Manchester City came unstuck again in Europe on Tuesday night and the inquest will now begin into another game where City were simply unable to show the sort of form which has made them so dominant in The Premier League.
Of course Europe is a massive learning curve for newbies and you can’t buy the collective experience required to beat championship contenders from the other leagues around the continent. Regardless of the strength of the football in any given country, teams who play in The Champions League are accustomed to winning games and they take that mentality into every match – no matter who they face.
With so many good players in those areas it’s strange to be criticising Manchester City’s defence and midfield. But, yet again, they suffered from a seemingly soft centre against Roma.
Eliaquim Mangala will eventually remedy this to some extent and the signing of Fernando should add bite to the midfield. But one of the biggest problems, moving forward, is going to be that of replacing Yaya Toure.
Manchester City’s 2013/14 player of the year has been a pure joy to watch since he joined the club in 2010. He’s the sort of player that every team wants to have. A driving force in the midfield who, in his pomp, was so much bigger and better than the rest that it almost seemed unfair on the opposition.
But, at 31, and with a turbulent summer behind him – when many thought he would sever his ties with the club – it seems as if he’s finding it hard to get that huge frame motoring once more.
Of course he still has better technique than most players in The Premier League. With the ball at his feet he’s majestic and he is still a player that you would want the ball to fall to 20 yards from the opposition goal. But his decreasing mobility seems to be a microcosm of Manchester City’s entire midfield. Without Toure’s lung bursting runs and forward thrusts, City’s engine room lacks bite and dynamism.
The idea of dropping Toure still seems extreme. Perhaps the solution will be to find a system which houses both Fernando and Fernandinho in the engine room and allows Toure a more free role – somewhere on the park where he can still wreak havoc in front of goal.
Toure’s legs haven’t exactly gone but he isn’t the force which has really defined Manchester City as a bristling, slick and rapier team over the last 4 years.
At his best, selecting Toure was almost akin to having 12 players on the pitch. But, sadly, his influence is most certainly waning right now.
Manchester City fans: is it time to play Toure on a less regular basis?
