by Jorge Moran, FoxSoccer.com

Owner Randy Lerner and manager Martin O'Neill have assembled a fearless and daring side that has been patiently knocking on the door of the "Big 4" for two seasons. This campaign, the Villains are poised for a breakthrough. Their thorough outclassing of an inconsistent, but nonetheless potent Arsenal last Saturday is proof positive of the leaps in progress that O'Neill's men are slowly making.

Other clubs (a great many other clubs) have been branded as sure-thing "Top 4" party crashers in the not-so-distant past. Although they more often than not fall short of expectations, Tottenham and Everton are in that discussion every year; Manchester City will join that merry bunch of dreamers after they outspend all of Europe in the January transfer window.

But none of those challengers have really deserved to join that most elite of groups in the same sense that I feel that Villa deserve it.

Aston Villa, as a football club, as an organization devoid of the remarkable economic means of others, has carried itself very sensibly and with the utmost class since Lerner and O'Neill arrived at Villa Park in 2006.

Randy Lerner's purchase of the Villains came at a time when foreign ownership in the Premier League was still an unpleasant novelty, and seen with a good deal of skepticism. In just over two years, however, the American businessman has not only proven himself a model foreign owner, his running of the club puts some his English counterparts to shame.

Lerner has not brought frightening amounts of debt to the club. He has not gouged fans with prohibitive season ticket prices. He has not made the team a platform for ulterior motives. He has not sought out the media spotlight. Nor has he made grandiose, impossible-to-keep promises to the supporters.

Without spending silly money on overpriced, overhyped flops, Randy Lerner has given Martin O'Neill the time and trust to mold the team into one that is capable of giving the elite more than just a scare. He has let the manager manage, which is almost novel and progressive in this day and age.

O'Neill has brought respectable 11th and 6th place league finishes to a club that only just managed to avoid relegation the year prior to his arrival. He has nourished the talents of Villa youngsters Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young, who are widely regarded as future England stars. He also helped reignite the international career of central midfielder Gareth Barry, now a regular for Fabio Capello's Three Lions.

Though some will disagree, O'Neill's handling of the messy Barry transfer saga in the summer was commendable. The Northern Irishman, refusing to be bullied by one of the deep-pocketed "Big 4", did not accept Liverpool's lowball offers for his star midfielder. When the dust settled, the Villa manager hung on to his player, and also netted a moral victory over a chief rival.

Before the current campaign even got under way, the Villains made headlines off the football pitch, but these were not of the kind usually reserved for football clubs. In June it was announced that Aston Villa would forego almost $3 million in sponsorship profits, and carry the name of Acorns Children's Hospice on its shirt. The Villa Park outfit thus became the first club in Premiership history to wear a charity's name on its football kit.

Doing things well on and off the pitch ought to count for something. Villa deserves a shot at a run in the Champions League. But what's funny about the word 'deserve' is that it doesn't belong in football. Sporting achievements, by definition, ought to be earned on the field of play and nowhere else.

Villa has been stricken by bouts of inconsistency thus far. That, above all else, will have to be remedied before any of the top clubs begin to worryingly look over their shoulders.

In two days time, the Villains face the true test of their mettle with the visit of Manchester United, a team they have failed to beat or draw in the Lerner/O'Neill era.

Fox Soccer Channel's Premier League and Fox Football Fone-in producer Jorge Moran writes about English and continental soccer for FoxSoccer.com.