What Does Yaya Toure Actually Do?

[Rag_hater]

I wonder if the experts that spotted Yaya was a lazy shit can explain that why well before Xmas he is putting in some match winning performances like he did last season.
I wonder if seeing it for the second time is more convincing than seeing it once,maybe him doing it again makes it less doubtful as to whether it was a fluke.
Him doing it again what does that suggest?

[Patrick]

I wonder if the experts that spotted Yaya was a lazy shit can explain that why well before Xmas he is putting in some match winning performances like he did last season.
I wonder if seeing it for the second time is more convincing than seeing it once,maybe him doing it again makes it less doubtful as to whether it was a fluke.
Him doing it again what does that suggest?

I wonder if you could be more concise?

[Dunnylad]

Current debate on radio5live that Yaya is player of the season and not Silva - they talk about his ability to play in a number of positions, his ability to score goals when it matters (villarreal, fa cup semi & final, yesterday against qpr)

[Bridge'srightfoot]

Current debate on radio5live that Yaya is player of the season and not Silva - they talk about his ability to play in a number of positions, his ability to score goals when it matters (villarreal, fa cup semi & final, yesterday against qpr)

Perhaps. Yaya definitely is a big game player. Also he's one of the last of the dying breed of real box to box midfielders.

[Ted Hughes]

I don't think he can play a variety of positions (not at the highest standard anyway). I think he's a world class midfield player who helps in attack & defence. As a specialist defensive mid he's unreliable, as a centre back he's unreliable, as a support striker he's good but not great. He's a general all rounder, not a specialist.

When allowed to roam around the midfield doing a bit of attacking a bit of defending & a bit of linking up play, he's world class.

[Rag_hater]

He would have my vote if I could figure out how to do it.

[The Original Special One]

I don't think he can play a variety of positions (not at the highest standard anyway). I think he's a world class midfield player who helps in attack & defence. As a specialist defensive mid he's unreliable, as a centre back he's unreliable, as a support striker he's good but not great. He's a general all rounder, not a specialist.

When allowed to roam around the midfield doing a bit of attacking a bit of defending & a bit of linking up play, he's world class.

Hmm, A World-Class 'Inbetweenie', so!

[Ted Hughes]

I don't think he can play a variety of positions (not at the highest standard anyway). I think he's a world class midfield player who helps in attack & defence. As a specialist defensive mid he's unreliable, as a centre back he's unreliable, as a support striker he's good but not great. He's a general all rounder, not a specialist.

When allowed to roam around the midfield doing a bit of attacking a bit of defending & a bit of linking up play, he's world class.

Hmm, A World-Class 'Inbetweenie', so!

The same would apply to Gerrard, Lampard, Beckham, Scholes etc at the height of their careers.

[failsworthblue]

The most flustrating player I have ever seen in a blue shirt.

Sometimes magical other times so lazy.

Woukd I swap him probably not!!!!

[The Original Special One]

I don't think he can play a variety of positions (not at the highest standard anyway). I think he's a world class midfield player who helps in attack & defence. As a specialist defensive mid he's unreliable, as a centre back he's unreliable, as a support striker he's good but not great. He's a general all rounder, not a specialist.

When allowed to roam around the midfield doing a bit of attacking a bit of defending & a bit of linking up play, he's world class.

Hmm, A World-Class 'Inbetweenie', so!

The same would apply to Gerrard, Lampard, Beckham, Scholes etc at the height of their careers.

so its a more a peculiarly English phenomenon?

[vulcan]

The most flustrating player I have ever seen in a blue shirt.

Sometimes magical other times so lazy.

He's like a big lorry. .. difficult to get going but once it gathers momentum, extremely difficult to stop!

[Dameerto]

I don't think he can play a variety of positions (not at the highest standard anyway). I think he's a world class midfield player who helps in attack & defence. As a specialist defensive mid he's unreliable, as a centre back he's unreliable, as a support striker he's good but not great. He's a general all rounder, not a specialist.

When allowed to roam around the midfield doing a bit of attacking a bit of defending & a bit of linking up play, he's world class.

Hmm, A World-Class 'Inbetweenie', so!

The same would apply to Gerrard, Lampard, Beckham, Scholes etc at the height of their careers.

so its a more a peculiarly English phenomenon?

Or more likely the observer is English and watches mainly English games.

[Patrick]

The most flustrating player I have ever seen in a blue shirt.

Sometimes magical other times so lazy.

He's like a big lorry. .. difficult to get going but once it gathers momentum, extremely difficult to stop!

Disagree with both - his acceleration is second to none - and he spends more time running at top speed than most

this is why he looks knackered so often - he is - but its also the reason he is so good

Just read this which is why i came back to this topic

Garth Crooks has described Manchester City star Yaya Toure as "the most competitive, no nonsense midfielder in the Premier League".

The Ivorian international left Barcelona in July 2010 in order to join Manchester City's lucrative new project in a deal worth a reputed £25 million. Although he earns a reported weekly wage of £200,000, Crooks suggests the 28-year-old has been a superb signing for the Eastlands club.


The aforementioned BBC pundit believes Toure has been integral to Manchester City's superb start to the Premier League season, intimating his consistency both in playing terms and being available for selection are amongst his major assets.

"I doubted his sanity when I heard he was leaving Barcelona for City." Crooks told the BBC.

"Who knows he might still face his old mates in the Champions League final yet?

"He never misses a game, and is the most competitive, no nonsense midfielder in the Premier League. The buy of the century, although he wasn't cheap."

Toure, who won the 2009 Champions League final with Barcelona, has since made an excellent contribution to Manchester City's recent successes. He scored the only goal against Manchester United in the semi-final of the FA Cup last season and netted the winner in the final against Stoke City to end Manchester City's 25-year hiatus without a trophy.

The Ivorian, who is the younger brother of Manchester City teammate Kolo Toure, has made the most successful passes in the Premier League this season with 744.

Toure was recently nominated as one of five possible candidates to win the 2011 BBC African Footballer of the Year. The Manchester City star was nominated alongside compatriot Gervinho, Ghana's Andre Ayew, Cameroonian Samuel Eto'o and Seydou Keita of Mali.

Although Toure is a hugely influential player for Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini, the current Premier League leaders will have to negotiate the midfielder's absence during the upcoming African Nations Cup.

If the Ivory Coast reach the final on 12 February, Toure could miss crucial games against Tottenham Hotspur, Everton, Fulham and Aston Villa.

Despite City's obvious strength in depth, Micah Richards recently acknowledged they would inevitably miss Toure when the tournament begins in January.

"He has been a quality player for us," Richards told the Daily Mail.

"But we have got midfielders, we've got [Samir] Nasri, who didn't play today. [Sergio] Aguero can drop back and [David] Silva can play in that role.

"So we have got players who can cope in that position. But he will be a big miss, but I am sure we can cope with it.

"We've got players like [Nigel] de Jong that can come in and sit for us and push people forward. We'll miss Yaya but we have got people who can come in and do a job."

[bigblue]

Quite a few commentators (Sky, Setanta, MOTD) have been praising Yaya recently as irreplaceable. One of them is the horrible MOTD 3 on BBC's website (besides all the rest of their BS on the clip, they got one good comments in about Yaya). I think the above article is spot on too.

Some of the opinions argued relentlessly earlier in this thread will forever make my head spin

[paul_oresteia]

Yaya wins us games (FA Cup Semi, Final, Villarreal, QPR). I think he's an integral part of the team. Great energy, hard to push off the ball. I'm quite shocked any City fan doubts his ability but each to their own. I hope stays for many years to come.

[The Original Special One]

Yaya wins us games (FA Cup Semi, Final, Villarreal, QPR). I think he's an integral part of the team. Great energy, hard to push off the ball. I'm quite shocked any City fan doubts his ability but each to their own. I hope stays for many years to come.

Speaking as somebody who's frequently been critical of him it was more the question that when he was required to play a defensive midfield role his mind was often elsewhere, or he didn't seem sure what his role was meant to be.
Now I think we can get the best out of him by playing any two from Barry, De Jong, and Milner, - or perhaps Zaba, also, - as dedicated defensive midfielders, and Ya Ya always forward of the half-way line to better conserve his energy for those 'power surges'
(Which I think is how we should line up in Naples)

[bigblue]

Yaya wins us games (FA Cup Semi, Final, Villarreal, QPR). I think he's an integral part of the team. Great energy, hard to push off the ball. I'm quite shocked any City fan doubts his ability but each to their own. I hope stays for many years to come.

Speaking as somebody who's frequently been critical of him it was more the question that when he was required to play a defensive midfield role his mind was often elsewhere, or he didn't seem sure what his role was meant to be.
Now I think we can get the best out of him by playing any two from Barry, De Jong, and Milner, - or perhaps Zaba, also, - as dedicated defensive midfielders, and Ya Ya always forward of the half-way line to better conserve his energy for those 'power surges'
(Which I think is how we should line up in Naples)

Just fess up that you were wrong for criticizing a world-class player. Enough backtracking and trying to re-write what you said.

He's played good where ever Mancini has asked him to play, thats why he keeps getting picked! Sure he has games where he isn't on the top of his game, but thats just like everyone else. Just because YOU don't know what his role is, it doesn't mean that Yaya or Mancini also don't know.

[Ted Hughes]

Yaya wins us games (FA Cup Semi, Final, Villarreal, QPR). I think he's an integral part of the team. Great energy, hard to push off the ball. I'm quite shocked any City fan doubts his ability but each to their own. I hope stays for many years to come.

Speaking as somebody who's frequently been critical of him it was more the question that when he was required to play a defensive midfield role his mind was often elsewhere, or he didn't seem sure what his role was meant to be.
Now I think we can get the best out of him by playing any two from Barry, De Jong, and Milner, - or perhaps Zaba, also, - as dedicated defensive midfielders, and Ya Ya always forward of the half-way line to better conserve his energy for those 'power surges'
(Which I think is how we should line up in Naples)

Just fess up that you were wrong for criticizing a world-class player. Enough backtracking and trying to re-write what you said.

He's played good where ever Mancini has asked him to play, thats why he keeps getting picked! Sure he has games where he isn't on the top of his game, but thats just like everyone else. Just because YOU don't know what his role is, it doesn't mean that Yaya or Mancini also don't know.

See, on the other thread you're having a go at me for being 'so sure of yourself' yet you slaughter someone in this manner for posting somehing which I personally think is absolutely spot on. You're doing exactly the same thing you're criticising me for.

Personally I don't think Yaya is a good defensive midfielder at all. I think he's a fantastic midfielder but makes loads of mistakes when asked to do a purely holding role & can sometimes be a liability there. He should only be asked to play that role v lesser teams or if we're desperate imo. He should be allowed to play his own game rather than be shoehorned into a role he doesn't perform too well.

[The Original Special One]

Yaya wins us games (FA Cup Semi, Final, Villarreal, QPR). I think he's an integral part of the team. Great energy, hard to push off the ball. I'm quite shocked any City fan doubts his ability but each to their own. I hope stays for many years to come.

Speaking as somebody who's frequently been critical of him it was more the question that when he was required to play a defensive midfield role his mind was often elsewhere, or he didn't seem sure what his role was meant to be.
Now I think we can get the best out of him by playing any two from Barry, De Jong, and Milner, - or perhaps Zaba, also, - as dedicated defensive midfielders, and Ya Ya always forward of the half-way line to better conserve his energy for those 'power surges'
(Which I think is how we should line up in Naples)

Just fess up that you were wrong for criticizing a world-class player. Enough backtracking and trying to re-write what you said.

He's played good where ever Mancini has asked him to play, thats why he keeps getting picked! Sure he has games where he isn't on the top of his game, but thats just like everyone else. Just because YOU don't know what his role is, it doesn't mean that Yaya or Mancini also don't know.

I'm not backtracking: I've been consistent in my views on Ya Ya: I still maintain he lacks the discipline to be a dedicated defensive midfielder, based on all the evidence I've seen him give in a City shirt.
Now that might be down to his role not being well enough defined for him, but I can only comment on what I've seen from him, and I think its best to play him just beyond the half-way line

[zuricity]

Aaahhhh!

This thread is back with avengeance !

Good luck tonight Yaya......... What ever you do !