Yoann Folly
Yoann Folly (born 6 June 1985) is a retired footballer. His previous clubs include St. Étienne in France, Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth Argyle in England and Aberdeen in Scotland. Born in France, he represented Togo at international level. A series of poor health and injuries eventually lead to Folly's premature retirement in 2012, aged 27.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Yoann Folly[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 6 June 1985[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Paris, France | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Central midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Clairefontaine[2] | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002–2003 | Saint-Étienne | 0 | (0) |
| 2003–2006 | Southampton | 14 | (0) |
| 2005 | → Nottingham Forest (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2005 | → Preston North End (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2006 | → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2006–2008 | Sheffield Wednesday | 39 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Plymouth Argyle | 22 | (0) |
| 2010 | → Dagenham & Redbridge (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2010–2012 | Aberdeen | 18 | (1) |
| Total | 117 | (1) | |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2003–2006 | France U21 | 10 | (0) |
| 2008 | Togo | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 January 2011 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 September 2008 | |||
Club career
Southampton
Folly was brought to England in 2003 by then Southampton manager Gordon Strachan who paid St. Étienne £250,000 to secure his signature. After numerous managerial changes at Southampton, Folly struggled to get in the team and loan spells at Nottingham Forest (where he scored his first goal in English football against QPR in the FA Cup)[3] and Preston North End followed. Folly was signed on loan by Sheffield Wednesday in January 2006 to ease injury problems as the then manager Paul Sturrock had been impressed by him after taking over as Saints manager from Strachan in 2004. He made his debut on 31 January at Hillsborough, suffering a 2–0 defeat against Luton Town.
Sheffield Wednesday
Folly's promising displays meant that he joined Wednesday on a permanent basis at the end of the 2005–06 season, rejecting the offer of a new contract at St. Mary's. However, Southampton did receive an undisclosed compensation fee, under FA rules due to him being under the age of 24. He climbed off the substitutes' bench at Hillsborough to score an extra-time winner for Wednesday in the League Cup second round versus Hartlepool United in August 2007.[4]
Plymouth Argyle
Folly handed in a transfer request to the club in January 2008, citing concerns about his lack of first team football, and he joined Championship rivals Plymouth Argyle that month for a fee believed to be around £200,000, joining manager Paul Sturrock for the third time in his career.[5] Despite this, Folly failed to make a serious impact in the club's first-team, being out for a sustained period of time due to a number of injuries and illnesses.[6]
He made a surprise return to the starting line-up in October 2009 against Middlesbrough, having only appeared once before that in 2009, producing a composed performance in a 1–0 victory for the Pilgrims in which he was the Man of the Match.[7] Folly retained his place in the team for three of the club's next four games,[8] but soon fell out of favour under new manager Paul Mariner. He joined League Two club Dagenham & Redbridge on an initial one-month loan at the end of February 2010.[9]
On 29 March 2010, Folly returned to parent club Plymouth Argyle from his loan spell at Dagenham because of a midfield crisis at the club, but, on 2 May 2010, it was announced that Folly, alongside defender David McNamee and goalkeeper Lloyd Saxton, would be released.[10]
Aberdeen
After a trial at Scottish Premier League side Aberdeen, he signed for the club on 26 July 2010.[11] Folly became an instant hit with the local supporters playing a crucial part in the team's midfield alongside fellow summer signing, Scottish Internationalist Paul Hartley.
Folly scored his first goal for Aberdeen on 26 December 2010 in a 2–1 win at Hibernian.[12] However, just a week later, while up against Dundee United, Folly broke his ankle after a 65th minute tackle by Paul Dixon. Manager Craig Brown, later that day, confirmed Folly would not play again during the 2010–11 season.[13] Near the end of the 2011–12 season, Folly was advised that his contract with Aberdeen would not be extended.[14] On 25 August 2012, Folly had to retire from professional football after being diagnosed with chronic pulmonary embolism.
International career
Folly represented France at under-21 level, but later switched his allegiance to Togo.[15] He was included in Togo's provisional squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but pulled out to pursue his International Career in France.[16] However, Folly did make his senior international debut for Togo in August 2008 against DR Congo.[17]
References
- ^ a b c Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2008). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2008–09. Mainstream. ISBN 978-1-84596-324-8.
- ^ Chapot, Yann (21 July 2011). "Yoann Folly : "Devenir titulaire"". football365.fr (in French). Retrieved 19 July 2018.
- ^ "QPR 0–3 Nottm Forest". BBC Sport. 8 January 2005. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
- ^ "Sheff Wed 2–1 Hartlepool". BBC Sport. 28 August 2007. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
- ^ "Folly completes Plymouth transfer". BBC Sport. 11 January 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
- ^ "Folly doubtful for Argyle again". BBC Sport. 6 March 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
- ^ "Middlesbrough 0–1 Plymouth Argyle" BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ^ "Folly enjoying Argyle resurgence" BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ^ "Dagenham & Redbridge sign Folly" BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ^ "Three Out". Plymouth Argyle FC. 2 May 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ "Aberdeen bolster squad by signing Folly & Vernon". BBC. 26 July 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
- ^ "Hibernian 1 – 2 Aberdeen". BBC Sport. 26 December 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
- ^ "Yoann Folly out for the season, says Aberdeen's Brown". BBC Sport. 1 January 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
- ^ "Aberdeen striker Darren Mackie among six to exit". BBC Sport. 25 April 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
- ^ "Togo want Ismael, Folly called up" BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
- ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup – Togo Squad" CBC. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
- ^ Yoann Folly at National-Football-Teams.com
External links
- Yoann Folly at Soccerbase