Stiliyan Petrov - update

[eastie]

Agree with Saunders , Barry joined city for huge wages at the start of their big spending - it was only a matter of time before trophies arrived given the cash at their disposal and as in both Barry and milners case a move they were never going to turn down .

If city had come in for petrov at that time i doubt he would have refused the move either - who wouldn't want the chance to progress their career to the highest level and double or table their wages?

Downing was a bit different in that he was injured long term on arrival and after one decent season decided the grass was greener elsewhere- southgate , Milner and Barry especially had given more value for money and longer service to the club.

[pauliewalnuts]

I don't blame Barry for going to Man City.

That "please let me fulfil my dreams" article is another thing, entirely. That was unforgivable.

Not particularly with regard to Barry, but footballers in general, that whole "loyal service" thing is entirely inappropriate in my opinion.

Loyal service is the lollipop lady who does her job for 30 years, or the teacher who devotes his entire career to struggling inner city schools.

What it isn't is a pampered young man spending five or six years in a job where he gets to do what he loves, with the adulation of thousands, and a salary of millions of pounds a year.

I appreciate footballers who stick with one club for a chunk of their career, but ultimately football is just a game.

[eastie]

I don't blame Barry for going to Man City.

That "please let me fulfil my dreams" article is another thing, entirely. That was unforgivable.

Not particularly with regard to Barry, but footballers in general, that whole "loyal service" thing is entirely inappropriate in my opinion.

Loyal service is the lollipop lady who does her job for 30 years, or the teacher who devotes his entire career to struggling inner city schools.

What it isn't is a pampered young man spending five or six years in a job where he gets to do what he loves, with the adulation of thousands, and a salary of millions of pounds a year.

I appreciate footballers who stick with one club for a chunk of their career, but ultimately football is just a game.

It's a career to them and they look at it differently to fans who love their club , players come and go and it will no doubt happen with our current team too- the money in football and wages paid are ridiculous now.

[saunders_heroes]

I don't blame Barry for going to Man City.

That "please let me fulfil my dreams" article is another thing, entirely. That was unforgivable.

Not particularly with regard to Barry, but footballers in general, that whole "loyal service" thing is entirely inappropriate in my opinion.

Loyal service is the lollipop lady who does her job for 30 years, or the teacher who devotes his entire career to struggling inner city schools.

What it isn't is a pampered young man spending five or six years in a job where he gets to do what he loves, with the adulation of thousands, and a salary of millions of pounds a year.

I appreciate footballers who stick with one club for a chunk of their career, but ultimately football is just a game.

I think Barry's NOTW piece was naive but I think he genuinely wanted to let Villa fans know the reason he wanted to leave. Compare that to James Milner who never said a word in public and engineered a move on the quiet yet is treated as some kind of hero to many Villa fans even though he couldn't wait to get out of the place. Never understood that one.

[Mister E]

I think Barry's NOTW piece was naive but I think he genuinely wanted to let Villa fans know the reason he wanted to leave. Compare that to James Milner who never said a word in public and engineered a move on the quiet yet is treated as some kind of hero to many Villa fans even though he couldn't wait to get out of the place. Never understood that one.

I thought it was MON who effectively encouraged Milner to leave ...

I've always been a strong defender of Gazza Bazza in that he gave us the best 11 years of his career.
What is and is not said in the press is - frankly - irrelevent because most of them are pretty inarticulate anyway (as are the players!).

[Clampy]

Barry was being ridiculous though. We would'nt have stood in his way had Liverpool met our valuation but because they did'nt he went bleating to the press. As club captain at the time, he should have known better.

Odemwingie is the best example though if you're talking about player loyalty. He dose'nt know the meaning of the word.

[PeterWithesShin]

I don't blame Barry for going to Man City.

That "please let me fulfil my dreams" article is another thing, entirely. That was unforgivable.

Not particularly with regard to Barry, but footballers in general, that whole "loyal service" thing is entirely inappropriate in my opinion.

Loyal service is the lollipop lady who does her job for 30 years, or the teacher who devotes his entire career to struggling inner city schools.

What it isn't is a pampered young man spending five or six years in a job where he gets to do what he loves, with the adulation of thousands, and a salary of millions of pounds a year.

I appreciate footballers who stick with one club for a chunk of their career, but ultimately football is just a game.

I think Barry's NOTW piece was naive but I think he genuinely wanted to let Villa fans know the reason he wanted to leave. Compare that to James Milner who never said a word in public and engineered a move on the quiet yet is treated as some kind of hero to many Villa fans even though he couldn't wait to get out of the place. Never understood that one.

Why did he want to go to Portsmouth then?

As for the Milner stuff, that is purely guess work.

[saunders_heroes]

I don't blame Barry for going to Man City.

That "please let me fulfil my dreams" article is another thing, entirely. That was unforgivable.

Not particularly with regard to Barry, but footballers in general, that whole "loyal service" thing is entirely inappropriate in my opinion.

Loyal service is the lollipop lady who does her job for 30 years, or the teacher who devotes his entire career to struggling inner city schools.

What it isn't is a pampered young man spending five or six years in a job where he gets to do what he loves, with the adulation of thousands, and a salary of millions of pounds a year.

I appreciate footballers who stick with one club for a chunk of their career, but ultimately football is just a game.

I think Barry's NOTW piece was naive but I think he genuinely wanted to let Villa fans know the reason he wanted to leave. Compare that to James Milner who never said a word in public and engineered a move on the quiet yet is treated as some kind of hero to many Villa fans even though he couldn't wait to get out of the place. Never understood that one.

Why did he want to go to Portsmouth then?

As for the Milner stuff, that is purely guess work.

When you are at a club as long as Barry was there's always going to be occasions you'll 'nearly leave', but the fact remained that he was a Villa layer for 11 years. Not many players have ever stayed that long at Villa or at any other club for that matter, and especially in this day and age. As for Milner, well you're right, we'll never know for sure but the fact remains he left the club without a word of explanation as soon as he found some consistent form, yet he's looked on as some kind of hero for some bizarre reason.
For me he isn't fit to lace Barry's boots.

[eastie]

I don't blame Barry for going to Man City.

That "please let me fulfil my dreams" article is another thing, entirely. That was unforgivable.

Not particularly with regard to Barry, but footballers in general, that whole "loyal service" thing is entirely inappropriate in my opinion.

Loyal service is the lollipop lady who does her job for 30 years, or the teacher who devotes his entire career to struggling inner city schools.

What it isn't is a pampered young man spending five or six years in a job where he gets to do what he loves, with the adulation of thousands, and a salary of millions of pounds a year.

I appreciate footballers who stick with one club for a chunk of their career, but ultimately football is just a game.

I think Barry's NOTW piece was naive but I think he genuinely wanted to let Villa fans know the reason he wanted to leave. Compare that to James Milner who never said a word in public and engineered a move on the quiet yet is treated as some kind of hero to many Villa fans even though he couldn't wait to get out of the place. Never understood that one.

Why did he want to go to Portsmouth then?

As for the Milner stuff, that is purely guess work.

When you are at a club as long as Barry was there's always going to be occasions you'll 'nearly leave', but the fact remained that he was a Villa layer for 11 years. Not many players have ever stayed that long at Villa or at any other club for that matter, and especially in this day and age. As for Milner, well you're right, we'll never know for sure but the fact remains he left the club without a word of explanation as soon as he found some consistent form, yet he's looked on as some kind of hero for some bizarre reason.
For me he isn't fit to lace Barry's boots.

Why would milner have to explain his reason for leaving - he joined a club heading for the champions league , paying vast fortunes in wages and signing some of the top players in the world?

[Clampy]

Milner moving to Man City has got him a league winners medal and a very healthy bank balance. It has'nt improved him that much as a footballer.

[saunders_heroes]

I don't blame Barry for going to Man City.

That "please let me fulfil my dreams" article is another thing, entirely. That was unforgivable.

Not particularly with regard to Barry, but footballers in general, that whole "loyal service" thing is entirely inappropriate in my opinion.

Loyal service is the lollipop lady who does her job for 30 years, or the teacher who devotes his entire career to struggling inner city schools.

What it isn't is a pampered young man spending five or six years in a job where he gets to do what he loves, with the adulation of thousands, and a salary of millions of pounds a year.

I appreciate footballers who stick with one club for a chunk of their career, but ultimately football is just a game.

I think Barry's NOTW piece was naive but I think he genuinely wanted to let Villa fans know the reason he wanted to leave. Compare that to James Milner who never said a word in public and engineered a move on the quiet yet is treated as some kind of hero to many Villa fans even though he couldn't wait to get out of the place. Never understood that one.

Why did he want to go to Portsmouth then?

As for the Milner stuff, that is purely guess work.

When you are at a club as long as Barry was there's always going to be occasions you'll 'nearly leave', but the fact remained that he was a Villa layer for 11 years. Not many players have ever stayed that long at Villa or at any other club for that matter, and especially in this day and age. As for Milner, well you're right, we'll never know for sure but the fact remains he left the club without a word of explanation as soon as he found some consistent form, yet he's looked on as some kind of hero for some bizarre reason.
For me he isn't fit to lace Barry's boots.

Why would milner have to explain his reason for leaving - he joined a club heading for the champions league , paying vast fortunes in wages and signing some of the top players in the world?

He didn't have to explain. He wanted out and he didn't give a damn how he got it. Barry was different because (in my opinion) he thought he owed Villa fans an explanation, probably because he had become part of the furniture at Villa Park.
My problem is that Milner gets the hero treatment while Barry gets the grief.

[saunders_heroes]

Milner moving to Man City has got him a league winners medal and a very healthy bank balance. It has'nt improved him that much as a footballer.

While Barry became an integral part of the Man City team. Milner never did.

[Clampy]

Milner moving to Man City has got him a league winners medal and a very healthy bank balance. It has'nt improved him that much as a footballer.

While Barry became an integral part of the Man City team. Milner never did.

You're missing my point about Barry i think. I did'nt begrudge him wanting to move, just the way he went about it.

[dave.woodhall]

Nobody has shit on the club and its managers more often than Andy Gray, yet he's still a hero to many. The same goes for Alan McInally - four decent months then his form went and he coincidentally left as soon as he could but he's a 'legend'. Dwight Yorke, on the other hand, gave us years of service after he'd been messed around by managers and was regarded as the devil incarnate on the back of one performance in a match when he shouldn't have been picked.

[saunders_heroes]

Milner moving to Man City has got him a league winners medal and a very healthy bank balance. It has'nt improved him that much as a footballer.

While Barry became an integral part of the Man City team. Milner never did.

You're missing my point about Barry i think. I did'nt begrudge him wanting to move, just the way he went about it.

Where as I thought he was being honest. He wanted a move and he told us, unlike Milner who engineered a move on the quiet. Milner gets the hero treatment and I don't understand it.