HomeZ OLD CATEGORIESEPLKolo Toure returns | What now for Lescott?

Kolo Toure returns | What now for Lescott?

September 2nd signals the return of Kolo Toure to the Manchester City ranks, marking the end of a six month suspension handed down by the F.A. for testing positive for a banned substance earlier this year.

At the time of his suspension Toure was at the heart of City’s defence along the very impressive Vincent Kompany, part of a pairing that helped lay the foundations of City’s success during 2010/11, with Lescott until then largely content with a place on the bench and a handful of games as an emergency left-back. To Lescott’s credit though the side barely missed a step with Toure’s absence as the £23million man finally began to justify his hefty price tag with a series of assured performances alongside Kompany at that crucial stage of the season.

Lescott has started the season once again alongside Kompany, continuing their partnership as City have chalked up three victories on the spin to open the 2011/12 season. However, and as much as the 12 goals scored will have pleased Roberto Mancini, the three goals conceded will have perturbed him; all three goals could have been avoided (with two coming from set pieces).

During the summer Mancini added the young Montenegran Stefan Savic, who has made a pair of fleeting appearances at the end of games, but the question will be whether Toure comes straight back into the side (having been eligible to train with the side over the past month) or whether Lescott has done enough in possession of the shirt to warrant a continuation of the partnership.

A look at their 2010/11 numbers barely separates Toure and Lescott; in fact, the numbers would have likely been even more equal had Lescott played the entire season in the centre as opposed to the spell at left-back:

 

Kolo Toure

Lescott

Starts

21

20

Minutes

1845

1882

Passes

809/931

678/819

Passing %

87%

83%

Tackles

32/48

 28/31

Aerial

44/78

36/53

Interceptions

44

35

Whilst the numbers are very similar, there are differences between the pair. It is generally considered that Toure is more comfortable in possession and offers more as an attacking threat, whilst Lescott offers more from a defensive standpoint. There have been suggestions that Roberto Mancini was looking to upgrade at the position over the summer – with Bolton’s Gary Cahill long rumoured – but he heads into the season following the closure of the transfer window with defensive corps. as Vincent Kompany +1.

Given that Kompany will without question continue to be the mainstay in one of the positions, a more telling statistic is perhaps a comparison of the respective partnerships:

Partnership

Starts

Record

Win %

Conceded

GAA

Clean sheets

Toure/Kompany

20

W10D6L4

50%

14

0.7

10

Lescott/Kompany

14

W10D0L4

71%

14

1

6

The most interesting points that stand out are the higher win percentage of Lescott/Kompany and the better GAA and clean sheet record of Toure/Kompany. Both these points are mitigated to a degree given that Toure/Kompany featured over the first half of the season and Lescott/Kompany the latter half.

There is no doubting that the early part of the season saw City in far more defensive mode: evidence in the higher number of clean sheets and lower GAA posted by Toure/Kompany, yet when City opened up their attack to some degree this then reflects in the higher win % of Lescott/Kompany. In addition, and as I initially stated in this post, what was impressive was the much improved defensive display and record of Lescott/Kompany towards the end of the season when in the three key games – the FA Cup semi-final, FA Cup final and the Tottenham league game, clean sheets were kept in all three with the scoreline in all three finishing 1-0.

Without the benefit of any games under his belt (having been unable to even feature in pre-season) it is difficult to envisage Toure immediately coming back into the side, but he is a player Mancini clearly favours and whilst Lescott has gone on to forge an impressive partnership with Kompany, the feeling is he hasn’t asserted himself quite enough to have a strong hold on the position. Given the number of games City will face during the course of the season it is inevitable that both will feature, but what will be of interest is who Mancini ultimately opts for as his ‘go to guy’ alongside Kompany in the crucial fixtures City come up against.

dannypugsley
dannypugsleyhttp://www.bitterandblue.com
Managing Editor of SBNation's Manchester City blog 'Bitter and Blue' and author of 'Man City 365'.
More News

4 COMMENTS

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here