P3te Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 Bit concerned this guy isn't playing much per season, 10 times better than el ahmadi and looked like he was really coming on. Hope he's not being forgotten doubt it. It's more likely that others were being given a chance to put themselves into contention. Sylla will be our most important player this season imo 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samjp26 Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 (edited) How many pre-season games did he start? I know he was a sub in quite a few. Those two central midfield positions are going to be hard to contend for if we play with an attacking midfielder. KEA, Gardner, Sylla, Bacuna, Westwood and Delph all contending for two positions is going to be a struggle for some of the lads. As much as I see how Sylla fits in as our defensive midfielder, it will depend on how often we play that way and I can't see Lambert opting to play a defensive side too often. Edited August 10, 2013 by samjp26 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrackpotForeigner Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 Bit concerned this guy isn't playing much per season, 10 times better than el ahmadi and looked like he was really coming on. Hope he's not being forgotten doubt it. It's more likely that others were being given a chance to put themselves into contention. Sylla will be our most important player this season imo Anyone know if he was injured for the Malaga game? A bit strange that he didn't feature, you'd think he'd be one of the players we'd want to be match fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markavfc40 Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 Delph given his form over the last 3 months of last season is a nailed on starter at the moment and the same pretty much goes for Westwood. I'd imagine it depends on the opposition as to who starts alongside those two. Sylla certinly has a big part to play for us this season and will get plenty of game time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HalfTimePost Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 Midfield is going to be interesting. Westwood would be my first choice. Think he's very important to us, like Carrick he's very consistent, keeps the game calm and is generally great at keeping possession. He is essentially our Petrov replacement, except he isn't as likely to chip in with a goal but his passing play is more attack minded, where as Stan could drive me mental with his consistent backwards passing. However, past Westwood I don't know where to go. Part of that is because when you play a 4-2-3-1 you generally expect the '2' to have defined roles, be it a DM, The mythical Box-to-Box or a playmaker. The thing is none of our midfielders are really Great at those defined roles, Westwood included as he's not going to open up many defences with his passing (Norwich aside). Delph and Sylla can both attack a bit, defend a bit and pass a bit. They can do it all but not really any of it brilliantly. If one of them kicks on I can see them being a bit like a lightweight Yaya Toure or a poor mans Moussa Sissokho. But similarly they could have a bit of a time where they dont really do much of anything in midfield. Bacuna is a bit of an unknown quantity and its really hard to tell if Gardner can become the Claret and Blue Gerrard after his injury set backs. I dont rate KEA at all. Guess my point is, after Westwood, despite having more squad depth we dont have any stand-out midfielders who we can rely on to go and do something - even just one defined job/role - great. Hopefully one of those 4/5 players can become that this season. If just one of them maximises their potential this season and we get a great AM in we'll be looking like a real force imo. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AValon Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 I know he's persisting with KEA, but honestly Lambert, Sylla's definitely yer man. I expect good things from the boy this season, whereas KEA does'nt tick any boxes whatsoever for me.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattyp_avfc Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 I know he's persisting with KEA, but honestly Lambert, Sylla's definitely yer man. I expect good things from the boy this season, whereas KEA does'nt tick any boxes whatsoever for me.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHV Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 Sylla must start ahead of KEA. If he doesnt then something is wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 Completely agree KHV. He must've picked up a knock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daggy_333 Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 Was he on the bench yesterday i can't remember.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanxamillion Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 Midfield is going to be interesting. Westwood would be my first choice. Think he's very important to us, like Carrick he's very consistent, keeps the game calm and is generally great at keeping possession. He is essentially our Petrov replacement, except he isn't as likely to chip in with a goal but his passing play is more attack minded, where as Stan could drive me mental with his consistent backwards passing. However, past Westwood I don't know where to go. Part of that is because when you play a 4-2-3-1 you generally expect the '2' to have defined roles, be it a DM, The mythical Box-to-Box or a playmaker. The thing is none of our midfielders are really Great at those defined roles, Westwood included as he's not going to open up many defences with his passing (Norwich aside). Delph and Sylla can both attack a bit, defend a bit and pass a bit. They can do it all but not really any of it brilliantly. If one of them kicks on I can see them being a bit like a lightweight Yaya Toure or a poor mans Moussa Sissokho. But similarly they could have a bit of a time where they dont really do much of anything in midfield. Bacuna is a bit of an unknown quantity and its really hard to tell if Gardner can become the Claret and Blue Gerrard after his injury set backs. I dont rate KEA at all. Guess my point is, after Westwood, despite having more squad depth we dont have any stand-out midfielders who we can rely on to go and do something - even just one defined job/role - great. Hopefully one of those 4/5 players can become that this season. If just one of them maximises their potential this season and we get a great AM in we'll be looking like a real force imo. The thing is with the luxury of having 3 up front we cannot afford too many midfielders getting caught further up field, especially if Lowton and Luna rome forward up the wings. The three in the middle have to anchor, battle and protect our vulnerable defense. Delph, Sylla and Westwood will do this with offensive options like Tonev Bacuna KEA coming on to help later in the game if we need goals to change the result..Against the top teams we will need the front three tracking back from time to time to help out anyway. This is why Bent has lost his place. ( along with the extra 6 mill we may have to pay sunderland for performances ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwivillan Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 (edited) KEA is better with a licence to play more forward and looked great in some of the earlier pre-season games doing that. He's not a DM and that should be Delph or Sylla. I prefer Sylla but Delph did nothing wrong today but I wish he'd get out of the habit of passing back when there's other options going forward. Ideally I think we should have Sylla as the 1 in front of the 4 of a 4-1-2-2-1 with the two in front of him being Westwood/Delph/KEA and two from Weimann/Tonev/Gabby with Benteke as the focal point. Guzan Lowton Vlaar Okore Luna Sylla Westwood Kea Weimann Tonev Benteke I would have the above starting against Arsenal. P.S Sylla was on the bench which doesn't augur well for a start. I don't get the beat up of KEA. I thought he was very proficient in the first half, made several good disposessions and some nice forward passes into to space that led to chances. He was not as good in the second half but you could say that about a lot of the team. I think it's the "Bannan effect". People have already made up their mind that they think he is rubbish and focus on a couple of errors ignoring the good moments and decide he was shit for 90 minutes, whereas Gabby was shit for 90 minutes but he get's a free pass because he's untouchable to some. Edited August 11, 2013 by Kiwivillan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdulaziz1 Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 I think that Lambert is hiding Sylla so that Arsenal doesn't depend in Sylla playing ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troglodyte Posted August 11, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted August 11, 2013 I think that Lambert is hiding Sylla so that Arsenal doesn't depend in Sylla playing ? Yep, it'll be a big surprise surprise for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob182 Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 I think Lambert is just keeping everyone in the squad happy. I'm pretty sure Sylla will be ahead of KEA because he's been way, WAY better than him in pre-season games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praisedmambo Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 I'm pretty sure KEA is ahead of Sylla atm. Both players have their limitations. I prefer Sylla but I'm not writing off KEA at all. I think KEA's good, it's just a shame he gets caught in possession now and then. I think apart from losing the ball twice KEA had a good game yesterday and I hope he doesn't turn into the next player fans moan about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praisedmambo Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 Also, I bet that is the CM partnership that plays against Arsenal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob182 Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 He lost it more than 2 times. I can remember 4 times off the top of my head. I'm also not writing KEA off btw. I think he's a decent player, but doesn't really shine in any area of his game. He's a squad player imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LockStockVilla Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 (edited) I really hope Sylla just had a small knock keeping him from action, because I see no reason he'd be behind KEA. We certainly need him to give us some tenacity against Arsenal and to pressure them higher up the pitch. Definitely hope it's the 433 next Saturday, with a three of Delph, Westy, Sylla. Edited August 11, 2013 by LockStockVilla 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 (edited) Think the midfield needs to be appraised as a unit rather than individuals. Sylla, Westwood & Delph seem to be the most rounded/complete version for me right now. It's a department and needs to operate as such. They are developing, so they will only get better IMO. I have been impressed with the improvement in Sylla and think he adds some steel to our game....Benteke seems to play better,when he's in the side too. We must play to our strengths. Edited August 11, 2013 by TRO 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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