Petrov set for City start

Posted Wednesday, September 23, 2009 by PA

Martin Petrov could make his first start of the season for Manchester City in the Carling Cup third-round tie with Fulham.

Blues boss Mark Hughes is still without Emmanuel Adebayor through suspension and long-term injury victims Robinho (ankle), Roque Santa Cruz (knee), Vincent Kompany (toe) and Michael Johnson (abdominal), so the Welshman will have to make changes from within the squad beaten by Manchester United on Sunday.

Carlos Tevez came through the derby without aggravating a knee problem suffered on international duty but he could be the man to stand down, with Hughes needing the South American at full fitness for Monday's encounter with West Ham.

Petrov feared he had no future at City following the arrival of so many new faces since he was signed from Atletico Madrid by Sven-Goran Eriksson two years ago.

It hardly helped that Petrov missed virtually all of last term after rupturing his cruciate knee ligament on international duty, giving him little chance to show the ability which made him a crowd favourite in his first year at Eastlands.

"Martin is a big part of what we are trying to do," said Hughes.

"He has not been a negative influence in any way and I know if I pick him from the start he will make a positive contribution.

"Martin is not starting games because I am playing a different formation that lends itself to Craig Bellamy playing on the left and he has been absolutely outstanding.

"That has made it difficult for Martin to get back into the team.

"He understands that. But he also knows I will use different personnel against certain opposition and he can make an impact."

For a club who have not won a trophy for 33 years, a win over Fulham would bring a final appearance tantalisingly close, with Hughes acknowledging the need to bring some silverware to a club eager to make progress at rapid speed.

"If you win trophies and have experience of winning trophies as a group of players and as a club, it helps you," he said.

"It shows you the qualities needed to overcome opposition and win things. We haven't got that yet. In terms of development it is probably our next step."

Fulham manager Roy Hodgson is set to make wholesale changes once again.

Hodgson is set to revert back to the second-string squad that drew 1-1 with CSKA Sofia in the Europa League last Thursday night after making 10 changes for Sunday's defeat at Wolves.

Simon Davies, Jonathan Greening and Diomansy Kamara are all likely to get another chance to press their claims from the start after appearing off the bench at Molineux.

Hodgson fears any changes to football's time-keeping system could end up with matches lasting as long as the Superbowl.

Hodgson has every sympathy with Manchester City boss Mark Hughes after Michael Owen snatched a dramatic winner for Manchester United six minutes into added time at the end of Sunday's pulsating derby.

Hughes was furious that referee Martin Atkinson had not blown the final whistle after signalling that a minimum of four extra minutes would be played.

But Hodgson rejected Hughes' suggestion of independent time-keepers and dismissed the idea that football follow the system used in rugby union, where the clock is paused for stoppages instead of time being added on at the end.

Hodgson believes that would be a major step on the road to football becoming riddled with breaks like American sports.

"If you want to have absolutely no discussion ever about time adding on, or if time is being wasted, you need to play effective time and that would change the game radically," said Hodgson.

"That would move us away from football as we know it and into the realms of ice hockey and American Football.

"An American Football match is played in four quarters over an hour - but you can be there for four hours.

"That suits America because the adverts come in every time there is a stoppage. I would be disappointed if football went down that route.

"Of course I have great sympathy for people like Mark Hughes. When you have played well and you think you have got a great result it is awful to lose a game in the last minute, whether that is the 89th or 98th.

"You just have to learn to live with it. I am of that very old school that believes referees must be given the right to referee the game and make decisions. It is not an exact science.

"For me, referees are the arbiters and we have to abide by their decision."