James Milner

[Chippy_boy]

Who are these 'technically better players' then?

Is that a serious question?

Yes.
Leave out Merlin and Fern but any of the others you can have.

-- Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:54 am --

Is that a serious question?

I laughed at that. I mean, who is NOT technically better? Lescott? Kolarov, possibly. /End of list.

I like Jimmie for his professionalism, commitment, workrate. He's a decent utility player who can be very good on his day. But he his a bit of a donkey tbf.

And he had an absolute stinker on Sunday. Truly truly awful. Shockingly awful.

OK chippy boy, describe what constitutes 'technically better' then name a player.

Sorry I missed this, although I suspect you may be trolling since it is so bleeding obvious.

How about first touch, close control, vision and awareness. Who's better than Milner at these things? Well, Silva of course; Nasri yes; Aguero obviously; Negredo without doubt; Fernandino as well; Yaya obviously. Then debatably you might include Navas; I would include Jovetic.

So there's 3 attributes and 6 to 8 players better than Milner. If I was to have picked only "vision and awareness" it might have read worse.

MIlner is a good utility player, hard working and not without skill. I like the bloke and am happy for him to get game time. But no-one can credibly argue that he is technically one of our best, he just isn't. That's not what he brings to the table.

Happy now?

 

[Shaelumstash]

Him and Silva is our most intelligent combination behind the front man/ men!

Silva is the most intelligent player in the league, Milner looks good alongside him because he makes runs in behind and Silva can pick the pass to find him. Take Silva out of the side and Milner doesn't look quite so intelligent, Wednesday against Sunderland being a good example. Dreadful.

Reminds me a little of the Ireland situation, for the season when he had Elano and Robinho pulling the strings he looked a different player and I was so glad when we got rid in the Milner deal ironically. When they left he looked ordinary. I would never think of selling James but he has to realise his own limitations. Great squad and team player.

Great post.

 

[Shaelumstash]

anybody see him boot the ball away at the final whistle? seems frustrated!

Yes saw it and thought the same as you. Think he was angry when he was pushed on to the right to accommodate Kolarov coming on. Only on 20 mins but asked to play two positions.

In any interviews I see he, talks regularly about playing in the middle. Think he's only played there once at Newcastle in the cup when he was fantastic.
Understandable frustrations.

He also played there away at Norwich and was dreadful.

 

[lasereyes]

Is that a serious question?

Yes.
Leave out Merlin and Fern but any of the others you can have.

-- Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:54 am --

I laughed at that. I mean, who is NOT technically better? Lescott? Kolarov, possibly. /End of list.

I like Jimmie for his professionalism, commitment, workrate. He's a decent utility player who can be very good on his day. But he his a bit of a donkey tbf.

And he had an absolute stinker on Sunday. Truly truly awful. Shockingly awful.

OK chippy boy, describe what constitutes 'technically better' then name a player.

Sorry I missed this, although I suspect you may be trolling since it is so bleeding obvious.

How about first touch, close control, vision and awareness. Who's better than Milner at these things? Well, Silva of course; Nasri yes; Aguero obviously; Negredo without doubt; Fernandino as well; Yaya obviously. Then debatably you might include Navas; I would include Jovetic.

So there's 3 attributes and 6 to 8 players better than Milner. If I was to have picked only "vision and awareness" it might have read worse.

MIlner is a good utility player, hard working and not without skill. I like the bloke and am happy for him to get game time. But no-one can credibly argue that he is technically one of our best, he just isn't. That's not what he brings to the table.

Happy now?

Negredo, you have to be kidding. On his day yes (can't forget his goal against Spurs and his cross-field ball against Fulham). But since the West Ham game, he's looked like a novice at times. And it's too long a period to blame on an injury. Part of your quality as a player is the ability to bounce back from an injury and recover your form. So at best you can say the jury is out on him.

Fernandinho vs. Milner on those attributes is a close call. Fernandinho's first touch has often been lacking this season - look at some of his shooting, and look at the free kick last night before West Brom's counter-attack goal.

And Nasri is the polar opposite. Much flashier, but less consistent. I am a fan personally, but there are too many matches where he disappears. That's why he is unlikely to make France's World Cup side. Nasri vs. Milner is at worst a draw.

Navas - no way. He has shown pace and occasionally good crosses, but his ability to take on players 1-on-1 << Milner.

As for vision and awareness, I've no idea what you're talking about. Milner is generally good, at times outstanding. Jovetic, nobody has any ability to judge. We've only seen cameos from him. So he shouldn't even be in the comparison.

So you are left with Silva and Aguero as the only two who clearly eclipse Milner -- and you're talking about two World Top 10 players there (maybe top 5 in Silva's case).

 

[bluemooninho]

Yes.
Leave out Merlin and Fern but any of the others you can have.

-- Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:54 am --



OK chippy boy, describe what constitutes 'technically better' then name a player.

Sorry I missed this, although I suspect you may be trolling since it is so bleeding obvious.

How about first touch, close control, vision and awareness. Who's better than Milner at these things? Well, Silva of course; Nasri yes; Aguero obviously; Negredo without doubt; Fernandino as well; Yaya obviously. Then debatably you might include Navas; I would include Jovetic.

So there's 3 attributes and 6 to 8 players better than Milner. If I was to have picked only "vision and awareness" it might have read worse.

MIlner is a good utility player, hard working and not without skill. I like the bloke and am happy for him to get game time. But no-one can credibly argue that he is technically one of our best, he just isn't. That's not what he brings to the table.

Happy now?

Negredo, you have to be kidding. On his day yes (can't forget his goal against Spurs and his cross-field ball against Fulham). But since the West Ham game, he's looked like a novice at times. And it's too long a period to blame on an injury. Part of your quality as a player is the ability to bounce back from an injury and recover your form. So at best you can say the jury is out on him.

Fernandinho vs. Milner on those attributes is a close call. Fernandinho's first touch has often been lacking this season - look at some of his shooting, and look at the free kick last night before West Brom's counter-attack goal.

And Nasri is the polar opposite. Much flashier, but less consistent. I am a fan personally, but there are too many matches where he disappears. That's why he is unlikely to make France's World Cup side. Nasri vs. Milner is at worst a draw.

Navas - no way. He has shown pace and occasionally good crosses, but his ability to take on players 1-on-1 << Milner.

As for vision and awareness, I've no idea what you're talking about. Milner is generally good, at times outstanding. Jovetic, nobody has any ability to judge. We've only seen cameos from him. So he shouldn't even be in the comparison.

So you are left with Silva and Aguero as the only two who clearly eclipse Milner -- and you're talking about two World Top 10 players there (maybe top 5 in Silva's case).

It's all pretty subjective, but I think you will be hard pressed to find people who agree with most of those comments.

I like Milner and in any other team you may say that he is technically good (compared to those around him) but to say that he is on par with Nasri and Fernandinho is, in my opinion, rediculous. He is solid and reliable but he is nothing special. Nasri may not be getting in to the French squad, but Milner wouldn't even be considered.

Then there's Yaya, who is technically superior to Milner in every aspect. I can't see you having any argument with that.

Although, I have to agree with you on Navas. He has speed going for him but at times, his passes are poor and I think he relies too much on pure pace.

For a team with title ambitions, Milner will always be a squad player. There is a definite solidity about his game but there is no real flare. He never stops and he has a lot of heart/passion. These are his greatest attributes, but they do not make him a technically gifted player. Just a solid, reliable, hard working good midfielder.

 

[somethingelse]

citys first goal v Liverpool could not of been created by just a solid hard working midfielder ,it was created by an international standard player with the vision and ability to unlock the top of the leagues tight defence and put in a ball for Silva that would of been harder to miss than score,
the comments on this thread are actually bizarre

 

[lasereyes]

citys first goal v Liverpool could not of been created by just a solid hard working midfielder ,it was created by an international standard player with the vision and ability to unlock the top of the leagues tight defence and put in a ball for Silva that would of been harder to miss than score,
the comments on this thread are actually bizarre

Spot on. Check out the third goal against Bayern too - his positioning, his waiting for the right moment to strike and pinpoint accuracy - quite brilliant execution. Every bit as good (I would argue better as further out and against a better team) than Nasri's goal in the League Cup Final.

 

[stonerblue]

Is that a serious question?

Yes.
Leave out Merlin and Fern but any of the others you can have.

-- Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:54 am --

I laughed at that. I mean, who is NOT technically better? Lescott? Kolarov, possibly. /End of list.

I like Jimmie for his professionalism, commitment, workrate. He's a decent utility player who can be very good on his day. But he his a bit of a donkey tbf.

And he had an absolute stinker on Sunday. Truly truly awful. Shockingly awful.

OK chippy boy, describe what constitutes 'technically better' then name a player.

Sorry I missed this, although I suspect you may be trolling since it is so bleeding obvious.

How about first touch, close control, vision and awareness. Who's better than Milner at these things? Well, Silva of course; Nasri yes; Aguero obviously; Negredo without doubt; Fernandino as well; Yaya obviously. Then debatably you might include Navas; I would include Jovetic.

So there's 3 attributes and 6 to 8 players better than Milner. If I was to have picked only "vision and awareness" it might have read worse.

MIlner is a good utility player, hard working and not without skill. I like the bloke and am happy for him to get game time. But no-one can credibly argue that he is technically one of our best, he just isn't. That's not what he brings to the table.

Happy now?

I'm not really sure what 'trolling' is.

First touch and close control is a start on the technical ability front but awareness and vision are vague descriptions of ability, and nowt to do with technical. So i'll stick to touch and control.
Apart from the 2 i mentioned, which weren't up for debate as i said, we've got Nasri, Aguero, Yaya and Negredo.
In backwards order, Negredo hasn't managed to control a ball for 2 fuckin months, never mind closely. Yaya's first touch can be woeful but his strength (a technical attribute) usually gets him out of trouble. Sergio i'm not gonna argue with. He, like Silva, has velcro on his boots. Now we're left with Nasri, whose touch and control is excellent. Just like Milners and everybody else in the team, Dzeko aside.

Now i can't question your maths as it makes no sense whatsoever and i've really tried so i'm gonna swerve that bit.

Nobody really is arguing that he's 'technically one of our best'? I asked you who you thought was technically better which is a different thing entirely.

I'm very happy now thanks. Had a lovely 70's brekky tea and that. Omelette was glorious. Cheers

 

[Bill]

still reckon he's a centre mid man.

 

[Dr Jacoby]

still reckon he's a centre mid man.

In a team with title aspirations? Hell no.