Was a better French admiral available than Villeneuve?

Could a more experienced Franco-Spanish admiral have avoided Trafalgar?

France had no clearly more experienced alternative; Villeneuve was probably its best available admiral, but he operated within a deeply awkward combined command system.

France did not have a clearly more experienced admiral waiting to replace Villeneuve. He was probably the best French admiral then available. Avoiding or winning the battle depended on more than changing one name at the top because Villeneuve was working through an unusually awkward combined command structure. His institutional conditions matter as much as personal blame when assessing the decisions of an otherwise capable commander.