Breaking Down Wilfried Bony's Performance for Manchester City vs. West Brom

In the world of social media and the intense scrutiny of 24-hour rolling sports news coverage, footballers are now analysed more than ever before. It’s a situation which leads to snap judgements of a player’s form, and new signings are expected to hit the ground running or face criticism and question marks over their suitability to their new side almost immediately.

Which is exactly the situation Wilfried Bony has found himself in since his initial £23 million transfer to Manchester City from Swansea in January. The striker, who before starting against West Brom on Saturday at the Etihad, had played 181 minutes without scoring, was bizarrely written off by some as a player unsuitable to City’s team.

Some promising moments in terms of his all-round displays in his first few appearances appeared to matter little. Bony hadn’t managed a goal in a few disparate spells on the pitch after coming back from an intense midseason international tournament and, therefore, was deemed the wrong man for City.

Jon Super/Associated Press

He had shown flashes of superb hold-up play and aerial ability but had snatched at some chances, particularly in the home win over Leicester where he missed a number of decent opportunities. He needed a goal and got one in City’s routine win over West Brom, a beautiful finish after a nice piece of control to bring the ball out of the air and into his path. He placed the ball powerfully into the top corner, leaving Boaz Myhill with no chance and scoring City’s 999th goal in Premier League history.

It’s a goal which will give him huge amounts of confidence.

Once again, he brought a physicality to City’s attack the likes of which hasn’t been seen since Alvaro Negredo departed on loan to Valencia. Edin Dzeko has too often failed to deliver this season, scoring just six goals and rarely influencing City’s attacking play.

Bony looks far more adept at bullying defenders. He gets his body in between the ball and defenders, holding them off with sheer force and looking to play little flicks into the path of his team-mates. The strength he showed at times was remarkable, as was his awareness of the position of those around him.

Where Bony has looked poor so far has been with his first touch, which has been unusually heavy. In the Camp Nou on Wednesday during an 18-minute Champions League cameo against Barcelona, he seemed incapable of bringing the ball under control, a worrying sight for a player who cost a significant fee.

However, his first touch looked far better against the Baggies. It’s a big part of his game, the ability to bring the ball under control and find his team-mates, and it made a big difference to his performance.

His work-rate was also hugely significant. He would track back—in fact, one time he was the furthest man back—in a bid to reclaim the ball. That level of commitment and desire to win the ball back will have impressed the City fans who have always admired players prepared to fight for their team.

Bony deserved his move to City having demonstrated his ability consistently while at Swansea. It’s a move which will see him improve. Playing with better players at a higher tempo every day is sure to bring the best out of him.

Without looking consistently brilliant so far for the Blues, he has shown flashes of quality, none more so than on Saturday against West Brom. His touch, strength and the class he showed when scoring were all very promising indeed.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2014-15 season. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter: @RobPollard.