Never mind James Milner and Luke Young, could Paul Faulkner be Aston Villa's best right-hand man?

Sep 2 2008 Mat Kendrick

ASTON Villa fans are ecstatic that James Milner will be flying down the right-wing at last while Luke Young is finally filling their problematic right-back position.But the long-awaited right-hand man that has done more for Martin ONeills top four ambitions than any superstar signing will not be paraded before a flurry of flashbulbs waving a claret and blue scarf.

If Villa fans were becoming increasingly fed up of stop-gap solutions to the specialist on-pitch positions then that was nothing compared with their managers frustrations behind the scenes.

While Olof Mellberg, Craig Gardner and Nigel Reo-Coker filled in at right-back and a host of makeshift men deputised on the right-wing, the role of chief executive was even more fraught for Villa.

Finally, as with Milner and Young on the field, they seem to have found the perfect fit off it too. The name Faulkner is unlikely to adorn too many replica shirts, but Paul Faulkner is already proving to be as important a player as any footballer in the Villa Park dressing room.

After the mystery resignation of former CEO Richard Fitzgerald during the January transfer window and the subsequent departure of chief operating officer Michael Cunnah soon after, Villa finally appear to have found a trusted sounding board for ONeill.

Faulkner is now the chief exec in everything but title and its no coincidence that his increased input has resulted in the biggest transfer spending spree in Villas history over the past month or so.

The record signing of Milner from Newcastle on Friday took ONeills, or more precisely Randy Lerners, outlay to around s45million this summer and catapulted Villa into a new financial stratosphere.

By his own admission ONeill, who has never had either the dosh or the desire to spend big at any of his previous clubs, had, for the most part, been thriftier than an impoverished pensioner with his billionaire backers banknotes.

But something has changed during recent weeks and rather than the loose change of the Doug Ellis era its a sea of change that has confirmed Villa as serious contenders rather than perennial also-rans.

Faulkner has played a significant part in this culture switch, although the young Englishman wont shout about it, preferring a British modesty compared to the brash bravado of Lerners other lieutenant General Krulak.

However, even amidst the hype and hysteria surrounding the Gareth grudge match against Liverpool this afternoon, ONeill found time to name-check Faulkner for his help in landing his transfer targets.

Since Lerner and ONeill arrived in that balmy summer two years ago Faulkner has always been on hand.

But the fact he now enjoys such a close relationship with the manager as well as the chairman can only bode well for Villas Champions League ambitions.

For too long the enigmatic Irishman, a self-confessed control freak who hates to delegate, has been bogged down doing the dual role of head coach and chief executive.

Now he has a trusted ally to share the off-the-field burden, ONeill can get on with the serious business of attempting to shape Aston Villas most successful squad.