Kiwivillan

I can only conclude that the 25 people who voted for Petrov didn't watch the Malaga, Atlante, and Wigan game to see how painfully there was no leadership on the field. Also they must be unaware of his troubles with depression. How can you rely on someone to lead when they're prone to curl up in the foetal position when life gets tough(not maligning depression or anyone suffering from it but not an ideal problem for a leader to have).

I can only conclude you like making up things to provoke people into reacting (I suggest you read the new announcement). When exactly was Petrov suffering from depression? Was this diagnosed or did you make it up based on the fact he said he didn't have a very good time when he first got here because of all the fans on his back. To come back from that and be player of the year last year shows exactly why he's captain material, didn't give up and demand a transfer, got stuck in and rolled up his sleeves, came out a winner - captain material indeed

And please don't make up unsubstantiated rubbish about players suffering from psychiatric disorders

He spoke of it in his biography during his time at Celtic. Maybe he made it up?

I can only conclude that the 25 people who voted for Petrov didn't watch the Malaga, Atlante, and Wigan game to see how painfully there was no leadership on the field. Also they must be unaware of his troubles with depression. How can you rely on someone to lead when they're prone to curl up in the foetal position when life gets tough(not maligning depression or anyone suffering from it but not an ideal problem for a leader to have).

I do find it funny that people are questioning Petrov now, after he was voted supporters player of the year, and in fact, did no worse or better than Barry in both 4-5-1 and 4-4-2. The issue with him is that he's clearly not fit, so shouldn't have played on Saturday. Same goes with Davies.

Or the penny has dropped like it has for me that Petrov is gash in a 4-4-2 formation but he was carried by the presence of Laursen and Barry when we were ok and didn't look as shit when we were bad because Barry was next to him. Without those two against Malaga, Atlante(for 20 mins) and Wigan he looks toatlly out of his depth because of his lack of pace(he never had a lot so fitness is not in question).

NRC every time. Just like Laursen he puts his body on the line and gives total commitment. He is also the biggest talker that we have and plays slap bang in the position I want to see my captain in - DCM. Yes, he is never going to be Ronaldo or Messi but you need a mix of players in a team and we need what Nigel brings massively at the minute.

Yes please. NRC can't pass as well as Petrov but seeing as the only time he got the ball on Saturday(and end of last season) was from the back, to which he passed it back to a defender to hoof, I'd have NRC over him every time.

Petrov was caught to far back in attack and too far forward in defence because he hasn't the legs to get forward in attack and track back in defence in a 4-4-2!

He is a luxury that can float near half way in a 4-5-1 with the protection of a hard tackler like NRC(he can block opposition players channels for NRC to close them down).

If we got a Tuncay/VDVesque player to play in the hole Petrov's time is up in a 4-4-2, I'm sorry.

This will never happen because of MON and this is one of MON's main faults IMO. The inability to see the obvious.

Rubbish,Petrov wasn`t the problem delph was,Or should i say expecting delph to come in and work wonders straight away was,And yes that was o`neills fault,But he is a top manager mate you talk about him as if he is some half wit.

It takes two people to lock down the centre of the park mate.

Petrov and Barry did well in a 4-4-2 once MON gave up on 4-5-1 last season. Oh no wait. They we're cack. Barry saved Petrov from looking as sh!t as he did against Wigan(and Malaga and part of Atlante game for that matter)

Yeah the player of the season was shit last season,Keep it going mate it is comedy,Not very good comedy but still it all counts.

Your telling me you thought we we're good from February after we switched to 4-4-2 with Barry and Petrov in CM? Seriously?

No we were shite mate,We ended up sixth in the best league in the world,I agree with you completely it was shite,And our player of the season was shite,I agree with you.

Where were we in the table based on February till the end of the season form? 17th?

NRC every time. Just like Laursen he puts his body on the line and gives total commitment. He is also the biggest talker that we have and plays slap bang in the position I want to see my captain in - DCM. Yes, he is never going to be Ronaldo or Messi but you need a mix of players in a team and we need what Nigel brings massively at the minute.

Yes please. NRC can't pass as well as Petrov but seeing as the only time he got the ball on Saturday(and end of last season) was from the back, to which he passed it back to a defender to hoof, I'd have NRC over him every time.

Petrov was caught to far back in attack and too far forward in defence because he hasn't the legs to get forward in attack and track back in defence in a 4-4-2!

He is a luxury that can float near half way in a 4-5-1 with the protection of a hard tackler like NRC(he can block opposition players channels for NRC to close them down).

If we got a Tuncay/VDVesque player to play in the hole Petrov's time is up in a 4-4-2, I'm sorry.

This will never happen because of MON and this is one of MON's main faults IMO. The inability to see the obvious.

Rubbish,Petrov wasn`t the problem delph was,Or should i say expecting delph to come in and work wonders straight away was,And yes that was o`neills fault,But he is a top manager mate you talk about him as if he is some half wit.

It takes two people to lock down the centre of the park mate.

Petrov and Barry did well in a 4-4-2 once MON gave up on 4-5-1 last season. Oh no wait. They we're cack. Barry saved Petrov from looking as sh!t as he did against Wigan(and Malaga and part of Atlante game for that matter)

Yeah the player of the season was shit last season,Keep it going mate it is comedy,Not very good comedy but still it all counts.

Your telling me you thought we we're good from February after we switched to 4-4-2 with Barry and Petrov in CM? Seriously?

NRC every time. Just like Laursen he puts his body on the line and gives total commitment. He is also the biggest talker that we have and plays slap bang in the position I want to see my captain in - DCM. Yes, he is never going to be Ronaldo or Messi but you need a mix of players in a team and we need what Nigel brings massively at the minute.

Yes please. NRC can't pass as well as Petrov but seeing as the only time he got the ball on Saturday(and end of last season) was from the back, to which he passed it back to a defender to hoof, I'd have NRC over him every time.

Petrov was caught to far back in attack and too far forward in defence because he hasn't the legs to get forward in attack and track back in defence in a 4-4-2!

He is a luxury that can float near half way in a 4-5-1 with the protection of a hard tackler like NRC(he can block opposition players channels for NRC to close them down).

If we got a Tuncay/VDVesque player to play in the hole Petrov's time is up in a 4-4-2, I'm sorry.

This will never happen because of MON and this is one of MON's main faults IMO. The inability to see the obvious.

Rubbish,Petrov wasn`t the problem delph was,Or should i say expecting delph to come in and work wonders straight away was,And yes that was o`neills fault,But he is a top manager mate you talk about him as if he is some half wit.

It takes two people to lock down the centre of the park mate.

Petrov and Barry did well in a 4-4-2 once MON gave up on 4-5-1 last season. Oh no wait. They we're cack. Barry saved Petrov from looking as sh!t as he did against Wigan(and Malaga and part of Atlante game for that matter)

NRC every time. Just like Laursen he puts his body on the line and gives total commitment. He is also the biggest talker that we have and plays slap bang in the position I want to see my captain in - DCM. Yes, he is never going to be Ronaldo or Messi but you need a mix of players in a team and we need what Nigel brings massively at the minute.

Yes please. NRC can't pass as well as Petrov but seeing as the only time he got the ball on Saturday(and end of last season) was from the back, to which he passed it back to a defender to hoof, I'd have NRC over him every time.

Petrov was caught to far back in attack and too far forward in defence because he hasn't the legs to get forward in attack and track back in defence in a 4-4-2!

He is a luxury that can float near half way in a 4-5-1 with the protection of a hard tackler like NRC(he can block opposition players channels for NRC to close them down).

If we got a Tuncay/VDVesque player to play in the hole Petrov's time is up in a 4-4-2, I'm sorry.

This will never happen because of MON and this is one of MON's main faults IMO. The inability to see the obvious.

Some even say he's the Messiah

Give me just one example when a poster on here said that....please do but I think you will be rather a long time.... infact you won't!

I put messiah in search and it came up with 139 results.

Really cause I got 412 all of them originate from people like you Post for Effect much?

Your post made it 413.

Some even say he's the Messiah

Give me just one example when a poster on here said that....please do but I think you will be rather a long time.... infact you won't!

I put messiah in search and it came up with 139 results.

NRC, MON seems to agree after the peace cup, thought he was our captain for it?

Yes. It's amazing how MON played Petrov and Delph ahead of NRC(and Sidwell for that matter) but a lot of people tell me he's a genius. Some even say he's the Messiah.

**** me is there anything right with our club?

So what are you saying ? Petrov is the leading type ? Because if you think that then your deluded.

All comes down to favourtism ffs he was shite for 3 years.

Shocking to think hes a leader

Not too mention he's struggled on-and-off with depression. Hope he felt ok after Saturday. I fear for him if MON persists with him in a 4-4-2 in the Europa and Liverpool game.

Albrighton hopefully. Only £4.5M on fantasy football and I reckon he will do the business!

Not overly happy. Disappointed with the lack of progress made in the transfer window so far, and also concerned that MON seems to be persisting with a 442 formation which is not bearing fruit after 6 months of been using it. I am very concerned about the last few months of last season and also the poor start we have made to preseason. Surely we should have had the players here by now to work with the current squad giving the most amount of time to settle in?

I was borderline neutral but as you say, watching the Malaga match I think he's learnt nothing about our strengths and weaknesses to a baffling extent

One of the best Villa articles I've ever read. Top notch!

I'd be more inclined to vote Barry... he's proven to work well with the type of player we'll be after if he leaves, Petrov isn't.

What do you base this on?

Have you watched him lately play for Bulgaria?

Petrov was great last season playing holding when Barry pushed forward. It's Barry who has stopped playing his supposed role at Villa undoubtedly because of his England role on the back of his mind.

Barry by a mile. Can do everything Petrov can do and a whole lot more besides.

Can he tackle? No he can't. In fact he lost the ball dangerously versus Fulham because he wouldn't/couldn't get his shorts dirty.

Barry's idea of tackling is running into opponents backsides.

Spot on. I only ever seem to see him running petulantly through someone from behind with no attempt to tackle(the source of most of his yellow cards). I think his place in England has affected his mindset in that he's supposed to have a free-role of sorts at Villa yet we end up with two holding players and our supply line is cut off between central midfield and front two.

I'd have Petrov every time over Barry in the holding role and think if Barry left ala Platt it wouldn't be the ned of the world if we brought in a more attacking midfielder to complement Petrov.

I would still prefer that person to be Milner as I don't rate him as a winger so get in a proper RW, Bentley etc or a class player from the continent?

Petrov isn't a great player? Been the best midfielder through a season by a team finishing top 6 in the best league in the world. Are you sure he isn't a great player?

He must work in the print media who give Barry MoTM every time we do well and an average score to Petrov. But then again Petrov ain't in the England squad...

And that's also why you never see any steel and muscle in the England midfield when it's called for. It's a totally different game in the internationals facing shit opposition. What you want is a Mascherano/Keane/Vieira and Petrov does this for us. And that's something Gareth Barry simply isn't capable of.

I agree. And when he was given a free role for Bulgaria against Ireland he excelled. He is sweet in the tackle. Sometimes plays silly toe-poke passes to players that work that not many players would even think of. Barry has become confused in his role at Villa for me and often we have two holding midfielders and no one linking up with the forwards. How often have you groaned recently when we play it back and forth between backs and midfield in our own half because Barry won't push forward.

we have that player in Barry, the player that currently plays that role for OUR national side. If he's good enough to do it for England then he's sure as **** good enough to do it for us

Except that according to MON and Barry he plays a different role for Villa than the one for England. Uhhh for 5mins a match maybe. Hence why in a 4-4-2 there is too big a gap between central midfield and the forwards. Barry and Petorv both play deep and Barry is not the best tackler so we have been getting runover in the middle by average teams.

Heskey has started on the bench the last 2 games.

That's still too close to the pitch for my liking. He has a niggle I thought.

Wouldn't work. Barry can't tackle and is quite shit at doing general defensive dirty work. He would be great in a 3 man 4-5-1 midfield, but we won't play that.

Barry IMHO is one of the worst tacklers in the Premier League. He runs through the back of players about 3-4 times a game. How he doesn't get more yellows astounds me. Maybe his nice guy image?

He was good in a 4-5-1 because we had Sidwell who had a free role and wasn't afraid to have a shot or get into the box. We won't play 4-5-1 because it worked and MON would have to drop Heskey which would break the clause in Heskey's contract that if he's fit he plays because I can't see any reason for MON's pathological insistence including him in a setup that isnt working

This whole Petrov is suddenly a class act thing is most amusing. He's 5 times the player he was previously for us, yet still has no massive impact on the side apart from his crab like sideways passing. He offers no assists, he doesn't get involved in set pieces, he doesn't score, he doesn't have any pace etc etc

It doesn't help Petrov's game that Barry stands level and we have two forwards that refuse to drop back and put themselves in a position to link up. Barry's supposed to be playing a different role to the one in the England team but you could of fooled me. Since we changed from 4-5-1 our central midfield is completely static, we've lost our width and rely on BS long-ball lumps and Ash drawing fouls in free-kick range. I have to blame MON for this...

I've said it before but i won't mind, i hope he goes early in the summer so it doesn't drag on. We need a different player than barry to partner petrov and i think that will help us alot. We need someone whose alot better going forward and i believe we will be able to bring in someone very decent to fill the void left by barry.

IMO i really don't think we will miss him that much next year.

We could have a player that has freedom to get into box with Barry and Sidwell controlling the middle. I have a crazy idea. Play Sidwell in a 4-5-1 and leave Heskey in the carpark. I think we could go on a 13 game unbeaten streak with that formation but I'm sure MON would use this if it worked...

So, is there anyone else out there who can relate or has similar thoughts on what it means as a foreigner to support Villa? You've been that one jersey in the pub. You've taken the abuse. You've brushed it all off. But you've secretly loved supporting Villa as much for Villa as for the fact that no-one else did! Will it be the same now supporting one of the elite?

Comments?

Absolutely yes. Remember all the years in Dublin sitting in a pub on my tod during the O'Dreary years. Didn't get much abuse just ManUre and Liverplop "fans" laughing at me. Last year was great when all us Dublin(Irish) Villans started getting together in numbers in The Duke et al.

This year I have had untold fans of other teams stopping me in a pub and saying how great Villa are playing. Seeing "KIWIVILLAN" on the back of my shirt and asking how does a Kiwi come to support Villa. I've been hugged in the street a few times by Brummies over in Dublin on a Stag after a good result.

More than makes up for the rough years and I'm only supporting Villa since 94' because of the 5 Villans in the Irish WC team(a reason a lot of Irish people confess to supporting Villa)