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Manchester City Fan View: Broken records, but this night belonged to Yaya Toure
Manchester City beat Brighton 3-1 on Wednesday night in their final home game of the season. In doing so, Pep Guardiola’s Champions broke three Premier League records. Their 97 points are the most ever achieved in the Premier League era, the 105 goals are the most registered and their 31 wins are also the most recorded. One target remains with one game to play – achieve a stunning 100-point tally.
On this night though, there was something more to celebrate than breaking records. Following Wednesday’s victory, the club came together to pay tribute to a departing hero.
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Yaya Toure has long been immortalised in Manchester City history. In 2010, he joined a club that had not won a trophy for 35 years. Newly moneyed, City were the cocky upstarts, the Noisy Neighbours with ideas far above their station. The Ivorian took a risk when he moved to the North West of England. He joined a club that had yet to prove they could meet their new, lofty ambitions – they hadn’t even qualified for the Champions League yet, never mind had cause to crack open a dusty tin of trophy polish.
Yaya also took on some reputational damage due to this high wages. It’s true that the midfielder was well remunerated, but the headlines were over the top. “Seduced by the whore of world football” screamed one English tabloid. One national radio presenter said he wouldn’t recognise Toure if he was stood next to him at a bus stop. That was an astonishing level of disrespect for a man who played out of position to mark Cristiano Ronaldo out of a Champions League final.
It didn’t matter to Yaya. He joined Roberto Mancini’s side to help change the course of history. Sometimes lambasted as lazy, with his greatest qualities being so often misunderstood, Yaya simply got on with the job of being one of the most imperious midfielders of the Premier League era. Forget his overall game for a moment and just look at the goals. In the 2011 FA Cup semi-final, Manchester United were the obstacle that threatened to kick City in the teeth, as so often before. City’s number 42 had other ideas; Collecting an errant Michael Carrick pass, Toure burst through to put the ball past Edwin Van Der Sar and win the match for City.
He repeated the trick in the final against Stoke City, a single-minded determination to end that trophy drought seeing the Blues lift the famous piece of silverware.
A year later, he scored two crucial goals at Newcastle to put City on the brink of their first league win in 44 years. Two years after that he scored an outrageous 30 yard goal in the League Cup final against Sunderland. That one levelled the scores at 1-1 and set a previously stagnant City side on their way to winning the cup. He scored 20 goals from midfield in that campaign as the Blues also sealed a second Premier League title in three seasons. In 2016 he scored the decisive penalty in the League Cup final shootout against Liverpool. Wembley was his stage, and on it he danced the perfect dance every time.
Regarded as a midfield titan, Toure’s game has been regularly misunderstood. Often described as a powerhouse, Yaya became known for his lung-busting runs from deep midfield to the edge of the opposition box; His large frame made such feats appear unlikely but so majestic. The truth is, though, he was about so much more. Yaya’s game is one of extreme intelligence. His reading of the game is second-to-none. His passing is metronomic and perfectly judged. Perhaps more so than any City player in the modern era, Yaya can turn a game with a single kick.
Guardiola made Toure captain against Brighton for his final game. He played well, not phased by a night that belonged to him. Unsurprisingly, the crowd were desperate for him to score. What we would have given for one last free-kick curled perfectly into the top corner, or for one final penalty rolled past a despairing goalkeeper. To be honest, even a bounce off his backside would have sufficed. Alas, it was not to be.
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In the 80th minute, there was one last flash of brilliance. With a drop of the shoulder and that old burst of pace, he drove through the defence and played a one-two before firing at the goalkeeper. For a split second, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. One run that recalled the very best of Yaya and, for a brief moment in time, teased us with one final flash of magic. It wasn’t to be, but it was still his night.
After the game, he was presented with a lifelong City season ticket by Kolo Toure. His own name rained down on him from the Etihad Stadium stands as supporters did their best to make sure he understood the love this club has for him.
We’ll not see a player like him again at Manchester City or on these shores for a long time. A once in a generation midfielder, it has been the greatest privilege to watch him make a home in our club.
Yaya Toure – for everything, for the lifetime of memories you created, for the goals you scored, for all of it – there are only two small, inadequate words left to say.
Thank you.
