Yaya

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Watch him go on Sunday.
Yaya loves a Wembley goal.
Big man has had his pre-season, full throttle now for the rest of the season.
 
He was great last night. His goal was pivotal to the tie, his assist was v clever, his passing stats were awesome and his work rate was great. He was also part of the very best midfield display I have seen from a city team in a very long time. Although their pressing game dropped off a notch in the second half, that was compensated for by some fantastic performances from Stirling, Silva and Dinho. Loved it. More please on Sunday.
 
Viridian said:
"Two seasons of shit" is almost immeasurably harsh on a player who's still contributed to 27 goals in 71 games since August 2014 despite being played out of position by Pellegrini, who has no idea how to manage his ageing limbs and gradually deteriorating influence accordingly. Yaya's been fighting a losing battle with Pellegrini all season with regards to the role he plays in our side so to see him produce moments (and overall performances) like he did tonight was wonderful to see.
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If you're measuring a midfield players contribution solely by goals then why not just play another striker? And to be fair he hadn't scored a goal in the Champions League since November 2014 before last night. In fairness he wasn't bad (even with the goal aside) tonight, although if you see the work rate of Fernandinho, Fernando, Silva, Sterling and even Aguero he was extremely well protected defensively.

People think posters take pleasure in seeing the demise of Yaya and nothing could be further from the truth, we all want him to do well, why wouldn't we. We're the same people who have been singing his name over the years (before the off-field incidents in my case). I think the majority of posters just understand that we would "potentially" be a far better team without Yaya, having another midfielder or two in the Fernandinho mould would improve the balance of the team and make us far less vulnerable, a trait which has blighted us in big games for a good couple of years. We all appreciate his goals and passing ability but there's a time and place, the team comes before an individual player.
 
Goals like last night are what make him so frustrating.
There wouldn't be a 100+ plus page thread on an average player that is perhaps on the decline or just not putting a shift in.
The reason he provokes so much opinion, is because he can be brilliant and for large parts of City career he has been brilliant.
He has become impossible to predict however.
He could turn up at Wembley and put in a half arsed performance, strolling around looking and playing like he's doing us a favour by just being out there. Or he could just as easily turn up put in a MoTM performance, smashing in the winner whilst he's at it.

Neither performance would surprise me.............
 
sh249 said:
He was very good tonight.

Might just put to bed the idea that he can't play 'in a two'
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He just needs to play closer to other 'technical' players like SIlva or even Nasri (if fit). Fernando and Fernandinho (to a lesser extent) don't really have the capability or personality to take the ball and manipulate it away from danger under pressure like Silva or Nasri. Those sort of players are on the same technical wave length as him.

Last night we set up perfectly. Dinho drifted in a little bit, Silva dropped in and Kompany and Otamendi were so aggressive it meant that the action was compressed into the middle, so while he technically played in a two, it didn't feel like it because he always had an option around him.

Sometimes even when he is partnered with Dinho and Fernando/Delph, it means Silva has to play wider and he has to carry the ball over greater distances, and given he is normally our only central ball carrier, teams double up on him and take the ball off him. He has lost a step or two and no longer has the pace to pull away from the quicker players. And then when he loses the ball, people talk about how he is shit and finished, when in truth, he quite clearly isn't.

Last night's system allowed our two best 'all around' players (Dinho and Yaya) to have their best games for a good while, and i just hope to god Manuel leaves the system in place now because it looked wonderful to see our best players in full flow.
 
ono said:
He just needs to play closer to other 'technical' players like SIlva or even Nasri (if fit). Fernando and Fernandinho (to a lesser extent) don't really have the capability or personality to take the ball and manipulate it away from danger under pressure like Silva or Nasri. Those sort of players are on the same technical wave length as him.

Last night we set up perfectly. Dinho drifted in a little bit, Silva dropped in and Kompany and Otamendi were so aggressive it meant that the action was compressed into the middle, so while he technically played in a two, it didn't feel like it because he always had an option around him.

Sometimes even when he is partnered with Dinho and Fernando/Delph, it means Silva has to play wider and he has to carry the ball over greater distances, and given he is normally our only central ball carrier, teams double up on him and take the ball off him. He has lost a step or two and no longer has the pace to pull away from the quicker players. And then when he loses the ball, people talk about how he is shit and finished, when in truth, he quite clearly isn't.

Last night's system allowed our two best 'all around' players (Dinho and Yaya) to have their best games for a good while, and i just hope to god Manuel leaves the system in place now because it looked wonderful to see our best players in full flow.
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Yep, agree with pretty much all of that.

The issue has never been playing Yaya in a two man midfield, in and of itself. Even this season, the majority of our best football, with the exception of Sevilla, has come when he has played there. The problem has been that we haven't been anywhere near compact enough for the majority of the season, notably because Kompany hasn't been playing. It's not the only reason, but it's a huge one. First five games, we defended aggressively up the pitch, compressed the game, and there was no issue with playing Yaya and Fernandinho together as a two man midfield. Kompany gets injured, and suddenly our back four are defending 10 yards deeper, meaning that there's a huge gap behind the midfield, and Yaya looks hopeless as any semi-decent opponents are able to get into that space so easily and hurt us. Kompany comes back, we start defending aggressvely (properly, you might call it), and Yaya looks entirely comfortable again playing in a two man midfield.

He's obviously not the player he was in 2011/12 when he was at his peak. But if Kompany stays fit until the end of the season, he'll still have plenty to contribute.

And I share your hope that Pellegrini sticks with the same system from hereon in!
 
Sadly, i think a lot of blues have decided they hate him, and that's that. Any tiny mistake is picked upon at games, and the amount of blues screaming all sorts whenever this happens is incredible. Any other player makes a similar mistake, and they don't say a word.

I think he's just been badly managed this season. He needs to be rested, played for an hour, taken off, brought on. He's old, and he's a big lad. He's been played and played and played, and it shows.

He's still for me, the most unique footballer i have ever seen. Nobody has his skillset, completely irreplaceable. When he has the ball, no matter how many players are surrounding him, he'll stay calm, make his own space, and always find the right pass. And he can do that, score that goal.

Will leave a hero, and be remembered as an all time city great, and rightly so... in my opinion, of course.
 
When he is good it's effortless
It looks so easy
And when turns on he is Top 5 in the world
And I want him to be that all the time
He just isn't going to
Partly because he can't
And partly because he won't
Love him can't hate him
He's been the most important player City has
(ever?) had
 
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