When I clicked to the comments on Sky Sports’ website, I wasn’t surprised to see an uninterrupted stream of derision regarding Stiliyan Petrov’s appraisal of his teammate. Disappointed, maybe, but not surprised.
It was a provocative headline. Made me click, anyway.
The thing Petrov was saying was, “People talk about Ronaldo, but when you look at the assets of Gabby, you can put him in the same bracket.” The key word there is “assets”, which Petrov elaborated on:
“He has the strength, the speed, he scores goals and he creates them,” he said. “I’m trying to give him the encouragement. I thought Gabby was absolutely outstanding in the win over Wigan. That’s the Gabby we know, taking people on. Players are so scared of his pace. The game against Wigan was all about Gabby. He was brilliant.”
My first thought was “Ronaldo. Yeah, right,” no disrespect to Gabby. My second thought was, “Great, Stan…you trying to up his price and engineer a move away?” My third thought was, “Ok, I see what he means about ‘assets’.”
So while I don’t yet think our Gabby is Ronaldo’s equal, I understand what Petrov meant about a strong, fast player who can head straight to goal and score, the kind of player that makes defenders scared and consequently makes chances for himself. I lauded Gabby yesterday, but of course it’s all about form over time. If he has another step up in him like the one he’s taken so far this year (and doesn’t move backward), then I can see people making the comparison.
If he finds that same arrogant self-confidence as a player (without putting it on display quite so often and so petulantly) and can harness it, he stands a chance.
The Other Bits
James Collins has two years to run on his current contract, but he’d like to sign a new one. Having just turned 28, he says his best years are ahead of him. He might be right. Paired with the right partner, he could do a solid job for a while. He’s tough, he wins balls, and he puts himself about. He’s not perfect, but we could do much worse.
Elsewhere along the back line Stephen Warnock has discussed his so-called “Houllier Hell,” the details of which didn’t quite match the headline. But he was frozen out, and does seem to want desperately to play and prove himself. Fair enough. He’s not the player we need there long term, but if regains the form he showed before things went downhill, he’ll be alright for us this year. Not great, but alright and generally good enough.
The thing is, if we want to press and move up and down the field as a unit, and not have such a static back four (or central pairing, at least) leaving a big hole in the middle, we have to have at least one quicker and more athletic CB and FB each. Along with an imposing, dynamic DM.
Not saying these guys aren’t playing hard and giving it their all. They are. And I applaud them for it. But we all know what CBs and FBs at the next level look like, and we don’t see it at Villa.
Warnock also paid tribute to Kevin MacDonald for his role in keeping him focused and optimistic. That seems the sort of man MacDonald is.
Carlos Cuellar apparently came through his 45-minute reserves appearance no worse for wear, marking his first return to competition in five months in the 1-0 victory over Chelsea. He’s anxious to reclaim a place, and I’ll be curious whether he can stake a claim as he returns to full fitness. I like Carlos. He’s not very good on the ball, but he’s quick, big, has good closing speed and agility.
But with Dunne apparently being the preferred partner to Collins, and new-signing Hutton perhaps unlikely to be easily dislodged given his willingness to get forward, I’m left wondering what claim Carlos can really stake. We’ll see.
And Finally
Putting Villa’s start (and plight) in perspective is Liverpool’s Luis Suarez, who, seven games in, has declared Liverpool’s campaign aspirations at fourth place: “The main reason why it is so difficult is because the two Manchesters and Chelsea are unreachable. But we can win the cups.”
Maybe we can nick one of those cups of theirs off them.
Beyond stating the obvious, Suarez ends up pointing out that while many feel we missed our ‘one-and-only’ top-four shot a couple of years ago, it’s actually still up for grabs. While Liverpool and Tottenham are good teams, neither one scares me, and neither one is going to get that far ahead of us in the short term. If Spurs don’t grab fourth, Modric will be gone, and he probably won’t be the only one. Liverpool, they just don’t seem to quite get it right.
Liverpool spent a lot of money this past summer to be settling for fourth as a best-case scenario after seven games. I’m not saying we did better in the close season, though we probably did in terms of overall value in net spend, but you can see the insanity we’re up against.
And then Bill Kenwright was talking about how if Everton had had plans for a new stadium in place, they might’ve secured City’s ownership instead. Whatever one thinks of buying a title, missing out on perhaps the last PL Divine Intervention like that would make me feel more ill than knowing there was never much chance.
If you haven’t already, you should have a listen to the interview with Kenwright. It’ll give you an insight into what’s happening behind the scenes at Villa. No, Randy doesn’t talk much, but if he were as outgoing a personality as Kenwright, this is probably what he would say.
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