This whole situation is tricky. Personally I would love seeing Villa playing more.. he's tied for the second top scorer this season, and the games he's been on form, he's been KILLING it. It would seem, looking at him alone, that he deserves to start left forward every single game.
However... then you look at the rest of the team. Fabregas is arguably our 2nd best performer this season next to Messi. In terms of productivity and creativity at least. Also tied for 2nd most goals with 5, and he has the most assists on the team by a decent margin with 9, with Iniesta trailing with 6. It's a tough argument to claim that he shouldn't start... he's been very valuable.
On top of that, Iniesta is Iniesta and it is pretty much a given that he should ALWAYS start, regardless of position. Before this season, everyone pretty much agrees that Iniesta is far most effective in midfield, but he has been absolutely shredding that LF position this season. I can't even count how many times he's done that dribble to the left goal line and cut it back in perfectly for an easy goal. At least 3-4 times. And no one can stop it. He's playing that LF role incredibly well.
So given how well Fabregas and Iniesta are playing, it's a hard case saying that they shouldn't start in the most important games. Same with Pedro... he plays his role very well. And since Villa doesn't play on the right, it's not like Villa could replace Pedro in the position.
So it's a predicament really. We are very strong with Cesc-Busquets-Xavi in mid and Iniesta-Messi-Pedro on the right. As much as players like Villa deserve to start important games (and every game really), the team is so strong that it's a challenge to find room to fit them in. As much as I'd love to see Villa in there all the time (I really would), I wouldn't want to sub out either Cesc or Iniesta. And there's no way Messi's coming off. So it's a pickle.
However, it is still very possible that Tito is saving Villa's powers for the latter half of the season. And he's experimenting with different line ups right now, including playing Cesc and Iniesta and Xavi on the field at the same time. Just seeing how things work and gathering data. I think it is very likely that in matches down the line, we'll see a lot more MVP with a rotating of Cesc and Iniesta/Xavi. As creative and valuable Iniesta is at setting up goals, no one in the front line can knock in goals like Villa besides Messi, and I'm sure Tito is well aware of this.
Barring any crazy shit like Villa actually did sleep with Tito's wife, I can't see why Villa won't start getting worked in more as the season progresses. Different teams call for different strategies, so it makes sense that some games we'll see the Xavi + Iniesta/Cesc + Busquets + MVP line up and others we'll see the Cesc + Xavi + Iniesta line up. Who knows. It's interesting.
I do feel bad for Villa, and I miss seeing that mofo play. But you gotta admit, it's not the worst thing when the main problem of your team is figuring out how to squeeze all your talent into one squad.
