Milner

[gillie]

Didn't see the game, but its funny how everyones slagging him off on here and the mirror gave him man of the match!

My personal view of him is that hes one of the ones that really wants to do well but he doesnt fit well on the left of the front 3. He was getting into some dangerous positions vs. Brum but nobody was using him. Theres also nobody in the box when he has the ball to cross.

Theres also nobody in the box when he has the ball to cross.

And that my friend is all our problems in a nutshell imo.Why play wide players if they have no one to service.

[colonel_muck]

it's simple really. he is to last season what stephen ireland was to the season before. one season wonder. i didn't want to ireland to leave cos i had faith in him and honestly thought he would set villa alight. he looked out of his depth for us last year and still looks it this year in a team that play the kind of football he thrived in during his good season with us. milner seems to be the same. he looked intelligent for villa last year but has looked so clueless this year in a team that requires precision intelligence. it should have worked. it still might. but i share everyones sentiments who say the balance of the team looks wrong when he starts.

[dazby]

It's his jaw. It's just too big.

[Dubaimancityfan]

Got another assist yesterday (4 in total) and I think he has the most assists from a city midfielder so he can't be doing that badly. He's the perfect professional.

Just because he doesn't have blisting pace and doesn't shoot ever times he gets the ball does not mean he has no influence the game. You have to view his game with your tactical head on and look at the space he marks up and the space he frees up.

Don't forget he also cleared the ball off the line yesterday too. Without Milner we would have lost by 2.

And, if he'd have stayed on we'd have possibly won by 1 goal.

We can't assume that we may have won this game if he'd stayed on.

The many times that city's game broke down with milner, is a cause for concern. Milner is not playing well at all . He certainly should not be starting a game.

Although yesterday even de jong was pretty average.

Nobody can really say what would have happened if he had stayed on, but as nobdy here ever doubted Milner's work rate and his defensive contribution, you can bet that he would have tracked Ethrington back and not allowed him to make the shot as opposed to AJ who stayed up field and left Micah with no cover.

I don't think anybody on this forum is writing Milner off, but I think we are all dissapointed due to the fact that we know his potential and that he could do much better based on his history with Newcastle and Villa and he was the one player of our new recruits whom we expected to hit the ground running and not needing a settling in period.

[Ted Hughes]

Got another assist yesterday (4 in total) and I think he has the most assists from a city midfielder so he can't be doing that badly. He's the perfect professional.

Just because he doesn't have blisting pace and doesn't shoot ever times he gets the ball does not mean he has no influence the game. You have to view his game with your tactical head on and look at the space he marks up and the space he frees up.

Don't forget he also cleared the ball off the line yesterday too. Without Milner we would have lost by 2.

And, if he'd have stayed on we'd have possibly won by 1 goal.

We can't assume that we may have won this game if he'd stayed on.

The many times that city's game broke down with milner, is a cause for concern. Milner is not playing well at all . He certainly should not be starting a game.

Although yesterday even de jong was pretty average.

Nobody can really say what would have happened if he had stayed on, but as nobdy here ever doubted Milner's work rate and his defensive contribution, you can bet that he would have tracked Ethrington back and not allowed him to make the shot as opposed to AJ who stayed up field and left Micah with no cover.

I don't think anybody on this forum is writing Milner off, but I think we are all dissapointed due to the fact that we know his potential and that he could do much better based on his history with Newcastle and Villa and he was the one player of our new recruits whom we expected to hit the ground running and not needing a settling in period.

I don't think people have any reason to be disappointed. Sure, he hasn't been of the same quality as Silva in an attacking role but he's been better than Silva & Toure in a defensive role & if he was instantly brilliant at everything, he'd be Colin Bell. He's done a lot of good stuff for the team, in a variety of positions (mostly not his best position) & that's why Bob signed him; to help him change tactics during the game. Milner is almost always the bloke who has to make the biggest change & he gets on with it & does his best without complaining. It's the hardest job yet Bob clearly trusts him to do that more than he trusts just about anyone else.

How many players could go to a new club, be shuffled around like that & not fuck up let the team down? Bob trusts Milner to adapt & get on with it & that says a lot about the player imo.

[Dubaimancityfan]

Got another assist yesterday (4 in total) and I think he has the most assists from a city midfielder so he can't be doing that badly. He's the perfect professional.

Just because he doesn't have blisting pace and doesn't shoot ever times he gets the ball does not mean he has no influence the game. You have to view his game with your tactical head on and look at the space he marks up and the space he frees up.

Don't forget he also cleared the ball off the line yesterday too. Without Milner we would have lost by 2.

And, if he'd have stayed on we'd have possibly won by 1 goal.

We can't assume that we may have won this game if he'd stayed on.

The many times that city's game broke down with milner, is a cause for concern. Milner is not playing well at all . He certainly should not be starting a game.

Although yesterday even de jong was pretty average.

Nobody can really say what would have happened if he had stayed on, but as nobdy here ever doubted Milner's work rate and his defensive contribution, you can bet that he would have tracked Ethrington back and not allowed him to make the shot as opposed to AJ who stayed up field and left Micah with no cover.

I don't think anybody on this forum is writing Milner off, but I think we are all dissapointed due to the fact that we know his potential and that he could do much better based on his history with Newcastle and Villa and he was the one player of our new recruits whom we expected to hit the ground running and not needing a settling in period.

I don't think people have any reason to be disappointed. Sure, he hasn't been of the same quality as Silva in an attacking role but he's been better than Silva & Toure in a defensive role & if he was instantly brilliant at everything, he'd be Colin Bell. He's done a lot of good stuff for the team, in a variety of positions (mostly not his best position) & that's why Bob signed him; to help him change tactics during the game. Milner is almost always the bloke who has to make the biggest change & he gets on with it & does his best without complaining. It's the hardest job yet Bob clearly trusts him to do that more than he trusts just about anyone else.

How many players could go to a new club, be shuffled around like that & not fuck up let the team down? Bob trusts Milner to adapt & get on with it & that says a lot about the player imo.

Don't disagree with you Ted. I asked a question yesterday and nobody gave me a reply. Maybe you can help. What is Milner's "best position". Where did he play at Villa. Even for England, he's been used in 2 or 3 different positions. I think he once even played at left back for part of a match anyway.

[Lees Alter Ego]

When I saw thsi thread I fully expected the majority of people to jump on his back and criticise him. Delighted thats not the case, it seems more a 50/50 split. Milner is and will be an important player for his, his work rate is superb, he tracks back well and gets stuck in, going forward it hasnt happened for him but I'm sure that will come. The problem I think he has is becuase sometimes we play so deep he often recieves the ball in our own half and is expected to run passed players and make something happen, thats not his game. If he recieved a ball higher up the pitch I am sure he could deliver some great balls in to the box. Hes not quick enough to be running 50 yards with the ball but for me I think hes a decent addition to the team.

[brite blu sky]

I think it is slightly more subtle than so far suggested, my take is that he is trying too hard to make it look like he is making a difference, and maybe the price tag is causing this, maybe being surrounded by quality players, bit of both perhaps. I watched him recently to try and see what he was doing and there are a couple of things, the main one is he seems to be less inclined to make short interplay passes with the others.. he is often trying to hold it and take too much on when there are other easier options. He ends up running into trouble too often. Now if this is the difference between what he was doing at Villa and now it would make sense to me. At Villa he was the main man and took the ball forward for them, they didn't do a lot of passing interplay. His role was different and the nature of the football was different. So maybe it is that adjustment that he is not getting right.

You can see his determination and he is a good player, just has to adapt and learn a different game. As i say the price tag and hype may not be helping in that. The other thing is that the wing is not his best position, everyone knows that.
Surprisingly he may end up being one of the slowest to adapt to the new environment.... unlike the oversees payers who know clearly that they have to learn a new game and have a clear idea of a new start, Milner only needs an adjustment and so could easily underestimate the task.

thats my take anyway.

[david yearsley]

Defo needs to rid himself of the anxiety in his play - if he does this we might have a player