Jump to content

Mortimer Thinks Petrov is Rubbish (Poll Added)


Kiwivillan

Should Petrov retain the captaincy this season?  

325 members have voted

  1. 1. Should Petrov retain the captaincy this season?

    • Yes
      179
    • No
      146


Recommended Posts

I'm of the school of thought that captains should be defenders or midfielders. Never comfortable seeing a GK or a striker take the armband.

GKs make the best captains imo. They can see all of their outfield players and can see whats happening in front of them, so should be in the best position to bark out orders.

I agree that strikers shouldnt be captains though. Not unless its a special case like Bryan Robson who would get the armband through their sheer presence on the pitch

Bryan Robson was a midfielder.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 839
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

It doesn't really matter who is captain as long as there is someone in the defence who organises the back four and possibly someone in the midfield to organise there. I guess the best person to be captain is someone who leads by example and if that means someone who gives 100% whenever he is on the pitch and despite his limitations Petrov always does that as far as I am concerned.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn't give it neither Petrov,Dunne or Heskey as i think they've all been good players back in their day. But now they're 'Dead wood' and have definitely gone past it... id bring in Jenas for Petrov,Clark for Dunne,Albrighton or Bannan for Heskey and Ireland for Delph(as he has not lived up to expectations so far) captaincy to Given or Bent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

.... Dunne .... But now they're 'Dead wood' and have definitely gone past it ... Clark for Dunne.

Blasphemy for an Irish man after last week? :winkold:

I wouldn't disagree with much of what you have said except I would leave Dunney and bring in Clark for Petrov. I think a more defensively minded partner would allow Delph to flourish in the playmaker role. I would bring in Ireland for Emile.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

.... Dunne .... But now they're 'Dead wood' and have definitely gone past it ... Clark for Dunne.

Blasphemy for an Irish man after last week? :winkold:

I wouldn't disagree with much of what you have said except I would leave Dunney and bring in Clark for Petrov. I think a more defensively minded partner would allow Delph to flourish in the playmaker role. I would bring in Ireland for Emile.

Here we go... haha you lot love to pick up all this stuff ;) and not at all i just feel that dunney is just not what he used to be ! he was class back at city(when given the chance) and when he first came to us him and collins were unstoppable. But i firmly believe Ciaran Clark will become a better player than Gary Cahill if given the chance and im not sure his potential is fulfilled at CDM. Agreed on the rest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting article here if you've got a few spare moments for a read.

Petrov Makes His Point

Posted by Kevin Hughes 4 hours, 33 minutes ago

It would be fair to say that September didn't start well for Stiliyan Petrov.

Successive defeats in the Euro 2012 qualifying double header against first England, and then Switzerland, ensured Bulgaria won't be playing in the finals next summer, and may yet suffer in the ignominy of finishing bottom of Group G. In the fall-out following these defeats, Petrov, Bulgaria's captain no less and most-capped player in the national team's history, was on the receiving end of some harsh criticism from former player Yordan Lechkov.

"They have nothing more to give," said Lechkov of Petrov and his namesake Martin, the Bolton Wanderers winger. "It is time for them to retire with dignity."

Harsh? Perhaps. But Lechkov's comments accurately reflect the thoughts of a good many Villa fans, who remain decidedly undecided over the merits of Petrov, a player who has divided opinion as much as any other during his time at Villa Park. More than once, it has seemed as if Petrov's Villa Park career has come to an end; struggling to adapt to the Premier League since arriving from Celtic in August 2006 - the Bulgaria was Martin O'Neill's first signing as Villa manager - the midfielder was dropped for a spell in his second season following a series of underwhelming performances. He bounced back to become a regular, eventually taking the captain's armband, and being a virtual ever-present as Villa secured three consecutive top six finishes. Midfield partners Gareth Barry, and then James Milner, left the club. Petrov did not.

Last season, under Gerard Houllier, Petrov's place in the team was threatened again as the Frenchman sought to stamp his own authority on the Villa team; and yet, despite the emergence of Fabian Delph, the improvement of Nigel Reo-Coker and the addition of Jean II Makoun, it was Petrov's influence in midfield which proved most crucial in the final third of the season as Villa eased away from relegation worries and into the top half of the table.

Since the final days of last season, Reo-Coker has gone. So, too, has Makoun, officially on a season-long loan to Olympiakos but with a view to a permanent move - I'd be surprised to see him in a Villa shirt again. Another young midfield pretender, Jonathan Hogg, has left for Watford. Petrov is still at Villa, still captain, still one of the first names on the team sheet. And seemingly going nowhere. The transfer deadline day arrival of Jermaine Jenas should, one imagines, threaten Petrov's central midfield reign and Jenas in for Petrov was speculated as a change going into last Saturday's game at Goodison Park.

However, I wrote in my pre-match post that, if Jenas did start it would have been at the expense of Delph, the younger man; my hunch was, and still is, that manager Alex McLeish would place greater importance on Petrov's experience than Delph's athleticism. All academic, as it turns out, with Jenas succumbing to a 'nick' and being unfit to make the squad.

Was Petrov motivated by the arrival of Jenas, the backlash of Bulgaria, the lingering threat of losing his place at Villa, the need to prove himself? Maybe, maybe not, but at Goodison Park he served a timely reminder of what he can do, at his very best. His equalising goal was one of simplistic beauty - moving onto Stephen Warnock's pass 30 yards from goal, he shaped his body and bent the ball past Tim Howard. It looked very easy, and a world away from the ugly, shanked shot I recall him attempting a fortnight before against Wolves.

It was a tantalising glimpse of what Petrov can do, and of what Villa fans expected when he arrived five years ago. I certainly envisaged a playmaker, an attacking midfielder, a classic No.10. I think Petrov started out that way, only to have his role adjusted to that of a sitter, a holder, a - dare I say it - a water carrier. Villa's Claude Makelele. The problem with that, is that everyone thinks they want a Makelele until they get one - a player who sits deep, scuttles across the middle of the park, and risk-free percentage possession football. Then they start questioning what else the player actually does. And then comes the criticism.

Petrov certainly enjoyed his goal. Since then, he's admitted he's been given more of a licence to get forward, and he's targeting more goals. These are interesting comments, suggesting a slight change in role for the 32-year-old, but it would a curious switch given Villa's formation and resources. McLeish has set the team up with two central midfielders (Petrov and Delph so far) behind three attacking players and a centre-forward. Those two central midfielders are required to be disciplined and neither can really afford to bomb forward; Petrov hasn't really got the legs to be a box-to-box man.

But it may be that, with Jenas coming into the equation, the burden of being the senior figure in midfield lessens, and Petrov can play a more expansive game. Or, perhaps Jenas comes into a three-man midfield alongside Petrov and Delph; after all, Emile Heskey's hamstring injury will enforce a change over the next few games.

Whatever the manager has in mind, one thing is abundantly clear. Petrov will take some shifting. "I'll keep going as long as I can," was his response to Lechkov's assessment, but he could just have easily been talking about Villa. In six seasons, Petrov has just about seen them all off.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting article here if you've got a few spare moments for a read.
Petrov Makes His Point

Posted by Kevin Hughes 4 hours, 33 minutes ago

It was a tantalising glimpse of what Petrov can do, and of what Villa fans expected when he arrived five years ago. I certainly envisaged a playmaker, an attacking midfielder, a classic No.10. I think Petrov started out that way, only to have his role adjusted to that of a sitter, a holder, a - dare I say it - a water carrier. Villa's Claude Makelele. The problem with that, is that everyone thinks they want a Makelele until they get one - a player who sits deep, scuttles across the middle of the park, and risk-free percentage possession football. Then they start questioning what else the player actually does. And then comes the criticism.

This is partially true in that I've always thought Petrov is our best defensive midfielder, like geniune Makelele type midfielder and in that role, is as good as most in the league but the thing is, we very rarely play it, which is then where criticism comes from because suddenly the role changes and you have to do more in a 2 man central midfield rather than a 3 man midfield. Which is why I'd like to see Petrov holding with Jenas and Delph also in midfield and supporting front players from deeper.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting article here if you've got a few spare moments for a read.
Petrov Makes His Point

Posted by Kevin Hughes 4 hours, 33 minutes ago

It was a tantalising glimpse of what Petrov can do, and of what Villa fans expected when he arrived five years ago. I certainly envisaged a playmaker, an attacking midfielder, a classic No.10. I think Petrov started out that way, only to have his role adjusted to that of a sitter, a holder, a - dare I say it - a water carrier. Villa's Claude Makelele. The problem with that, is that everyone thinks they want a Makelele until they get one - a player who sits deep, scuttles across the middle of the park, and risk-free percentage possession football. Then they start questioning what else the player actually does. And then comes the criticism.

This is partially true in that I've always thought Petrov is our best defensive midfielder, like geniune Makelele type midfielder and in that role, is as good as most in the league but the thing is, we very rarely play it, which is then where criticism comes from because suddenly the role changes and you have to do more in a 2 man central midfield rather than a 3 man midfield. Which is why I'd like to see Petrov holding with Jenas and Delph also in midfield and supporting front players from deeper.

I agree that to play a Makalele you need a 3 man CM. Under MON, we consistently had our best results, bar a few, when playing that formation. I could never understand his reluctance to play it. Not only does it suit our CM, it suited our main striker (s) - Gabby at the time and now Bent - and our preference to play with proper wingers.

When Stan first came I was hoping he was going to be our Scholes/Lampard/Gerard and, watching his debut at Wet Spam, I thought my prayers had been answered. However, it soon became clear that he didn't have the engine/pace to get up and down in that role. MON converted him to a DCM and he is definitely more suited to that role in a three now. Even then, I believe he does not do enough to follow runners or offer enough protection for the CBs. Whilst I am clearly not his biggest fan I have never questioned his ball retention. It is, IMO, somewhat negative but that is potentially because, IMO, we often do not have the right formation in front of him and enough players showing for the ball. This may also be at the root of Collins' repeated hoofball antics.

I would like to see Clark, or even Herd, given a shot at this role alongside Delph and SI in a proper first XI. I thought Everton, through Felaini, gave us a demonstration of what a big, strong, energetic CM'er with a reasonable touch can bring to a team.

I just don't understand Eck's current strategy of pushing Stan further forward and asking Delph to assume the DCM role. To me this is not exploiting either player's best assets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Petrov has made more interceptions than any other PL player this season. Quite suprised at that one.

I'm not. Its one of the strongest parts of his game. He is a superb reader of the game.

Yes, he is superb! That's why he can't be left out of the team!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...
Â