Carlos Sanchez

[edgysatsuma89]

He was that bad I was actually pining for Westwood today, something I thought I'd never do.
I still think he's a good player, but you often hear of foreign players who come over here only to be shocked by the pace of the Premier League. I'm sure he'll improve.

Is anyone still peddling the Westwood is shit myth after his start to the season? He's no world beater but he's been second only to senderos this season and unjust don't get the criticism from some

I seem to recall similar views about petrov until he got cancer and suddenly became a villa legend. .

That's really, really harsh.

His first season, other than the first match, he really struggled. His second season, he wasn't entirely convincing. But after that he improved markedly, and that was pretty much the general opinion.

To suggest people only started saying he was a quality player when he got cancer is not only wide of the mark, but a pretty shitty thing to accuse people of, IMO.

I'm glad you responded like that. All i was thinking was putting 'complete bollocks'. I don't reply to posts that nark me much anymore (ever so slightly matured, slightly...) but i think that last line is a bit c**tish. And i very much was someone who wasn't a fan of his for a good 2 seasons, maybe longer than most.

[*shellac*]

He needs time to adapt. 

[danrjfrost]

He was that bad I was actually pining for Westwood today, something I thought I'd never do.
I still think he's a good player, but you often hear of foreign players who come over here only to be shocked by the pace of the Premier League. I'm sure he'll improve.

Is anyone still peddling the Westwood is shit myth after his start to the season? He's no world beater but he's been second only to senderos this season and unjust don't get the criticism from some

I seem to recall similar views about petrov until he got cancer and suddenly became a villa legend. .

That's really, really harsh.

His first season, other than the first match, he really struggled. His second season, he wasn't entirely convincing. But after that he improved markedly, and that was pretty much the general opinion.

To suggest people only started saying he was a quality player when he got cancer is not only wide of the mark, but a pretty shitty thing to accuse people of, IMO.

I'm glad you responded like that. All i was thinking was putting 'complete bollocks'. I don't reply to posts that nark me much anymore (ever so slightly matured, slightly...) but i think that last line is a bit c**tish. And i very much was someone who wasn't a fan of his for a good 2 seasons, maybe longer than most.

The only reason he struggled in his first two seasons was that he was being played as an attacking midfielder like he was at Celtic however he didn't have the pace to be anywhere near as effective in that role in the Premier League. After two seasons he was dropped back into a more holding midfielder role which is where he flourished, won player of the season awards and became captain. It was this these performances that made him such a fan favourite, that and the goal against Derby.

I said it at the time but if he hadn't fallen ill Villa would be in a much better position now because his illness coincided with the influx of young or inexperienced players especially in the centre of the park. His presence in that side would have added the cool head to the mixture which would have eased the pressure of the youngsters and allowed them to grow into the team rather than being thrown in at the deep end.

[Percy McCarthy]

He was that bad I was actually pining for Westwood today, something I thought I'd never do.
I still think he's a good player, but you often hear of foreign players who come over here only to be shocked by the pace of the Premier League. I'm sure he'll improve.

Is anyone still peddling the Westwood is shit myth after his start to the season? He's no world beater but he's been second only to senderos this season and unjust don't get the criticism from some

I seem to recall similar views about petrov until he got cancer and suddenly became a villa legend. .

That's really, really harsh.

His first season, other than the first match, he really struggled. His second season, he wasn't entirely convincing. But after that he improved markedly, and that was pretty much the general opinion.

To suggest people only started saying he was a quality player when he got cancer is not only wide of the mark, but a pretty shitty thing to accuse people of, IMO.

I'm glad you responded like that. All i was thinking was putting 'complete bollocks'. I don't reply to posts that nark me much anymore (ever so slightly matured, slightly...) but i think that last line is a bit c**tish. And i very much was someone who wasn't a fan of his for a good 2 seasons, maybe longer than most.

The only reason he struggled in his first two seasons was that he was being played as an attacking midfielder like he was at Celtic however he didn't have the pace to be anywhere near as effective in that role in the Premier League. After two seasons he was dropped back into a more holding midfielder role which is where he flourished, won player of the season awards and became captain. It was this these performances that made him such a fan favourite, that and the goal against Derby.

I said it at the time but if he hadn't fallen ill Villa would be in a much better position now because his illness coincided with the influx of young or inexperienced players especially in the centre of the park. His presence in that side would have added the cool head to the mixture which would have eased the pressure of the youngsters and allowed them to grow into the team rather than being thrown in at the deep end.

Agree 100% with your last paragraph. He would have made a hell of a difference these last couple of years.

[Ads]

When Stan visits Villa Park he must sit in the Witton Lane, because he left after 70 minutes at Chelsea. Took him an age to actually leave mind with all the people bagging photos with him.

[Holte Sweet]

He got caught in possession a few times and had a few misplaced passes.  He needs to settle in and will with more games.  Taking that into account he wasn't that bad.

Quite agree watched the full game again after all the negativity because  I thought I had missed something. He played conservativly and moved the ball on,but certainly did not have a stinker.

He looks to have ability to me I just hope the moaners and groaners dont get on his back as is often the case at VP.

[KevinGage]

He was that bad I was actually pining for Westwood today, something I thought I'd never do.
I still think he's a good player, but you often hear of foreign players who come over here only to be shocked by the pace of the Premier League. I'm sure he'll improve.

Is anyone still peddling the Westwood is shit myth after his start to the season? He's no world beater but he's been second only to senderos this season and unjust don't get the criticism from some

I seem to recall similar views about petrov until he got cancer and suddenly became a villa legend. .

That's really, really harsh.

His first season, other than the first match, he really struggled. His second season, he wasn't entirely convincing. But after that he improved markedly, and that was pretty much the general opinion.

To suggest people only started saying he was a quality player when he got cancer is not only wide of the mark, but a pretty shitty thing to accuse people of, IMO.

I'm glad you responded like that. All i was thinking was putting 'complete bollocks'. I don't reply to posts that nark me much anymore (ever so slightly matured, slightly...) but i think that last line is a bit c**tish. And i very much was someone who wasn't a fan of his for a good 2 seasons, maybe longer than most.

The only reason he struggled in his first two seasons was that he was being played as an attacking midfielder like he was at Celtic however he didn't have the pace to be anywhere near as effective in that role in the Premier League. After two seasons he was dropped back into a more holding midfielder role which is where he flourished, won player of the season awards and became captain. It was this these performances that made him such a fan favourite, that and the goal against Derby.

I said it at the time but if he hadn't fallen ill Villa would be in a much better position now because his illness coincided with the influx of young or inexperienced players especially in the centre of the park. His presence in that side would have added the cool head to the mixture which would have eased the pressure of the youngsters and allowed them to grow into the team rather than being thrown in at the deep end.

You're right about the Celtic bit.  Stan was an all action goalscoring midfielder up there, and that's what we thought we were getting.  But maybe Ashley Westwood would bag 10-15 goals per season up there. 

At international level -even during his time at Celtic- he played defensive midfield for Bulgaria.

Not sure about the latter part.  After a difficult 12/18 months first up, he was one of our most important players in 08/09 and 09/10.  In the Houllier and McLeish years though, there was often talk on here and elsewhere that he'd need to be replaced as his legs had gone.  Maybe he would have been a decent option from the bench in Lambert's first season, to calm things down.  But I don't think he would have been a key player for us at that point. 

[eamonn]

During the McLeish year Petrov and Delph (when fit) were forming a decent pairing in the middle - allowing Stan to get forward and score a few goals before his career was cut short in March of that season.

[paul_e]

Not going to quote it but I agree completely with KevinGage above.  even in his good years he struggled to go for 90minutes and by the middle of the Mcleish season he was done after an hour, that might well have been early effects of the cancer, but the signs were there that he probably wouldn't have been up for playing 90minutes regularly in the premier league for much longer anyway so we should have been looking for a replacement (and Houllier clearly agreed when he signed 2 central midfielders in the January).

That's not to belittle the role Petrov played as captain or how well he did for us over his time, just an acceptance that he was getting older and feeling the pace of the league more.

On to Sanchez (and therefore on topic) as a couple of people have said his performance against arsenal wasn't great, that's clear, but it wasn't as terrible as some are making out either he looked lethargic but the then the whole team did, and we have a pretty clear explanation for that.  Aside from that he got caught by the pace of the game a few times, which is common for players new to the league.  I certainly don't think there's any need for anyone to be writing him off or using terms like 'you get what you pay for'.  When Lambert has shopped in this price range he's spent well and I think this will prove to be another good purchase.

[KevinGage]

Petrov was getting forward a bit more in the first third of the campaign, or more prepared to take a shot from distance.  But from about November onwards, he went into his shell somewhat - pretty much like the rest of the side.  With McLeish as a manager I'd like to think that was more down to shoddy tactics rather than anything else, mind.

He was a popular captain though - a good one too, by all accounts.  And when you seen the likes of Bent, Gabby and Ciaran Clark taking the armband the following season, they did pale in comparison.

As for Sanchez, he'd had one good game so far, when he came on v Newcastle and changed the momentum in our favour.  And one poor one, when illness decimated the camp. 

His touch, awareness and distribution didn't look suspect in the first game, so hopefully the Arsenal game was just a bad day at the office.

[Clampy]

I'd play him on Saturday ahead of Cleverley.

[OCD]

I know when Houllier watched his first game from the stand, he commented on Petrov's lack of fitness. That was probably down to O'Neill putting together a half arsed pre-season programme though (there had been warning signs of a lack of interest during the summer before he left). Say what you like about McLeish but Petrov looked a lot fitter at the start of the next season. The way our form fell apart once Petrov's illness became clear showed how important he was to that team.

With Sanchez, I saw enough to be convinced that he can become a key player for us once he's adjusted to the pace of the league. Ideally we can have one or two games where we're comfortably in the lead and can introduce him into those games to give him more exposure to the league at a time it's not going to cost us. That might take a while though so we might need to throw him in when we don't have that luxury.

[peter w]

I'd play him on Saturday ahead of Cleverley.

Why? Cleverley has looked every bit an integral part of a good looking midfield 3.

[Pete3206]

I'd play him on Saturday ahead of Cleverley.

I wouldn't

[brian green]

Nor would I. There is some re writing of history going on here. Sanchez had a very bad game against Arsenal. That was by common consent. All players have them. Cleverley does not deserve to be benched.