Stiliyan Petrov - update

[GordonCowansisthegreatest]

I seem to remember Solskjær going straight into coaching at United, moving to Molde and winning a league title, leaving many of this forum falling over themselves to declare him our new manager.

Lambert probably sees something in Petrov as a coach, which wouldn't surprise me considering he was captain and similar attributes are needed, so let's reign in the criticism and not cast the move off as charity.

Has he got any badges?

[Dave Cooper please]

We don't need no steeenkin' badges.

[GordonCowansisthegreatest]

No. But coaching badges may be useful!

[Ian.]

Hopefully we can offer him a place on the payroll as that will mean his battle is over. I would rather He learned his trade here than anywhere else. Good luck!

[mattjpa]

people get very caught up in the tactical side of management and coaching but there are many successful coaches who are successful because of their ability to get the extra 10-15% out of players, make them bleed for the shirt they are wearing. The ability to be a leader on the pitch surely transpires the ability to motivate from the sidelines....I would say that the mere fact our team went to pieces without Stan shows us that are out of the intimate circle of the first team squad, that they both looked up to him and followed him on the pitch.

By this reckoning Stan should make an excellent coach and would no doubt have an instantanious impact on our young and impressionable squad - im all for it.
Of course, by this reckoning John Terry would also make a great coach so there probably are other factors.....

[SoccerHQ]

I seem to remember Solskjær going straight into coaching at United, moving to Molde and winning a league title, leaving many of this forum falling over themselves to declare him our new manager.

Lambert probably sees something in Petrov as a coach, which wouldn't surprise me considering he was captain and similar attributes are needed, so let's reign in the criticism and not cast the move off as charity.

Has he got any badges?

Was their reserve team manager for a bit. Think Brian McClair does that gig now.

[paul_e]

I seem to remember Solskjær going straight into coaching at United, moving to Molde and winning a league title, leaving many of this forum falling over themselves to declare him our new manager.

Lambert probably sees something in Petrov as a coach, which wouldn't surprise me considering he was captain and similar attributes are needed, so let's reign in the criticism and not cast the move off as charity.

Has he got any badges?

Was their reserve team manager for a bit. Think Brian McClair does that gig now.

I seem to recall reading he got his badges when he was about 26-27 and was bugging the staff at united to let him coach the kids for years.  They let him have a couple of session with them and offered him the job as soon as he was ready to retire.  I know there's a lot of press around him over here where they've been predicting him to be a top manager for a few years, it was taken as quite a coup for Molde to get him.

[pauliewalnuts]

The very least the club can do for him.
Very good news.

It's not the very least they can do - to give someone what would effectively be a job for as long as he wants it is above and beyond. The very least would be a lot less than they've already done.

Agreed; the club owe him nothing.

I agree, too.

The club, as far as we can tell, have done the right thing by him thus far, and I am sure he wouldn't want to be the recipient of charity.

If there's a genuine opening for Stan to do something on the coaching side, and he wants to, then I'd be as happy as the next man for it to happen, but he's got to put his long term health above anything else, which I am sure he will do.

[peter w]

My kids call me heartless but come on retire his shirt? Get a feckin grip. Coaching job? He is nowhere near my top 10 midfielders I've seen down the Villa so coach them what exactly? We as fans and Aston Villa as a club have done everything right regarding Stan.

This attitude (the bold bit) is the main reason that coaching and management standards in English football are shit compared to a lot of other countries.  How good or bad a player you are has very little effect on your abilities as a coach, they're completely different skill sets.  If you have the technique to have played at any professional standard it's more than enough.  Being able to inspire players with stories about how great you were works for some but isn't a requirement in any way.

If he wants to be a coach, gets his badges and is willing to put the work in to make the best of it (which I'm sure he would seeing as workshy is definitely not something you can say about him) then i'm all for giving him a years contract working in the youth setup and go from there.

I agree to a point. But experience counts for a lot. If you look at the best midfield coaches they invariably come a background of playing to a higher level. But that doesn't stop me with agreeing with your point.

[FatSam]

I hope he turns out to be a worth while coach.

Odds are he would be very good.

Based on what? So far the only evidence is that he's a nice guy and determined to beat a life-threatening illness,

I agree that he shouldn't automatically be offered a coaching role, and I don't think Lambert has really said that he would be. I have no idea whether he would be a good coach or not, only the people who have worked with him on a day to day basis will have any kind of insight into this. However, if coaches need to have footballing credentials, he has played in three different domestic leagues, and has captained Aston Villa as well as his national team - for whom he also holds the appearance record. My own personal opinion is that he is an intelligent, technical footballer. I also think that whilst there may have been better midfielders for Villa during my time watching us, the majority of the rest are either still playing, are TV pundits, or are already coaches. So I don't think its ridiculous to suggest that he might become a coach, its just not a fait accompli.

[robbo1874]

I seem to remember Solskjær going straight into coaching at United, moving to Molde and winning a league title, leaving many of this forum falling over themselves to declare him our new manager.

Lambert probably sees something in Petrov as a coach, which wouldn't surprise me considering he was captain and similar attributes are needed, so let's reign in the criticism and not cast the move off as charity.

I was one of those. I Reckon solskjaer would have made a very good Manager for us. Still happy with lambert though, as I was when he got the job.

[Risso]

If we gave a job to every good club servant because they are  "Villa through and through" we'd have the biggest coaching team in world football.  I can't speak for Petrov, but personally I'd have a bit too much self respect to take a job if I felt I was being given it out of charity or pity.

[Chris Smith]

I'm not comfortable with the way this thread is developing. It's only natural to look forward but he's still got a way to go before his suitability or otherwise becomes an issue. Last week I heard about a bloke I was in hospital with who suffered from the same condition as Stan. He'd been in remission but it had returned and there's now very little left for him in terms of available treatments.

Wait until he's clear of the illness, then we can speculate on his suitability as a coach.

[PeterWithesShin]

It was 1 year ago today that Stan was diagnosed with leukaemia. I don't give a stuff about a coaching job, just get well soon Stan.

[dave.woodhall]

I'm not comfortable with the way this thread is developing. It's only natural to look forward but he's still got a way to go before his suitability or otherwise becomes an issue. Last week I heard about a bloke I was in hospital with who suffered from the same condition as Stan. He'd been in remission but it had returned and there's now very little left for him in terms of available treatments.

Wait until he's clear of the illness, then we can speculate on his suitability as a coach.

Agreed.