Aston Villa News 24/7Writer: Mike Field 
Date:Tuesday February 26 2008
Time: 3:18PM
UK time is: 13:51:02
Choose your club
Other Sites
Network Navigation
Vital Partners
'If It's Football, It's Vital'
Stan To Enjoy Easy Villa Life
Martin O'Neill has again withdrawn Stiliyan Petrov from the firing line due to his woeful form.
Petrov managed to break back into the first team after his previous 'rest' and was given a good run again until O'Neill finally had enough and subbed him against Newcastle.
He then failed to make the bench for our Reading victory, and if you take O'Neill's words on the surface, then it's unlikely he will figure for the next few matches.
Speaking to the Evening Mail, O'Neill said:
'I've decided to take Stiliyan out of the firing line to get his confidence back.
'All too fleetingly he's shown the really great form and, to be fair, we've played him out of position because he can go and play off the centre-forward.
'At the moment, he's not involved, but he's got a great determination about him. I know him very well and he's very strong mentally.
'He knows himself he's capable of so much more when his confidence is high.'
In numerous threads on the forum Petrov's form has been discussed and the issue of 'confidence' on those 'wages' will always be a bug bear with fans.
But this is the second demotion of Petrov so you wonder how many chances he can have left to find the confidence and some proper form. At least O'Neill has shown those people who thought in his eyes Petrov could do no wrong, that he won't allow the team to suffer for one player.
That bodes well for the future.
Seconds Out! Vital Boxing is here!
Vital F1 Prediction League - Join now for Monaco
Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.
Join the Vital Fantasy Football League - its Free!
Your Comments
"At least O'Neill has shown those people who thought in his eyes Petrov could do no wrong, that he won't allow the team to suffer for one player."
He has ??
What has he been doing then all season long when Petrov's form has been shall we say, not too good??
All O'Neill has done is finally admit Petrov as he did last season has become such a liability he has to be dropped. He ahs just confirmed exactly what those who have criticised Petrov's inclusion have always said, he gets in the team when he doesn't deserve his place. Even now O'Neill is making excuses for him. Its amazing how quickly he can sell so called dead weights like Sorensen, Hughes, Samuel, Davies, Ridgewell, Cahill and co yet Petrov plays on regardless.
Dual standards methinks
avfc48
nice title there.
Gruck
We should now see if he can do a Harewood (who MON has handled so well) and come back through hard work into reckoning. Rather than a fortnight off or excuses about injuries or homesickness and then playing again.
Villan444
Last time Villa brought him back against Bolton away the whole team was off form and because he was no worse than anyone else he won his place back. Others come in (Maloney, Harewood) and do really well and still find themselves on the bench. MON is a great manager and I know nothing compared to him. But I do know Petrov should not be brought back unless he has found his form in the reserves. He has to earn his chance, not be rested and walk back in. 3 points can be the difference between Europe and no Europe. The 30 odd games he played last season mean we could have even made Europpe last year but for him. Our end of season run without him being a case in point.
Earn his place and come back - fine. Otherwise leave it to the players showing genuine form please.
stennyvilla
aha! I'd almost predicted a response from 'AVFC48' when I saw the sarcastic headline and subsequent opportunity in "comments" to have a pop at one of our own players...... should have put a bet on it!! By the way - earning money does not make you immune to feelings or equate to mental strength. If John Gregory had figured that out we may not have lost Collymore, Southgate, Ehiogu, Yorke, Bosnich.....
gmvillan
'48 change the record man, you are such an old school Villa moaner, always wanting a scapegoat. Your argument is lightweight as all the players you listed were cr@@ apart from Cahill who was 5th choice. Petrov did look 'finished' against the Toon, but I think should be given another chance and Harewood/Davies are excellent examples of turning it around after ropey starts. Neil Lennon said recently he was an amazing player for Celtic, there is a good player in there - let's see what happens in the summer. All managers have had dual standards with certain players. I would say Barry and Gabby have been played with slight injuries and fatigue this season when perhaps other options should have been considered. MON always plays the same (his strongest) team whatever. Like it or lump it - that's what he does.
tarzan
Feed the Hare and he will score..
tarzan
If the Newcastle and Reading communities here on Vital had more contributors, I wonder how they'd react to all the moans on Vital Villa? Sorry, avfc, this isn't strictly aimed at you, but it is what made me think it. They'd probably be as *****ed off at our team as they are of their own.
Carlosio
Petrov is a villa player and as such we all want him to succeed. I am one of his biggest critics because he has been woeful in most of his time here. I sincerely hope that he does come good eventually though, but he has had almost two seasons now and to say he has failed to impress is the understatement of the century.
jonah
Clever management by MoN, give him a break, get his head right, bring him back for the last two-three games and flog him on the back of a couple of good performances, magic! No point slagging him, its not his fault he can't cut it in the Prem.
By the way tarzan, since when did playing for the dominant team in any weak league prove what an amazing player anybody was? If we only had to play 3rd division teams for most of the season we could probably see petrov dominate games
Waldorf
Still think he's a quality football, with all the necessary attributes, and is arguably the most gifted footballer on our books.
glensider
I completely agree with you Glensider!! Petrov's debut was nothing short of outstanding. That is the quality of the player, what we have witnessed since is a gradual decline in confidence resulting in a lack of form. I Hope he turns his form around not only for the Villa, but also for the man. He can then shove the words down the throats of those who have climbed upon his back. It seems that a section of Villa fans have to have a scape goat it so happens it's Petrov. Before that it was Harewood, "he was a Donkey", before he had even kicked a ball all because he didn't cost £10 million now he can do no wrong. I just hope Petrov can turn it around in the same way....
gappy65
I don'y think anyone has picked petrov out, other than by virtue of two seasons of second rate, sporadic, occasionally more than average performances. Nobody wants to slag Villa players, maybe its a measure of how far we have come that Petrov appears to be more of a passenger than a contributor! If Stan wants the fans on his side perhaps he should talk to Harewood, some of you are implying that the fans had it him for the hare because of the Leicester game, Davies was truely awful in that game too, defending players by slagging your own fans is more bizarre than slagging a player who isn't performing, isn't it?
Waldorf
Well Waldorf you are clearly one of the fans who justifies slagging players. At what point is it a positive move to make a player/person feel worse about there performance? How can you possible get the best out of a player if they are being ridiculed? or slagged as you put it! If your boss reacted to you the way that SOME fans react to Stan I think you would be very annoyed at the very least... As for The Hare he was slagged by, again some Villa fans almost before the ink had dried on his contract. How can can that be justified????
gappy65
gappy 65, you're right mate I am willing to tell it like it is. In the real world no boss in the world would put up with the lack of commitment, effort, ambition and competance shown by Petrov. one 90 minutes that you tell us was superb has been followed by about fifty games that could at best be called average! No boss I've ever worked for would accept that, the guy would have been out on his ear after two months let alone two years, but football is a strange world. If Petrov gave even close to 100% effort I would support him, but he hides, prefers to get rid of the ball no matter if he gives away possession and doesn't look like he gives a monkey's. If you are right and he is some Cruyff like genius then I haven't seen it!
As for your second point, you are right' not justifiable at all. I also hate it when players who do their best get given nicknames like "useless" or when players like Peter Crouch are abused because seemingly some fans can't see his ability. I can go back decades for genuine scapegoats who just got slaughtered for now good reason! As for the hare, I saw him play as a raw eighteen year old for Forest and suggested we bought him then, I've been keeping an eye on him ever since.
Waldorf
Have Your Say
Recent Articles
Something For The Weekend (425) (Friday May 24 2013)
And Still More On Benteke, This Time Agent Denials (Friday May 24 2013)
Villa Hospitality Scoop The Main Awards - Again (Friday May 24 2013)
Last Season Was A Necessary Evil (Friday May 24 2013)
Eric Lichaj To Be Released? (Friday May 24 2013)
Lambert Answers Benteke. Another Undeserved Saga? (Friday May 24 2013)
The Villa Times - 23/05/2013 (Thursday May 23 2013)
The Vital Villa Player Of The Season Is... (Thursday May 23 2013)
Bumper Transfer News - SOME Inward! (Thursday May 23 2013)
New Contracts? Better Deals? It's Only Money!! (Thursday May 23 2013)
Archived Articles
Vital Members League (view all)
| 1. | Pride of Lions | 1075 |
| 2. | The Fear | 814 |
| 3. | BodyButter | 528 |
| 4. | kefkat | 437 |
| 5. | CDX_EIRE | 365 |
| 6. | ClivetheVillan | 356 |
| 7. | holtelower | 260 |
| 8. | DeanoVilla | 252 |
| 9. | Villan57 | 249 |
| 10. | thefacehead | 242 |
League Results (view all)
| Latest Results | ||||
| Wigan | 2 | - | 2 | Aston Villa |
| Aston Villa | 1 | - | 2 | Chelsea |
| Norwich | 1 | - | 2 | Aston Villa |
| Aston Villa | 6 | - | 1 | Sunderland |
| Man Utd | 3 | - | 0 | Aston Villa |
| Aston Villa | 1 | - | 1 | Fulham |
League Table (view table)
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 12. Fulham | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | -10 | 43 |
| 13. Stoke | 38 | 9 | 15 | 14 | -11 | 42 |
| 14. Southampton | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | -11 | 41 |
| 15. Aston Villa | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | -22 | 41 |
| 16. Newcastle | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | -23 | 41 |
| 17. Sunderland | 38 | 9 | 12 | 17 | -13 | 39 |
| 18. Wigan | 38 | 9 | 9 | 20 | -26 | 36 |
Breaking League News
| Lukaku Will Be a Starter Next Season
» Chelsea : 25/05/2013 13:45:00
|
| I Want Some Modders
» Chelsea : 25/05/2013 13:31:00
|
| Rafa`s view on Chelsea and a lot more!
» Chelsea : 25/05/2013 13:27:00
|
| Things are looking good after all!
» Newcastle : 25/05/2013 12:00:00
|
| Liverpool: Reds Looking Atsu
» Liverpool : 25/05/2013 10:38:00
|
| Scout Report - Michael Hector
» Reading : 25/05/2013 10:00:00
|
| Wigan Athletic Season Review
» Wigan : 25/05/2013 07:00:00
|
Current Site Poll (view all polls)
|
|
1 © - All content copyright Vital Network Ltd, not to be reproduced without explicit permission Copyright Issues
Cookie Policy
At Vital Football, we along with most other modern websites use small files called 'cookies' to create the most secure, effective and functional website possible for our users. Without these files our business model, based on advertising, breaks down and we would be unable to continue to provide the services that you are here to utilise. By continuing to use this website after seeing this message, you consent to our use of cookies on this device unless you have disabled them. For full details please read our Cookie Policy which can be found here. However, if you would like to disable cookies on this device, please view our Cookie Policy which contains an opt-out tool for disabling advertising cookies. Please also visit our information pages on 'How to manage cookies' if you would also like to block all other types of cookies. Please be aware that parts of this site will not function correctly if you disable cookies.