It was an almost impossible request: Name your best-ever Villa Premier League team.Today sees the filming from Villa Park of an "experts forum" involving myself, Mat Kendrick of the Birmingham Mail and legend Ken McNaught as we talk through the greatest claret and blue players of the top-flight era.It should make for a very interesting debate - but I'm giving you a sneak peak at my team here on the official website.Having followed the club's fortunes for nearly a quarter-of-a-century, I came up with at least three contenders for each position - and Gordon Cowans wasn't even a consideration!Gordon, of course, is one of the greatest players in Villa's history and not many people will argue with the fact he came out on top in the website's Fab 50 post-war players poll this summer.But I've had this conversation with Sid before and he will be the first to tell you he only played 11 matches for Villa in the Premier League, two of them as a substitute.In fact one of his best PL performances was AGAINST Villa - he inspired Blackburn Rovers to a 3-0 win at Ewood Park in April 1993 and effectively ended our hopes of becoming the new league's first champions.Even without including the classy Cowans, it was still a daunting task and I can already hear you asking why I haven't included certain players.If this selection has taught me anything, it's that I'd never make a football manager!Goalkeeper - MARK BOSNICH: He was arrogant, he was headstrong, he was bossy - perfect qualities for a goalkeeper. Bozzie was just the sort of guy any back four would want behind them. Some of his saves were out of this world, many of them from penalties, and none was better than when he dived to his left to tip away Bebeto's penalty against Deportivo La Coruna in the UEFA Cup.Right-back - MARK DELANEY:It was such a pity when Delaney was forced to retire through a knee injury in August 2007. But for that, I reckon he could easily have passed the 300 appearance mark with his steady, solid, understated performances. As it was, he chalked up 193 games. Not bad for someone who had once been a packer in a wool factory.Centre-back: OLOF MELLBERG: There have been more flamboyant debuts than the one Mellberg made at White Hart Lane in August 2001, but few so effective. The ice-cool Swede was a colossus at the heart of the defence as Villa held on for an opening day goalless draw. One game doesn't make a career, of course, but Mellberg maintained that standard for seven seasons.Centre-back: PAUL McGRATH:The business of defending is essentially a functional process, but McGrath somehow turned it into an art form. How many other players can you name who have entertained you while keeping opposition strikers at bay? You can catch Macca on YouTube, singing the lilting "Going Back". Sadly, that's not possible. We may never see the like of him again.Left-back: ALAN WRIGHT: A tough call, this one. Wright gets the nod over Steve Staunton simply because he played more Premier League games at left-back than the Irishman, whose overall appearances were actually higher. Wright was one of the club's most consistent performers of the Premier League era. He scored some spectacular goals, too, and despite standing only 5ft 4in he was competitive in aerial duels.Right-midfield - PAUL MERSON: Like Paul McGrath, Merse was a troubled soul off the pitch; like Macca, he was magician once he crossed that white line. He was 30 by the time he joined us but he delighted supporters with his exquisite skills, particularly the way he passed the ball with the outside of his right foot over distances up to 50 yards. Merse was even the star on the day Benito Carbone's hat-trick knocked Leeds out of the FA Cup en route to the 2000 final. And he wasn't even on the pitch for the final 20 minutes.Centre-midfield - ANDY TOWNSEND: If ever a player and a club were made for each other, it was surely Andy Townsend and Villa. Before he arrived here in 1993 he had played in five semi-finals and lost them all. Inside three years at Villa Park he had been a Wembley winner twice and was captain of our most successful team of the Premier League era. An inspirational leader.Centre-midfield - IAN TAYLOR:A club legend, Tayls is one of our own. A Holte Ender as a kid, he cheered Villa to victory over Manchester United in the 1994 League Cup final - and scored one of the goals in the 3-0 demolition of Leeds two years later. Bursting with energy, his non-stop graft made him the archetypal "players' player". He scored plenty of important goals, too.Left midfield - GARETH BARRY: Like others before him, Barry became despised by the claret and blue faithful when he left two years ago, but we shouldn't forget his immense contribution over the previous 12 years. Even as fresh-faced teenager, his calm exterior always made him a formidable opponent and he grew in stature as the seasons passed.Striker - DWIGHT YORKE:His statistics alone are enough to ensure a place in my line-up - 287 games and 98 goals, 60 of them in the Premier League. But the Calypso Kid offered so much more. He played with a smile on his face and he was full of tricks, entertaining his team-mates with his ball-juggling in confined spaces and making many a defender curse his presence on the pitch. And those cheeky-chip penalties were something else.Striker - DEAN SAUNDERS:One of the most engaging characters ever to wear a Villa shirt, Saunders had a ruthless streak which made him one of the most lethal strikers of his generation. The Wales international wore claret and blue for less than three seasons but was the club's leading scorer in each of them. And how he revelled in the big occasion, netting twice at Wembley in the 1994 League Cup final.That's my side but what about yours?
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Topic: Your Villa Premier League XI (Read 10761 times)
