Arsenal Defender Kolo Toure Joins Man City
Ivory Coast Star Claims City are Genuine Title Contenders
Jul 30, 2009
After failing in their bid to sign Chelsea skipper John Terry, Manchester City have completed the capture of Ivorian central defender Kolo Toure from Arsenal for a fee in the region of 16 million pounds. Having bolstered their attack with the summer signings of Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn), Carlos Tevez (Manchester United), and Adebayor (Arsenal), Man City have now fortified their defense with the transfer of the versatile Toure, and appear poised to break the stranglehold that the so-called "Big Four" - Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal - have enjoyed at the top of the English Premier League for the past five seasons.
Kolo Toure Player Profile
Born in Bouake, Ivory Coast, the 27-year-old Toure has spent the past seven seasons at Arsenal. Originally deployed in midfield, the Ivorian won the F.A. Cup in his debut season (2002-2003) in London after being snapped up by manager Arsene Wenger from Ivory Coast club ASEC Mimosas for a paltry 150,000 pounds. The following season (2003-2004) saw Toure shift to central defense, where he partnered England international Sol Campbell; the Gunners won the League that season without losing a single match, thus becoming "The Invincibles." Since then, Arsenal has yet to win another League Title, although the club did reach the 2006 Champions League Final, losing 2-1 to Barcelona. During their run to the Final, Toure was part of a defense that kept ten consecutive clean sheets in the Champions League, a European record.
Man City in 2008-2009
Manchester City ended the 2008-2009 season in 10th place in the English Premier League with 50 points from 15 wins, 5 draws, and 18 losses. Welshman Mark Hughes was brought in at the beginning of the season by billionaire owner Thaksin Shinawatra to replace the ousted Sven-Goran Erikkson, but the former Blackburn manager struggled initially to find a good team balance. During the January transfer window, the club saw its audacious bid for AC Milan's Kaka fall flat, but did manage to bring in tough-tackling midfielders Vincent Kompany and Nigel de Jong, whose grit and industry dovetailed nicely with the Brazilian flair of attackers Robinho and Elano (since departed to Galatasaray). The breakout performer of the season, however, was young Stephen Ireland, who scored nine goals from midfield en route to earning Man City Senior Player of the Year honours.
Does Toure Make Man City Title Contenders in 2009-2010?
With the summer signings of Toure, Gareth Barry, Santa Cruz, Tevez, and Adebayor, Manchester City have added five of the best players in the Premier League to a squad already containing - in defenders Nedum Onuoha and Micah Richards and midfield Stephen Ireland - some of the League's brightest young talents. Add in the veteran leadership of Irish internationals Shay Given and Richard Dunne and the mercurial skills of Robinho and you have a squad that could break the hegemony of the Big Four. Whether they do so will depend largely on the ability of Hughes to find the right team balance and to manage the astronomical egos that inevitably accompany astronomical transfer fees.
Manchester City need look no further than Chelsea, however, for proof that money can indeed bring footballing glory. Russian oil magnate Roman Abramovich's billions brought Chelsea two Premier League Titles in the middle of the decade; can Shinawatra's billions now do the same for City?
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