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Couple of stories about James in tomorrow's papers. The Mail say City are confident Milner will sign a new contract. By contrast, and worryingly, the Times says Milner has told team mates he sees little chance of staying with City taking the view that it's take or leave it on the latest contract offer.

He'll be going I reckon

where's he going to go if he leaves us?
dippers was the obvious choice 6 months ago but not now
my money says he's seen the light and will be staying

Wooders wrote:He'll be going I reckon

Unfortunately I also think that's the case. Should be sorted already if he was to stay

Nigels Tackle wrote:where's he going to go if he leaves us?
dippers was the obvious choice 6 months ago but not now
my money says he's seen the light and will be staying

I still think he'll go to dippers. Why would anyone do that I have no idea, just a feeling he thinks he'll see more action there. And not just cos Balo is there

Can't see him at Dippers Chavs wouldnt want him .Spuds would but fuck great carreer move there Arse would be an option Fourth place champions league every year . The Rags would have him but he wouldnt would he .... Come on jimbo you know it makes sense Get signing

If he wants to go let him. He needs us more than we need him if we're talking about silverware. I'd sell him at end of January if he doesn't sign by then

He's likely a goner.

Silverware wise he has every domestic winners medal - the whole set - so likely just wants to play every week. For Liverpool he would, for us he simply wont. He also rarely gets to play in central midfield which is where he prefers - for Liverpool he would, for us he wont.

Im a Milner fan but *if* we have supposedly offered him £115k a week on a 4 and a half year deal, that's 1 year and £35k too much anyway.

In addition *if* he has been offered that deal and hasnt snapped our hands off at it, then we already have our answer and the club will know this. Great clubman, top teammate and will be missed but he will be 30 next January and is replaceable too.Given the amount of times he's been overlooked on the teamsheet at City for inferior players - noticeably Javi Garcia last season - Im not the least bit surprised if/when he chooses to move on.

Milner and Lampards departures this summer surely also make a move by us for Barkley even more likely, given our lack of English players.

I really don't understand him, he played almost 120 games for us in 4 years, in a simple math, that means almost 30 games per season from 38 games in the league.

Dave has 148. If that is not regular football time, i don't know what is, really now. Hope he will stay, we really need him.

He's getting lots of game time this season, he seems also to have gained MP's trust and so should feature more in future. Don't really understand why he won't sign then.

It could be that he's holding out for more dosh as this is probably his last chance of a big contract but I can't see him getting more anywhere else.

I'd be pretty disappointed if he goes as he's an excellent squad member. When he initially signed I was doing cartwheels as I knew what he'd bring to the squad and nothing has changed in that regard.

Get it done James Milner, the fans hold you in high regard here and there's good times ahead for our club.

PeterParker wrote:I really don't understand him, he played almost 120 games for us in 4 years, in a simple math, that means almost 30 games per season from 38 games in the league.

Dave has 148. If that is not regular football time, i don't know what is, really now. Hope he will stay, we really need him.

Many of those were sub appearances and I don't think you are using a number that is only prem matches, are you?

I thought he would have signed by now. If he doesn't sign we can't sell him as others have suggested. He can walk for free and perhaps command a ridiculous salary because he has no transfer fee.

I like him. I don't love him. If he decides to leave then thanks for the effort bro. Good luck.

Any move to another prem side is a step down. He may go abroad, but that's unlikely. I would say he is holding out for more money, which of course is what most would do.

Wasn't Milner unusual in that, at one stage, he didn't have an agent and did all the negotiating himself ??

Can anyone confirm this and, if so, does he have an agent now ??

I've thought for a while he isn't gonna sign or he would he have done so already.
It isn't about game time either. He has had plenty.
I think we can still sell him but he could also sign a pre contract agreement elsewhere and leave for nothing in the summer.

DoomMerchant wrote:

PeterParker wrote:I really don't understand him, he played almost 120 games for us in 4 years, in a simple math, that means almost 30 games per season from 38 games in the league.

Dave has 148. If that is not regular football time, i don't know what is, really now. Hope he will stay, we really need him.

Many of those were sub appearances and I don't think you are using a number that is only prem matches, are you?

I thought he would have signed by now. If he doesn't sign we can't sell him as others have suggested. He can walk for free and perhaps command a ridiculous salary because he has no transfer fee.

I like him. I don't love him. If he decides to leave then thanks for the effort bro. Good luck.

No, that is overall, not just the PM. It has the Chums League, Cups, etc, but the same goes with Silva too. 120 vs 148.

I'd be gutted to see him go, as he is a fantastic player and has been a great servant.

However on consideration of wider strategy, we have to realise that we have a big problem looming in midfield in the years ahead if we don't manage things carefully.

The current midfielders by the end of this season:

Silva - 29
Toure - 32
Navas - 29
Milner - 29
Fernandinho - 30
Nasri - 28
Fernando - 28

The reality is that we need to start rotating the older ones out of the squad in order to not face a situation where we are replacing several key first team players at once in a couple of years' time.

It wouldn't surprise me if we saw Milner, Toure and Navas leave this summer to make way for fresh, younger blood. The disruption would be minimal with Milner and Navas not necessarily key players, whilst Toure will surely be on the move soon.

PeterParker wrote:

DoomMerchant wrote:

PeterParker wrote:I really don't understand him, he played almost 120 games for us in 4 years, in a simple math, that means almost 30 games per season from 38 games in the league.

Dave has 148. If that is not regular football time, i don't know what is, really now. Hope he will stay, we really need him.

Many of those were sub appearances and I don't think you are using a number that is only prem matches, are you?

I thought he would have signed by now. If he doesn't sign we can't sell him as others have suggested. He can walk for free and perhaps command a ridiculous salary because he has no transfer fee.

I like him. I don't love him. If he decides to leave then thanks for the effort bro. Good luck.

No, that is overall, not just the PM. It has the Chums League, Cups, etc, but the same goes with Silva too. 120 vs 148.

Silva tho is kicked to death and misses a fair amount due to injury. Whereas James is rarely unfit.

I'm belaboring your point tho...which is valid. He's seen plenty of match time.

Cheers

If we need all the midfielders to be under 30, then we have a problem, but we don't, so it gives us literally years to sort it out. We have probably 4 years before we have to worry about Nasri & Fernando, 3 years with Silva & Navas, 2 years with Fernandinho.

We can carry a couple of 'old' players 33/34, a couple of 'oldish' players 31/32 provided we have a few young ones come in, some of which could already be at the club, (if we ever give them any game time to find out).

Milner is one I would be most concerned about if he stays tbh, along with Navas, as both rely on fitness for 80% of their effectiveness.

Silva could play til he's 36 but Milner will be very Scotty Parker by that age I should imagine, & Navas without pace would be Trevor Sinclair. Fernandinho also may only have a couple of seasons.

It could be that the contract offered to Milner, reflects his likely future value, rather than his current value, so he's keeping his options open, long as possible.

DoomMerchant wrote:

PeterParker wrote:

DoomMerchant wrote:

PeterParker wrote:I really don't understand him, he played almost 120 games for us in 4 years, in a simple math, that means almost 30 games per season from 38 games in the league.

Dave has 148. If that is not regular football time, i don't know what is, really now. Hope he will stay, we really need him.

Many of those were sub appearances and I don't think you are using a number that is only prem matches, are you?

I thought he would have signed by now. If he doesn't sign we can't sell him as others have suggested. He can walk for free and perhaps command a ridiculous salary because he has no transfer fee.

I like him. I don't love him. If he decides to leave then thanks for the effort bro. Good luck.

No, that is overall, not just the PM. It has the Chums League, Cups, etc, but the same goes with Silva too. 120 vs 148.

Silva tho is kicked to death and misses a fair amount due to injury. Whereas James is rarely unfit.

I'm belaboring your point tho...which is valid. He's seen plenty of match time.

Cheers

We've played probably 200 games in that time in all competitions possibly over 220 so he has probably featured in less than 60% which is a criminal underuse of a player who could really player every week on merit. However it would be unfair to compare his ratio of games under Mancini, to the trust he now seems to be enjoying under Pellegrini thus season.

The Times could be reflecting hard negotiating in the end game or a clear sign that Milner is headed for the dippers. It's hard to know at this stage. What is clear is that Soriano is getting a firm grip on the wage bill and he won't make Milner an exception.James probably wants another four year deal taking him to 33 on the same or better terms and the Club are baulking. Like most people on this site I hope he stays. Doomie makes an important point that he has an excellent injury record and you know what you're going to get; a fully committed performance every game. In addition he is versatile which is of great benefit to the Club.