Welcome back Yaya Toure, reports of your demise have been greatly exaggerated
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Updated 11/08/2015 at 09:19 GMT
Yaya Toure remains one of the most debatable players in the Premier League, but his loyalty to City or his astonishing natural ability should never be questioned, writes Desmond Kane.
Yaya Youre accepts the acclaim of his team-mates at West Brom.
Image credit: Reuters
When Yaya performs, Manchester City perform. This has been a fact of Premier League life as obvious as yellow balls, snoods and barechested Northern fans in the harsh British winter in recent years, but there suddenly seems to be a summery feel adorning Yaya in what, at the ripe young age of 32, could be described as the autumn of his career.
Certainly, in the heat and unnerving humidity of August in the West Midlands, Toure produced an august performance for Manuel Pellegrini’s side in reminding us that he has never quite gone away. A couple of goals from Toure and one from Vincent Kompany in a 3-0 win over West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns was quite a heady feat on opening night. Even For Yaya and his companions. It all bodes well for City at the outset of another season. Start as you mean to go on, and all that jazz.
'ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS'
For a player described by some commentators as a mercenary, Toure has been remarkably loyal to his club. Signed by City from Barcelona for a paltry £24 million back in 2010 – has there been better value for money in the history of the Premier League? – Toure is entering his sixth season at the Etihad Stadium. In the modern era of football, such a period of time is akin to serving a life sentence.
There has been plenty of controversy tailing Toure in recent times, most notably last year when he was castigated for his contribution to City slinking home well adrift in second place a season after they had claimed their second title in four years. His agent said that he was “90 percent” certain to leave the club in May. This came a year after the player was apparently unhappy with the club forgetting to buy him a birthday cake when he turned 31, but actions speak louder than words. Toure has remained a constant when plenty have come and gone on the City gravy train.
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Yaya Toure celebrates with Bacary Sagna after scoring the second goal for Manchester City.
Image credit: Reuters
‘OVERCOMING PERSONAL TRAGEDY’
Toure has had to deal with harrowing personal loss over the past year. His younger brother Ibrahim died at the age of 28 last June. According to media reports, he had been receiving treatment for cancer in Manchester. Anybody who has suffered such a devastating personal loss will know the effect it can upon an individual. It was a point picked up on by Pellegrini after the win over West Brom.
Last season was a strange one for him what with the death of his brother and other things. I don't think he was properly focussed and we have spoken about that. But I don't think he deserved the amount of criticism he received.
‘HOISTING CITY ALONGSIDE UNITED’
Toure has helped to lift City to heights greater than any of their fans could ever envisaged when the Thai owner Thaksin Shinawatra was bought out by Abu Dhabi’s billions back in 2008. City have become a viable alternative to Manchester United in their own city and beyond. Two Premier Leagues, an FA Cup and a League Cup in City’s 'Galacticos Era' represents progress, but perhaps Toure more than anybody else has given the club’s fan base reason to believe. With 64 goals from over 200 appearances in the light blue, he is a genuine football superstar. A man with power, presence, drive and a signature, piercing gait. It was all there and more at the Hawthorns. There are few more beautiful sights in the Premier League than Youre sprinkling gold dust from midfield.
Welcome back Yaya, reports of your demise have been greatly exaggerated.
'THE PLAYER'S VERDICT’
I know what I have to do and I don't care what people say about me. I'm not back – I'm always there. It's about the team. West Brom have a good manager and players. Full credit to all our team. We made it easy because we played our own football, we played with belief and intensity.
'PELLEGRINI PRAISE'
I am sure we are going to see the same Yaya we saw two seasons ago when we won the title and I'm happy about that. Maybe it wasn't his best season but he's still an important player here. Last season his head wasn't right and that made things difficult. Yaya knows what happened last season. We had a conversation and we agreed a lot of things. I think he's going to be a very important player for us this season.
WHAT THE MEDIA SAID ABOUT YAYA'S POWER PLAY
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