Ivorian's two-goal haul should prove that given time, he can succeed at Swansea
Since his arrival at Swansea, there has been a noisy section of the Swansea support which seemed hell-bent on seeing Bony fail to live up to both his price-tag and his free-scoring reputation. "He doesn't run enough" they cried, "he doesn't get into goalscoring positions enough" they protested. Well, last night's performance should go a long way in refuting any of those statements, as he was outstanding from start to finish, and easily our best player on the day.
I can only remember him losing the ball in the first half once, when under pressure from multiple Man City defenders, and apart from that he was involved in everything good the Swans did. He went close with a long range drive, and linked well with his midfielders, at one point flicking the ball on coyly which allowed De Guzman to be played through - though the Dutchman couldn't produce the finish the move deserved. His first goal was the result of a great ball in from De Guzman and Bony got between the centre-backs (and was lucky to not be flagged offside - even if it would have been marginal) before heading past a flat-footed Joe Hart.
The second half sadly saw Bony involved much less as Man City upped the ante. It was no surprise that without the ball making it's way to the figurehead of the Swans' attack, we looked massively less likely to break through the opposition defence - but we must remember the calibre of the opposition we were facing. Having said that, I can only remember Bony getting two opportunities in the second half - and both times he found the target. The first was a snapshot which forced a save from Joe Hart and the second was an absolutely fantastic hit which swerved away from Hart and into the bottom corner. A great finish, and hopefully that's got the camel off his back.
Personally (as any regular readers of the blog will know all too well), I believe Bony will come very good. He's now got six goals in nine starts (plus a further six sub appearances) in the league, which really isn't that bad. I know he cost £12million, and that's a grotesque figure considering where we've come from in the last ten years, but he should be judged on performances - not his price tag. We signed him for the player he is - not because of how much he was valued at.
Anyway, I'm in Thailand and it's too damn warm to keep typing - I'm off for a beer. I'll endeavour to keep the site updated but given internet access issues it's unlikely I'll be able to blog much before heading home on the 15th. Expect an inundation of blogs when I get back as no doubt there'll be plenty to discuss.
Personally (as any regular readers of the blog will know all too well), I believe Bony will come very good. He's now got six goals in nine starts (plus a further six sub appearances) in the league, which really isn't that bad. I know he cost £12million, and that's a grotesque figure considering where we've come from in the last ten years, but he should be judged on performances - not his price tag. We signed him for the player he is - not because of how much he was valued at.
Anyway, I'm in Thailand and it's too damn warm to keep typing - I'm off for a beer. I'll endeavour to keep the site updated but given internet access issues it's unlikely I'll be able to blog much before heading home on the 15th. Expect an inundation of blogs when I get back as no doubt there'll be plenty to discuss.