ciriaco_sforza

to be fair, along with mellberg, merson should be the 1st name in this whole team. He may not have been with us 4 the majority of the decade, but he has been the best player to pull on a villa shirt in the 2000s by an absolute mile!

i agree that blaming heskey is harsh, weneva he pulls on the shirt he puts in a decent shift, its just whenever i see him on the teamsheet prior to a game i feel a bit disheartened, as i just dont expect him or even us 2 score! But thats hardly his fault, lets not 4get who signed him and plays him, fully in the knowledge that in 13 years of bein a pro hes never been a goalscorer, and never really been associated with attractive football! As for our defence, i thought cuellar was immense 2nite, easily on par with our wingers. And aside from him, i think the other 3 will be back up players anyway, so i dont think our frailties there 2nite are 2 much 2 worry about. A back line of young, cuellar, dunne, and warnock looks pretty solid 2 me, particularly with friedel behind them, and if mon can finally see the light and play nrc in a 4-5-1 Shame we couldnt have had a similar line up tonight. Dont really see how it can be a blessing in disguise, unless people seriously think we can challenge for 4th? For me we have still gone backwards from last season, and the cups are our best chance of success this one. And out of all the cups, this was the one id rather gone further in, so im gutted. And besides, 4th can be all well and good, but it doesnt guarantee CLqualification, its about time we actually had some silverware again, or at least come close! And maybe if we had gone into the season more prepared, and built up a squad strong enough to cope, we wouldnt have thrown this competition away for the 2nd season in a row, and would need 2 talk of blessings in disguise!