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'Manchester City still on course for Premier League title without me' - Yaya Toure
The former Barcelona midfielder is currently representing Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations but is still tracking affairs at his club side very carefully
2 Feb 2012 23:00:00
Getty
EXCLUSIVE
By Greg Stobart | Northern Correspondent
Yaya Toure is confident Manchester City will remain in control of the Premier League title race during his absence, as he continues to feature at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The powerful midfielder is currently in Equatorial Guinea with the Ivory Coast ahead of their quarter-final clash against the host nation, which takes place on Saturday.
On the same day, City will be welcoming Fulham to the Etihad Stadium, with their lead at the top of the table having been cut to just goal difference after their midweek defeat to Everton and Manchester United’s victory over Stoke.
Since Toure - undoubtedly a driving force for Roberto Mancini’s side - has been away, City have also crashed out of both domestic cup competitions, losing to United in the FA Cup and to Liverpool over two legs in the League Cup semi-final.
Despite this, Toure insists the team are not suffering just because he, along with older brother Kolo, is away representing his country.
He told Goal.com: “We have a great team and I know I am certainly not irreplaceable.
“Look at the amount of money the club has spent on talent and still tell me that ‘there is only one Yaya’.
“I do not believe this. Somebody can still play in my place and help us win.
“By the time the African Cup of Nations finishes I hope we will still be on top of the league.”
If Ivory Coast can reach the final of the tournament on February 12, the ex-Barcelona star would not play another league game until the clash with strugglers Blackburn Rovers on February 25.
Toure admits he is finding it frustrating missing such key fixtures and as a result will be determined to get himself back into the side straight away on his return to England.
He added: “Every single player wants to be in the first team, so we all work incredibly hard to be there.
“In fact, I am more worried about regaining my place when I return [than us losing form without me].
“For me, being in Africa is like being injured. I like to imagine that I’ve got an injury that will last four weeks.
“When I think like that, I can concentrate fully on my task with my country and not worry about missing games for my club.”
Toure’s last match before he left Eastlands was on January 3, when he scored in his side’s comprehensive 3-0 league win over Liverpool.
By Greg Stobart | Northern Correspondent
Yaya Toure is confident Manchester City will remain in control of the Premier League title race during his absence, as he continues to feature at the Africa Cup of Nations.
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The powerful midfielder is currently in Equatorial Guinea with the Ivory Coast ahead of their quarter-final clash against the host nation, which takes place on Saturday.
On the same day, City will be welcoming Fulham to the Etihad Stadium, with their lead at the top of the table having been cut to just goal difference after their midweek defeat to Everton and Manchester United’s victory over Stoke.
Since Toure - undoubtedly a driving force for Roberto Mancini’s side - has been away, City have also crashed out of both domestic cup competitions, losing to United in the FA Cup and to Liverpool over two legs in the League Cup semi-final.
Despite this, Toure insists the team are not suffering just because he, along with older brother Kolo, is away representing his country.
He told Goal.com: “We have a great team and I know I am certainly not irreplaceable.
“Look at the amount of money the club has spent on talent and still tell me that ‘there is only one Yaya’.
“I do not believe this. Somebody can still play in my place and help us win.
“By the time the African Cup of Nations finishes I hope we will still be on top of the league.”
If Ivory Coast can reach the final of the tournament on February 12, the ex-Barcelona star would not play another league game until the clash with strugglers Blackburn Rovers on February 25.
Toure admits he is finding it frustrating missing such key fixtures and as a result will be determined to get himself back into the side straight away on his return to England.
He added: “Every single player wants to be in the first team, so we all work incredibly hard to be there.
“In fact, I am more worried about regaining my place when I return [than us losing form without me].
“For me, being in Africa is like being injured. I like to imagine that I’ve got an injury that will last four weeks.
“When I think like that, I can concentrate fully on my task with my country and not worry about missing games for my club.”
Toure’s last match before he left Eastlands was on January 3, when he scored in his side’s comprehensive 3-0 league win over Liverpool.
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| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
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Live!
England 1-0 Belgium, Netherlands 4-0 Northern Ireland - follow all the international action LIVE! ahead of Euro 2012
With countries across the continent gearing up for their final warm-up games ahead of Euro 2012, join us for all the action from Saturday's friendlies. Get in touch with us via Twitter with your reaction.
Hosted by Joe Doyle
Hosted by Joe Doyle
20:06 BST
So, that game gave a few players a chance to impress for England. Who did/didn't? Will Welbeck start against France? Or Carroll? Or Defoe?!
19:59 BST
Unfortunately for Northern Ireland, they are trailing the Netherlands 4-0 at half-time. Looks like that one's all sewn up then.
19:54 BST
We're still getting plenty of Hazard chat on Twitter. A few are now saying that he's not worth the hype, others saying he was brilliant(!?) and others (which I agree with), saying he created much of his own hype. What do you think? Get involved!
19:46 BST
Joe Hart has also been giving his thoughts after the Belgium game: "It was a really tough game, a good run out. I thought we played well, [but] we were a little bit bitty at times.
"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.
"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.
"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
19:38 BST
Here's Roy Hodgson's reaction to the result and some injury chat: "I'm very pleased, it's been a hard week and we've used a lot of players. There was a lot of disruption in the second-half with substitutions – some forced upon us, some we wanted to do. But it's still a very good end to the week playing against a good Belgian team here. Arguably even stronger than the Norwegian team we played last week and I've got to be more than happy that we've come out with another victory."
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
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