O'Neill faces fan backlash after omitting eight first teamers from Moscow trip
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Villa fans have been stunned by the news that Martin O'Neill has left eight of his first team regulars out of the squad to face CSKA in Moscow on Thursday.
Brad Friedel, Gareth Barry and Ashley Young are among the men left in England and fans travelling to Moscow may be wishing they were staying at home with their heroes.
James Milner, Gabby Agbonlahor, Emile Heskey, Carlos Cuellar and Stiliyan Petrov are the others to be rested, leaving the Villa faithful understandably outraged.
Many see it as an insult as they have already paid good money to see the second string play against Zilina and Hamburg.
They have shelled out precious funds in a time of economic hardship to see supposedly massive games against Ajax and CSKA (first leg) and they are right to feel betrayed.
O'Neill has claimed that the team were tired against Chelsea on Saturday after taking on the Russians in midweek but that begs the question "Why did he not rest them for that game if he is prepared to do it in the more tricky away leg?"
It all seems nonsensical.
Programmes
Yes, everyone wants to break the top four and secure Champions League football for next season, but why even bother entering the Intertoto Cup and cutting short the players' holidays.
The explanation given is that we didn't expect to be doing so well in the league but why not?
Fans understand that the squad is not yet big enough to compete on four or even three fronts but it should be deep enough to compete on two, Manchester United are competing successfully on five.
We were knocked out of the Carling Cup in the third round and the F.A. Cup in the fifth so the Uefa Cup is the only chance of silverware.
You don't win a trophy for finishing fourth and the fans deserve a decent cup run.
The combined ticket prices for Villa's Uefa Cup and Intertoto Cup home games comes to around £85 and that is not to mention travel costs and those "special edition programmes" that were on sale.
Then you look at the fans who have paid out hundreds, maybe thousands, of pounds to travel to Denmark, Iceland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Holland and now Moscow.
Wrath
This team selection is a huge insult to them especially after they saw the side fight so hard to get into the competition.
Fair enough, we all know that Champions League is a must for future progression but what if Villa do finish fourth and then get knocked out in the qualifying rounds next season.
What if they don't finish fourth but end up in fifth, do we even want to take the Uefa place for next season or should we just give it to a team who will value it?
O'Neill still thinks we can get a result in Moscow but with the scores level at 1-1 from the first leg and the game set to be played on a plastic pitch the chances are slim.
Should we, as expected, concede defeat on Thursday, all eyes will be on Stoke on Sunday.
O'Neill has risked the wrath of the travelling faithful and if Villa don't beat the Potters then his decision will be far from vindicated.
He's certainly playing a high stakes game, but will the prize really be Champions League football. He had better hope so. |
