Wednesday 22 April 2015 13:21, UK
Yaya Toure has cast a shadow over his future at Manchester City by revealing no amount of money could convince him to remain at a club where he felt he no longer belonged and that he is open to ‘new challenges’.
The revelation has fuelled speculation Toure could be on his way out of the Etihad Stadium this summer, with a reunion with former City manager Roberto Mancini at Inter Milan looking increasingly likely.
The 31-year-old has been the subject of fierce criticism this season and he has shouldered much of the blame as a number of abject displays have seen the champions relinquish their Premier League crown.
“Things don’t seem right at City, they have got to change a few things. It wouldn’t surprise me if he left,” Gerry Francis told The Morning View in response to Toure’s comments. “If we were talking about the Yaya Toure of last year then it would be big blow [if he left], but certainly this year his form and, in some cases, his effort has been pretty poor.”
However, do Toure’s stats this season compared to last confirm he has performed poorly? The dynamic midfielder was pivotal as City won the title last season - has he suffered a severe drop-off this term?
We look at the stats and ask whether City would be better off cutting their loses with Toure leave after a largely successful five years in Manchester…
Goals
When it comes to goalscoring, there has been a noticeable drop-off from last season. In 2013/14 Yaya Toure scored 20 times in the league as City won a second Premier League title. This term, with six games to play, he has just eight.
Toure’s 20-goal haul in the previous campaign made him the top scoring midfielder from Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City – the current top four. This season Eden Hazard (12) and David Silva (11) have bettered his tally.
Similarly, Toure’s minutes-per-goal rate has increased. He scored every 146.35 minutes last season, which made him the most prolific among the midfielders from this season’s top-four teams. This season he finds the net every 256.75 minutes – a rate bettered by Frank Lampard, Andre Schurrle, Silva, Hazard and Juan Mata.
If we were talking about the Yaya Toure of last year then it would be big blow, but certainly this year his form and, in some cases, his effort has been pretty poor.Things don’t seem right at City, they have got to change a few things. It wouldn’t surprise me if he left.
Wayward shooting has no doubt contributed to these numbers. Toure is averaging 2.3 shots per game this season, compared to 1.4 in 2013/14 but his shooting accuracy has dropped from 54 per cent to 41 per cent. In contrast, Silva (62.16 per cent) and Hazard (59.57) are far more efficient in this department.
And when it comes to goal creation, Toure’s stats have taken a significant blow this season. Nine assists last season made him the most frequent creator among midfielders at those four clubs. This term he’s assisted just one goal in the Premier League – 22 players from those four clubs have more.
Passing
Toure has made 2139 passes this season, a total only bettered by Cesc Fabregas (2364) among Chelsea, Arsenal, United and City midfielders. Toure made 2502 last season, meaning he is making more passes per game (89.1) this year than last (71.5).
However, his passing accuracy has fallen from 90.13 per cent last season to 88.5 this term, with passing accuracy in his own half (94.3 per cent to 92.89) and the opposition half (87.59 to 86.48) both worse-off.
There has been little change in his passing accuracy in the final third (80.74 per cent to 80.73) but team-mate Samir Nasri (86.75), Mesut Ozil (84.85) and Hazard (84.75) are among the players with a better completion rate at the business end of the field.
Defending
Toure has received plenty of criticism this season for his defensive work and while that is harder to gauge in terms of stats there has been a trend in the number of tackles the Ivorian has made.
Last season Toure made 54 tackles, the eighth most among midfielders at Chelsea, Arsenal, United and City. This season that figure falls to 27, the 19th most among midfielders in the current top four.
Running
Toure turns 32 in May but he doesn’t seem to be displaying signs of aging just yet with the little drop-off in terms of his fitness according to the numbers.
The midfielder has, on average, covered more ground this season per game (10.1km) than he did in 13/14 (9.9km).
However, his number of sprints per game has fallen from 25.9 last season to 23.4 per game in this campaign.
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