Selection Dilemma: Midfield

Now that Aston Villa have acquired the likes of James Milner, Eirik Bakke and Patrik Berger to add to a midfield already boasting talents like Steven Davis and Gareth Barry, it appears O'Leary has a number of options, and tactics, available to him.

Variety is the spice of life they say, and hopefully things should be getting a lot more spicy at Villa Park soon. Our current roster of midfielders are: -

Left-sided
Gareth Barry
Peter Whittingham
Patrik Berger

Central
Gavin McCann
Steven Davis
Lee Hendrie
Eirik Bakke
Eric Djemba-Djemba

Right-sided
James Milner
Ulises De la Cruz

Last season saw a regular starting four of (right to left) Solano, Davis, McCann and Barry. However, with the departure of the much-loved and highly-inspirational winger our right hand side options are not as strong as they were last season. Milner is a good, young, long-term replacement, but he is still Newcastle's player.

Bakke and Hendrie are also right sided players, but Hendrie is a tenacious player and is more suited to playing inside. While both are good passers and crossers of the ball, De la Cruz couldn't cross to save the lives of a bus full of Ecuadorian children.

Our central midfield is very competitive this season, having five players vying for the two places on offer. Everybody knows that O'Leary has his favourites and is likely to put Gavin McCann down as one of the first names on the teamsheet every week.

McCann is a combatitive midfielder and always gives 110% to the claret and blue cause. He is a good passer and distributor and while he is no Roy Keane, he is still a valuable midfielder.

I think, though, if there is any name that should be pre-printed on the teamsheet it is Steven Davis. A 20-year-old with the passing ability and vision of veteran and the pace of someone who seems like they will die if they stop running will always squeeze into any team. Davis' rise to prominence is superb and I think him and McCann in midfield is a great combination.

Hendrie and Bakke are both great players, but I don't think either of them are any better than McCann and I'm not sure if either of them are better than Davis at all. Bakke, upon proving his fitness, may be a tactical replacement for McCann when we need that off-the-bench spark.

Djemba-Djemba hasn't really proved himself yet at all and I don't even think he should be warming the bench.

For the left birth it's a difficult choice. Barry is experience at Villa, a great passer and a solid player. Berger has a vast wealth of experience, good passing and a clever creative spark about him.

They are both excellent players to have in any squad and I think they provide a range of tactical options for O'Leary. I would start with Barry in most games, as Berger is probably just a tad too old to do a whole season, which I think is part of the reason O'Leary opted to have Milner over Solano.

If we hadn't signed Bouma, I'd have put Barry at left-back and Berger on the left-wing. However, we are lucky to have the option over the two. And I think it'll depend on the opposition before deciding who to start with.

If we play a 4-5-1 away from home I'd put Berger on the wing and choose between Bakke and Barry for the other midfield slot.

So, just to recap, I would personally go with (right to left) Milner, Davis, McCann, Barry. Not too different from last season, but it's a combination that works at the moment. With Bouma and Hughes supporting the midfield too I think it's going to be interesting.

Having options like Bakke and Berger on the bench are going to be very advantageous when we need an off-the-bench spark when we're trailing or just failing to perform.

Do you agree? Email luke@astonvilla.biz.