Should Manchester City Stick or Twist with Yaya Toure?

It’s been an ongoing subplot at the Etihad Stadium for quite some time. To some, Yaya Toure is a Blues legend whose current undroppable status is fully justified. To a growing group of dissenting voices, he’s been on the decline for a while and Manuel Pellegrini would do well to omit him from his starting lineup.

As ever in such binary debates, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Toure, 32, is no longer the force of nature that scored 20 Premier League goals as City swept to the title in 2013/14, nor is he a lazy waste of space who is taking up a place in the team he no longer deserves.

The negatives are fairly clear. He has lost some of his stamina. The drive and dynamism that used to see him pick up the ball and burst through an entire midfield and defence has largely dissipated. The man who used to effectively do the job of two players is no more.

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In 2013/14, his finest season as a professional, City played 4-4-2 every week, with Toure partnered by Fernandinho in the middle of the pitch. Both were excellent, a key part of the team’s League Cup and title wins.

Playing that system with the same midfield pair would be unthinkable now. Toure’s box-to-box days are coming to an end—his legs simply won’t allow the same coverage any longer.

His position has been modified. He either plays further upfield with more protection behind him, or his tendency to attack is repressed and he is asked to sit in a more disciplined fashion. No one could have expected his lung-busting style to continue for too much longer, surely?

For anyone who wants an archetypal snapshot of Toure at his best, look no further than the goal he scored against Aston Villa towards the end of Pellegrini’s first season in charge. It was a remarkable moment. Toure picked up the ball deep in his own half and began moving forward so powerfully and purposefully the Villa defenders could barely get near him, and when they did, he had the skill and technique to brush them away.

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A row of claret and blue was left trailing in his wake as he wheeled away in delight having blasted the ball past Brad Guzan. Has there been a better goal scored at City’s current stadium? Not too many, that's for sure. 

That particular game against Villa was hugely important, with City closing in on their second title in three years. Cometh the hour; cometh the man. Toure is the ultimate big-game player, the kind who revels in a sense of occasion.

FA Cup semi-final and final goals ended City’s 35-year wait for a major trophy in 2011, the end of his first season at the club. His double against Newcastle United in the penultimate game of the following season put City within touching distance of their first title in 44 years. A wonder goal in the League Cup final in 2014 changed the match. The list goes on.

Toure was signed for £24 million and asked to deliver silverware. That brief has been delivered with ease, and few can claim to have played as significant a role as he has in ushering in a new trophy-laden era at the club.

Right now, he doesn't seem capable of reaching those heights, but that doesn't necessarily mean he is no longer worthy of a place in the side. Toure still brings plenty of quality.

It is perhaps not the eye-catching brilliance of old, but he remains an effective player, particularly his passing, which has always been an underrated aspect of his game. He rarely concedes possession. Those who think he's just a physical player are misreading his game. This is one of the most intelligent midfielders the Premier League has ever seen. 

One look at his stats from Monday's game against Arsenal—where he was heavily criticised afterwards—highlights his enduring effectiveness.

According to Squawka, his passing was as sharp as ever, with a completion rate of 92 percent. It’s remarkable accuracy, indicative of his whole time at City. His pass-completion rate over the past two seasons has hovered between 89-90 percent.

He also produced yet another mind-bending finish, this time a left-foot first-time effort that went into the top corner with unerring accuracy. There aren't many players who could produce anything like that moment, but it wasn't a surprise to see Toure conjure such brilliance.

It’s a far more subtle game he plays now. The no-look one-touch passes that slip team-mates in on goal. The long- and short-range passing—simple and effective when it needs to be, more expansive when the time is right. And although it isn't done as regularly as it once was, he can still carry the ball at pace and take players out of the game.

Comparing Toure to the player of 2013/14 is unfair. Very few players have ever reached that level of performance consistently, and he can't be expected to play in that vein until he retires. 

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Only one other central midfielder, Frank Lampard, has hit 20 Premier League goals in a season. Toure managed 24 in all competitions, but his performances were so influential they can’t be determined by such simplistic statistics.

Understandably, his star is now on the wane, but that doesn't mean he can’t be of use. Toure has always—for some reason—been held to higher standards than any other City player, and that trend shows no sign of altering.

The cries of “lazy” have always been there—his languid running style seemingly a stick to beat him with—but Toure gets through plenty of work and always has.

He’s a City legend and there’ll surely be an ambassadorial role for him when his playing days are numbered. His status in Africa is something the club will have to capitalise on, while a stint with New York City FC in between hardly seems out of the question.

For now, though, he is still hugely valuable to City and a clear Pellegrini favourite. He isn’t what he once was, but even a Toure at 80 percent is still far superior to the vast majority of midfielders. Replacing him has to happen, but it won’t be just yet.

You don’t know what you've got until it’s gone and there’ll be a big hole to fill when he does finally leave the club.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2015/16 season. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @RobPollard_.