It’s recently being confirmed that Manchester City’s Scott Sinclair has completed a loan-move to Villa Park, where he will stay until the end of this season. However, a permanent deal already looks to be in place, as the former Swansea man stated on his arrival “this is a new chapter in my life”. So, would you have signed him?
Personally, I’m not at all pleased with the business made by Tom Fox and Paul Lambert. I’m beginning to wonder what it is the Villa manager actually see’s in Sinclair. He had one good season at Swansea and was ‘rewarded’ with a move to the champions. Since then the 25 year-old’s career has simply collapsed. With big-money players being brought into the club Sinclair failed to make his name at City, so was loaned out to West Brom, where he was also unable to show his worth. Perhaps Lambert wants to offer Sinclair a ‘second-chance’ in football, but in the position we currently find ourselves in, that simply isn’t acceptable.
I believe Sinclair will simply be another addition to the Paul Lambert ‘bomb squad’; the long list of ‘has-beens’ the Scot has already brought to Bodymoor Heath. That group includes players such as Philippe Senderos, Joe Cole and Kieran Richardson. Players of this ilk will no doubt stay at the club for a period of three to four years. They will barely feature in the first team and add nothing to the development of the club.
The most frustrating part of Lambert’s ‘experience is key’ mentality is that it prevents young, promising talent from emerging. Youngsters Jack Grealish and Callum Robinson haven’t been able to make a single Premier League start this season as a result of the manager’s mind-set. With Sinclair’s introduction, it’s even more unlikely that they will feature in the first eleven any time soon.
I’ve spoke to many West Bromwich Albion fan’s about Sinclair’s stint at The Hawthorns, and the feedback was far from positive. Like myself, they couldn’t understand the reasoning behind the initial interest in the winger. He made eight appearances for the club and played most of his football in the reserve team.
I firmly believe we should not have offered Sinclair a temporary move to Villa Park mainly because of the amount of time he has spent out of top tier football. With the recent failures and injuries the winger has experienced he is bound to be lacking both confidence and match fitness. This is where I have sympathy for Scott, as he once had a very bright future ahead of him. His move to the Etihad effectively ruined his career at a tender age of 22. Whilst I share empathy with Sinclair, I sadly can’t bare to see Villa take on yet another passenger. If we were sitting pretty in the top ten, then maybe I could agree with the signing. However, we’re not. In the window just gone we needed to sign an established, in-form forward to play alongside the struggling Christian Benteke. Instead, we signed an out-of-sorts winger whose career is in turmoil.
What do you think of the Sinclair loan-signing? Do you agree with Edd? Share your thoughts with us on twitter @TheVillansVoice.
