Stan,

I recognise that things have been tough for you since you joined Villa from Celtic two seasons ago.

The English Premier League is faster, more physical and technically more demanding than the SPL. I hardly need to tell you that.

In the course of this season, you have had to cope with the doubts of the fans, many of whom thought you weren't good enough to play for the Villa. It was a disgrace when you were boo-ed onto the field as a sub earlier in the season - and most of us regret that wholeheartedly. Any player in a claret-and-blue shirt deserves our support.

However, in the last four games your form has been inspirational and we are beginning to see why Martin O'Neill wanted you at Villa. You have protected our back four expertly; tackled hard; won the ball and then used it very intelligently. Not only that, you may just have scored the goal of the season!

When things weren't going well for you, you never sulked; you just got your head down and worked harder. That hard work is paying off, and we Villa fans respect you for it.

Stan, you're a Villan. Stay - there's a place for you here.

Comments (25)

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villadaz said:

Nice piece Doc, couldn't agree more.

April 28, 2008

JonnyW said:

I second that motion, Mr Speaker.

April 28, 2008

BORUC IS THE PONTIF. said:

FASTER,MORE PHYSICAL,TECHNICALLY MORE DEMANDING!!! ARE YOU SERIOUSLY TALKING ABOUT YOUR ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE? STAN PETROV STRUGGLED IN YOUR LEAGUE FOR ONE REASON ONLY, AND THAT IS LACK OF TRUE QUALITY AROUND HIM, YOU DO NOT GO FROM BOSSING THE MIDFIELD AGAINST THE LIKES OF MILAN,BARCELONA,JUVENTUS TO STRUGGLING AT WIGAN AND READING UNLESS YOU HAVE INFERIOR PLAYERS AROUND YOU.

April 28, 2008

stephenc755 said:

Hi Doc, as a Celtic fan I am pleased to see Stan and our blessed Martin (hail hail) doing well in England and I am not surprised that you guys have finally realised what a talanted player you have in Petrov. If you think about it when you signed the guy if you were looking to employ a midfielder what would you look for? A)Played for a big club B)Has international experience; Skipper would be bonus C)Is the right side of 27 D)Has champions league experience E)Is a winner All of which Petrov has. He had been in the Celtic side, winning leagues and playing big pressure old firm and champions league games since he was 19. Why there was ever a doubt that he would be a class act in the Premiership I dont know. Having said that let me reference Thomas Gravesen and SPL !!! Anyways, glad that your assessment of the guy is improving, but one point I have to disagree with you on is you assessment of the SPL. Yes, the EPL is more technical, but faster and more physical ?? I think you need to enhance your research ! Having said that lets not turn this into a comparison of the SPL/EPL. Good luck in the chase for Europe. PS. Look out for Davie Moyes or Mark Hughes at Celtic next season !

April 28, 2008

theprimeminister said:

I thought DOL is going to Celtic

April 28, 2008

Adam Hackett said:

What are you on about. The scottish league is s**t! There are two teams that can play a bit, and the rest are championship, maybe even lower standard. Stylian Petrov is a great player as he is showing now, but he looked so good at celtic because the standards of players he was playing against was so poor. It is difficult to explain this because he is a very good player and i am not putting him down by saying that he looks good against s**t teams, because he can play against your barcelonas and manchester uniteds as he has proved. It is more me saying that the scottish league is less demending, technical and intense than the premier league. It is a s**t league. Which is the one reason that celtic and rangers wanted to move to the premer league the other year. You remember that???????????? Adam Hackett Villa for life.

April 28, 2008

ConVilla said:

BORUC IS THE PONTIF. - You havent a clue what you are talking about.. The SPL wouldn't be a fitting challenge for the Championship..let alone the Premiership. "The English Premier League is faster, more physical and technically more demanding than the SPL." and i believe there is a FULLSTOP after that. Petrov made the best choice of his career moving to Villa, and i truely believe that it was only Martin O'Neill that brought the best out of him at Celtic and he will do the same at Villa. If anything, if he moved back to the SPL, then he would have a lack of quality around him.. Petrov, well done, you've proven in the last few games that you can withstand this league. Keep it up.

April 28, 2008

BORUC IS THE PONTIF. said:

DID HULL MAKE IT TO THE WORLDS NUMBER ONE LEAGUE?

April 28, 2008

OneStarMeansMore said:

Petrov looked so good in Scotland because he IS good. He has suddenly found form in England because - just as in Scotland - he is a top-drawer box-to-box central midfielder and not a wide player. When O'Neill played him on the right at Celtic - for match after match after match - he looked awful. Any time he was played in the middle he was one of the best on show at any level. So much so that Lothar Mathaus recommended him as Bayern Munich's replacement for Ballack. By the way, I don't disagree that the English premier is better than Scotland but the difference is nowhere near as big as you think and the game has always been faster in Scotland. It is probably more difficult for a player to use the ball in Scotland because of the number of tackles that come crashing in, hence the success of Arteta in England when he was considered a luxury in Scotland. There is no doubt that England's big four are packed with top players. The rest of the league is pretty garbage and only perceived as great by English fans who don't watch any other football. Do you think it's a coincidence that there still hasn't been one top-class English coach since Bobby Robson? Nope, that's because English top league football is generally poor.

April 28, 2008 | url

OneStarMeansMore said:

Petrov looked o good in Scotland because he IS good. Hristo Stoichkov spotted that before O'Neill got near him. He has suddenly found form in England because - just as in Scotland - he is a top-drawer box-to-box central midfielder and not a wide player. When O'Neill played him on the right at Celtic - for match after match after match - he looked awful. Any time he was played in the middle he was one of the best on show at any level. So much so that Lothar Mathaus recommended him as Bayern Munich's replacement for Ballack (under Gordon Strachan, ConVilla). By the way, I don't disagree that the English premier is better than Scotland but the difference is nowhere near as big as you think and the game has always been faster in Scotland. It is probably more difficult for a player to use the ball in Scotland because of the number of tackles that come crashing in, hence the success of Arteta in England when he was considered a luxury in Scotland. There is no doubt that England's big four are packed with top players. The rest of the league is pretty garbage and only perceived as great by English fans who don't watch any other football. Do you think it's a coincidence that there still hasn't been one top-class English coach since Bobby Robson? Nope, that's because English top league football is generally poor.

April 28, 2008 | url

Abz said:

Here here! I've always had faith in Petrov since he joined and I'm glad he's finally producing the goods. Though I'm Villa through and through, I also follow Celtic (mom is Glaswegian) and I've seen Petrov play many times. He seems to be very comfortable in this new system and long may it continue.

April 28, 2008

Abz said:

And by the way, BORUC IS THE PONTIF, as much as I hate to make comparisons between Villa and Celtic, what the hell are you on about!? Under O'Neill, Celtic were a far far better side than they are now. If you're talking about lack of quality, just look at the SPL as a whole mate before you comment on Villa. Even Celtic has a pretty average team at the moment. Put it this way, I'd much rather have Patrick Berger than Evander Sno any day!!

April 28, 2008

stig said:

glad you have found your position, and form. cant wait to see you boss midfield next year mate.

April 28, 2008

villadaz said:

Why the dispute... Stan is doing well and we all should be glad for him after a horrid time. When goals are scored you can see that he has that passion that we want when around the players, and on top of that the lad can play. As a Villa and Celtic fan, I am happy that he is doing the business. Captain in making!!

April 28, 2008

1977 said:

Petrov played in a great celtic side under o'neill - a far better side than the one villa have now.

April 28, 2008

andy5759 said:

Well said Doc.

April 28, 2008

BORUC IS THE PONTIF said:

YOU WOULD RATHER HAVE PATRICK BERGER THAN EVANDER SNO? MATE, I WOULD RATHER HAVE PATRICK SWAYZE THAN EVANDER SNOW.

April 28, 2008

kohoutek said:

Well said, Doc. Completely agree. All of a sudden, it's like having a new signing. And again, to those who jump on MON's case far too early, another slice of humble pie. MON's not god, but he's a good manager, and I think has proven that he deserves the benefit of the doubt. Well done to the pair of them: Stan for showing true class and quality while wandering about in the wilderness, and MON for sticking to his belief in the player against the critics. If our league position, passion, and all the rest weren't enough, Stan's return to form, and MON's tactics in finding the right formation and home for the players he's got, should be confirmation that Villa are in as good hands as we could hope them to be.

April 28, 2008

the_flabster said:

@BITP. How can you say that the Villa team lacks quality in midfield? Half you squad would stuggle to get into any top 10 premier league side. You only have one tough opponent in your league. You made a point about how your players can play well against the elite of europe. Lets not forget that little old Barnsley beat both Chelsea & Liverpool in the F.A cup. Does that mean they too are better than most of the teams in the premier league? Id love to see Rangers and Celtic come into the PL just to see how they would do. I very much doubt they would make top 4 and the players would probably stuggle with playing competitive matches week in week out. Honestly im not so sure a UEFA cup place would be a definate for either of them. Id say they were only on par with the chasing pack of the PL at the moment.

April 28, 2008

Brouc is the holy keeper said:

Now I also follow Celtic but am a aston villa fan. I have been up to Scotland afew times and have met some of the players and have met Stan back then and he is a really polite person. He signed autographs for a whole coach full of kids. name me a player that would do that these days. Villa are better now then they have been in years, they can only get better under O'Neil and so can Petrov. I would love to see him bring in Boruc instead of signing Scott Carson because Boruc shows passion into football unlike Scott Carson. I can just imagine Boruc infront of the holte end just brilliant. Come one Marting get your cheque book out and sign Brouc up he is a brilliant goalie and cheaper then Carson. Come on you villa boyz europe here we come

April 28, 2008

tonebone said:

yep player for player they probably arent as good as even the teams challenging for a uefa cup place. think about the number of premiership rejects that have succeeded at celtic or rangers. alan thompson couldnt even get in the villa side yet was a mainstay at celtic. being honest they would challenge for the uefa places based on there home form. teams wouldnt like going away there. Top 4 tho - no chance!!! the champions league tells u that!!!

April 29, 2008

Gaffney said:

What villa players would make it at celtic, Young and Agbonlahor, Laursen would, and well that's about it. Hartley>Barry Robson>Petrov McDonald>Carew Boruc>Carson Caldwell>Knight

April 29, 2008 | url

Mick70 said:

Hahahaha to the fool who tried to disagree with the gulf in quality between Prem and Scottex league

April 29, 2008

Brouc is the holy keeper said:

I think Boruc should sign for villa in the summer.. way better then Carson.. Come on you Boruc.. Please Stay Barry. or at least get a swap deal plus cash

April 29, 2008

Ross the Tim said:

Would anyone care to dig up the competitive game records for Scottish teams against English teams in European competition? I'm not disagreeing with the fact that the EPL is of a higher standard than the SPL, but the gulf is not as big as some think. I can think of only 1 occasion in the last 20 years, out of 6 meetings, where the English team has come out on top overall, 2 i suppose if you count the 2-2 aggregate score between Celtic and Liverpool in 1997. Anyone add to this? 1992 Rangers 4 -2 Leeds on Aggregate 1997 Celtic 2-2 Liverpool on Aggregate 2003 Celtic 3-0 Blackburn 2003 Celtic 3-1 Liverpool 2002(I think) Man U 4 -0 Rangers 2006 Celtic 3-3 Man U

April 29, 2008

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