What i make of that is that it's as good as done. And i for one am very, very happy. Great signing. I am not worse off financially as a direct result of this deal, so i don't give a fuck about the price. Welcome to Manchester.<br /><br />-- Fri Aug 06, 2010 11:44 pm --<br /><br />Lomas has a lob on said:I just saw O'neill on SSN doing a presser and his words were "I didn't play James tonight, primarily because it looks as though something maybe happening regarding the transfer, I thought it was best all round to leave him out, he has had a few back niggles but that isn't the main reason for him not playing, we should all hear something in the next few days". Make of that what you will.Taylor said:Forgive me if I'm wrong Martin O'Neill said he thinks it will be resolved by Sunday not that we will be signing him by then.
Barry.glen quagmire said:Tricky_Trev said:Can't wait to see Milner in a City shirt. Watching Barry's career winding to a sorry end really makes you appreciate just how much we need this guy. Then there's the added benefit of him being able to cover on either flank.
There is a clear place for Milner in our side, imo. Watching Yaya, it's obvious he doesn't do that much off the ball. It's not really his game. He doesn't put that many challenges in and it's quite easy to pass through him. He's all about what he does on the ball, through his ball retention, vision and intelligent passing. This therefore puts extra workload and pressure on the other central midfielder(s) to do some dirty work. Barry is simply incapable of doing it. He looks finished. With Kolarov bombing forward, we'll need someone with the endurance, discipline and work rate to constanly plug the gap left by Kolarov thus preventing an opposition counter-attack, whilst then getting themselves back into a reasonably offensive position. This is Milner. He never ever stops running. Just ask Villa fans. You could be 3-0 up with 30 seconds left to play and Milner will still be chasing lost causes and working his bollocks off. We need that in our midfield, at Barry's expense.
But there's more. The beauty is that when on the ball, although he doesn't have the guile of Silva or the trickery of Adam Johnson, Milner sure knows how to create. Just because he's not a fancy-dan kind of player does not mean he isn't creative. He'll also chip in with a decent amount of goals himself. He has a great overall game and i don't see why anyone wouldn't want him. I'd go as far as saying we NEED him.
Trev, who get's benched for milner?
I'll be sad to see Ireland go IF he does leave, likewise I'll be delighted with Milner, I just hope people remember Irelands departure isn't Milners fault.10.Goater_Legend said:Looks like a done deal then. I'll get behind once he's in a City shirt like I will to any player in our wonderful clubs colours, but i'm going to be fucking gutted at loosing Stevie.
Tricky_Trev said:What i make of that is that it's as good as done. And i for one am very, very happy. Great signing. I am not worse off financially as a direct result of this deal, so i don't give a fuck about the price. Welcome to Manchester.Lomas has a lob on said:I just saw O'neill on SSN doing a presser and his words were "I didn't play James tonight, primarily because it looks as though something maybe happening regarding the transfer, I thought it was best all round to leave him out, he has had a few back niggles but that isn't the main reason for him not playing, we should all hear something in the next few days". Make of that what you will.
-- Fri Aug 06, 2010 11:44 pm --
Barry.glen quagmire said:Trev, who get's benched for milner?
Don't remind me. Took me ages to watch that video and I couldn't believe it when I finally saw it. But don't crucify players for mistakes.foley87 said:everyone ask themselves this
would milner of walked back as paul scholes got his head on a ball in the 93rd minute of the most important manchester league derby in 30years
no. thought not
Because Yaya Toure does not tackle. He's not a ball winner. He's a ball distributer.fatbloke said:I'd be absolutely devastated on a football level if Stevie Ireland is allowed to go, he's as good as any midfielder in the Premiership on form. If we're going to play a midfield diamond I don't see why we can't play Ireland and Milner either side of Yaya Toure, with Silva in the hole behind the two strikers. The energy, pace, athletism and class in that midfield would be incredible.
All very interesting points mate, and i'm sure Milner given a run in our side, probably at the expense of Gareth Barry in central midfield, could be a quality player for us. Then again I also think Ireland could be just as good, if not better.Chick Counterfly said:10.Goater_Legend said:Laughable, what has Milner ever done prior to 2009/10 works both ways.
fwiw I reckon Milner's best season wasn't as good as Ireland's, but he's clearly got several very good campaigns under his belt now.
The real story isn't in the figures. it's that Milner started off as a slightly tricky winger with good delivery, and has added flexibility, immense staying power and real hard work to his game. Personally, I really like his courage and intelligence, he has strong willpower and knows how to help his team-mates through difficult periods.
Ireland rapidly began to add more to his game last year, what hurt was that it all stopped just as quickly. If I'm upset with him it's only because I not only believed in his talent, but I thought he was going to be a poster-boy for the self-help crew, the man who took himself by the scruff of the neck, demanded more, and in the process became an awesome all round midfielder. We'll probably never know now, he will go to Villa, go back to being a good, but not great, play maker. It's his career, his life, he's free to become whatever he wants, if that's the career he's always dreamed of, good luck to him.
There are very few number 10 central playmakers in the modern game. It's more common for them to fill wide positions, or to play from deeper. That goes for players as talented as Iniesta, Xavi. To justify being picked as a classic number ten at the very top level, IMO you need to be surreally talented, in the top 0.5% of technical players. Ireland is a peg and a bit below this, he could make it at the highest level if he applied all of his faculties to the general midfield work, if he offered concentration, dilligence, stamina, flexibility and could create out wide, or influence play in his own half. My honest judgement tho is that he won't be the best in europe on the back of his touch and passing alone, it's just not that good. He might be able to make it work for a team like Villa tho, and if that's what he wants I wish him good luck.
having said all that, as much of an admirer of Milner as I am, 20m+ Ireland would be completely unacceptable. I'm pretty sure however the club will see it that way too, so don't worry about it so much.