at last! fa cup final glory

at last! fa cup final glory

Now that the euphoria has died down a little , it ‘s time to assess the significance of Villa ‘s recent Wembley win . Apart from the overcoming of hang - ups associated with serial disappointment over the last 43 years , which may offer at least part of the explanation for a substandard performance , the overcoming of Bolton – despite the best efforts of David Elleray - could be of great moment in the future of Aston Villa .

The immediate effect is to put Villa one step nearer to a European place for next season . Indeed , should Chelsea prove victorious in the second semi – final – already dubbed the final itself by sneering hacks who have suddenly forgotten about Villa ‘s superlative performances earlier in the year – that should be enough , bearing in mind Chelsea ‘s current league position , to guarantee UEFA Cup football at Villa in 2000 –1 . This is all short – termism , however . What are the implications for the medium – term future of the club ?

Merely appearing in the final makes for a great beacon of attraction for both local and overseas players who could strengthen our team / squad . Haim Revivo rightly referred to Villa as ‘ small – time ‘ when we couldn ‘t even finance a £5m fee to sign the Celta Vigo star last November . He may feel slightly different about that assessment now . And he will be available for free in the summer under the Bosman ruling . At last we have the chance , having suffered under this rule in the recent past , to use it to our benefit , as the pre – contract signing of Luc Nilis has shown . The press rumour surrounding Gary McAllister – also available for nothing in the summer - may have attracted a few groans of ‘ Dad 's Army ‘ but the extra fixtures involved in a European campaign since the Big Clubs ganged up to destroy the structure of European competition , means that there will be a place in Villa ‘s squad for quality players , even 35 – year - olds .

Saving fees on good players such as those mentioned will give Villa the opportunity to join with the big boys when the real top quality performers become available . With Villa now looking a very promising outfit , occasional forays into the lower divisions to pluck out bargains such as Mark Delaney will still be welcome but will not distract us from the purpose of being ready to spend the big money when the right player becomes available . Alec Cheatinggit spent £28m in the summer of 1998 , £12m of it illegally . One signing , Blomqvist , has been little more than an embarrassment . The other two have done rather better . That ‘s the difference between being in the top group , the ‘ comfort zone ‘ as Gareth Southgate has identified it , and being the best .

The next step ? Announcing the satisfactory completion of terms with a certain Carbone would be a good boost for the Wembley final . Player and club are reported as being very close so this shouldn ‘t be a serious problem . Progress in this area and on the field of play could make individuals such as Ehiogu re – think his estimates of Villa ‘s ambition . Keeping your best players is the foundation of the long – term success that Villa are now capable of achieving if the necessary vision is shown at the highest level – NOW .

I wonder if there ‘s any way of banning the Newton Heath Supercheats from the FACup every year ?