James Milner

[The Fat el Hombre]

Well said ChicagoBlue

 

[waspish]

So he gets game time signs his new contract then ends up getting no game time again?! He is going end of the season why keep saying its depends on game time? I think last season he participated in over 30 odd games and ended up with to medals..

 

[BillyShears]

Wow. There's some proper ridiculous assertions going around in this thread. Lets be clear, James Milner is not and never will be world class. Nor is he someone who City should "pay whatever" to keep. Nor in my mind should we be overly fussed about ANY player who doesn't want to commit to us.

I'm not sure anyone is calling him world class or a "pay anything" player. However, in this league, and at a time when a squad is as important as your handful of world class players (see United 2014), Milner is a proven PL and international player who has more utility than a Swiss Army Knife.

Having said all that, I'd love him to stay, he's a model pro, and yes he can occasionally put in 9/10 performances.

Exactly! I think that is the overwhelming sentiment.

He's had a contract on the table for ages. Yet he's prepared to walk away on a free having cost the club tens of millions and having picked up similar amounts in wages and won more medals than he ever previously had. That doesn't make me scream "sign him up at all costs".

Three things: (1) this is probably his last big contract, so he wants to make sure he signs it IF he gets to play, as he also wants to continue to play for England and end his career playing rather than being a "homegrown" captive. (2) as lay people, we need to simply ignore the money aspects of it. No-one is going to pay silly money for a utility player, but it is his job to get the absolute best value for his services ON HIS TERMS. (3) see the response to the first quote above.

Even if he wanted to see how things go this season he should've signed the deal on offer and had a set fee put into the contract if he didn't get enough game time.

Silly comment. Think about it.

Then again this happens about twice a season. Jimmy puts in a worldy performance and everyone forgets the Sunderland's away when his passing and crossing would've made Ray Charles proud.

Yes, he doesn't get a free pass when he has a bad game because he is not the guy who can be considered world class every now and then, so he has to work hard to make up for his shortfalls in this games.....and he does. And, let's not forget, he is a bit part player who rarely gets that run of games to develop partnerships with players, the way Silva, Nasri and Yaya have done.

I don't mistake work ethic for talent, but he has both in abundance and is possibly the best "squad player" in British football.....and certainly the best English utility player.

All very noble and worthy however I stand by what I posted. He's got a contract on the table. He played loads of football last season, and even more the season before. He's got an abundance of medals. Now he's playing silly beggars and threatening to walk away on a free. I like him but not that much. Especially when I know that he will be walking on a free to one of our rivals. Which would be an absolute disgrace.

As the time ticks down he needs to make a decision and either shit or get off the potty so to speak. Oh and publicly "reiterating" that it's not about money but about the amount he plays isn't particularly endearing. He isn't going to Hull or Stoke. Wherever he goes there will be competition for places and he will at times find himself not first choice because - shock horror Jimmy - you occasionally have the bad games.

I dunno, for whatever reason, this current impasse isn't doing it for me. With each passing day I feel more like he can fuck off if he thinks he should've played more in a season where we won a domestic double. He's got his chance right now but in a month's time if his performances drop he'll be out the team again. That's the nature of being at a top club.

 

[OB1]

Wow. There's some proper ridiculous assertions going around in this thread. Lets be clear, James Milner is not and never will be world class. Nor is he someone who City should "pay whatever" to keep. Nor in my mind should we be overly fussed about ANY player who doesn't want to commit to us.

I'm not sure anyone is calling him world class or a "pay anything" player. However, in this league, and at a time when a squad is as important as your handful of world class players (see United 2014), Milner is a proven PL and international player who has more utility than a Swiss Army Knife.

Having said all that, I'd love him to stay, he's a model pro, and yes he can occasionally put in 9/10 performances.

Exactly! I think that is the overwhelming sentiment.

He's had a contract on the table for ages. Yet he's prepared to walk away on a free having cost the club tens of millions and having picked up similar amounts in wages and won more medals than he ever previously had. That doesn't make me scream "sign him up at all costs".

Three things: (1) this is probably his last big contract, so he wants to make sure he signs it IF he gets to play, as he also wants to continue to play for England and end his career playing rather than being a "homegrown" captive. (2) as lay people, we need to simply ignore the money aspects of it. No-one is going to pay silly money for a utility player, but it is his job to get the absolute best value for his services ON HIS TERMS. (3) see the response to the first quote above.

Even if he wanted to see how things go this season he should've signed the deal on offer and had a set fee put into the contract if he didn't get enough game time.

Silly comment. Think about it.

Then again this happens about twice a season. Jimmy puts in a worldy performance and everyone forgets the Sunderland's away when his passing and crossing would've made Ray Charles proud.

Yes, he doesn't get a free pass when he has a bad game because he is not the guy who can be considered world class every now and then, so he has to work hard to make up for his shortfalls in this games.....and he does. And, let's not forget, he is a bit part player who rarely gets that run of games to develop partnerships with players, the way Silva, Nasri and Yaya have done.

I don't mistake work ethic for talent, but he has both in abundance and is possibly the best "squad player" in British football.....and certainly the best English utility player.

All very noble and worthy however I stand by what I posted. He's got a contract on the table. He played loads of football last season, and even more the season before. He's got an abundance of medals. Now he's playing silly beggars and threatening to walk away on a free. I like him but not that much. Especially when I know that he will be walking on a free to one of our rivals. Which would be an absolute disgrace.

As the time ticks down he needs to make a decision and either shit or get off the potty so to speak. Oh and publicly "reiterating" that it's not about money but about the amount he plays isn't particularly endearing. He isn't going to Hull or Stoke. Wherever he goes there will be competition for places and he will at times find himself not first choice because - shock horror Jimmy - you occasionally have the bad games.

I dunno, for whatever reason, this current impasse isn't doing it for me. With each passing day I feel more like he can fuck off if he thinks he should've played more in a season where we won a domestic double. He's got his chance right now but in a month's time if his performances drop he'll be out the team again. That's the nature of being at a top club.

Signing a contract does not stop you leaving the club if you need to go elsewhere to play but it probably means giving up a juicy signing on fee.

 

[BillyShears]

Signing a contract does not stop you leaving the club if you need to go elsewhere to play but it probably means giving up a juicy signing on fee.

Exactly. All this "he's a lovely lad without an agent who just wants to play football" stuff isn't doing it for me. Proper fan talk as Dave would say. Maybe I'm wrong but I just get the feeling that he's already decided to go on a free and it's pissing me off. I'll happily apologise if he signs a new deal though!

 

[MeatHunterrr]

Signing a contract does not stop you leaving the club if you need to go elsewhere to play but it probably means giving up a juicy signing on fee.

Exactly. All this "he's a lovely lad without an agent who just wants to play football" stuff isn't doing it for me. Proper fan talk as Dave would say. Maybe I'm wrong but I just get the feeling that he's already decided to go on a free and it's pissing me off. I'll happily apologise if he signs a new deal though!

Spot on, there isn't a guarantee he will play often if he signs new contract, looks like he has decided to leave for a new challenge probably. At Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal or even Tottenham he wouldn't get playing time as much as he wants, so sounding like a excuse to me, unless he really is going to some midtable team, which I can't see.

 

[markyboyblue]

I personally think we need to keep him at all costs. For me he could replace yaya now with a bit of a tactical team tweak. He has been with us for a few years now and seems to have improved every year without getting the playing time he deserves. His biggest problem is his willingness to do other jobs, this means he has been used as a jack of all trades.

 

[sir baconface]

Signing a contract does not stop you leaving the club if you need to go elsewhere to play but it probably means giving up a juicy signing on fee.

Exactly. All this "he's a lovely lad without an agent who just wants to play football" stuff isn't doing it for me. Proper fan talk as Dave would say. Maybe I'm wrong but I just get the feeling that he's already decided to go on a free and it's pissing me off. I'll happily apologise if he signs a new deal though!

Spot on, there isn't a guarantee he will play often if he signs new contract, looks like he has decided to leave for a new challenge probably. At Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal or even Tottenham he wouldn't get playing time as much as he wants, so sounding like a excuse to me, unless he really is going to some midtable team, which I can't see.

I doubt this. I also doubt he's looking for guranteeed playing time but won't stay if he's treated as a bit part player. Perfectly understandable imo.

Always had mixed views about his abilities but hope he stays. He's certainly earned a place in the next few big games and whenever we need a battler. Who knows what will happen if he's a regular starter?

 

[MeatHunterrr]

Exactly. All this "he's a lovely lad without an agent who just wants to play football" stuff isn't doing it for me. Proper fan talk as Dave would say. Maybe I'm wrong but I just get the feeling that he's already decided to go on a free and it's pissing me off. I'll happily apologise if he signs a new deal though!

Spot on, there isn't a guarantee he will play often if he signs new contract, looks like he has decided to leave for a new challenge probably. At Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal or even Tottenham he wouldn't get playing time as much as he wants, so sounding like a excuse to me, unless he really is going to some midtable team, which I can't see.

I doubt this. I also doubt he's looking for guranteeed playing time but won't stay if he's treated as a bit part player. Perfectly understandable imo.

Always had mixed views about his abilities but hope he stays. He's certainly earned a place in the next few big games and whenever we need a battler. Who knows what will happen if he's a regular starter?

We all know he won''t be, because even last season he put in good performance, then the next one was bad to say the least. He is too inconsistent to nail down a regular spot. When Milner is playing badly, he is playing really badly, he can't even cross the ball properly just look back at Sunderland away last season when playing badly.

If Milner would perform all the time like this, then I would agree. But I think that is unlikely.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

We're better with him, than without, but he is getting a seriously easy ride from our fans.

He should not be able to hold a gun to our heads and he has manufactured this situation for over 12 months, which is cynical. He's got form for it, too. Having jumped from club to club with Villa and Newcastle.

He's done a Micah, except he's actually worth a considerable amount of money to the club on the open market, and could end up costing us £15m.

We can't even call his bluff in January, unless he is part of a makeweight and to a club that he considers acceptable.

If he had any serious loyalty, he would sign that contract and we would both agree to a lower than normal buyout clause next summer. He won't because it will impact his options and he can make even more money as a free transfer.

I would go all in and offer him to Everton plus cash for Barkley this January.