Guys, since we played at villa park, martin O’neill has bee going on and on about arsene….I mean arsene is entitled to his opinion, but why does O’neill attack wenger at every opportunity?? i mean the man is a clown! period. Wenger has moved on, he has not even mentioned Aston villa in his press conferences, but O’neil hasn’t stopped attacking him.

This is what he had to say in the TIMES ONLINE;

Martin O’Neill has launched a staunch defence of the Carling Cup in the wake of Arsène Wenger’s criticisms of the competition.

When his team take on Manchester United at Wembley tomorrow, the Aston Villa manager will be seeking to win the trophy for the fifth time as player and manager.

He can see an opportunity for his developing team to move to another level by winning their first trophy together; he can also recall the galvanising effect of Nottingham Forest’s bitter disappointment of losing the final to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1980, four days before overturning a quarter-final deficit away to Dynamo Berlin on their way to retaining the European Cup.

So O’Neill knows all about the worth of a League Cup final. His riposte to Wenger, who said that lifting the trophy does not equate to much, is measured.

The Arsenal manager, two days after claiming that Villa were a long-ball team, said this month: “If you win the League Cup, can you honestly say you have won a trophy?

“We have got out of the group stages in the Champions League for ten seasons in a row; that is three times more difficult than winning the League Cup five times. And finishing third in the League is more difficult than winning the League Cup.”

O’Neill won the League Cup twice as a player with Forest in the late 1970s and twice as a manager with Leicester City, in 1997 and 2000. Finishing fourth in the Barclays Premier League and qualifying for the Champions League would inevitably accelerate Villa’s progress, but gaining their first silverware in O’Neill’s fourth season in charge would offer an achievement and a timely spur.

“If you had seen the two semi-final matches between Manchester City and Manchester United, if somebody had said to any of those two clubs that this trophy is not a trophy, then I think you would have got short shrift,” he said.

“I know that the Arsenal manager has been pretty scathing. It would be interesting to see the team that he played against Wigan Athletic in the semi-final [second leg] of the competition [in 2006].”

For the record, trailing 1-0 from the first leg, Wenger relapsed from his youthful selection policy and recalled Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell et al for the return. Wigan still went through to the final on the away-goals rule before losing to United in the final. “So when it suits, then it’s a great competition,” O’Neill said. “And when it doesn’t suit you, then it’s not.

“That’s not my view. It’s an important competition. Manchester United, I’m quite sure, will field as strong a side as they possibly can, so with all their games that they have, when they’re contesting the Premiership, the Champions League, they will be treating this game with the utmost respect. Now if Manchester United and Chelsea can treat this competition with the utmost respect, then that would really be enough for me.

“The League Cup has been really kind to me. I’ve managed to win it twice as a player, twice as a manager and been beaten in a final two other years. It will be seventh time around and obviously I am pretty pleased that we are there.

“I think that for the wellbeing of the club in the immediate future, it would be really great if we could do it. The club has been starved of success and considering it has a great history, contesting these types of games in February, March and April would be a sign that the club is making serious progress.

“It gives you a boost of confidence, a platform to drive on and a determination to go and succeed. I’m hoping this is the start of something for this team because I think they genuinely deserve it.”

O’Neill also offers a historical perspective as he endeavours to reinvigorate a club whose status in the game owes more to what they achieved in the first half of their existence than the past half-century, notwithstanding a 1982 European Cup triumph. They won their seventh and last FA Cup 53 years ago, but are away to Reading in the quarter-finals next week with sights set on their best season for a generation.

O’Neill said: “Getting to the final is really important for us because the club has had a pretty poor time of it really — 1994, 1996 and 2000: three finals, two League Cups and defeat by Chelsea [in the FA Cup Final] since winning the European Cup.

“When I say the club has a great history, certainly since 1982 you wouldn’t say that’s a phenomenal record and it’s up to us to try and change that. That, to me, would be the biggest incentive of all.”

Stiliyan Petrov has recovered from a virus to lead out the side, relieved that he was not sidelined by the tackle for which Nani was sent off in the 1-1 draw against United at Villa Park a fortnight ago.

The Bulgaria midfield player believes that, despite losing arguably their best player in Gareth Barry, who joined Manchester City, Villa are a stronger team than last season.

“We are getting better,” he said. “Twelve months ago we weren’t in the position we are at the moment. We are in the final of one cup and have a chance to go even farther in another. And we are still in a fight for fourth place. That is what this club is all about.

“We missed Gareth because he is a great person and a player, but the boys have been working so hard to try and replace him and bring something else to the team.”

Petrov, who played under O’Neill for Celtic when they reached the 2003 Uefa Cup final, does not believe that United’s greater experience of the big occasion will count against Villa, who are unbeaten against Sir Alex Ferguson’s team this season and, indeed, in 12 games this year.

“We have hungry young players who want to win and who want to make their names,” Petrov said. “They want to be remembered — and the only way to do that is to win something.”