Thank you Stan

So much has already been said since our captain Stiliyan Petrov announced his retirement from football earlier on, and the outpouring of love and support goes to show how much people appreciate the man and everything he’s accomplished, and will continue to accomplish. The news that he’s due to lead the team in their lap of honour after the match will make the last home game even more special, and you can be pretty sure the 19th minute will be cheered louder than normal.

It’s not a surprise, but it’s still a sad sad day. I was always a fan of the player, and felt that early doors, he got a bit of an unfair rap from sections of the Villa support. You only have to look how much we miss him to understand his influence both from a playing point of view, and a leadership perspective. Keeping the ball is vitally important in football, and Petrov did that better than most. He kept us ticking along, and was a steadying influence throughout his tenure. You can only imagine the impact he would have made in this young side.

He also popped up with some classic goals, and I still maintain if a player from a more fashionable club had scored THAT goal against Derby, it would be held much higher than it is. 45 yards out, half volley, top corner and on your weaker foot? Way better than Beckham’s which we see repeated all the time in my opinion, though I am naturally a bit biased.

I was fortunate enough to meet him once, and while I was like a Justin Bieber fan-girl barely able to speak (though without the screaming I may add), he was as nice as everyone says he is, and it was a great experience. We wish him well now and in the future, and I’m sure his foundation will do great work.

Thank you Stan.

UTV.

“I’m not worried about Villa Park….It’s an easy place to go.” Paolo Di Canio

Missing out a few things about Pavarotti but this was essentially what Paolo Di Canio said about his sides trip to Villa Park….Safe to say he got that one wrong. To be fair I also got it slightly wrong with my post earlier saying how I feared Sunderland, and that one goes into UTV infamy which also includes my now classic piece claiming that Randy Lerner would never appoint Alex McLeish.

Wow what a night. What a night. I’m still pretty stunned to be honest, and rather than celebrating like a mad-man as the goals went in, I was kind of dazed by what I was witnessing. We’ve been on the end of some thrashings this season, but finally we gave one out, and what a night to do so. Coupled with Newcastle’s heavy defeat we’re actually above them in the table, and who would have thought that going into this round of fixtures.

It was an example of just how good we can be, and if we do stay up, then good times could be coming back to Villa Park. This is the important season, and we’re oh so close to securing safety now. I think a point might be enough, as Wigan have a run of games coming up, including the small matter of an FA Cup final. 3 points would take us to the magical 40 points mark, and that should surely be that. Hopefully we get there this weekend, because like I said the thought of going to Wigan needing something is pretty terrifying.

Benteke will take the plaudits, and he was once again class. What a signing, and what a future he has. I was impressed with Sylla in the middle, and thought he combined well with Westwood and Delph. Gabby and Weimann were both excellent, and deserved their goals, with Agbonlahor now breaking the record for most goals scored by a Villan in the Premiership.

Special praise for Matt Lowton though. I wrote this piece a few weeks ago mentioning how I don’t think he’s too far away from an England call-up, he really is a class act (Link). He’s played every minute this season, he’s consistently good and only getting better.

Enjoy this one Villans, it’s been a special night, and offers a tantalising glimpse of what we’re capable of.

UTV.

Lambert got it horribly horribly wrong tonight

Watching this second half has left me even more bemused/confused that we went with the system and personnel we chose tonight, because let’s be honest, tonight was never a night to really go for it. When I heard Lambert say before the match that our side ‘Only knows one way to play’ I was pretty concerned, because going to the Champions and playing with an attacking view point was rarely going to end well.

I saw plenty of fans approve of the managers selection, but I felt we got it horribly wrong, and it was proven as we were torn apart in the first half. Yes the goals looked offside, but that shouldn’t take anything away from the dominance United showed. I don’t think the top top sides would go to United and only play two in the middle of the park. You look at the difference that El-Ahmadi made in the second half, and for me at least, we had to go with three in the middle of the park.

I’m actually sort of relieved it was only three in the end, because while our goal difference has taken a bit of a hit, it could have been way way worse. I didn’t expect anything tonight, but it doesn’t mean our manager and side should be immune from flak simply because it was Man United. It looked like it could have been another Chelsea at half-time, but the boys were much improved second half, and if nothing else, hopefully this gives the side confidence going into the real important game against Sunderland next week.

Overall I like what Lambert is trying to do, but there are times he gets it horribly, horribly wrong, and tonight was one of them. We all would have written this game off, and as mentioned let us concentrate on the real games that matter.

UTV.