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James Milner

mk_spur

Active Member
Feb 28, 2006
628
793
Now I know most on here will not think that 'ol square jaw is the right player that we want and you are probably right. But I am not so sure that he isn't the player that we need.

What I think is that we need someone with his work-rate and industry. The guy never stops running and chasing the ball down, never puts a pass astray, retains possesion well. This is exactly the type of player we need.

With the way we cant keep the ball and dont like to chase it down, I reckon he would be a good signing. Someone to tighten the ship. He is pretty fast and can cross well too. He definately doesn't shirk his defensive responsibilities either. He would also provide good competition for Lennon while offering something different. He can also play left wing if need be.

He is apparently available for a cut-price as well which is something that might get Levy interested. I would welcome him if the price was right. Add him Sandro and Parker, and we might not seem so work-shy.

What do you think?
Sorry but we do not need anymore simple tryer's we need quality and if we are looking for a right hand side player then he needs to have pace to work within our system. Milner has neither the pace nor the quality to add anything significant to our squad in my humble opinion.
 

kendoddsdadsdogsdead

Well-Known Member
Aug 29, 2011
2,140
3,574
You think, he is shite

Its all about opinions my friend!

You can't lay it out as a statement of fact. I for one do not think he is shite. I think he would do well for us actually. It is a sqaud game now-a-days after all.... there are definately games where he would be a better option then some of the midfielders we have and games where he wouldn't, but to stone-wall say he is no good.....?!

I think that he gets a bad press. Is it because he isn't doing flashy things? He seems to get seen as some boring square headed yokel who can only
do the basics. Well, he does those basics extemely well and thats more than can be said for a lot of our players recently. If we were doing the things that he does game-in, game-out, we would be holding on to our leads and be top of the league or there abouts.

What is it about him that people do not rate?

He is a solid passer who's completion rate must be up there with the best, doesn't give away possesion needlessly, has a very good shot on
him, always has an end product when he gets down the line, works hard, chases back, doesn't give up, tenacious, strong in the tackle, has the right attitude......

I could go on.

What is it exactly in footballing terms that nobody like's about him? Please tell me.


He plays with his head down too much and is one paced. He does work hard though and can pop up with a few goals.
 

OmarsComing

Mentally Disturbed Individual!
Jan 2, 2011
7,255
7,665
Sorry but we do not need anymore simple tryer's we need quality and if we are looking for a right hand side player then he needs to have pace to work within our system. Milner has neither the pace nor the quality to add anything significant to our squad in my humble opinion.

who is that in your avatar?
 

faze_coys

Well-Known Member
Dec 14, 2010
3,138
4,796
"He is a solid passer who's completion rate must be up there with the best, doesn't give away possesion needlessly, has a very good shot on him, always has an end product when he gets down the line, works hard, chases back, doesn't give up, tenacious, strong in the tackle, has the right attitude......"

84.3% was his pass completion last season, which was 69th in the league overall, not bad ... but still below midfield dynamos such as mark gower and ben watson. he has a good shot on him yet he only scored 3 times last season ... always has an end product when he gets down the line .. 22% cross completion rate, compared to lennon's 26% who is often criticised in that regard. the rest can be summarised as "he tries hard".

he's just a very ordinary footballer whose standout quality is his apparent work rate, we need more than that.



too many people on this forum rate effort over actual talent,

milner does make alot of effort, but this is because he is an extremely average footballer and doesnt shine in any department.

His passing is ok, crossing meh, tackling is actually poor, just because he makes an effort to put the tackle in doesnt mean he can tackle, shooting, meh, scorer of good goals not a good goal scorer, cant beat a man, seems to think he is a CM when his vision, execution and positioning are meh.

Kind of player you want if you are fighting for the final europa place.
 

rawhide

I have issues...
Jan 28, 2011
16,723
31,154
too many people on this forum rate effort over actual talent,

milner does make alot of effort, but this is because he is an extremely average footballer and doesnt shine in any department.

His passing is ok, crossing meh, tackling is actually poor, just because he makes an effort to put the tackle in doesnt mean he can tackle, shooting, meh, scorer of good goals not a good goal scorer, cant beat a man, seems to think he is a CM when his vision, execution and positioning are meh.

Kind of player you want if you are fighting for the final europa place.
Is that why Citeh, Newcastle and Villa have all bought him? Cause he's average?
 

kungfugrip

Well-Known Member
Apr 8, 2005
1,613
1,523
Reckon he's earning more than any of our players apart from mayble Bale / Ade. Think his favoured position is centre midfield. Is he really going to get a game ahead of Sandro, Parker, Dembele?
 

Misfit

President of The Niles Crane Fanclub
May 7, 2006
21,015
34,214
Bit of a similar feel to the Parker move this one. I thought similarly. Parker went to chelsea and every subsequent move he'd made has been a step down. Not good enough, wrong time etc. I wasn't convinced about signing him at all. Didn't see the benefit.

Well, he took a dump on my head from a great height last season. I was utterly utterly wrong. So wrong it didn't even hurt. I was elated to be so wrong and the impact he had on our team was immense.

Maybe Milner wouldn't have quite the same effect but because I'm not convinced of his qualities doesn't mean he couldn't have a positive effect on our team and he is a rather versatile player. Depends on the wages he wants I guess.
 

rawhide

I have issues...
Jan 28, 2011
16,723
31,154
Newcastle and Villa ARE teams that fight for the final Europa place, and now that City are a top-3 team they no longer want him.
Or alternatively...

Villa and Newcastle were both looking to break into the top 4 and saw Milner as important enough to be a part of that improvement to spend large transfer fees on him, only they failed and Citeh succeeded. Now, with their bottomless pit of cash, they are pushing to join Europe's elite (Real, Barca, Bayern, AC Milan, Juve, etc) they are looking for a world class upgrade and he is not content to only get infrequent games.
 

daehanmingook

Active Member
Aug 31, 2012
355
422
i think he'd be a very good utility player. his work ethic + versatility + englishness is good enough for me
 

daehanmingook

Active Member
Aug 31, 2012
355
422
I repeat: What are you on about?

A Home Grown player will be defined as one who, irrespective of his nationality or age...
you're right, i meant this
http://www.uefa.com/uefa/footballfirst/protectingthegame/youngplayers/index.html

"From 2008/09, clubs in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League required a minimum of eight homegrown players in a squad limited to 25"

"UEFA defines locally-trained or 'homegrown' players as those who, regardless of their nationality, have been trained by their club or by another club in the same national association for at least three years between the age of 15 and 21. Up to half of the locally-trained players must be from the club itself, with the others being either from the club itself or from other clubs in the same association."
 

Riandor

COB Founder
May 26, 2004
9,414
11,621
To be honest, whilst we still have players like Parker and Sandro, maybe Sig, i just don't see the need for someone like Milner.

i don't think that's the kinda team AVB wants to build. Nothing against Milner, I just think his attributes are not what AVB is looking to add to the squad right now. I think the emphasis will be on pace, guile and possession. Playing either out and out wingers or Wing forwards and for me Milner simply does not fit.
 

dontcallme

SC Supporter
Mar 18, 2005
33,987
81,918
I think the timing of signings is very important and often gets ignored. Signing players at the right time can reduce the transfer fee, wage expectations, fan expectations, media scrutiny and allow players time to bed in.

We signed Bale, Lennon, Sandro, Walker, Dawson, Huddlestone, Kaboul, Falque and Carrick when they were young and building a reputation. They were signed for a reasonable fee and all were allowed time to settle in (other than Carrick and Lennon as they didn't need to) and they worked their way into the team. All became good first team players or squad members and all have or would be sold for a decent profit.

Then we have the quality not particularly old signings. Modric, VDV, Berbatov, Pav, Vertonghen, Lloris, Dembele, Dos Santos and Gomes. All but Dembele came from abroad and didn't have huge expectations on them except probably Lloris. All had fan support from the beginning and while a couple didn't make the grade we got great play from most of them and most are either important 1st team players or sold at a profit.

Then there's the Prem tested players. Bent, Bentley, Defoe, Keane (2nd time), Dempsey, Crouch, Sigurdsson, Parker, Adebayor, Gallas, Friedel, Nelsen and Saha. These players had detractors from the beginning. Many fans never gave Bent, Crouch or Dempsey a chance. We know they are of limited ability. Parker and Adebayor are the only real successes in there and the last 4 get a reprieve because they were free. Most have cost the club a lot of money without being particularly successful.

For me, Milner comes in the last group. His wages will be high and the fans already have a negative view of him. An expensive signing without much potential of being rewarded for the risk.

I think we need to be buying young talent and taking the time to bed them in and buying genuine quality from abroad. There are Prem players doing well at smaller clubs right now (Michu and Benteke) but this means their price and expectations levels will be too high. The time to buy Milner was when he was leaving Leeds but he turned us down for Newcastle. Don't want him now he's an expensive 27 year old.
 
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