Quote from: not3bad on May 10, 2013, 10:50:59 AMQuote from: brontebilly on May 10, 2013, 10:45:51 AMJudging Petrov solely on his performances in a Villa shirt, surely he would rank a disappointment largely?Really poor for the first couple of seasons under MON. Poor the first season, certainly not the second.He was superb on his debut and then dropped off for about 18 months.
Quote from: brontebilly on May 10, 2013, 10:45:51 AMJudging Petrov solely on his performances in a Villa shirt, surely he would rank a disappointment largely?Really poor for the first couple of seasons under MON. Poor the first season, certainly not the second.
Judging Petrov solely on his performances in a Villa shirt, surely he would rank a disappointment largely?Really poor for the first couple of seasons under MON.
Quote from: joe_c on May 10, 2013, 02:10:41 PMFor me, it's a no to retiring the squad number, it's all a bit Candle in the Wind 1997. I think West Ham retired the number six in honour of Bobby Moore so we wouldn't be creating a precedent or starting a trend were we to do so. I tend to agree. City did it for Marc-Vivien Foe as well didn't they? But the difference is he died!! Stan has recovered and will hopefully remain involved in the club, so need to memorialise him.
For me, it's a no to retiring the squad number, it's all a bit Candle in the Wind 1997. I think West Ham retired the number six in honour of Bobby Moore so we wouldn't be creating a precedent or starting a trend were we to do so.
Judging Petrov solely on his performances in a Villa shirt, surely he would rank a disappointment largely?Really poor for the first couple of seasons under MON. Eventually when we started playing 3 in midfield he improved a lot but probably his best season was the messy one under MHM while he was probably our best player with McLeish.
Quote from: brontebilly on May 10, 2013, 10:45:51 AMJudging Petrov solely on his performances in a Villa shirt, surely he would rank a disappointment largely?Really poor for the first couple of seasons under MON. Eventually when we started playing 3 in midfield he improved a lot but probably his best season was the messy one under MHM while he was probably our best player with McLeish.This is undermined entirely by the fact that he won both the players' and fans' Player Of The Year awards in 08/09.He was a superb player for us, and this was realised by most long before his unfortunate illness.
Players and managers from across the Barclays Premier League including Sir Alex Ferguson, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Yaya Toure and Gareth Bale have put their names to a major campaign to raise funds for Birmingham based Cure Leukaemia, inspired by Aston Villa’s club captain, Stiliyan Petrov, who announced his retirement from football yesterday.19 individual boards have been signed by every Premier League club over the 2012-13 season and are being be raffled off in a text-to-donate campaign that aims to raise a total of £100,000 to fund specialist nurses and drugs trials for leukaemia patients across the West Midlands. With Villa’s last home game of the season against Chelsea on Saturday 10 May, once signed, the set of 20 boards will be complete.The campaign was launched after Stiliyan ‘Stan’ Petrov was diagnosed with acute leukaemia in March 2012.Talking about the campaign, Stiliyan said: “The team at the Centre for Clinical Haematology at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham have been with me in my battle against leukaemia for many months. I have personal experience of how important it is to have access to specialist nurses, clinicians, pioneering drugs and treatments. Without the help of Cure Leukaemia, all this would not be available for other patients with their own battles with this disease.“What we’re trying to do is draw people’s awareness to this illness and do something practical by raising funds and helping to combat the disease. I’m delighted that the cause has been supported by my team-mates and my colleagues throughout the Premier League. It’s very touching and the amount of money we raise can make a real difference.”James McLaughlin, Chief Executive of Cure Leukaemia, said: “We have been working closely with Aston Villa and visiting teams from the Barclays Premier League to create this highly unique opportunity to win millions of pounds of talent through the signature of every player from all 20 teams. To date there are 383 signatures and with Chelsea players due to sign on Saturday we will surpass 400. We hope all supporters across the country will take part and together we can raise vital funds to grow our network of specialist nurses which in turn will help save more lives. ”To donate £5 to Cure Leukaemia’s Support Stan campaign and be in with the chance of winning every signature from all the 20 boards, text STAN19 to 70070
Quote from: OCD on May 10, 2013, 02:38:19 PMQuote from: not3bad on May 10, 2013, 10:50:59 AMQuote from: brontebilly on May 10, 2013, 10:45:51 AMJudging Petrov solely on his performances in a Villa shirt, surely he would rank a disappointment largely?Really poor for the first couple of seasons under MON. Poor the first season, certainly not the second.He was superb on his debut and then dropped off for about 18 months. He didn't even play for most of the first half of 07/08. MON did the rare thing of dropping one of his "favourites". When he returned he was much improved.
Lets hope that Styliian's appearance Saturday is the only cause for grown men crying at a Villa match this season.
Quote from: UK Redsox on May 09, 2013, 07:21:43 PMQuote from: ClaretAndBlueBlood on May 09, 2013, 02:51:18 PMI emailed Paul Faulkner suggesting that Stan should lead the team out prior to the game and that the game should come to a halt for the 19th minute to allow players, staff and officials to join in the applause. I am sure that he won't mind me posting his response here.......Thank you for your email. In terms of Saturday, as I am sure you would expect, we have discussed long and hard with Stiliyan and ultimately the decision as to what he wanted to do, and felt comfortable doing, was left up to him. We discussed the option of leading the team out, but being the true leader that he is, and a very selfless man, he didnt want to overshadow the team or the game, and asked instead just to be with the squad and his team-mates for the lap after the game, a request we would obviously respect. Im sure it will be a very emotional moment when he does step back out onto the Villa Park pitch, and everyone in the stadium will let him know just exactly what he does mean to the entire Villa family. Regards,PaulI'm disappointed that its been decided to combine Stan's appearance with the "lap of appreciation". As I mentioned earlier, I don't think that given the team's overall performance this season and the still precarious league position, that such a lap is merited.However, due to Stan's participation, I'll be there applauding with everyone else.The lap of appreciation is as much about the players saying thank you to us as the other way around. Irrespective of how some aspects of the season have gone they've done well these past few months to drag themselves away from the abyss. I don't think we should ignore that, and not once have I ever got the impression our players haven't cared. We're not QPR. Having Stan join them are his wishes and for me it embodies the togetherness of the club. Something we could not have said in recent years past. In some respects Stan being there represents a passing of the torch to the next generation with the hope that he will still be with us and the team for many years to come in whatever capacity.
Quote from: ClaretAndBlueBlood on May 09, 2013, 02:51:18 PMI emailed Paul Faulkner suggesting that Stan should lead the team out prior to the game and that the game should come to a halt for the 19th minute to allow players, staff and officials to join in the applause. I am sure that he won't mind me posting his response here.......Thank you for your email. In terms of Saturday, as I am sure you would expect, we have discussed long and hard with Stiliyan and ultimately the decision as to what he wanted to do, and felt comfortable doing, was left up to him. We discussed the option of leading the team out, but being the true leader that he is, and a very selfless man, he didnt want to overshadow the team or the game, and asked instead just to be with the squad and his team-mates for the lap after the game, a request we would obviously respect. Im sure it will be a very emotional moment when he does step back out onto the Villa Park pitch, and everyone in the stadium will let him know just exactly what he does mean to the entire Villa family. Regards,PaulI'm disappointed that its been decided to combine Stan's appearance with the "lap of appreciation". As I mentioned earlier, I don't think that given the team's overall performance this season and the still precarious league position, that such a lap is merited.However, due to Stan's participation, I'll be there applauding with everyone else.
I emailed Paul Faulkner suggesting that Stan should lead the team out prior to the game and that the game should come to a halt for the 19th minute to allow players, staff and officials to join in the applause. I am sure that he won't mind me posting his response here.......Thank you for your email. In terms of Saturday, as I am sure you would expect, we have discussed long and hard with Stiliyan and ultimately the decision as to what he wanted to do, and felt comfortable doing, was left up to him. We discussed the option of leading the team out, but being the true leader that he is, and a very selfless man, he didnt want to overshadow the team or the game, and asked instead just to be with the squad and his team-mates for the lap after the game, a request we would obviously respect. Im sure it will be a very emotional moment when he does step back out onto the Villa Park pitch, and everyone in the stadium will let him know just exactly what he does mean to the entire Villa family. Regards,Paul