So the transfer saga of the summer is over as Manchester City have finally completed the signing of England international James Milner with Stephen Ireland moving to Villa Park as part of the deal.

While Manchester City have undoubtedly got themselves a top quality player we will have to wait and see whether or not the move turns out to be a good one for Milner. City fans will take to Milner as the supporters of all his previous teams have done because he not only brings with him an abundance of quality but a great work ethic. However, the big question remains was the time right for Milner to move on?

Since moving to Villa permanently in August 2008 Milner’s game developed greatly under the guidance of Martin O’Neill. Playing alongside other young English prospects such as Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor the team flourished and established themselves as a top six Premier League team looking to make the next step and break into the ‘big four’. Milner played a big part in this and his impressive performances hadn’t gone unnoticed as he established himself in the England squad. Playing week in, week out, Milner was clearly enjoying his football and the timing of this move to City just seems strange in my opinion. While O’Neill has departed Villa they still have a squad capable of having another impressive campaign and Milner would be an integral part of this as his performance at the weekend showed.

The Villa side know each other inside out and play as a team and this is something that will take time to establish at Eastlands. Milner may also have to come to terms with the fact that he will not play every game. I don’t think he has moved for the money but that will accusation will be thrown at him because he will be getting paid significantly more than he was at Villa Park. A former teammate of Milner’s Gareth Barry made a similar move the season before and his game has not progressed a great deal since then, some would argue it has taken a step back. Milner is a great player and I would like him to do well at Manchester City but can’t help but feel he wouldn’t have gone far wrong by staying put at Villa for a while longer. As the saying goes, if it isn’t broken don’t try and fix it and Aston Villa football club despite O’Neill’s departure is anything but broken.

Articulate, funny and an enthusiastic celebrator of his team’s goals, Martin O’Neill is one of the most popular men in football. Having done a superb job at Leicester City, and a very good one at Celtic (despite quite heavy spending) he was linked with the Manchester United job in 2002 (before Ferguson stayed on) and was interviewed for the England Managership in 2006. Many think he would be the perfect candidate for the latter, while others think he and David Moyes would be good ‘home-grown’ choices if and when the former becomes available. He inherited David O’Leary’s position at Aston Villa in 2006, as he was hired by Randy Lerner – who had recently succeeded ‘Deadly’ Doug Ellis as owner of Aston Villa – and according to many pundits did a fantastic job, leading Villa to three consecutive 6th place finishes after a modest 11th place in his first season.

This conclusion has been drawn understandably, but it relies upon a red herring of a statistic. O’Neill’s many acolytes often state that he single-handedly turned a club that finished 16th in 2005-06 consistently into a top 6 club. This understates the level of investment given to O’Neill compared to his predecessor. Whereas O’Leary was able to spend roughly £5m net per season at Villa, O’Neill spent £83m in his four seasons – four times more per season than the Irishman.

During his first season, having spent £16m net, the improvement from 16th to 11th, whilst not being bad, is nothing exceptional with the extra resources available. He insitgated a much-needed overhaul of O’Leary’s squad, buying success stories John Carew and Ashley Young at considerable expense while selling white elephants such as Milan Baros.

The next season, O’Neill spent just £1m net. The improvement from 11th to 6th perhaps came residually from the previous January’s signings (including Carew and Young) being allowed to ‘bed in’ at the club in the previous ‘transition’ season. The signings made in the summer ranged from the moderate (£3.5m for Zat Knight) to the ridiculous (£5m for Marlon Harewood), with only Nigel Reo-Coker and Knight (£11m combined) contributing in any way to the team’s improvement. O’Neill did extremely well to lead this squad to sixth place, but it was in his sales where his success is tempered. Players such as Gary Cahill, Liam Ridgewell, Steven Davis and Aaron Hughes, sold for modest prices by O’Neill, could have acted as the back-up expensively assembled later on in their positions.

The next season, 2008-09, O’Neill splurged £45m net, looking to break into the Champions League. Brad Friedel, James Milner and Carlos Cuellar contributed greatly to this quest, whereas Steve Sidwell, Luke Young and Curtis Davies figured intermittently. Nicky Shorey’s purchase for £5m was comparable in wastage only to that of Marlon Harewood. For this expenditure, Villa attained the same 6th place position after threatening Arsenal’s position in the top four for much of the season. From a very strong position with 15 games to go, Villa collapsed. They struggled for goals as Young, Milner and Agbonlahor tired late in the season, scoring only 16 in 14 games after March 1st.

One major flaw with O’Neill’s transfer policy at this time was his exaggerated belief in the 2007-08 players. A strong sixth placed finish was an overachievement with the players at his disposal – the ‘next level’ of Champions League football required players of greater quality. 1 win in 9 home games against the rest of the top 10 that season suggests that the side lacked the technical quality and imagination to win the tough games needed to finish fourth. Away this was less of a problem, as they could counterattack the more attacking home sides, but at home the level of creativity needed to break solid ‘playing for a point’ teams down was not there.

Moreover, spending £16m on Sidwell, Shorey and Luke Young when players such as Maynor Figueroa, John Paintsil and Dickson Etuhu came into Fulham and Wigan respectively for much less, was indicative of O’Neill’s unimaginative transfer policy. The latter three signings would surely have left greater scope for a striker or creative midfielder of immediate quality, exactly what was needed in his first choice XI. Perhaps O’Neill’s lack of foreign transfer acumen, or a seeming taste for dealing with a largely British dressing room was his biggest flaw. Again he hadn’t done badly by maintaining the team’s position in the European positions, but stagnation would surely not cost £45m under a manager doing an ‘exceptional job’.

Last season saw another sixth place finished after spending £22m net more. With the increasing power of Tottenham and Manchester City, sixth again was by no means a failure but O’Neill’s selection, style and transfer policy was once again Anglo-centric. Stewart Downing came in to help relieve the pressure upon his creative midfielders, but at £10m he was by no means a bargain. Richard Dunne’s age, lack of re-sale value and his wages make his £6m transfer fee from Man City again look no better than good, despite his very impressive performances. That he was signed on deadline day along with James Collins indicates a distinct lack of planning from O’Neill, even if they turned out to be very good on the pitch. Stephen Warnock was a good addition to the first team but was not cheap at £8m. The signing of Fabian Delph has not provided immediate dividends, but he surely is for the future.

Once again Villa defended well for large parts of the season – Carlos Cuellar impressing especially – but the lack of depth up front meant again the strain fell upon Agbonlahor and Carew. They were often magnificent away to Big Four clubs but couldn’t breach top drawer defences at home. If O’Neill had spent some of his budget on a creative schemer rather than on Habib Beye and James Collins, perhaps they would have been able to crack the top four, especially with Liverpool’s capitulation.

In cup competitions O’Neill showed that he is an astute tactician, reaching an FA Cup Semi and a Carling Cup Final, but the major failing in both defeats was Villa’s inability to create and finish chances. In one-off games, against Chelsea and Manchester United, teams who struggle to create and finish their chances are generally punished. O’Neill’s whingeing about Nemanja Vidic’s ‘definite sending off’ in the Carling Cup final masked another disappointing attacking display, despite the early boon of Milner’s penalty.

Again O’Neill was unable to take his side to a higher level than he had in 2008,  due in part to paying over the odds for players who were Premier League quality but not Champions League quality.

Thus while he did by no means a poor job at Aston Villa his net outlay when compared to Everton in 2008-09 (under a manager proving himself to be vastly superior) and to a lesser extent Spurs last season is indicative of a manager doing a solid, unspectacular job. Ultimately, that’s all he did, no more, less.

During the takeover of Manchester City last summer, City’s Chief Executive, Gary Cook made several rather tasteless comments but one stood out above all the others for me. During an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Cook was outlining City’s plan for world domination. As Wednesday’s defeat at Tottenham showed, sometimes things don’t go to plan.

During a rather ill-judged interview, which looking back, is quite hilarious now, Cook had this to say: “China and India are gagging for football content to watch and we’re going to tell them that City is their content. We need a superstar to get through that door. Richard Dunne doesn’t roll off the tongue in Beijing. Ronaldinho brings access to major sponsors and financial reward”

Going on their current way of doing business at Manchester City, they’ll try sign Ronaldinho, who is nowhere near the player he was between 2003 and 2006. Yet Richard Dunne has been instrumental in Aston Villa’s fantastic form this season by continuing in the same vein that saw him Manchester City’s player of the year in 4 out of his last 5 seasons at the club. A great club build from the back by having a superb defence which allows the flair players to express themselves. Cook was out of order to pour scorn on Dunne especially judging by the comedy defending Lescott, Toure and Bridge have offered so far this season.

If anything, Manchester City are crying out for a player like Richard Dunne, but as Cook said, he doesn’t sell shirts in China. Why on earth would Manchester City want someone who can defend but just isn’t glamorous enough. He just gives 100% and puts his body on the line, always pushing himself to keep his side in every game. For club and country, Dunne has always been Mr. Consistency over the last 6 seasons and Aston Villa are now benefiting from his work rate.

Since joining Villa, Dunne has slotted in seamlessly and allowed O’Neill’s side to concentrate on their effective counter attacking game. By knowing they have such a dependable and reliable player behind them, Villa’s attacking quartet can concentrate on trying to run teams ragged. With the pace that Villa have, Dunne’s strength and presence at the back allows the team to quickly break out and take advantage.

With the experience last season will have given some of the players, they’ll know that they have to avoid a repeat of running out of steam once the season came down to the run in. With Downing now almost fully match fit and Collins complementing Dunne at the back, Villa have a real squad that can enable them to stay the pace.

Everyone has been surprised by Everton’s slow start, but they’ve been ripped apart by injuries to the point they were reliant on the youth set up at Goodison, but Spurs and Manchester City are also up there with Villa. For once we have 7 or 8 sides battling at the top of the table and the Premiership is all the better for it. Liverpool continue to press the self destruct button too which strengthens the pretenders attempts to gain a top 4 slot.

Under Martin O’Neill and with the reliable Richard Dunne in the team, Aston Villa will be hoping they can look down on Manchester City. I wonder then if Gary Cook will see any Aston Villa shirts with Dunne on the back during his summer holidays. I really hope he does.

The unfortunate downside of modern technology means that any armchair fan can now comment on any team without actually seeing the game. As I type this, I’m listening to Radio 5 and Liverpool “fans” are calling for the head of Benitez. “The worst display I’ve ever seen from a Liverpool team” shouts one fan who obviously missed the F.A. Cup defeat to Barnsley and league defeats to Bradford, Barnsley and Watford too.

“We’d have won the League last season if it wasn’t for Benitez, sack him now” shouts another fan who seems to have forgotten Liverpool broke the record for the most points by a runner up in the Premiership last year. “We need a world class midfielder to replace Alonso, Rafa spend the money!!” So much for the reports Liverpool are skint eh? It reminds me of a time listening to a football phone in here in Sheffield, Wednesday had just lost, caller rings up. “Wednesday are rubbish, sack the manager.” “Have you been to the game?” asks the host. “No” comes the reply, “I’ve just seen the score on Sky Sports News”.

I’m stunned by the level of ire I’m hearing being aimed towards him, I never thought I’d get to a point where I’d be defending Rafa Benitez but seriously who really wants the manager sacked 3 games in to a season? Did I miss something or are Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa the worst teams the Premiership has ever seen? No, didn’t think so. Liverpool have lost to two very good teams. I know they only lost two games last season, but come on let’s be reasonable here. They’ve not lost to Scunthorpe and Norwich City have they?

It’s interesting to note that on the day of the Stoke City game last week, the rumours returned regarding Benitez’s position at Anfield and the fact he was contemplating walking away from the club. This is a story that will not go away and has dogged him since 2007. Someone keeps fanning the rumours and it certainly can’t have a stabilising effect on the team or the club.

Tonight Liverpool were poor, the first 20 minutes apart but Aston Villa were superb. They got a goal and never let Liverpool settle, typical of how Martin O’Neill likes to set his teams up away from home. They like to soak up pressure and attack on the break, using the pace they’ve got in the team. With Carragher and Skrtel still struggling with head injuries, Lucas showing a lack of invention. Mascherano oddly was then forced to push forward, leaving the back four exposed.

It played straight into Villa’s hands. Young and Agbonlahor looked someway back to the form that pushed Villa up the table last season. Reo-Coker was immense, chasing, harassing and fighting for every 50-50 ball. Friedel seemed unpassable. Villa deserved the win.

The thing with knee jerk reactions like this is that people simply go “Sack the manager” without considering who’d replace them. So sack Benitez, who do you replace him with? Would anyone come with the financial situation as seemingly dire as it is behind the scenes? Clearly there is no money to spend, the signing of  Kyrgiakos smacks of bargain hunting, especially after all the speculation linking Liverpool with Hull’s Michael Turner.

Benitez hasn’t become a bad manager in 3 months and Liverpool haven’t become a bad team. They’re just trying to find some form with key personnel struggling with injuries, nothing more, nothing less. They need to pick themselves up, dust themselves down and concentrate on Saturdays match at Bolton.Liverpool could have stolen a win on the opening day, but should have been 3-0 down by half time. Stoke were ripped apart time and again.

I don’t think anyone is going to run away with the league this season and Liverpool’s key situation could be the lack of African players come January. Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City all have big players that will be going to Angola and that will be a tough month for those three teams, regardless of squad size and financial muscle.  The Premiership is never won in August and the kneejerk fans need to remember that.

Title race back on, blah blah blah, Aston Villa torn apart like a dingo on a newborn, yada yada yada, England expects ahead of international week—wait just one minute there, pal.

It would be safe to say that Villa is a sort of stand-in England B side in the Premier League, at least according to the English press in light of Capello’s on again/off again preference for the once-potent duo of Agbonlahor and Young.  So while Sunday’s thrashing of Villa by Liverpool is good news for Gerrard’s form heading into internationals this weekend, it gives the lie to recent claims that England has achieved some measure of depth in the senior squad.

Villa were very poor, and while O’Neill’s decision to field a more open 4-4-2 at Anfield has taken much of the blame, the form of Heskey, Young, and Gareth Barry certainly didn’t help the cause.  O’Neill even seems to have lost some measure of faith in the latter—he’s already said he’s open to letting Barry go wherever he wishes at the end of the season.

But beyond their current league woes, Villa are at risk of losing out to “mostly-foreign” Arsenal in Champions League qualification for next season.  The CL would have given Villa’s English players invaluable experience playing the best teams and players in club football’s most important knockout competition, surely decent  preparation for South Africa 2010.

The case might be made that England is strong enough with out its younger players or its aging but still useful internationals.  At the moment, Steven Gerrard is worth ten Gareth Barrys.  But Gerrard, like Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney, has missed big tournaments to injury before (Euro 2004).  If England is to expect any measure of success in South Africa next year, it will need a strong group of second strings.  Villa’s current slide in form will not help toward that end.

The two big stories this weekend not related to Manchester United’s getting the first leg of the quadruple would have to be events that transpired at the Riverside and at the Emirates Stadium.

We’ll start with Liverpool because after such a great result midweek against Real Madrid, their loss at the Riverside defied belief. And the papers were quick to fill column inches with their own post match thoughts. Sam Wallace compares the Liverpool situation to that of Nigel Clough’s power struggle at Derby County. Personally I don’t see that much of a comparison as Rafa and Hicks for the moment appear to have formed a loose partnership. Piers Morgan heads down the character assassination route calling Rafa the most arrogant manager in the history of the Premier League. That’s just harsh. Patrick Barclay sneaks the line in his column about Rick Parry that Rafa is the one who has to answer for the results, not Parry himself. Don’t expect that anytime soon. This Independent column pretty much states what Rafa is confirming Sunday, the title race is all over.

It’s almost become a recording at the Emirates, a Premier League nil draw. The results are something that just baffle any mind and after the result against Roma midweek, you would think confidence would have reigned supreme against Fulham. However after Saturday’s result, all Wenger could come up with is “Maybe is is partly psychological. We are getting in good positions but not taking the chances.”

Maybe? Is that the best you could come up with? At this point it is completely psychological. When week in and week out your side can’t finish in front of goal, it becomes a mental thing. Wenger can praise your keeper all you want, and keep the faith in Arsenal’s stars, but you simply have to motivate your players to get goals. That is simply something Wenger hasn’t been able to do. Maybe Theo Walcott’s return to training can be the boost that Arsenal sorely need.

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The other big result this weekend was Aston Villa blowing a two goal lead to Stoke City at home. That didn’t stop Tony Pulis hoping pre-match that Villa finished in the top four. Post match it was Martin O’Neill not happy at the arrogant and over confident nature Villa had after going two goals up.

In other Villa news, Martin O’Neill has responded to disgruntled Villa fans who decided to fly out to Moscow just to see the Aston Villa ‘c’ side lose to CSKA Moscow. His offer, dinner with himself and the players. I guess that works, but I was thinking more a reimbursement check for expenses after having to endure that game.

The cracks are starting to show at the KC Stadium. After Geovanni’s ridiculous antics after being subbed, Phil Brown gave him the verbal hair dryer treatment. I expect that one to get much more heated before it cools off.

Speaking of hair dryer treatments, Rio Ferdinand is still sacred of Sir Alex’s.

Tony Mowbray continues to say he will not stand down from his footballing philosophy. That’s even after another defeat.

Bolton fans probably aren’t happy after Gary Megson has agreed to a new rolling contract at the Reebok Stadium.

Florent Malouda says the lack of first team action could cause him to consider his Chelsea future. I say take a hike. You were a good player for France, but the English game is not your brand of football.

And finally, if the News of the World is to be believed (and I normally don’t unless they have the video to prove it), Manchester United is going to throw 200,000 a week at Cristiano Ronaldo to stay.

Just one more thing before I go. Has anyone noticed how many clubs are now within three points of the drop?

Chelsea’s first leg clash with Juventus is all about one man, Claudio Ranieri. The manager who was first fired by Roman at Chelsea, after getting one season, knew he was a lame duck and insists the fact he didn’t give up shows the character he has. For a man who thinks he did ok, he certainly did alright by me…even if that meant heartbreak against Monaco in a Champions League semi-final and Arsenal in an FA Cup final.

Guus Hiddink’s first home match in charge of Chelsea has almost taken a back seat to Ranieri’s return. But Hididnk knows his place, win and win now. While Hiddink’s preparation for Juventus wasn’t exactly ideal, Guus says he won’t make excuses if there isn’t instant success.

Chelsea/Juve is an interesting tie for sure. Two sides who’s form have appeared to mirror each other will take the park Wednesday (2:45 pm ET ESPN2). This one all falls on which set of strikers decide to show up, and if John Terry doesn’t turn out to be the liability he has been of late. While Terry did have a half decent outing against Aston Villa, Ranieri will know his old players well, and which ones to quickly exploit.

That doesn’t mean the build up to the Real Madrid/Liverpool hasn’t been dull (Setanta Sports 2:45 pm). Let’s start with the Real Madrid president predicting a 5-1 aggregate victory. We then read that Rafael van der Vaart thinks Liverpool are scared of Real Madrid. Arjen Robben, he just wants revenge.

Rafa has an interesting dilemma ahead of him. Steven Gerrard is close to being fully fit, the question is will Rafa play him? I think that answer the most obvious answer of the year (yes). Fernando Torres is looking forward to making an impact in Madrid, after not  Alvaro Arbeloa has no regrets about his past and is looking to his future with Liverpool, Xavi Alonso is a bit worried about the threat Real Madrid pose.

Real Madrid come into this tie with Liverpool on fire, Liverpool just look ice cold. Rafa has always proved his sides can do the job over two legs, and with his contract still not signed, there is extra motivation. Of all the four ties between English clubs in this round of the Champions League, this could end up being the most entertaining to watch.

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Martin O’Neill has left key players out of the side heading to Russia for Aston Villa’s second leg tie with CSKA Moscow. While I understand his wanting to have his side focused on qualifying for the Champions League, why do I get the sneaky feeling they may end up in the round of sixteen?

Darren Fletcher had a little more on his mind than he bargained for last night after it was revealed his house was robbed and his girlfriend held at knife point. I hope these bastards are caught and get exactly what they deserve.

Could AirAsia be Manchester United’s next kit sponsor?

Steve Bruce believes South Korean international Cho Won-hee will pay off for Wigan Athletic. If Bruce can keep him healthy, he might be right.

The Football League is not happy with Wembley Stadium. Reason being, that 2011 Champions League final…well it clashes with one of the dates the Football League had already booked for the playoff finals. Expect money to exchange hands on that one.

Joe Kinnear has been told to chill out after apparently spending more time worrying about Newcastle United than recovering from triple-bypass surgery.

Here’s an interesting way to apologize. Craig Bellamy says all Robinho has to do is ‘play his best‘. You first Craig.

Giofranco Zola disagrees with those who have devalued the FA Cup, insisting he wants to win the trophy as manager of West Ham. Gareth Southgate, doesn’t plan on sacrafacing the FA Cup just because they are in the relegation zone.

And Sam Allardyce says he will stick with Blackburn, even if they are relegated.

With the title race effectively coming down to just three realistic contenders now, there is only one spot remaining for qualification into next season’s Champions’ League. Currently, Aston Villa are sitting fourth on 48 points, with a nice five point gap separating them from Arsenal who are in fifth. Although Villa have accrued the same number of points as Chelsea, I just don’t see them being able to last the distance and put in a genuine title challenge. Although it would be nice for a wildcard like Villa to shake things up at the very pinnacle, I think it’s too soon for them to be contenders.

So back to the original point, Aston Villa remain in pole position to take the last Champions’ League spot from seasoned campaigners Arsenal. Domestically, it would be fantastic to see someone else muscle in on the big four but would it be beneficial for the Premiership’s European status? Currently the league stands as the best in the world as the Premiership’s four regular competitors for Europe’s elite prize have all reached the final in the last three years. In comparison to other leagues, where Real Madrid (the world’s most successful club arguably) struggle to make the quarter final stage each year and Italian sides feature on a sporadic basis at best, the Premiership provides serious challengers season after season.

The inclusion of Aston Villa in the Champions’ League at the expense of Arsenal could have a detrimental effect on England’s dominance of Europe. Whereas English teams stroll through to the latter stages, Villa could be drawn against an experienced European side (Valencia for example) in the third round qualifying stage and subsequently find themselves in the UEFA Cup, much like Everton did in 2005. And then, even if they did qualify for the group stages (which for the record would be a massively commendable achievement), I fear that they would struggle to make any impact on the competition.

Arsenal being in the UEFA Cup wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing as they would probably be considered among the favourites to lift the trophy, should they still have their current crop of players. However, would their stars like Fabregas, Adebayor, Van Persie, etc, really want to hang about when a host of top European sides could offer them an escape, and could Arsenal turn down big offers without the financial rewards that come with Champions’ League football? I doubt Arsenal would sell these players to domestic rivals so other leagues would then reap the benefits of their clubs purchasing some of the Premiership’s most exciting players.

All I’m getting at is that a team such as Arsenal not qualifying for the Champions League could have long term consequences, not just for themselves, but for the Premiership as a whole, as a spectacle. Would someone like Adebayor really want to stick around at Arsenal for a season that doesn’t involve playing in the biggest European competition? The prospect of this happening would really test the loyalty and allegiances of a Fabregas, a Van Persie, who could have their pick of clubs across the continent. I for one would like to see Villa break the top four this season, but not at the longer team expense of the quality of football and footballers that are witnessed each week in the Premiership. However, if Martin O’Neill were to sign all of Arsenal’s top players in the summer and keep them in England, then by all means Villa, go and win the league for all I care. Now that would be impressive.

 I have no idea how this keeps happening!

Now, before you start calling me charlie and suggest I place various things in my nether regions, I should begin by mentioning I am in fact an Aston Villa supporter, so much so that each Christmas I go through the official Aston Villa merch catalogue to order a new AVFC tie.  But I’m also a rational observer, and that’s why I can say with some certainty that Aston Villa’s Premier League success just doesn’t seem grounded in reality.

Not that Villa aren’t a sturdy club at the moment.  Martin O’Neill is an adept manager and Randy Lerner is a wise chairman.  The club has taken a page from the David Moyes/Everton playbook by managing to hold firm in the top six using only a ratchet, a bit of pipe cleaner, and a big man up front.  But a quick rundown of the past few Villa league matches will illustrate what I’m talking about.

Portsmouth 0 Aston Villa 1:  Heskey scores on his debut!  Then Villa scrambles to contain Portsmouth for the next seventy minutes, conceding about a quarter of a million corners and letting Utaka do whatever he wanted in the final fifteen minutes, which amounted to squaring up and missing.

Sunderland 1 Aston Villa 2:  Sunderland owns Villa for forty-five horrible minutes.  “Champions League, You’re Having a Laugh” sings the Stadium of Light.  Forty-five minutes later, Milner discovers his inner-Maradona after he may or may not have handled the ball into the net, Ashley Young gets sent off, Gabby goes down outside the box but it’s a penalty for some (glorious) reason, three points. *Cough*

Aston Villa 2 West Brom 1:  Villa play well for most of this, but Carson is awful, own-goaling the winner. Villa looks to muck everything up at the end, trying their best to award WBA a penalty in the final stages, but Steve Bennett says no.

Hull 0 Aston Villa 1:  Grinding deadlock, Villa look a bit all over the shop, Hull plays valiantly until Zayate’s o.g. in the 88th minute.

Aston Villa 2 Arsenal 2:  Villa play brilliantly, the best they have all season.  Concede two goals.  Score two goals, Zat Knight getting the equalizer in extra time.  Luck be a lady.

West Ham 0 Aston Villa 1:   Lucas Neill own goal in the 78th minute.  Ta da!

So if you’ve been keeping score, three of Villa’s past six games have been won on own-goals. I mean, I know the old cliche about champions winning ugly, but every single game?  If you’re a Villa fan, you have to believe this is one huge hump we’ve gotten over, and the free-wheeling, quick-passing, hit-them-with-speed attacking football is just around the corner.  Either that or avoid any and all sidewalk cracks, wear the same smelly Villa shirt everyday and keep praying the rosary on Saturdays.  It’s worked so far…

In a finer world, each football club would try to win every competition it entered. Only the biggest clubs, however, have that luxury, and managers of smaller clubs are forced to look at their fixture lists and determine what their biggest priorities are.

Such is the case with Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill, who told The Guardian last Thursday that he was likely to put some reserves on the pitch for FA Cup and UEFA Cup matches so that his best team could focus on finishing in the Top Four.

Of course, this is a perfectly reasonable position for O’Neill to take. Aston Villa is only three points off the top of the Premier League table, and with Chelsea’s form and Liverpool’s form both slipping in recent weeks, a surge from O’Neill’s side could put Villa into the top three, which would punch their ticket to the group stage of next year’s UEFA Champions League. A fourth-place finish would put Villa in a playoff round to get to the group stage. Surely even a shot at Champions League football is a potentially huge prize.

Still, it says something about the current state of football when a fourth-place finish in a domestic league becomes a bigger priority than putting an actual trophy in your case. Everyone dreams of hoisting a cup at the end of the season, while a fourth-place finish doesn’t even get you on the medal stand at the Olympics.

Yet in English football, fourth place comes with a much greater reward than actually winning a trophy. That reward, of course, is money. The FA Cup winner pockets £3.8 million in prize money, plus box office and broadcast fees, for a successful run. The UEFA Cup winners will earn roughly £5 million for their success. By comparison, the Champions League group stage alone would earn Villa at least £15 million. That number could climb over £20 million if Villa makes it through to the knockout stage.

The end result is that the trophies lose their shine. Witness the disappointment at Stamford Bridge in 2007 when Chelsea brought home both the FA Cup and the Carling Cup. Yes, Jose Mourinho brought home two trophies, but those trophies ended up feeling like consolation prizes. Steve Coppell spent his first two years in the Premier League badmouthing both the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup. In addition, at least one Manchester United fan told me recently that his club needs the Carling Cup like it needs a hole in the head.

Perhaps if any of these cup competitions were gateways to the Champions League, clubs would see the cups as an opportunity rather than a burden. After all, changing the name of the UEFA Cup to the Europa League won’t be enough to spark real interest in it, especially if the prize is only a few million and an invite to the same competition next year.

Alas, O’Neill has to be practical and determine what’s best for his club in the long run. This makes a top-four finish the biggest prize of all for Aston Villa. A full bank account and a future on football’s biggest stage will soften the blow of an empty trophy case. One has to wonder, though, if UEFA and the FA should do more to make winning those trophies a priority. After all, history usually doesn’t remember who finished fourth.