Sylla out of the Villa

[ciggiesnbeer]

He made a good contribution towards the end of last season.  All he's saying is he wants to be playing football and hasn't slagged us off - nothing wrong with that IMO. 

Agreed. Shock horror - footballer in "I want to play football" bombshell

Thirded. Jesus. The bloke is just being honest that he wants to play.

[saunders_heroes]

The fuckin idiot couldn't control a bag of cement and the sooner he leaves the better. A terrible footballer who should be nowhere near villa park and is one of the many reasons why Lambert shouldn't be either!

I like to see a definitive list of Lambert's signings. It'd be the stuff of nightmares.

It's not exactly hard to work out and I don't agree is the stuff of nightmares.

Benteke, vlaar, bacuna, Westwood and I'm betting Okore all very good value or excellent. Still hope Lowton can regain his form

Kea has been ok for £2m - look at our record with and without him

Luna, sylla, holt, helenius, Bowery, steer all in the cheap and no real impact category

Tonev and Benett currently in the reasonably expensive flop category. Not convinced on kozak personally either

Benteke has been very good. Vlaar, okay but nothing special. Westwood, average but not even Premier League material for me. Okore - jury out. The rest have been quite dreadful.

[aj2k77]

Sylla, Sylla, Sylla he's fucking worse than Cilla, Cilla, Cilla.

These are the kind of players i'd be glad to see the back of signing ever again, unknown clowns from the French lower league. Bye bye.

[Matt C]

I'd have thought he might be something of a rarity for us in recent years in that we might get a little more than we paid for him if we sold him on.

[JUAN PABLO]

Lamberts Salifou   ,   hes not the only one that is not good enough

[KevinGage]

It's a skill, picking up players from the lower divisions who are able to make the transition to top flight football.

Other managers have been able to do it, so it's not completely uncharted territory. 

Unfortunately our manager can't. 

[john2710]

Plucked from a 2nd Division French team for £500k, is probably on a low wage by premier league standards. Was worth a punt, but is not good enough. What is shocking is that he is the back up to our star studded midfield. He won't ever start a game for us again.

[adrenachrome]

He has some talent, which we saw in a few games last season, but we are not in a position to develop players like this. It is all very well saying he is young, from another country, from a lower division and needs a year or two to settle in. We are in our 4th straight relegation struggle. We need players who can come in and do a job in the most physically demanding league in the world straight away.
 

[Steve67]

There are too many players at Villa that need lots of time spending on them. Sylla is one of them. I saw some potential last season but sadly, like most things Lambertised, he hasn't progressed at all.

[PeterWithesShin]

Looked okay last season, a cheap but effective NRC type. He's been cack in most appearances this season though.

[dave.woodhall]

There are too many players at Villa that need lots of time spending on them. Sylla is one of them. I saw some potential last season but sadly, like most things Lambertised, he hasn't progressed at all.

I'd go along with that.

[adrenachrome]

In his defense:

He has a strong tackle
He does not get out-muscled
He can track a runner
He can man-mark
He can "zing" a long pass across the field to feet

This season, his touch when receiving a ball has been woeful, and that understandably colours perceptions.

Be that as it may, we are not in a position to develop this sort of player.

[Grande Pablo]

Both Sailfou & Sylla looked world beaters on debut - remember Salifou in Prague?  Awesome.

[supertom]

Some players just don't have what it takes to develop beyond a certain point at this level. He had a decent month or two last season once he'd settled, but when opposition sides suss you out a bit, at this level you have to be able to develop your game.

I'm all for giving players time, if they are starting from a better base point. The trouble with Sylla is, he's a less effective version of Reo Coker. Granted I'd rather pay 20k a week for a 500k Sylla than 50 grand a week on the 8 million quid Coker, but that's not the issue. We need players who will become Prem quality sooner, not (if ever) later.

To a certain extent I think Westwood has similarly struggled this season. He's found things harder going because he couldn't take his game up a notch. He's been okay since the turn of the year again, on the whole, but in truth he's not good enough to be a regular starter at this level.

The trouble with really cheap punts like these players is, you want to see a steady and persistent increase. Because of the level you take them from, if they do indeed start well, but then take two steps back and regress (Lowton, Sylla, lesser extent Westwood) then it becomes a problem.

Again though this all ties in with the argument as to whether or not our academy can produce better players than Lowton, Sylla, Tonev, Bowery etc. Historically yes. Presently? I'd wager yes. For that reason it makes most of Lambert's young punts a waste of money.

[supertom]

Both Sailfou & Sylla looked world beaters on debut - remember Salifou in Prague?  Awesome.

Yep. I've also seen Osbourne play as well as Syllas ever managed for us. Isaiah is of course now playing at his appropriate level. Osbourne though didn't cost us a transfer fee. Less Sylla's more graduates. Use our transfer budget on quality additions who can come straight in and adapt to this level of football.