Barry deserves praise — Clichy

MANCHESTER City defender Gael Clichy believes Yaya Toure could not be the dynamic force he is without Gareth Barry beside him.

Toure has given City’s Barclays Premier League title charge a shot in the arm with two outstanding displays in victories over Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers since returning from the African Nations Cup.

The inspirational Ivory Coast midfielder was sorely missed in January as City went out of both domestic cup competitions and wobbled in the league by losing at Everton.

City look a much tougher proposition with him back, but Clichy also wants to highlight the role of a relatively unsung hero in Barry.

Clichy said: “Of course Yaya is impressive, but it’s always the way in football that the players who score goals or make a difference in the final third are the ones we look at.

“But without Gareth Barry, Yaya wouldn’t be the same player.

“You have to give credit where it’s due. Yaya is a great player, and that is why he played for a team like Barcelona and won the Champions League and everything.

“But it’s like Zinedine Zidane. At the time he was playing for Real Madrid, he had Claude Makelele behind him.

“We have to know the qualities in our team and of course we are happy to have Yaya, but we have to give credit to the whole team because we play good football and are defensively solid.”

While City have excelled in attack throughout the campaign, the likes of Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Mario Balotelli, Edin Dzeko, Samir Nasri and Toure have most caught the eye.

Striker Balotelli, the centre of attention after more headlines relating to his off–field antics, was guilty of a number of misses in the 2-0 defeat of Bolton, although he did eventually get on the scoresheet.

City had 23 shots throughout the game, 10 of which were on target.

Balotelli might have had a hat–trick inside the opening 13 minutes at the Etihad Stadium as he hit a post, shot narrowly wide and then fired over after finding himself in the clear.

City’s opener finally came in the 23rd minute from an unlikely source as Clichy, who has not scored for the club, saw a long–range effort deflected in by Gretar Steinsson.



MANCHESTER City midfielder David Silva has revealed the rigors of the Premier League season are playing havoc with his ankle.

The 26–year–old underwent an operation in 2008 and the joint has continued to give him problems since.

He said: “Playing all of these games in England is hard, so it is impossible, totally impossible, to be completely 100-per-cent all the time.”