There’s a talented player in there somewhere

I have to admit that I naively raised an eyebrow yesterday when Roberto Mancini, chasing a much-needed win at Newcastle, took off attacking midfielder Samir Nasri for defensive midfielder Nigel De Jong. In the end, this turned out to be the masterstroke that won City the game, and possibly the league title.
Having been largely invisible for most of the game, suddenly Yaya Toure was playing off the striker, causing Newcastle’s defence no end of problems before scoring two brilliant match-winning goals.
Toure was used in this kind of attacking role more often last season, and returned 10 ...