Manchester City sure missed Yaya Toure while he was at the Africa Cup of Nations
For half a decade, Yaya Toure has been the best central midfielder in the Premier League. However, even through two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and a League Cup, the Ivorian's value truly did not register until he took off for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in January.
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Prior to his departure, Toure's last nine appearances resulted in victories and left Manchester City tied for top of the league. After a 3-2 win over Sunderland on New Year's Day, City stood eye-to-eye with Chelsea on 46 points. Had the season ended on that day, Chelsea and Manchester City would have required a playoff to decide the winner of the Premier League.
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After winning Africa's continental cup with his native Ivory Coast, Toure returns to a club that is seven points adrift of the top with no remaining head-to-head meetings with the league-leading Londoners. Without Toure, Man City went winless in its next five matches, including two defeats, one of which knocked the Citizens out of the FA Cup.
Given Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho's experience and the quality of the squad at his disposal, City making up a seven-point difference with 13 rounds to play would best be categorized as improbable. If the Sky Blues go on to lose the league by fewer than seven points, Toure's midseason departure would be to blame for their inability to retain the domestic crown.
Even before he departed to captain the Ivory Coast, Man City manager Manuel Pellegrini rested his powerfully skilled African for a seemingly harmless home game against relegation-ready Burnley. Toure got the night off and did not even take up a spot on the substitutes bench. City famously threw away a two-goal lead in the second half and drew 2-2.
Over the past six Premier Leagues games Toure has failed to make an appearance, the Sky Blues have collected only seven out of a possible 18 points. Prior to Man City's inspired 4-1 victory over Stoke City, the Citizens' past five matches without Toure resulted in collecting only 0.27 points per league game. To put that number in perspective, Manchester City had collected 2.30 points per Premier League match through the first 20 matches of the season – prior to Toure's departure.
To best explain the difference between Man City with Toure and without Toure, one need only look at the Burnley game. Without Toure at the fortress that is the Etihad Stadium, the Citizens drew against a team that appears destined for the drop. With Toure, City won nine out of 10 matches over a two-month unbeaten stretch of play that included a resounding 3-0 victory over top-four candidate Southampton.
If Manchester City has any chance of recovering in the title race, Toure will need to reenter the setup seamlessly. Also, new January signing Wilfried Bony will need to contribute immediately. Bony, who is also Ivorian, arrived in Manchester as the most expensive signing in the 2015 January transfer window.
During City's transformation from Premiership title hopeful to perennial contender, strikers were interchanged as Edin Dzeko, Sergio Aguero, Mario Balotelli and numerous other front men enjoyed spells of success in Manchester. Nigel de Jong, Javi Garcia and Gareth Barry represent friendly reminders of midfielders who came and went. Regardless of the players leading the line or accompanying him in midfield, Toure has been the one constant as the omnipresent anchor in the heart of the midfield.
Perhaps Toure's consistency and class in the Sky Blue shirt help explain why Manchester City looked utterly lost when the Ivorian took off on international duty. City desperately yearned for the hard tackles, powerful shots, gazelle-like grace and ox-like strength. Most of all, Manchester City missed Toure's intangible match-winning ability.
With Toure out, Manchester City only further appreciated the Ivorian's worth. Should City somehow climb back to the top of the Premier League by season's end, his value will skyrocket even further, and that value should translate into an even more lucrative new contract – and probably a pretty nice birthday cake for a change, too.
Shahan Ahmed is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. He has previously written about the 2014 World Cup and 2013 Confederations Cup and regularly provides opinions on the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A and Spanish La Liga. Follow Shahan on Twitter: @ShahanLA
