darrenwassall said:Somud said:Another myth? Are you for real?
are you?
where will he fit in when everyones fit?
won't get a sniff if were gonna move up to the next level and i'll be very surprised if a so called top 4 team come in for him.
City Raider said:more
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jan/10/martin-petrov-manchester-city-interview" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010 ... -interview</a>
Martin Petrov always plays with a smile on his face. Look at the picture of Stephen Ireland flashing his Superman briefs and Petrov is beside him with a cartoon grin. That beam has been switched off for most of the season but suddenly the Manchester City midfielder is smiling again. Driving to work, training, even when giving newspaper interviews.
The Bulgarian international was enduring a thin time of it under Mark Hughes at Manchester City, starting just three games this season despite assurances that he was a valued member of the squad, but the arrival of Roberto Mancini has brought an instant transformation. Petrov has played all three games the Italian has supervised, scoring the first goal under the new regime against Stoke and making the winner in the FA Cup at Middlesbrough last week, all while helping City – though he readily concedes defence is not his strong point – post three consecutive clean sheets.
No wonder he is smiling. "I smile all the time," he jokes. "But really, it's not good for anyone if they don't play. OK, I am not the only player who was not playing, but I tell you I think I have a place in this team and that I'm showing that to the ex-manager. If someone doesn't give you the chance then that's frustrating to me, and he knows what I think. But it's OK now. In football sometimes we're down, sometimes we're up and the most important thing is to stay without injury."
In fairness to Hughes, he always talked of Petrov being an important member of the squad and one he could not afford to drive away, without ever managing to give the player the game minutes he deserved. Even when Petrov made the most of his rare appearances and played well, he would find himself out of the picture again the following week. "That was the most frustrating thing," he says. "I know sometimes I must stay on the bench. Maybe with this manager there will be times when I stay on the bench. We have too many players here and too many good players, so maybe there'll be times when I need to rest – and that's no problem. But it's difficult when you play well, score goals, do good and are the best player in the month of October – and then you spend another three games on the bench. That made me a little bit unhappy because I deserved to play."
Petrov is charming and polite and his English is excellent, as can be judged from his use of the exquisite understatement "a little bit unhappy", when really he was burning with resentment, taking his problems home and wondering whether he had better start looking for a new club. He did not want to do any of that, because he was perfectly happy in Manchester, but all footballers, especially talented internationals approaching their 31st birthday, want to play.
"It was not an easy time for me or my family but I have a very strong family and very good friends. My father, my mother, my brother, everyone wanted to help me and when I went home to my children, to my two girls, they helped me through. Football's only a job and if your family is good and is behind you then you can forget everything else. And I'm a professional player. As a professional you must expect there will be difficult times. It was difficult because I've been away from Bulgaria for 12 years and this is the first time I had the problem that I didn't play. It was my first time in a long time that sometimes I play, sometimes not, and that was hard. I would go home to my wife, we would speak and we had to accept the situation. We wanted to stay and the children were happy at school, but my situation was different. I would have bad days, and then training the next day might be better. In football, one day can change everything. Now it feels like nothing, I'm happy again. I didn't play when Mark Hughes was here and I wasn't happy about that, but I think every single player who doesn't play is unhappy. That's normal."
Unhappy under Hughes or not, Petrov was as shocked as everyone else at the manner of his departure. He had watched the manager's agonies from the bench before taking the field for the last three minutes against Sunderland, yet was not expecting that to be the last he saw of him. "After the game, the captain, Kolo Touré, came into the dressing room and told us Mark Hughes had been sacked. I had just come out of the shower. We didn't know at that stage who the new manager was."
Once Mancini came in, things began to change quickly. "Before the game against Stoke we did a lot of work tactically and on the things we should be doing on the pitch," Petrov says. "We knew we could play better and needed to work hard to achieve that. Everyone now knows they must work on the pitch and knows exactly what the manager wants from them. It is very clear what each individual must do under this manager and I think that's normal, because he comes from Italy. And you know how it is in Italy with the tactical stuff. If you play with all 11 players acting as a team on the pitch then it's good. We know we have a very good squad with big players but if you don't play like a team on the pitch then you can't win."
Petrov is looking forward to the game against Blackburn tomorrow, because you can look forward to games when you have a reasonable chance of playing. If he plays, he has a reasonable chance of scoring, and if he scores, he will definitely keep up his custom of pointing to the name on his back. A message for Mark Hughes, perhaps? "No, it is for my wife," Petrov says. "So she doesn't forget my number."
Somud said:darrenwassall said:are you?
where will he fit in when everyones fit?
won't get a sniff if were gonna move up to the next level and i'll be very surprised if a so called top 4 team come in for him.
He's ahead of Robinho, and can also play on the right, giving SWP a run for his money. He might not be a fixed starter in every game, but it is a squad game, the guy is 31 and will get many games the way he performs. Exactly the type of players needed for trophy winning teams.
so was Anelka,would you take him right now ?Petr Čech said:his a sulk, end of. But good player never the less.
1.618034 said:City Raider said:more
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jan/10/martin-petrov-manchester-city-interview" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010 ... -interview</a>
Great interview
Martin Petrov always plays with a smile on his face. Look at the picture of Stephen Ireland flashing his Superman briefs and Petrov is beside him with a cartoon grin. That beam has been switched off for most of the season but suddenly the Manchester City midfielder is smiling again. Driving to work, training, even when giving newspaper interviews.
The Bulgarian international was enduring a thin time of it under Mark Hughes at Manchester City, starting just three games this season despite assurances that he was a valued member of the squad, but the arrival of Roberto Mancini has brought an instant transformation. Petrov has played all three games the Italian has supervised, scoring the first goal under the new regime against Stoke and making the winner in the FA Cup at Middlesbrough last week, all while helping City – though he readily concedes defence is not his strong point – post three consecutive clean sheets.
No wonder he is smiling. "I smile all the time," he jokes. "But really, it's not good for anyone if they don't play. OK, I am not the only player who was not playing, but I tell you I think I have a place in this team and that I'm showing that to the ex-manager. If someone doesn't give you the chance then that's frustrating to me, and he knows what I think. But it's OK now. In football sometimes we're down, sometimes we're up and the most important thing is to stay without injury."
In fairness to Hughes, he always talked of Petrov being an important member of the squad and one he could not afford to drive away, without ever managing to give the player the game minutes he deserved. Even when Petrov made the most of his rare appearances and played well, he would find himself out of the picture again the following week. "That was the most frustrating thing," he says. "I know sometimes I must stay on the bench. Maybe with this manager there will be times when I stay on the bench. We have too many players here and too many good players, so maybe there'll be times when I need to rest – and that's no problem. But it's difficult when you play well, score goals, do good and are the best player in the month of October – and then you spend another three games on the bench. That made me a little bit unhappy because I deserved to play."
Petrov is charming and polite and his English is excellent, as can be judged from his use of the exquisite understatement "a little bit unhappy", when really he was burning with resentment, taking his problems home and wondering whether he had better start looking for a new club. He did not want to do any of that, because he was perfectly happy in Manchester, but all footballers, especially talented internationals approaching their 31st birthday, want to play.
"It was not an easy time for me or my family but I have a very strong family and very good friends. My father, my mother, my brother, everyone wanted to help me and when I went home to my children, to my two girls, they helped me through. Football's only a job and if your family is good and is behind you then you can forget everything else. And I'm a professional player. As a professional you must expect there will be difficult times. It was difficult because I've been away from Bulgaria for 12 years and this is the first time I had the problem that I didn't play. It was my first time in a long time that sometimes I play, sometimes not, and that was hard. I would go home to my wife, we would speak and we had to accept the situation. We wanted to stay and the children were happy at school, but my situation was different. I would have bad days, and then training the next day might be better. In football, one day can change everything. Now it feels like nothing, I'm happy again. I didn't play when Mark Hughes was here and I wasn't happy about that, but I think every single player who doesn't play is unhappy. That's normal."
Unhappy under Hughes or not, Petrov was as shocked as everyone else at the manner of his departure. He had watched the manager's agonies from the bench before taking the field for the last three minutes against Sunderland, yet was not expecting that to be the last he saw of him. "After the game, the captain, Kolo Touré, came into the dressing room and told us Mark Hughes had been sacked. I had just come out of the shower. We didn't know at that stage who the new manager was."
Once Mancini came in, things began to change quickly. "Before the game against Stoke we did a lot of work tactically and on the things we should be doing on the pitch," Petrov says. "We knew we could play better and needed to work hard to achieve that. Everyone now knows they must work on the pitch and knows exactly what the manager wants from them. It is very clear what each individual must do under this manager and I think that's normal, because he comes from Italy. And you know how it is in Italy with the tactical stuff. If you play with all 11 players acting as a team on the pitch then it's good. We know we have a very good squad with big players but if you don't play like a team on the pitch then you can't win."
Petrov is looking forward to the game against Blackburn tomorrow, because you can look forward to games when you have a reasonable chance of playing. If he plays, he has a reasonable chance of scoring, and if he scores, he will definitely keep up his custom of pointing to the name on his back. A message for Mark Hughes, perhaps? "No, it is for my wife," Petrov says. "So she doesn't forget my number."
Great reading IMO and, it seems, more evidence that Hughes just didn't have the personality to manage certain key players..
Anyone who says Petrov isn't quality has been watching a different player to me. He is one of the best wingers in the world and would walk into most top teams in the Pl and beyond.
I'm glad he's back on board. Good news.
"Before the game against Stoke we did a lot of work tactically and on the things we should be doing on the pitch," Petrov says. "We knew we could play better and needed to work hard to achieve that. Everyone now knows they must work on the pitch and knows exactly what the manager wants from them. It is very clear what each individual must do under this manager and I think that's normal, because he comes from Italy. And you know how it is in Italy with the tactical stuff. If you play with all 11 players acting as a team on the pitch then it's good. We know we have a very good squad with big players but if you don't play like a team on the pitch then you can't win."
bluethai said:This just confirmed me again that the previous regime had no tactical nous at all.
"Before the game against Stoke we did a lot of work tactically and on the things we should be doing on the pitch," Petrov says. "We knew we could play better and needed to work hard to achieve that. Everyone now knows they must work on the pitch and knows exactly what the manager wants from them. It is very clear what each individual must do under this manager and I think that's normal, because he comes from Italy. And you know how it is in Italy with the tactical stuff. If you play with all 11 players acting as a team on the pitch then it's good. We know we have a very good squad with big players but if you don't play like a team on the pitch then you can't win."