Stan Petrov

[KevinGage]

Anyone think he who shall not be named did not do Stan any favours by insisting he played a holding only role? 

Yes!

Though in fairness, after a promising start he didn't look particularly potent as an attacking force, or an all action midfielder.

But the one talent he's always possessed is a reluctance to concede possession too readily, so it was probably natural that he found himself further back, in defensive rather than attacking areas. He generally plays defensive midfield for Bulgaria too - and did so dating back to his time at Celtic.  So it's not as if it was only MON who decided to go that route.

But maybe Big Eck has told him 'I know what you can do in attacking areas, I've seen it when I was at Rangers and you should get forward more,'  as he's definitely been more willing to bomb forward and have a crack at goal this season -even before the introduction of Clark.

[adrenachrome]

What happened to all the crab comments?

That was Mark Draper and George Boateng and anybody else unfortunate enough to be burdened with the  role, was it not?

[JD]

I've always liked the way Stan plays the game and now having a licence to roam more is bringing out the best in him. With Herd, Clark, Bannan and Gardner in the squad, we should definately keep Stan, to provide support to these younger players.

[eamonn]

It's interesting, out of Clarke, Herd and Delph we finally seem to have found the right partner for Petrov. I've been an advocate of giving Ciaran a run-out in midfield for a long time so I'm glad he's finally been given his head.

For all the money we spent on Fabian, and the talent he no doubt possesses, he doesn't have the same discipline when it comes to ball-retention that Clarke posseses. I think Herd will be a useful utility player to have, maybe we could make a left full-back out of Delph but Clarke, Petrov and Ireland/Bannan looks the best combination for us now.

[garyfouroaks]

Probably one of the greatest confidence tricksters ever to have worn a Villa shirt.

He has ability and skill but only shows it when contract time comes around, or when he fancies, which has not been frequently enough.

The fee we paid, the new contract, and the wages, have been preposterous. Far better value was, has been, and is, available.A man who never should have risen beyond Blackburn/ Bolton status.

[PaulWinch again]

Probably one of the greatest confidence tricksters ever to have worn a Villa shirt.

He has ability and skill but only shows it when contract time comes around, or when he fancies, which has not been frequently enough.

The fee we paid, the new contract, and the wages, have been preposterous. Far better value was, has been, and is, available.A man who never should have risen beyond Blackburn/ Bolton status.

Big fan then?

[Can Gana Be Bettered!?!?]

Credit where credit's due. I've criticised him lots on here, especially when he played under MON, I thought he held us back. However, this season, he's looked a much better player and has been impressive...is that to show MON he still has it???

[Dave]

Probably one of the greatest confidence tricksters ever to have worn a Villa shirt.

He has ability and skill but only shows it when contract time comes around, or when he fancies, which has not been frequently enough.

The fee we paid, the new contract, and the wages, have been preposterous. Far better value was, has been, and is, available.A man who never should have risen beyond Blackburn/ Bolton status.

You are utterly, utterly, utterly wrong.

[bilsim]

I've always rated him, ever since his Celtic days, this season his performances have been class considering the pressure of being the only experienced Villa midfielder.

[Ian.]

Probably one of the greatest confidence tricksters ever to have worn a Villa shirt.

He has ability and skill but only shows it when contract time comes around, or when he fancies, which has not been frequently enough.

The fee we paid, the new contract, and the wages, have been preposterous. Far better value was, has been, and is, available.A man who never should have risen beyond Blackburn/ Bolton status.

You are utterly, utterly, utterly wrong.

Am I being a bit thick, this is a Petrov thread, so I presume you mean Petrov?
If so I'm with Dave with this and also struggling to think that even if you do not rate him you can say that about him. He has always worked his bollocks of for us and has been very very consistent for most of his time here.

[Toronto Villa]

Probably one of the greatest confidence tricksters ever to have worn a Villa shirt.

He has ability and skill but only shows it when contract time comes around, or when he fancies, which has not been frequently enough.

The fee we paid, the new contract, and the wages, have been preposterous. Far better value was, has been, and is, available.A man who never should have risen beyond Blackburn/ Bolton status.

You are utterly, utterly, utterly wrong.

Sorry Gary. You couldn't be more wrong. He's a player who has worked his bollocks off for the club, being played out of position most of the time, a calming influence, a great role model and spokesperson for the club. You've just described Sasa Curcic or Steve Hodge, not Stilyan Petrov.

[bill]

Probably one of the greatest confidence tricksters ever to have worn a Villa shirt.

He has ability and skill but only shows it when contract time comes around, or when he fancies, which has not been frequently enough.

The fee we paid, the new contract, and the wages, have been preposterous. Far better value was, has been, and is, available.A man who never should have risen beyond Blackburn/ Bolton status.

Agree with this 100% Simply not good enough. The fact that some others have been even worse simply reflects how very poor our midfielde is.

[PaulWinch again]

Probably one of the greatest confidence tricksters ever to have worn a Villa shirt.

He has ability and skill but only shows it when contract time comes around, or when he fancies, which has not been frequently enough.

The fee we paid, the new contract, and the wages, have been preposterous. Far better value was, has been, and is, available.A man who never should have risen beyond Blackburn/ Bolton status.

Agree with this 100% Simply not good enough. The fact that some others have been even worse simply reflects how very poor our midfielde is.

I think that's very harsh on him.