Born on this day in 1971 is former Sunderland flop Lilian Laslandes. The striker was signed as a replacement for the legendary Niall Quinn, but didn’t quite live up to expectations…
At the somewhat late age of 20, Laslandes signed with Saint-Seurin to start his career. With 33 appearances, he scored an astounding 10 goals, or nearly one per
three games. He attracted the attention of Auxerre, where he played for five years and scored forty-seven goals.
In 1997, Lilian left on a free transfer to Bordeaux, who were in need of a reliable goal scorer. In his native France, he made another impression by scoring 47 goals.
In 2001, with Niall Quinn aging and battling ailments, Peter Reid was drawn to his physicality and goal-scoring record. Sunderland supporters were ecstatic to
learn that Reid had spent more than £3.5 million on the desired player.
The France international appeared in 12 league games before making his debut in a 1-0 victory over Ipswich. But he didn’t seem like a strong striker for Sunderland
at any level, much less in the Premier League to take Niall Quinn’s place! That being said, he was unlucky to watch a magnificent acrobatic attempt crash back off
the bar in his fourth game at the club. This occurred during a League Cup match at Sheffield Wednesday, where he had previously scored SAFC’s only goal.
If that had been accepted, history would have been different, fans’ perceptions of him might have changed, and he might now be a confident French international
striker. Rather, he developed into a striker who never made it to the northeast and apparently didn’t blend in well in the dressing room.
He ended up being just another striker to fail on Wearside, and his time at Sunderland was soon to come to an end after a falling out with Reid. With his tail
between his legs, he signed a loan deal with Koln and left after twelve league games without a league goal.
Laslandes played only five games in Germany and did not score a goal. He then went to France on loan to Bastia, before returning to Wearside for preseason in
2003. Sunderland’s financial condition, combined with the Frenchman’s poor form, meant they couldn’t find a willing buyer for Laslandes. He was released from
his contract and later played for Nice and Bordeaux.
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