were needed
Looking at just goals is not really a fair method to assess our Great midfield players
Could kdb or Silva have played centre back in a European final ?
And my final point ..it was Yaya who said to the rest of the team at half time.....v utd at Wembley nil nil fa cup semi final " just give the ball to me I'll sort it"
And he did. ...
But his main role for us ,people forget ,was playing keep ball in central midfield along with Nasri and Silva...esp away from home to quieten the crowd...no one took the ball off those 3. It was central midfield play if the highest level I've ever seen. Proud to have watched it.
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Admittedly, the 4 in a row stars played in a better team. But the team was better partly because they were better players. The older stars were great in the PL, but they should have done better in Europe. The recent stars won more in England and were far better in Europe: partly because managed by Pep and partly because they were better players. Our fans are emotionally invested in the older legends for obvious reasons: they made City champions again, competing against Ferguson's United at that. That's fantastic. But those who made City the best team in the world, not only in England, the likes of KDB and Rodri, are at least as good.
 
He's one of the best players I've ever seen. Completely two footed, could score from distance, great passing range, great dribbler, read the game well and was surprisingly quick for his size. He also had a knack of scoring HUGE goals for us - he won games on his own. Newcastle away, United in the semi, Stoke in the FA cup final, Sunderland in the LC final. Take his goals away and I doubt we had anyone else to do it. He just had an ability to rise to the occasion.

I honestly think for one season (2014 or so) he was the best player on the planet. At his peak he was just unplayable.

He would absolutely walk into this side now and could easily play in every central role on the pitch from defence to attack.
 
burnley blue mcfc said:
Yaya was a beast!! unplayable when he wanted to be
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As wayne Shrek R found out,one time ...at old trafford one time .....Derby match at the swamp
I was there and saw with my own eyes,Yaya toy with little Shrek like he was a schoolboy...a little dog...Yaya has the ball on the left wing close to the half way line ....
Picture this (Blondie). ..little Wayne comes up, all full of Derby day mancunian aggression( weird I know)trys to tackle Yaya.

The big man is having none of it..spins away from Rooney with the ball tied neatly to his feet.
Then carries on spinning on a circle ( basically taking the piss) whilst Shrek desperately tries to tackle him,snapping at The great man's ankles, can he get that ball?
Can he fuck.

Eventually Yaya gets bored,looks up,pushes the ball 5 yards upfield,motors away from Rooney.. ,before playing a brilliant pass to one of our forwards ( poss Dzeko) who was through on goal..at the Stretford End.......and the ref...a tosspot,can't remember his name , but who has stood and watched Yaya take the piss at old Trafford before going on to set up what would have been an Amazing goal...blew for some phantom offside...he'd seen enough.he knew history was about to be magically made and he blew
I was devastated as that would have been the perfect answer to Wayne's flukey overhead shin dig..a few years B4
No matter we outclassed utd that nite....and we won anyway Sergio steaming past red face ache to score the winner 1-2 City midweek night Derby day memories!
 
dennishasdoneit said:
As wayne Shrek R found out,one time ...at old trafford one time .....Derby match at the swamp
I was there and saw with my own eyes,Yaya toy with little Shrek like he was a schoolboy...a little dog...Yaya has the ball on the left wing close to the half way line ....
Picture this (Blondie). ..little Wayne comes up, all full of Derby day mancunian aggression( weird I know)trys to tackle Yaya.

The big man is having none of it..spins away from Rooney with the ball tied neatly to his feet.
Then carries on spinning on a circle ( basically taking the piss) whilst Shrek desperately tries to tackle him,snapping at The great man's ankles, can he get that ball?
Can he fuck.

Eventually Yaya gets bored,looks up,pushes the ball 5 yards upfield,motors away from Rooney.. ,before playing a brilliant pass to one of our forwards ( poss Dzeko) who was through on goal..at the Stretford End.......and the ref...a tosspot,can't remember his name , but who has stood and watched Yaya take the piss at old Trafford before going on to set up what would have been an Amazing goal...blew for some phantom offside...he'd seen enough.he knew history was about to be magically made and he blew
I was devastated as that would have been the perfect answer to Wayne's flukey overhead shin dig..a few years B4
No matter we outclassed utd that nite....and we won anyway Sergio steaming past red face ache to score the winner 1-2 City midweek night Derby day memories!
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Brilliant post mate ;)
 
GoatersLeftShin said:
He's one of the best players I've ever seen. Completely two footed, could score from distance, great passing range, great dribbler, read the game well and was surprisingly quick for his size. He also had a knack of scoring HUGE goals for us - he won games on his own. Newcastle away, United in the semi, Stoke in the FA cup final, Sunderland in the LC final. Take his goals away and I doubt we had anyone else to do it. He just had an ability to rise to the occasion.

I honestly think for one season (2014 or so) he was the best player on the planet. At his peak he was just unplayable.

He would absolutely walk into this side now and could easily play in every central role on the pitch from defence to attack.
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Agreed.
Another random Yaya memory WHU away under Mancinii ...i.didnt go for some reason
But we breezed it easily at the old Boleyn ground....at a time when the fashion was for footballers ,often from warmer climates..to wear Snoods.....in cold weather......

Check this out ,..., Yaya running full tilt down the left wing ...wearing a black snood...covers 30 Yards and leaves 3 traumatized WHU dwfenders (3 at least, maybe more in his wake ,reaches the bi line.stops... and decides to then power into penalty box before squaring for either Mario ( also wearing a snood ) or adebayor (another snood wearer) to score.

Saw highlights on TV ,was more like a Italian designer fashion show ....Mancini tactics ripped the irons to bits.
Yaya away from home ,on a tough old ground ,was a safe pair of hands .
 
Cobwebcat said:
My favourite all time City player until KDB came along, who I think stands alone as by far City’s best ever player for me…and yes I saw Bell :-)

I think Yaya might have appeared better than KDB when Yaya was at his best but he wasn’t. There was just a bigger gap between their best and worst with Yaya.

Yaya varied between 5 and 10 KDB varied between 7 and 10.

Yaya was perfect to get City to the next level and was a mentality monster.
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Did you see Bell at his peak...
I didn't see him play live at all,..I don't think....
But Fans I've spoken to up and down the country,ova the years..away fans esp go misty eyed when they talk of Bell... true respect to Formidable Gentleman Footballer whose touch and running his stamina...and the goals...the goals.Wow.
That's why I say Yaya is the best I've ever seen play the game live.
But Bell stands out on ALL City highlights,the old footage..all of them from the late 60s thru to the 70s ....it's always Bell with a goal at some point or another.magic.
 
dennishasdoneit said:
Did you see Bell at his peak...
I didn't see him play live at all,..I don't think....
But Fans I've spoken to up and down the country,ova the years..away fans esp go misty eyed when they talk of Bell... true respect to Formidable Gentleman Footballer whose touch and running his stamina...and the goals...the goals.Wow.
That's why I say Yaya is the best I've ever seen play the game live.
But Bell stands out on ALL City highlights,the old footage..all of them from the late 60s thru to the 70s ....it's always Bell with a goal at some point or another.magic.
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Even the way Ya Ya ran was like Colin. Both incredible box to box players. I saw most of Bell’s games at Maine Road live. Can’t split them really.
 
dennishasdoneit said:
Did you see Bell at his peak...
I didn't see him play live at all,..I don't think....
But Fans I've spoken to up and down the country,ova the years..away fans esp go misty eyed when they talk of Bell... true respect to Formidable Gentleman Footballer whose touch and running his stamina...and the goals...the goals.Wow.
That's why I say Yaya is the best I've ever seen play the game live.
But Bell stands out on ALL City highlights,the old footage..all of them from the late 60s thru to the 70s ....it's always Bell with a goal at some point or another.magic.
Click to expand...
I guess it’s a generational thing. People remember players most fondly according to the age they were when they watched them I find. It’s part of the human make up to think things were better in their day.

If I make it to my 80s I hope there is some World Superstar playing for us and I can say “ahhhh but you never saw KDB at his peak”

If I was being purely objective about it I still think it’s KDB over everyone.. my reasoning is that the City teams he played for were some of the best teams the World has ever seen and he still stood out.
 
dennishasdoneit said:
Did you see Bell at his peak...
I didn't see him play live at all,..I don't think....
But Fans I've spoken to up and down the country,ova the years..away fans esp go misty eyed when they talk of Bell... true respect to Formidable Gentleman Footballer whose touch and running his stamina...and the goals...the goals.Wow.
That's why I say Yaya is the best I've ever seen play the game live.
But Bell stands out on ALL City highlights,the old footage..all of them from the late 60s thru to the 70s ....it's always Bell with a goal at some point or another.magic.
Click to expand...


As Sir Geoff Hurst says when asked the question about Bell.

Jimmy Hill : "He can't be that much better than everyone else can he?"

Geoff Hurst : He seems to be.



1:10 in

We have to bear in mind that these were the days when George Best was being fingered to death every time football was mentioned.
 
Yaya, when he wanted to be, was the best midfielder of his era. Often Yaya came to life when going forward, a massive unstoppable bull.

But overlooked is his defensive ability. This became evident most often when Yaya was pissed off because some opposition player had nicked the ball off of him or intercepted one of his passes - Yaya, in these moments, ran down the opposition player and using his size and long legs to full advantage, on numerous occasions made defensive plays that no other in world football could.

Yaya was undeniably great - but IMO did not reach his full potential due to lack of drive - and too - he came with a huge ego and a lot of attendant baggage.
 
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mexico1970 said:
As Sir Geoff Hurst says when asked the question about Bell.

Jimmy Hill : "He can't be that much better than everyone else can

Geoff Hurst : He seems to be.



1:10 in

We have to bear in mind that these were the days when George Best was being fingered to death every time football was mentioned.
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That's a brilliant bit of early 1970s football analysis.to be fair to Jimmy Hill....he knows the game.his comments on the particular technical attributes of Francis Henry Lee are of the highest order....and makes me feel I was born too late....I would have loved to be about in England supporting City and watching genuine balanced professional football analysis..as opposed to today's loud matey banter type screaming and shouting.
Football back tnen was a game.played on natural grass pitches,with open handed / even handed proper Journalism to back it up. It made for an invigorating mix
What's changed ?
Where did we go wrong.?
 
dennishasdoneit said:
That's a brilliant bit of early 1970s football analysis.to be fair to Jimmy Hill....he knows the game.his comments on the particular technical attributes of Francis Henry Lee are of the highest order....and makes me feel I was born too late....I would have loved to be about in England supporting City and watching genuine balanced professional football analysis..as opposed to today's loud matey banter type screaming and shouting.
Football back tnen was a game.played on natural grass pitches,with open handed / even handed proper Journalism to back it up. It made for an invigorating mix
What's changed ?
Where did we go wrong.?
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I was fortunate enough to witness it, from match of the day to the massive build up for the FA cup finals and of course internationals.

The one thing I took from that interview was a player who scored a hat-trick in a world cup final notes Bell as being so much better than everyone else and Hill agreeing with him. Both obviously appreciate a good player and say what they see without a social media pile on and click for view Armageddon that ensues if the wrong pundit compliments the wrong player.

Saint And Greavsie and Best And Marsh weren't too bad either.
 
BlueMoonAcrossThePond said:
Yaya, when he wanted to be, was the best midfielder of his era. Often Yaya came to life when going forward, a massive unstoppable bull.

But overlooked is his defensive ability. This became evident most often when Yaya was pissed off because some opposition player had nicked the ball off of him or intercepted one of his passes - Yaya, in these moments, ran down the opposition player and using his size and long legs to full advantage, on numerous occasions made defensive plays that no other in world football could.

Yaya was undeniably great - but IMO did not reach his full potential due to lack of drive - and too - he came with a huge ego and a lot of attendant baggage.t a new challenge in good old bligjty
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Lack of Drive ?
Are you serious?
Born in Africa,off to Greece,lasted the Russian winter longer than Hitler,
Took the time to learn at least 6 languages smashes France,joins The biggest team on the planet Barcelona .,.....
This is what he said about Barca back in Oct 2021:

"My time at FC Barcelona was one of my best memories of my playing career
The club decided to trust me when I was still a young player, yet to establish myself in the top leagues..I'll be forever grateful to the club for what they have done for me"

After Barcelona winning titles and champions league..he decides to leave Messi etc and accept a new challenge in rainy Manchester helping us become the dominant force in Manchester and England..

Which part of the aforementioned indicates lack of Drive pal ?

Take a look at yourself in the mirror, see what you have achieved in your chosen profession
See how that matches compares with Gnegneri Yaya Toure..

Lack of Drive ? He virtually drove us to our first trophy for decades before winning the league
And is a global Superstar ...maybe you prefer Paul scholes career,roll out of his Oldham bed into the utd youth team play a few matches in one country and retire.no other languages learnt


Have a word with yourself.

Yaya Toure an ambassador of World Football.

What you saying ?
 
mexico1970 said:
I was fortunate enough to witness it, from match of the day to the massive build up for the FA cup finals and of course internationals.

The one thing I took from that interview was a player who scored a hat-trick in a world cup final notes Bell as being so much better than everyone else and Hill agreeing with him. Both obviously appreciate a good player and say what they see without a social media pile on and click for view Armageddon that ensues if the wrong pundit compliments the wrong player.

Saint And Greavsie and Best And Marsh weren't too bad either.
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I agree.
Proper Punditry!
 
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