Analysing Yaya Toure's Early-Season Form for Manchester City
It’s been something of a poetic start to the season for Manchester City. When they’ve been good, they’ve been very, very good, but when they’ve been bad, they’ve been awful.
You can pretty much say the same thing about Yaya Toure too, with the Ivorian’s influence somewhat waning since his terrific performance in City’s first game of the season, at West Bromwich Albion.
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Along with David Silva, Toure was superb that night, dominating midfield in a display that would set the tone for his club’s impressive start to the season. He was everywhere, popping up with a goal and generally bullying his way past hapless home players all evening.
Yet that strike remains his only goal of the season—the first on the night having been later awarded to Silva.
Because we all judge Toure on his stellar 2013/14 campaign, when his 20 league goals from midfield helped drive City to the title, it is tempting to say he is having a tough time of it in 2015/16 because the goals aren’t flowing. But in reality, he’s just getting used to a new role in the team.
When all are fit and available—as they were for the 6-1 hammering of Newcastle United before the international break—there is little doubt Manuel Pellegrini’s best approach to the vast majority of matches would be to field his fab four of Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero from the start. Opponents will get blown away.
Injuries to Silva and Aguero on international duty, as reported by the Guardian, suggest Pellegrini will need a rethink over the next month or so, but with those four presumably set in stone as first choice because of talent, price tag and performance levels, Toure must be wondering where that leaves him.
The answer lies further back in midfield, where Fernando and Fernandinho were stationed for the Newcastle win because of a hamstring problem that forced Toure off before the hour mark in the defeat at Tottenham Hotspur and at half-time in the Champions League at Borussia Monchengladbach.
Such strains are nothing new for the Ivorian—who has been plagued by them for some time now—but at a period of his City career when he is going to need to develop areas of his game to play in a more withdrawn role, this one has come at an inopportune moment.
Mobility is key for him now, but his latest issue has arrived at a time when he appears to be losing even more.
As was shown last season when Pellegrini opted to field a 4-4-2 formation in several of City’s bigger games, they do have a tendency to get overrun in midfield sometimes, something the addition of Fabian Delph this summer was doubtless aimed at overcoming.
The Englishman’s injury issues mean that he has been a less spotted figure for City this season, placing more emphasis on Fernandinho to rediscover his 2013/14 form and Fernando to step up to the plate a little more than he had previously.
Both can say they’ve done that so far, particularly Fernandinho, placing Toure in a kind of strange limbo where his attacking game isn’t needed because of the other talents City have and his defensive game isn’t wanted because there are better players available for that job.
He can still make a difference, of course. Witness his sublime assists for Samir Nasri at Everton and De Bruyne at Tottenham for evidence of that, but the time seems to be fast approaching when Toure won’t be a first-choice pick for City when everyone is fit and available—something that seems to be eluding Pellegrini at the moment.
His performances this season haven’t been bad, and if anything, they have been an improvement on the listless, lethargic Toure we saw at times last season. However, after exploding into the campaign at West Brom, we’ve been left wanting a little more from a man we know can provide so much for his team.
There’s still plenty of time to turn it around, though, and for plenty more poems to be written.
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