Jimmy & Joe To Sign New Contracts

[BillyShears]

I think DeMichelis was the worst player on the pitch. Had he downed tools or is he just shit?

I think you'll have to quality how you think MD was the worst player on the pitch. Did he get the hook at half time? Was he culpable for either Arsenal goal? Did he allow Arsenal's forwards to waltz past him time and time again and get shots on goal?

 

[Lancet Fluke]

I think DeMichelis was the worst player on the pitch. Had he downed tools or is he just shit?

He had a very poor game by his standards as well.

The truth is that most of them were really poor yesterday. I don't like to see players accused of downing tools on the basis of the odd poor performance. Milner may well be on his way to Liverpool on a free at the end of the season, as is his right and he may be technically limited compared to many players at the club but he hasn't let us down too often and I think it is way too premature for people to be levelling those accusations at him. Time will tell though, I guess.

 

[Lancet Fluke]

I think DeMichelis was the worst player on the pitch. Had he downed tools or is he just shit?

I think you'll have to quality how you think MD was the worst player on the pitch. Did he get the hook at half time? Was he culpable for either Arsenal goal? Did he allow Arsenal's forwards to waltz past him time and time again and get shots on goal?

Just because he didn't get the hook doesn't mean anything. A few weeks ago Kolarov was by far the worst player on the pitch (against Burnley I think) but he stayed on the whole 90 mins. Arguably he was at fault for their second goal, he didn't appear to be marking anyone, that's for sure. I thought he was poor defensively and gave the ball away and put us on the back foot a number of times. He was utterly terrible. That's not to say I thought Milner was good, he wasn't so we are talking fine margins of utter shitness here. Anyway you're missing my point really.

 

[SuperSilva21]

Was at West reception yesterday when the players got off the coach and Natalie Pike interviewed Milner and her last comment was "hopefully we'll be seeing you here for the next few years" or something like that.... Milner just smirked and walked off! (not sure if that's a positive or negative on him signing a new contract but thought I'd throw it into the mix Ha ha)

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

I think DeMichelis was the worst player on the pitch. Had he downed tools or is he just shit?

He had a very poor game by his standards as well.

Even this isn't true from a real technical standpoint, if you were to really drill down into the fundamental issue in the team.

Demichelis gifted possession away five times in the opening 20 minutes.

He was trying to take the responsibility to play passes which would actually have some form of offensive intent behind them.

Arsenal knew we had no ball retention in the team outside of the Silva.

All the top teams and in Europe are happy to gift up possession to our central defenders because, at the end of the day, this is what they are.

Yaya is usually the one who comes and collects and is able to turn (note how Chelsea and teams in Europe don't let him do this and how effective they are combating him)

Fernando and Fernandinho are in incapable of doing this, always having their backs to the opposition when we come out.

Take Nasri out of the team, when Yaya is also missing and you get what happened yesterday.

Hart being forced to kick long or the central defenders feeling the weight of responsibility to become an additional midfielder.

Demichelis was fine, certainly no worse then Kompany.

Milner, on the other hand, was a combination of bad tactical discipline and technical paucity.

The worst by a country mile, unless one of the many who felt the need to get out of their seats and clap Milner trying to close down Ospina, despite it being more of a lost cause than waking Tommy Cooper from the dead...and also resulting in an offside position as we returned the ball upfield.

 

[Chippy_boy]

I think DeMichelis was the worst player on the pitch. Had he downed tools or is he just shit?

He had a very poor game by his standards as well.

Even this isn't true from a real technical standpoint, if you were to really drill down into the fundamental issue in the team.

Demichelis gifted possession away five times in the opening 20 minutes.

He was trying to take the responsibility to play passes which would actually have some form of offensive intent behind them.

Arsenal knew we had no ball retention in the team outside of the Silva.

All the top teams and in Europe are happy to gift up possession to our central defenders because, at the end of the day, this is what they are.

Yaya is usually the one who comes and collects and is able to turn (note how Chelsea and teams in Europe don't let him do this and how effective they are combating him)

Fernando and Fernandinho are in incapable of doing this, always having their backs to the opposition when we come out.

Take Nasri out of the team, when Yaya is also missing and you get what happened yesterday.

Hart being forced to kick long or the central defenders feeling the weight of responsibility to become an additional midfielder.

Demichelis was fine, certainly no worse then Kompany.

Milner, on the other hand, was a combination of bad tactical discipline and technical paucity.

The worst by a country mile, unless one of the many who felt the need to get out of their seats and clap Milner trying to close down Ospina, despite it being more of a lost cause than waking Tommy Cooper from the dead...and also resulting in an offside position as we returned the ball upfield.

Puzzling post.

You say MDM didn't have a poor game and yet you say he gave the ball away 5 times in the opening 20 minutes (more than 1 of which caused us to come under serious pressure.)

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

He had a very poor game by his standards as well.

Even this isn't true from a real technical standpoint, if you were to really drill down into the fundamental issue in the team.

Demichelis gifted possession away five times in the opening 20 minutes.

He was trying to take the responsibility to play passes which would actually have some form of offensive intent behind them.

Arsenal knew we had no ball retention in the team outside of the Silva.

All the top teams and in Europe are happy to gift up possession to our central defenders because, at the end of the day, this is what they are.

Yaya is usually the one who comes and collects and is able to turn (note how Chelsea and teams in Europe don't let him do this and how effective they are combating him)

Fernando and Fernandinho are in incapable of doing this, always having their backs to the opposition when we come out.

Take Nasri out of the team, when Yaya is also missing and you get what happened yesterday.

Hart being forced to kick long or the central defenders feeling the weight of responsibility to become an additional midfielder.

Demichelis was fine, certainly no worse then Kompany.

Milner, on the other hand, was a combination of bad tactical discipline and technical paucity.

The worst by a country mile, unless one of the many who felt the need to get out of their seats and clap Milner trying to close down Ospina, despite it being more of a lost cause than waking Tommy Cooper from the dead...and also resulting in an offside position as we returned the ball upfield.

Puzzling post.

You say MDM didn't have a poor game and yet you say he gave the ball away 5 times in the opening 20 minutes (more than 1 of which caused us to come under serious pressure.)

It was in response to the post he was the worst player on the pitch. Only Clichy came out of yesterday with any in the credit in the bank for me.

As I have stated, there were fundamental reasons for why Demichelis was poor.

(But still miles better than Milner)

 

[Lancet Fluke]

Even this isn't true from a real technical standpoint, if you were to really drill down into the fundamental issue in the team.

Demichelis gifted possession away five times in the opening 20 minutes.

He was trying to take the responsibility to play passes which would actually have some form of offensive intent behind them.

Arsenal knew we had no ball retention in the team outside of the Silva.

All the top teams and in Europe are happy to gift up possession to our central defenders because, at the end of the day, this is what they are.

Yaya is usually the one who comes and collects and is able to turn (note how Chelsea and teams in Europe don't let him do this and how effective they are combating him)

Fernando and Fernandinho are in incapable of doing this, always having their backs to the opposition when we come out.

Take Nasri out of the team, when Yaya is also missing and you get what happened yesterday.

Hart being forced to kick long or the central defenders feeling the weight of responsibility to become an additional midfielder.

Demichelis was fine, certainly no worse then Kompany.

Milner, on the other hand, was a combination of bad tactical discipline and technical paucity.

The worst by a country mile, unless one of the many who felt the need to get out of their seats and clap Milner trying to close down Ospina, despite it being more of a lost cause than waking Tommy Cooper from the dead...and also resulting in an offside position as we returned the ball upfield.

Puzzling post.

You say MDM didn't have a poor game and yet you say he gave the ball away 5 times in the opening 20 minutes (more than 1 of which caused us to come under serious pressure.)

It was in response to the post he was the worst player on the pitch. Only Clichy came out of yesterday with any in the credit in the bank for me.

As I have stated, there were fundamental reasons for why Demichelis was poor.

And isn't that the point. Nearly all of them were pretty terrible yesterday. So to use that game as a basis to assert that one player has downed tools is at best ridiculously premature.

 

[BillyShears]

I think DeMichelis was the worst player on the pitch. Had he downed tools or is he just shit?

He had a very poor game by his standards as well.

The truth is that most of them were really poor yesterday. I don't like to see players accused of downing tools on the basis of the odd poor performance. Milner may well be on his way to Liverpool on a free at the end of the season, as is his right and he may be technically limited compared to many players at the club but he hasn't let us down too often and I think it is way too premature for people to be levelling those accusations at him. Time will tell though, I guess.

I guess this is the point you were making when you asked me the MD question. Well to be honest, Milner has brought these accusations upon himself. It's one of the major risks of allowing a player to go into their final 6 months. If the player's form drops, it is inevitable the the accusations will be "his head's gone and he's downed tools".

I realise there's much love for Milner on the forum but right now I can't stand the sight of the twat. He's well overrated, is fucking off on a free in the summer, and frankly, his performance yesterday was the kind of gashness which shouldn't even be at Anfield let alone the Etihad. Wouldn't have been out of place in a crap relegation threatened team like Sunderland.

 

[Damocles]

I realise there's much love for Milner on the forum but right now I can't stand the sight of the twat. He's well overrated, is fucking off on a free in the summer, and frankly, his performance yesterday was the kind of gashness which shouldn't even be at Anfield let alone the Etihad. Wouldn't have been out of place in a crap relegation threatened team like Sunderland.

Refreshing if exaggerated post. I've stayed out of this thread because whilst Milner has his uses as a squad player, the wankfest that is built around him is strange and I don't share that view of him. He has that desirable Typically English trait of "runs around a lot" and "doesn't wear gloves like a tart" which I think gives him more popularity than his actual talent deserves.

He does everything well but nothing excellently. I have no problem keeping him as a squad player or letting him go as when you rank our players in terms of importance to us, he's probably a bit down that list.

He's not a Scott Sinclair who I actively want out of the club but more like a Kolarov who I can take or leave and think is too inconsistent for a first team place at a club challenging for the CL. Successive managers seem to agree.