Henkeman said:Ogden does his usual negative shit:
Manchester City will discover the true value of Yaya Touré over the next five weeks, with Manuel Pellegrini facing a key period of fixtures without the Ivory Coast midfielder.
Touré is due to fly to Africa on Monday to link up with his country ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations which kicks off in Equatorial Guinea on January 17 and, despite suggestions that the former Barcelona player has struggled for form this season, his departure will leave a big hole in the City team.
The 31-year-old may have struggled to scale the heights of last season, when only the brilliance of Luis Suárez denied the Footballer of the Year award, but Touré has nonetheless scored nine goals in twenty-six appearances this season for City.
His performances during the autumn raised doubt over his long-term future at the club, but in recent weeks, Touré has once again emerged as a crucial element of Pellegrini’s team.
And with City due to face Arsenal and Chelsea this month while Touré is away, his absence could yet prove costly.
Without Touré, City lack the power from midfield which has driven the club to two Premier League titles.
Frank Lampard’s goals have been an unexpected bonus, but at 36, he cannot perform the Touré role, while Fernandinho has struggled to perform as he did in his debut season last season.
Fernando, the holding midfielder signed from Porto last summer, has proven to be inconsistent, with high quality opponents capitalising on his limited ability with the ball.
Just when Touré is returning to his best, he could be missing until after the Cup of Nations final on February 8.
It will be interesting to see how City’s ambitions look when he returns. "
Henkeman said:Ogden does his usual negative shit:
Manchester City will discover the true value of Yaya Touré over the next five weeks, with Manuel Pellegrini facing a key period of fixtures without the Ivory Coast midfielder.
Touré is due to fly to Africa on Monday to link up with his country ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations which kicks off in Equatorial Guinea on January 17 and, despite suggestions that the former Barcelona player has struggled for form this season, his departure will leave a big hole in the City team.
The 31-year-old may have struggled to scale the heights of last season, when only the brilliance of Luis Suárez denied the Footballer of the Year award, but Touré has nonetheless scored nine goals in twenty-six appearances this season for City.
His performances during the autumn raised doubt over his long-term future at the club, but in recent weeks, Touré has once again emerged as a crucial element of Pellegrini’s team.
And with City due to face Arsenal and Chelsea this month while Touré is away, his absence could yet prove costly.
Without Touré, City lack the power from midfield which has driven the club to two Premier League titles.
Frank Lampard’s goals have been an unexpected bonus, but at 36, he cannot perform the Touré role, while Fernandinho has struggled to perform as he did in his debut season last season.
Fernando, the holding midfielder signed from Porto last summer, has proven to be inconsistent, with high quality opponents capitalising on his limited ability with the ball.
Just when Touré is returning to his best, he could be missing until after the Cup of Nations final on February 8.
It will be interesting to see how City’s ambitions look when he returns. "
Henkeman said:Ogden does his usual negative shit:
Manchester City will discover the true value of Yaya Touré over the next five weeks, with Manuel Pellegrini facing a key period of fixtures without the Ivory Coast midfielder.
Touré is due to fly to Africa on Monday to link up with his country ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations which kicks off in Equatorial Guinea on January 17 and, despite suggestions that the former Barcelona player has struggled for form this season, his departure will leave a big hole in the City team.
The 31-year-old may have struggled to scale the heights of last season, when only the brilliance of Luis Suárez denied the Footballer of the Year award, but Touré has nonetheless scored nine goals in twenty-six appearances this season for City.
His performances during the autumn raised doubt over his long-term future at the club, but in recent weeks, Touré has once again emerged as a crucial element of Pellegrini’s team.
And with City due to face Arsenal and Chelsea this month while Touré is away, his absence could yet prove costly.
Without Touré, City lack the power from midfield which has driven the club to two Premier League titles.
Frank Lampard’s goals have been an unexpected bonus, but at 36, he cannot perform the Touré role, while Fernandinho has struggled to perform as he did in his debut season last season.
Fernando, the holding midfielder signed from Porto last summer, has proven to be inconsistent, with high quality opponents capitalising on his limited ability with the ball.
Just when Touré is returning to his best, he could be missing until after the Cup of Nations final on February 8.
It will be interesting to see how City’s ambitions look when he returns. "
gordondaviesmoustache said:Henkeman said:Ogden does his usual negative shit:
Manchester City will discover the true value of Yaya Touré over the next five weeks, with Manuel Pellegrini facing a key period of fixtures without the Ivory Coast midfielder.
Touré is due to fly to Africa on Monday to link up with his country ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations which kicks off in Equatorial Guinea on January 17 and, despite suggestions that the former Barcelona player has struggled for form this season, his departure will leave a big hole in the City team.
The 31-year-old may have struggled to scale the heights of last season, when only the brilliance of Luis Suárez denied the Footballer of the Year award, but Touré has nonetheless scored nine goals in twenty-six appearances this season for City.
His performances during the autumn raised doubt over his long-term future at the club, but in recent weeks, Touré has once again emerged as a crucial element of Pellegrini’s team.
And with City due to face Arsenal and Chelsea this month while Touré is away, his absence could yet prove costly.
Without Touré, City lack the power from midfield which has driven the club to two Premier League titles.
Frank Lampard’s goals have been an unexpected bonus, but at 36, he cannot perform the Touré role, while Fernandinho has struggled to perform as he did in his debut season last season.
Fernando, the holding midfielder signed from Porto last summer, has proven to be inconsistent, with high quality opponents capitalising on his limited ability with the ball.
Just when Touré is returning to his best, he could be missing until after the Cup of Nations final on February 8.
It will be interesting to see how City’s ambitions look when he returns. "
It's astonishing how we've managed to claw back a nine point lead with all our midfielders playing so shit.
JoeMercer'sWay said:watching Aus/Ind cricket and they were advertised the pre-season tourny for the summer and they labelled us as the "English giants Manchester City"
so the Aussies like us.
Sad Pie said:ITV News just mentioned the FA Cup draw, the Sky 4 teams draws were shown, but not who the currents Premier League Champions had drawn. Plus it mentioned about the Rags getting the lowest ranked team left in the competition.
Just thought I'd share for all you "Agenda" lovers.