Excellent news has broke today that Stiliyan Petrov has said he is in the final stages of contract negotiations that will extend his stay at Villa Park.

a well deserved new contract

I have never hidden my admiration for him both as a technical player and a very hard worker who has never given up even when it appeared he was not going to make it in the Premier League. However as the Player of the Season award from both the fans and players have shown he has grown into the Villa and clearly has shown he is worthy of a lengthy stay and can easily be the Barry replacement.