Yaya

[Didsbury Dave]

Again sticking to the facts here:
In 2007/2008 when he joined Barca, he played 25 league games and was a substitute once. Played 34 games in all. Only 1 as a substitute. When he was fit, he played. Played in every major game.

In 2008/2009 he played 23 league games. Was a substitute 3 times. Played 32 games in all. Played every important CL or league game. And was rested only in games against Smaller teams to give Busquet (his understudy and the future of Spain at DM) some playing time.

In 2009.2010 He played 18 league games was used as substitute in 5. That year Guardiola gave all the big league games to Busquet and the CL games to Yaya. Yaya not being happy at the systematic phaseout decided to leave and join a different team than play backup to Busquet at Barca. Guardiola was right in installing a younger, rising Busquet, and Yaya was right in leaving. That is just life!
Now those stats do not comport with the notion that he was in and out of the first team due to some enigmatic up and down in play. A claim that is mostly untrue, and furthermore one that implies it was his inconsstent performance that caused such, as opposed to the emergence of a young future star in Busquet.

This will be the equivalent of claiming Eto'o, Deco and Ronaldino were sold on because they were were being inconsistent at Barca!

So he was in and out the team, then.

 

[Ntini77]

No one can seriously say they've been that impressed with him, can they?

His lack of fitness is still a big problem. I wouldn't play him on Thursday.

 

[taconinja]

Again sticking to the facts here:
In 2007/2008 when he joined Barca, he played 25 league games and was a substitute once. Played 34 games in all. Only 1 as a substitute. When he was fit, he played. Played in every major game.

In 2008/2009 he played 23 league games. Was a substitute 3 times. Played 32 games in all. Played every important CL or league game. And was rested only in games against Smaller teams to give Busquet (his understudy and the future of Spain at DM) some playing time.

In 2009.2010 He played 18 league games was used as substitute in 5. That year Guardiola gave all the big league games to Busquet and the CL games to Yaya. Yaya not being happy at the systematic phaseout decided to leave and join a different team than play backup to Busquet at Barca. Guardiola was right in installing a younger, rising Busquet, and Yaya was right in leaving. That is just life!
Now those stats do not comport with the notion that he was in and out of the first team due to some enigmatic up and down in play. A claim that is mostly untrue, and furthermore one that implies it was his inconsstent performance that caused such, as opposed to the emergence of a young future star in Busquet.

This will be the equivalent of claiming Eto'o, Deco and Ronaldino were sold on because they were were being inconsistent at Barca!

So he was in and out the team, then.

Come now. I've seen you go on when you feel people are being reductive. It comes down to whether Yaya or Busquets is Catalan since both are excellent footballers. We both know this.

 

[Dax777]

Again sticking to the facts here:
In 2007/2008 when he joined Barca, he played 25 league games and was a substitute once. Played 34 games in all. Only 1 as a substitute. When he was fit, he played. Played in every major game.

In 2008/2009 he played 23 league games. Was a substitute 3 times. Played 32 games in all. Played every important CL or league game. And was rested only in games against Smaller teams to give Busquet (his understudy and the future of Spain at DM) some playing time.

In 2009.2010 He played 10 league games was substituted a substitute in 5. That year Guardiola gave all the big league games to Busquet and the CL games to Yaya. Yaya not being happy at the systematic phaseout decided to leave and join a different team than play backup to Busquet in the league.
Now these stats do not comport with the notion that he was in and out of the first team. A claim that is mostly untrue, and furthermore one that implies it was his performance that caused this, as opposed to the emergence of a young future star in Busquet.

This will be the equivalent of claiming Eto'o, Deco and Ronaldino were sold because they were in and out of the Barca team!

The manager often preferred other players to Yaya , and Yaya wasn't happy about that ..... that caused unrest and Yaya also didn't feel that Barcelona did enough to keep him , even though he had real feelings for the club .. and that's why he didn't take much persuading by brother Kolo to join City.

Sometimes! For 2 of his 3 years there, Yaya was OFTEN the preferred choice!<br /><br />-- Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:12 am --<br /><br />

Again sticking to the facts here:
In 2007/2008 when he joined Barca, he played 25 league games and was a substitute once. Played 34 games in all. Only 1 as a substitute. When he was fit, he played. Played in every major game.

In 2008/2009 he played 23 league games. Was a substitute 3 times. Played 32 games in all. Played every important CL or league game. And was rested only in games against Smaller teams to give Busquet (his understudy and the future of Spain at DM) some playing time.

In 2009.2010 He played 18 league games was used as substitute in 5. That year Guardiola gave all the big league games to Busquet and the CL games to Yaya. Yaya not being happy at the systematic phaseout decided to leave and join a different team than play backup to Busquet at Barca. Guardiola was right in installing a younger, rising Busquet, and Yaya was right in leaving. That is just life!
Now those stats do not comport with the notion that he was in and out of the first team due to some enigmatic up and down in play. A claim that is mostly untrue, and furthermore one that implies it was his inconsstent performance that caused such, as opposed to the emergence of a young future star in Busquet.

This will be the equivalent of claiming Eto'o, Deco and Ronaldino were sold on because they were were being inconsistent at Barca!

So he was in and out the team, then.

Lol! You are a character DD... :)

 

[gio's side step]

Overall, Id agree with this. Good analogy by the way. Versatile players, who battle are always relatively popular with fans. But in terms of the overall picture, I would agree, if we are to sustain top 3 PL level, we should be looking for much more than Zabaleta. It's only because Kolarov has proven himself to be very average at left back defensively, that Mancini has opted for Zabaleta in certain games. My biggest issue with him, is his poor discipline. I've lost count of how many times he's been booked, and for silly challenges, which could have been prevented easily with a bit of composure and discipline. I always fear he might get sent off in a big game. Equally, I would have Balotelli no where near the semi final. Time bomb who wouldnt give a flying fuck that we have spent money getting to London, put our hearts and souls into generating a sense of optimism and support during such a significant game, and if he feels like doing something silly, he will do it. Selfish player, and easily has the potential to get himself sent off after 10 minutes.

Re: Yaya, it's a tough one, because I do accept the reasons why some people don't take to him, but at the same time, no one can doubt he has contributed well in some games this season.

Interesting post as usual gio. The reason Zabateta gives too many fouls away is because of his lack of pace. If someone knocks it past him he has to bring them down or let them go. I'd say it's a side of his game which has actually improved. I feared for him against Walcott against Arsenal but he sat off him and didn't get too tight, in the same way both the Neville brothers do, and he kept a lid on him. However against Nani all his deficiencies were there and arguably lost us the game.

Have to disagree about Balotelli at Wembley. Yes he's a firebrand, yes he's a maniac. But I'd love to see him running at Ferdinand like Bellars did. I think there's more to come from Balotelli and he's got it all. I think the problem with him is he'll probably be suspended before the game!

I sense, Balotelli might be the most significant point we disagree on. I will enjoy debating this with you. My thoughts on him are this.

His biggest ability lies in his finishing. As a youth player, he must have clearly had huge confidence in his ability, and I would suspect he often took shots on from any angle. His finish against Fulham at home, and Villa (FA cup) at home provide evidence of this. He also has the ability to score simple goals. Complete maverick in the sense, that he can score big goals, and potentially in big games, although that needs further proof for me.

He also has power, in that he can run at players. However, overall, he often does very little in games. He dips in and out, but for me, he's often out of the game much more than he's in it. He isn't a constant threat, although I sense has the potential to be. But that is a fair criticism. It is only a lack of appetitie and desire, which prevents him from being such a constant threat, as say Henry was for Arsenal. I am always a fan of players with ability more than mere effort. Effort and committment will only get us so far, but he has a lot to do, in order to demonstrate he is committed at all as far as I am concerned. But my biggest issue is with his discipline again. Shocking. All top players have a bit of nastiness and needle, but he isn't subtle with it at all. He's clumsy in this respect, he has zero emotional intelligence. And I'm never comfortable with him on the pitch.

But I'd love to be wrong, and I am happy to hold my hands up, if he ends up being a success here. Equally, if he did play against Utd and was the match winner, I'll buy you a pint sometime.

But for now, I see him as a liability in that game. Utd are very clever. They will target him. Wind him up. He's a timebomb ticking away reading to explode.

Or maybe he's a massive game player ;-)

We shall see.

Re: Yaya again, if everyone were fit, I sense you wouldn't have him in your starting 11?

 

[Didsbury Dave]

I agree that Balotelli is a total nutcase, and I agree he's going to get a bagful of yellows, a bagful or reds, a bagfull of suspensions and a bagful of headlines. I don't doubt any of that for a second. I agree with you largely on his attributes. But I disagree with you about his workrate. He's like an Anelka - his body language makes him look uninterested sometimes. He's sometimes casual and tries excessively fancy things, then puts his head down when they don't come off. You watch him next time we play for an extended period. His workrate is actually very good. He's constantly looking for space, he will chase the opposition down and he's got some football intelligence.

The reason I am so positive about him are his attributes. He has power. He has pace - both kinds of pace, over 2 yards and over 30 yards. He has vision. I know a single example is largely meaningless but I'm going to give you one. Did you see on Sunday after he came on, he picked the ball up wide left when we had just won the ball, ran at the opposition and gained 30 yards, looked up once and pinged a ball to Tevez (I think it was) who had made a great run behind the centre half. The centre half just about got a touch but in a team who are ponderously slow to counter attack and build it was a shining light, a damond in a cesspit. He's also got that quality which I love to see in attackers. He puts his head down and hits it. Hard.

All those qualities together mean he is a nightmare for a centre half or a full back to play. He wins it in the air a bit too, although it's probably not his main strength.

There's no doubt his discipline is going to be a problem. But there's no doubt to me that for a 19 year old he has frightening ability. With reference to the Utd game, yeah they'll havea go at winding him up, but I'd say no worse than someone like Stoke or Bolton. The management need to get right in his ear about it before the game and get it into that thick head of his. They will try to get you sent off. Youmust not retaliate. If you want to be a great this is where you show it.

I'll say it again. I'd rather have him running at the Utd defence than anyone else. They are vulnerable.

 

[dennishasdoneit]

They mean enthusiasm and desire Dax - Not a difficult concept to understand.

Yaya doesn't display enough of either.

You only have to look at the other lot to see that while many of the squad only possess average ability they more than make up for it with their will to win.

Rubbish.
teams like stoke and everton are made up of mainly average players but they make up for it with their will to win.

utd are top of the league.their" average "players currently have them fighting for the treble.

Yaya plays every game for City because he exhibits desire-he,s a winner-ask Barca fans.

 

[K.Reeves right foot]

Simon, I'm going to get slated for this but to me he's a big problem. We play him as the attacking midfielder, middle of the three. He is one of the big reasons why our build up play is so ponderous and slow. He is slow on the ball and a very negative passer. I don't think his vision's brilliant. I don't think he finds space very well.

He's got something, you can see that. At home he becomes the target for the goal kicks and wins a few. When he gets going, like a supertanker, he can shift. But these runs he makes are rarely productive. I had really high hopes for him when he arrived as his passing in the pre-season looked superb. He can hit the ball too, but rarely accurately.

I don't think he fits well into the premiership due to the amount of time he appears to need on the ball - the same way that Robinho couldn't. Obviously he's a hugely different player but it's the pace and directness of the premiership which some players can't cope with.

I can't really see where he fits in our system either. He's be better in a 4-4-2 or on the right side of a midfield diamond.

Controversial I know, but I think he fills the space Silva should be in, particularly at home. I think when AJ returns we should look to drop him. I know many thing he should play alongside NDJ, and I know he's played there in the past, but he hasn't really impressed me when he's played there either.

A disappointing signing for me if I'm honest. Yesterday encapsulated all my points above to me.

You won't get slated off me DD, you are spot on. Yaya is a huge problem in our side. people keep poimting to these so called bursts he makes from the half way line but you could count them on one hand. He never dictates midfield, never bosses it and for me is the one player above all who slows down the play to a snails pace.
If you watch him, when he recieves the ball, his body shape is all wrong, always facing our own goal therefore the flow of the move is stalled. Watch Silva who opens his body before recieving the ball and is invariably running on to the pass to keep momentum in a move. For me he has no use in our midfield, he's like an extra thrown in because we bought him. DeJong does the destroyer role, Silva the trickery, vision and passing, so we need either wide players or an extra body in the centre who also has pace and the ability to drive forward. That man is Milner who has a bit of everything. The defensive qualities Mancini is obsessed wih yet the drive to get froward. Sadly Mancini plays Yayas no matter what, he is his darling despite his limitations and obvious lack of mobility in the fast paced EPL.
But I forgot, on bluemoon one isn't allowed to be critical of players anymore so i'll change my opinion. He is a God who can do no wrong like mancini.

 

[The Fat el Hombre]

Class act but very tired at the mo. Just hope Bobby doesn't run him into the ground for another 90 mins before the chelsea game

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Kev, the "body shape" issue is exactly what i'm referring to. He loses the momentum of the move whereas Silva does the opposite. When I tell people I don't believe these surging runs are productive, they only ever seem to be able to point me to the West Ham away game as evidence to the contrary. The problem is, when you've paid that much for a player it's rare for the manager to drop him.

Do you think he can do it as one of the holding two? I've got doubts about that too. He's played there twice (I think) recently and the same lack of mobility and inability to tackle has looked exposed there too. I know he played there for Barca.

For me, a midfield diamond of

........................De jong.....................

..............Ya Ya...................Barry

........................Silva................

With Tevez and either Balo or Dzeko up top would get the best from Ya Ya. But have we the full backs for that?