When Stiliiyan Petrov arrived at Villa Park in Martin O’Neill’s inaugural season, many Villa fans heard from their Celtic friends that he was an attacking, creative midfielder with a knack for hitting 8 or 10 goals per season.
In his first game, the fans saw a glimpse of this as he terrorized the West Ham defence and celebrated a cheeky goal, only to see it cleared off the line with an almost impossible clearance.
After that, Petrov’s game suffered as he tried to fit into Premiership life. A growing contingent became unhappy with his performances and eventually MON had no choice but to drop him.
When he re-surfaced in the first team, we had a different type of player. A player that held back a little more in front of the defence in a holding role. Stan, as he is now known to the fans, established himself in the role and has become one of the most consistent players in the team.
Bulgaria used their captain in the same defensive role. He only got forward a handful of times for them. On 3 occasions he watched helplessly from an advanced position as England scored.
If Villa install a new manager other than Kevin MacDonald, will they carry on with Petrov in this position? Or will they revert him back to his old attacking self? Does Stan feel, at his age, he better suited to play this role, using his experience? Does he want to get back to showcasing his creativity, trying things in the attacking third that his manager would never allow in his present role?
Villa fans would like to see a little of both, and more of the type of goal he grabbed in his first game of this season, against West Ham of all teams.