Remember Nigel Reo-Coker? Martin O'Neill should

Aston Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker is something of a forgotten man outside the Midlands, but his presence still looms large at Villa Park. He retains an impressive amount of supporter goodwill despite a lengthy absence from the first team, and his appearances on the touchline as a substitute are always warmly greeted. He's the most unlikely fan favourite, earning enough brownie points through hard work - and offering something different - to overshadow his infamous problems off the field.

His latest Villa adventure involves his future at the club, which had seemed doomed. After a training ground bust-up with manager Martin O'Neill, it seemed safe to assume that Reo-Coker's days at Villa were numbered. O'Neill is well-known as a stubborn grudge-bearer and few players in his time at Villa have recovered from falling out of favour, John Carew being the primary exception. Remember Luke Young and Curtis Davies? I do, just about.

Reo-Coker has, through a "source", made it known that he will not give up on Aston Villa (code, of course, for I'm going to see out the final year of my contract and then take a Bosman). There's not much O'Neill can do about that and Reo-Coker has already made clear his willingness to go down this route by turning down a loan move previously.

But like he is with Young and Davies, I think O'Neill is failing to make the most of Reo-Coker's ability to contribute to the team. Villa's main deficiency, of course, is the number of goals scored by the strikers. The defence is reasonably sound but I do think that one problem Villa have had this season is that many goals are conceded in appallingly easy fashion. Any team which can pass the ball around quickly and move right up the middle of the pitch at speed will always create chances against Villa because the midfield does not offer enough protection to the back four.

James Milner is not yet a natural central midfielder, and any football pundit worth his salt would rather see him play in an attacking version of that role than a defensive one. Stiliyan Petrov is as clever a player as you'll find anywhere and he's usually reliable, but it's becoming difficult to deny that he runs out of steam in the second half of games. Even worse, if a team can get by him then he's out of the game, forcing a central defender to come out to deal with the attack and opening up gaps that cause Villa problems.

Reo-Coker showed last season that he has improved his tackling back and I think he should have had more opportunities to demonstrate it. He is not the player Milner or Petrov can claim to be, but he brings something to the party that neither of them can match. Furthermore, it's something that could be used to complement them both. With Reo-Coker running from box to box and tackling back when Petrov is bypassed, Petrov dictating play from deep and Milner pushing forward, Villa could have a far more dynamic central midfield.

Of course, to play all three means that changes would be needed. The two crucial ones would be the most unlikely with O'Neill in charge: the sale of Steve Sidwell, who has added exactly nothing to Aston Villa since joining from Chelsea but remains an O'Neill favourite, and the shift from 4-4-2 to 4-5-1. And let's face it, there's no point in Villa having two strikers on the pitch anyway. It's been a long time since any kind of partnership was forged up front, and it's been even longer since a Villa strikeforce could be described as prolific. Give me a top class midfield of five over that any day.

Reo-Coker may not divide the dressing room - he's thought to be something of a loner - but he certainly divides the supporters. I think most of the criticisms levelled at the former West Ham United captain are either unfair or outdated. He has learned to keep it simple when passing, and his tackling from behind (the legal kind) has improved immensely since his first season at the club. On the other hand, his shooting is comically bad and he still has a horrible habit of breaking brilliantly at pace and then waiting until it's too late to play an obvious pass.

Regardless, I'd still give him a run of games to prove himself. He'll just be earning for nothing otherwise.

(Pic via In The Stands)