(Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)
It seems that no manager can escape without a moment where they somehow let a good player get away. Even the greatest manager's have had those moments.
Sir Alex Ferguson had Petr Cech scouted before Chelsea came calling, and deemed him "too young". Arsene Wenger had Yaya Toure on trial and somehow deemed him surplus to requirements.
Even Brian Clough, in his final year at Nottingham Forest, opted not to sign Stan Collymore, who, as history shows, would play a prominent role in Nottingham Forest's recovery post-Clough.
Perhaps the moment that Martin O'Neill decided to sell Gary Cahill to Bolton will be remembered as his.
Since he left Villa Cahill has visibly matured under the tutelage of Gary Megson, and his form has led, not only to a hat-trick of call-ups into Fabio Capello's squad, but also to strong rumours of £15million moves to Arsenal and Manchester United.
Cahill himself admitted: "It does show how far I have come, and that my hard work has paid off, if a big club comes in I do not think there will be a problem, at the moment I am enjoying my time at Bolton.”
Of course, hindsight, as the saying goes, is 20-20. When he left Villa, Cahill was unable to force his way into the team. Despite rave reviews from loan spells at Burnley, where he was jointly named player of the year and young player of the year in 2005, Cahill was unable to force his way into the Villa team ahead of the likes of Martin Laursen and Curtis Davies.
“I left Villa because I was hungry to play week in week out and maybe if I had a crystal ball I may have got a chance there but I didn't and chose to move,” he said.
For Villa fans and O'Neill, watching Cahill perform at a high level week-in, week-out will always be a cause for regret. Villa fans were loathed to let him leave, at the time launching their own Internet campaign to try to prevent the deal from going through. They also recently voted the 23-year-old as the player they most regret selling.
Villa's decision to splash out exorbitant fees on centre half's, such as £8 million for Carlos Cuellar, £6 million on Richard Dunne and £5 million for James Collins, while a prospective England centre half was available for nothing further compounds the error. Then again, nobody's perfect.
Indeed, when asked whether Aston Villa may regret selling him, Cahill said: “Martin O'Neill is a great manager. Everybody makes mistakes sometimes and he's moved on. They've brought in some good centre-backs now, they're doing well."
Certainly, when he does finally feature for England, the watching Villa fans, and dare I say Martin O'Neill, will watch with a hint of regret, as they remember Gary Cahill as the one that got away.
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