God bless you Martin, may you find a bright new future­ in other avenues of football, you have left a wonderful­ legacy for others to learn from.
Terry AVFC

I heartily agree with Pongo (great handle for a Villa­ fan to have by the way!). I can't remember Villa­ ever having a better defender, nor one who scored as­ many goals. He was better than McGrath or Southgate at­ their best and it's a huge shame we never got to­ enjoy a few seasons of him and Mellberg as a­ centre-back pairing.
What can't be overestimated is­ his importance as club captain and the moral example he­ set (playing the game in the right spirit, respecting­ the refs decisions, etc.). It's a horrible­ stereotype but the Scandinavian players do tend to be a­ bit smarter and well-educated than most of ours do and­ Laursen always came across as a thoughtful and­ inspiring leader, just the sort of guy you want in­ charge.
Martin, you will be hugely missed, I can't­ imagine who is going to replace you, whoever it is has­ some huge shoes to fill.

I remember the first game I saw Martin, I thought who­ is that blonde bloke at the back, he's everywhere!­ Thank-you for all your effort and hard work and I wish­ you a healthy retirement. My utmost gratitude.

it was on the cards for the past month or so but now­ its announced its a sad day for villa and football. top­ top top defender and an all round great guy. big martin­ is goin to be missed and considering he had only been­ at villa for about 5 years he deserves a testimonial­ for how he played and conducted himself while at aston­ villa. anybody else agree with that? needs a petition­ starting and singing it from the terraces against­ newcastle the big lion hearted defender deserves it.
UP­ THE VILLA!!!

Gonna miss your corner goals and your outstanding­ defending skills.. One of the best defenders in EPL..

Thanks MARTIN for some tremendous goals that you scored­ for us plus the many that would have been concedied if­ it was not for you good luck for the future hope you­ can come back to villa park as a coach and give curtis­ and carlos some of your knowledge

a sad day for all football, a true pro and a great­ skipper for villa this season and all ways a top­ defender, every time he came up for a corner i thought­ he would score. lets finish 5th for him and keep him on­ as a coach. up the villa!

a sad thing when top pros are forced to­ retire............. hope u take up coaching­ youngsters...MUFC

From a Liverpool fan, ive always admired him as a­­ player, hes a good honest centre half and he always­­ gave 100% in everygame. He truely was a great asset­ for­ the premier league and he wasnt like many other­ foreign­ players who came to the prem just to pick up­ their­ paypackets, i can emphasise how he feels having­ had 2­ knee operations on both knees myself, i hope he­ has­ made a good living out of the game and best of­ luck for­ the future

laursen oh laursen..
we gonna miss u..
but u will be in­ my history of fantasy football
and thanks because not­ play against us

-man utd fans-

As big a loss it is for Villa fans, losing their­ Ferdinand and Vidic combined in one, I reckon Martin O­ Neil shouldn't have too much trouble replacing him,­ just look into some Raw talent from South America or­ Asia if not eastern europe, and the owner should back­ him up, he also needs to get a proven striker because­ their striking postions ie agbonlahor etc are not­ powerful enough to get them to the top 4 where they­ want to be..

Sympathy for him, one of the best defenders in Premier­ League, sad day for Premier League as we lost a big­ talent. Good luck in your life, Laursen. -Fulham fan-

how the hell are we gonna replace him, "the one­ man wall". good luck in what ever you do martin,­ you'll be sadly missed by one and all in the holte­ end. top defender, top pro.

Its a disgrace such players are being forced to retire­ at their peak because of an injury. Best of luck in the­ future Laursen, regards from a United fan

A very sad day for Villa. No coincidence that­ they've nosedived since his absence.
Rovinjdog.

I've been going to Villa Park for 43 years (England­ had just won the world cup!!).
Whilst you neutrals­ would like to see my claret and blue tinted glasses, I­ can't express what a loss this is to football let­ alone AVFC.
Without any doubt in my mind, Martin­ Laursen is the best and most solid defender I've­ ever seen in a Villa shirt.
Many will disagree with me,­ but better, all round, than Paul McGrath.
Had the­ privelege of meeting him too.
Great man, did many­ things for the community, and a superb role model.
To­ all Villains and neutrals, tell me of a moment he­ contested the refs decisions, moaned, had tantrums etc­ etc.
Such a pity he and Melberg never played together.­ How we replace him is, right now, a nightmarish­ thought.
Davies is still learning, and Knight, sad to­ say about a local lad, wouldn't get picked in my­ playstation team.
MON has his work cut-out to replace­ this Rock.
Best wishes to Martin, albeit early­ retirement from the Prem doesn't leave players­ stuffed for a pension like it would have done when MON­ had to retire from the game!

its going to one good player to replace him all the­ best martain and many thanks from a true villain

great player.he will be missed just like melberg great­ players villa must replace him now big problem.best of­ luck martin up the villa

It is a very sad day for all fans.Laursen was a very­ good player and had some leadership skills which we­ can´t find easily.

A great loss for Villa and my fantasy football team...