Petrov not good enough

[Gazza1982]

Excellent is a bit strong. Competent perhaps.

Excellent my arse

he was competent nithing more nothing less - pretty much the same as the past 2 seasons

- breaks up play on occasion

- nice 10 yard sideways passes

- sweaty

- totally uninspiring - not captain material

totally agree, competant is NOT what you want in a Captain.Inspirational is what you want, his goal scoring record is shite as well, give me Bannon or even Weimann with all that young energy anyday. Petrov is an average PL player...............Parker would have been a far better choice.Heskey needs to go as well, they have both had more than enough chances and they never seem to shine..........

[Mister E]

Seeking to demonise Petrov seems like either blindness, denial or displacement to me.
Let's deal with the issues in some sort of priority-order rather than simply thrashing out at an easy target. The main priority, IMHO, is to build in some more creativity so that Bent and N'Zog, particularly, get released into more goal-scoring positions than they currently do. That means either BB, JIIM or Ireland becoming the third MF, behind Bent. Currently, it'd have to be BB.
Second priority is to secure the FB positions: I'm unconvinced by Warnock and not sure whether Herd is the answer to the RB position.
Third, defensive midfielder: we should accept that Petrov will increasingly become the 60-minute man that we saw last season - so, we definitely need an alternative. With NRC and Hogg gone, I don't see who will become the guy who breaks up opposition play and makes the interceptions that Petrov currently does well; and who gets the game going forward again with his space-finding passes (he does make them , you know!).

[manic-road]

I have been to the three league games so far, and i don't get the 'lets lnock Petrov' sentiments. He has done a good job so far this season, it seems to me that 'fans' get enjoyment out of having a go at nearly every player that wears the Villa shirt.

[Dave Cooper please]

Hei i created a thread so such thoughts on villa players could be discussed so can i point this out. Rather than creating a new thread check out forum rules which i have recently read.
Maybe we shud move this thread as it makes more sense to use my thread. 

Your thread smells of wee.

[supertommykN'iba]

Petrov isn't put in the team to create much. He is there to break the play up, put in the challenges, spread the ball. He is so underrated and I would absolutely hate to see the team without him at the moment. As much as I love Barry Bannan, I think putting him in in place of Petrov would prove a very very bad move.

[Dave]

totally agree, competant is NOT what you want in a Captain.Inspirational is what you want, his goal scoring record is shite as well, give me Bannon or even Weimann with all that young energy anyday.

So you think that instead of our experienced defensive midfielder you think we should put in either a young attacking midfielder or a young striker?

Do you watch much football?

[SoccerHQ]

Add me another to the camp that thinks Petrov has been good this season, he's certainly started in much better shape this season than last.

And we need his experience in there as without him it really is kids in central midfield. And Ireland.

[Brend'Watkins]

Petrov in the last three games has been as good as anytime he's played for us.  That's down to the fact we are much narrower now in our style which results in him being less exposed. 

He's worth his place so far.

[PaulTheVillan]

Petrov in the last three games has been as good as anytime he's played for us.  That's down to the fact we are much narrower now in our style which results in him being less exposed. 

He's worth his place so far.

Couldn't agree more.

[brice jovial]

Petrov in the last three games has been as good as anytime he's played for us.  That's down to the fact we are much narrower now in our style which results in him being less exposed. 

He's worth his place so far.

Couldn't agree more.

i agree he is also one of managers untouchables and will have a great season in the 2 of the 4-2-3-1

[Dante Lavelli]

My random thoughts on Petrov:

* Petrov is an under rated player primarily because he plays deep and does a lot of the donkey work rather than making the final pass.
* He does needs to be in a 4231 or 433 as his legs are not what they were.
* Playing 442 would be suicide based on the players we have and the recent rule changes.
* Most players seem to be very supportive of Petrov as both a player and captain.
* Bannan is not a suitable replacement.  He should be in heskey's place where he can learn his ropes in the centre of midfield.
* Like Modric, Bannan could maybe play this role once he has a few years experience.
* Regardless of the above I think CM or DMC (football manger speak) is a position McLeish should prioritise. 

Based on Everton's financial troubles would a "swoop" for Fellani be a good idea?
He appears to have lost his way a bit at Everton but was once an excellent defensive midfielder at both Everton and S Liege.  He'd also provide some height defensively so we could play Bannan rather than Heskey.  I'd guess his wages would be reasonable too.

[UsualSuspect]

there really is no hope....Petrov tries hard enough but if you look up mediocre there is a picture of him.

just wait another 6 games when he starts to get tired and our defence comes up against a side with a bit more going for them upfront than Fulham, Blackburn and Wolves

[DeKuip]

He's been our best player so far this season. So he's currently 11th in line for the chop so far as I'm concerned.

[Gazza1982]

I also said that Parker would be a much better choice...and yes i would rather have Bannon,are  you telling me that he is incapable of breaking up play and making a 10 yard sideways pass?? add to that the fact he could actually last 90 mins and is likely to get far more goals than Petrov.....Petrov is a useful squad player much as NRC was, he is,IMHO not Captain material.........do I watch much football, well since my first matches were in the days of Rioch,Lockhead and the like I guess you could say i do.

[Gazza1982]

He actually reminds me very much of Ray Wilkins....loads of international caps, rated very highly, but to my eyes never seemed to actually do very much but was an automatic choice for club and country. Then again, I could never see the appeal of 'God' Eric Clapton either. Each to their own I guess.