Gabby Agbonlahor trouble no surprise to ex-Aston Villa player Stiliyan Petrov
Wednesday 20 April 2016 18:44, UK
Stiliyan Petrov believes former Aston Villa team-mate Gabby Agbonlahor can still have a future at the club but is not surprised to hear about his off-field behaviour.
The club captain has been suspended pending an internal investigation following newspaper allegations that he used the legal high nitrous oxide after he was pictured partying just hours after Villa were relegated from the Premier League.
This incident comes a couple of weeks after another club investigation into his behaviour while in Dubai where he was seen smoking a shisha pipe.
Petrov, who played for Villa between 2006 and 2013, says he was not shocked to hear about this latest trouble for the 29-year-old but insists all the club's problems cannot be blamed on Agbonlahor.
"That is Gabby's type of life all these years, even when he was outstanding, when he was bad. He loves the club, he is always out there, he wants to perform," Petrov said.
"Gabby is different and I don't think it is Gabby's fault what is happening. Yes, he is part of it, he should have dealt and acted better but I certainly think that is not the first time Gabby smoked shisha, that he has been out and had a couple of drinks, partying. Everybody does it."
Another former Villa player, Dean Saunders, said he is disappointed that so much focus has been put on Agbonlahor as he feels the club's problems run a lot deeper.
"When you get relegated and you are losing and you are a big club then everybody looks at everything and the finger gets pointed at everybody and every little thing matters and people go looking for things.
"I wouldn't single out anybody, I just think over a period of four or five years there has been a lack of investment into the team with top players and, if you are going to get top players, you have to spend."
Petrov and Saunders were speaking at the John Hartson Foundation Golf Day at Mar Hall Golf and Spa Resort in Bishopton near Glasgow, an event being held to raise funds for testicular cancer.
