Why no Whittingham?

Aston Villa beat Manchester City reserves 5-2 tonight and after reading the match report on the official web site I'm asking the question again; why is Whittingham not getting into the first team?

I've asked the question before because in O'Leary's first season when Aston Villa finished 6th Whittingham was a revelation but he since then he's not got a look in despite putting in good performances from accounts on the official website and elsewhere.

If O'Leary doesn't want to play Samuel and Barry plays well at left back then why shouldn't Whittingham get a chance on the left of midfield for the first team - after all we've got to try and get something out of this season, maybe seeing Whittingham make an impression will be a positive we could take.