Believe it or not, at one time in our lifetime, Kolo Toure was one of, if not the most formidable centre half in the Premier League. The Ivorian had a natural ability to defend, his reading of the game was fantastic, his pace and strength natural assets and on the ball, Toure was one of the best in his position.
Now, at 34 years of age, Toure has become the laughing stock of the Premier League. A comical mistake, gifting Victor Anichebe the equaliser in a 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion recently saw him ridiculed, and below-par performances before and after meant that Toure was no longer viewed as one of the Premier League’s best, but as “the back-up that no one wants.”
Toure first arrived at Arsenal in 2002 and was recognised as a utility player, similar to James Milner due to his natural athleticism, but in the 2003-04 season, manager Arsene Wenger began to utilise Toure at the heart of the Arsenal defence alongside the experienced Sol Campbell.
Together, the two of them formed a partnership that strikers feared, a partnership that saw a fantastic defensive unit help Arsenal to a season without a single loss, conceding only 26 goals, the Premier League’s best defensive record that season.
The following season, Kolo Toure remained a formidable part of the Arsenal defence despite increasing numbers in competition with the likes of Phillipe Senderos and Pascal Cygan vying to take his place in the side, but despite the competition, Toure remained first choice and was now recognised amongst the Premier League’s best defenders.
Post-‘glory years’ remained successful for the Ivorian defender, with his high pressing game a feature, but Arsenal were unable to win major trophies and the quality of the squad came into question, injuries and reported bust-ups with team mates unsettled the Ivorian and in 2009, he decided his Arsenal career was over and handed in a transfer request; later signing for now cash-rich Manchester City.
With injuries and other factors reducing the quality of Toure’s performances, Arsene Wenger noticed that despite the defender still being fairly young, he was as good as he was ever going to be and it wasn’t enough, that it was time for the ‘next great Arsenal defender’.
At Arsenal, Toure won five major honours including the Premier League, two FA Cup triumphs and two Community Shields, a successful seven years at a club where the fans and faculty adored him.
At Manchester City, Toure along with other high-profile signings helped to boost the stature of the club and they were able to begin challenging the top four. A massive step up for a previously average football club.
Toure was appointed captain and in his first season was a first team regular, with City missing out on the top four to Tottenham by three points before Mark Hughes was sacked and Roberto Mancini was brought in.
The Italian immediately stripped Toure of his duties as captain, but ensured he would remain an important part of the defence, but his level of performance depleted and his confidence was now a shadow of what it was when he was a formidable defender at Arsenal, able to command his future.
Becoming a squad player in Mancini’s squad was something that Toure could not accept, still recognising himself as a worthy defender, but in March 2011, the Ivorian came under much scrutiny for an alleged drug scandal and he failed a drugs test, testing positive for taking his wife’s slimming tablets and was handed a hefty fine and a six-month suspension.
The once world class recognised defender was now laughed at, no longer recognised as the formidable Kolo Toure, more ‘the defender that took his wife’s slimming pills’.
That same season, Toure had made 14 appearances as Manchester City won the Premier League for the first time, but the end was nigh for Toure and the following season he joined Liverpool on a free transfer.
Since joining Liverpool in 2013, Toure has largely been used as the last resort back up and having lost a yard of pace, having lost the ability to read the game as well as he once could, the Ivorian has only made 42 appearances with the majority coming from the bench.
Against West Brom, Toure made a costly mistake that has heralded many GIF’s and vines, a sad indictment of what is now the reality; one of Arsenal’s greats is the real laughing stock of the Premier League.
In the 4-1 loss at the Emirates Stadium, Toure made a mistake that could so easily have led to a goal in the opening stages of the game, a moment that Liverpool fans described as ‘a Kolo Toure’.
However, if we look at fixtures like Real Madrid away in the UEFA Champions League earlier this season, a game where Kolo Toure was asked to step up and perform at the Santiago Bernabéu against the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, the defender’s performance was fantastic.
His defensive awareness, ability to steal the ball and keep arguably the best player in the world ‘in his back pocket’ was unbelievable and showed that within those ageing legs, he still has ability.
Kolo Toure might not be the player he was at Arsenal, but when asked to step up in the Champions League, he completed 100% of his tackles, made six clearances, seven blocks and an interception.
Kolo Toure is an Arsenal great and a Premier League winner at two different clubs; a defender that many should aspire to be like.
