James Milner.

[Ted Hughes]

Thought it deserved its own thread.

He looks fucking tremendous, like he has moved up a level. He looked a class above most players on the pitch inc DeRossi when he came on tonight. I hope Bob plays him in some early games; don't let him sink back. He deserves to play.

AJ needs to do the same if he's to still be here next season.

[Beefymcfc]

I said in the Match Thread that he's on the ball.

[Lev Bronstein]

A well under-rated player IMHO, does so much good work

[Dameerto]

He's looked on a different level in his last two games though, I realy hope it's a permanent change of gear.

[getdressedmctavish]

Ted, I suspect playing for EnglaND ON THE RIGHT AND SEEING WHAT bERT HAS PLANNED HAS MADE HIM REALISE HIS ONLY HOPE IS IN THIS POSITION. aGAINST TEN AND IN AN INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY HE HAS BEEN GETTING TO THE LINE, GETTING HIS HEAD UP(MAINLY) AND TRYING TO PICK PLAYERS OUT.(sorry caps, maYBE i SHOULD GET MY HEAD UP LOL)Sooner or later he will realise he's a man not a boy anymore. If Bert can give him confidence , a big if, he could finally realise his potential. Will he start Sunday?Who knows what Bert is thinking.

[Ted Hughes]

Ted, I suspect playing for EnglaND ON THE RIGHT AND SEEING WHAT bERT HAS PLANNED HAS MADE HIM REALISE HIS ONLY HOPE IS IN THIS POSITION. aGAINST TEN AND IN AN INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY HE HAS BEEN GETTING TO THE LINE, GETTING HIS HEAD UP(MAINLY) AND TRYING TO PICK PLAYERS OUT.(sorry caps, maYBE i SHOULD GET MY HEAD UP LOL)Sooner or later he will realise he's a man not a boy anymore. If Bert can give him confidence , a big if, he could finally realise his potential. Will he start Sunday?Who knows what Bert is thinking.

He looks sharper in his passing & a yard quicker as well though.

I think he looks more confident (perhaps due to the title win) & also more determined to prove he can make the grade.

I'm hoping to see the same from AJ & Dzeko when they reach match fitness. Tevez is definitely doing the same.

[aaron bond]

I think MIlner is a great player. I thought he was superb for us last season when he was playing regularly from about August to January then Mancini stopped playing him, trying to accommodate Nasri into the side.

Milner was excellent again on Sunday in the Charity Shield too.

I'd have him starting most weeks if I were Mancini.

[Slim]

He is our midfield Zabs, we need him as vitally as most other players because he fills in cracks wherever we need him. Plays both flanks and in the middle, behind the striker and I heard he makes a mean cup of tea too. Need players like him and Zabs in the side because they make injuries/suspensions/golf trips/stupid african tournies, less impactful.

[dick dastardley]

milner needs to keep his place and with gaz baz coming back the fight for a place is gonna be eveb harder which all bodes well for us!!!

[Piccsnumberoneblue]

Only saw a bit of the game last night but he looked good, as did AJ. He also did well in the Shield although he did waste a lot of crossing opportunities.

[Swales4ever]

He is our midfield Zabs, we need him as vitally as most other players because he fills in cracks wherever we need him. Plays both flanks and in the middle, behind the striker and I heard he makes a mean cup of tea too. Need players like him and Zabs in the side because they make injuries/suspensions/golf trips/stupid african tournies, less impactful.

I reckon this is very much spot on.
whatever is - right or wrong - my personal opinion on the signing of him, I do love Jimmy Jaws utmost, I do think he is probably the most professional/hard working football player (with Mad Zab very close second) that I happened to see since Romeo Benetti.

Personally I still continue to opine that the best of him would come out by playing in the mid park, in front of the back: a more technically gifted evolution of Nigel role, but I am just an armchair twunt at the end of the day...

[Slim]

Yeah, forgot about that...when he has the ball you get to yell "gorr on Jimmy" worth it just there.

[Rag_hater]

A well under-rated player IMHO, does so much good work

I think this also and think his crossing is better than people give him credit.

[bobby brows]

Had a good season last year, was severely under utilised

He was criminally under-rated at the Euro's where he put in one of the most selfless performances of any England player ever by covering for Glen Johnson.

Looked great on Sunday, almost like 3-5-2 was made for him. He looked decent last night too

[spiny]

Jimmy Milner is starting to play with his head up and is better for it. AJ is still too much head down both on and off the ball.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Jimmy Milner is starting to play with his head up and is better for it. AJ is still too much head down both on and off the ball.

BINGO!
This guy knows his shit. His one true weakness has always been that he hasn't been able to take his eyes off the ball which has limited his vision and therefore passing and also forced him to run blind alleys quite consistently. It seems he has really worked on that and if he can change it permanently he can actually turn into important contributor.

Nothing to do with systems as he has always been capable of playing various of systems and various of roles. His problem has been the limited vision.

[Pretty Boy Lee]

BINGO!
This guy knows his shit. His one true weakness has always been that he hasn't been able to take his eyes off the ball which has limited his vision and therefore passing and also forced him to run blind alleys quite consistently. It seems he has really worked on that and if he can change it permanently he can actually turn into important contributor.

Nothing to do with systems as he has always been capable of playing various of systems and various of roles. His problem has been the limited vision.

The turn on Ashley cole that won a free kick last week was a thing of beauty.

I do think Milner has had a good eye for pass all along tho. Just off the top of my head I can think of half a dozen brilliant balls last season.

[Beefymcfc]

BINGO!
This guy knows his shit. His one true weakness has always been that he hasn't been able to take his eyes off the ball which has limited his vision and therefore passing and also forced him to run blind alleys quite consistently. It seems he has really worked on that and if he can change it permanently he can actually turn into important contributor.

Nothing to do with systems as he has always been capable of playing various of systems and various of roles. His problem has been the limited vision.

The turn on Ashley cole that won a free kick last week was a thing of beauty.

I do think Milner has had a good eye for pass all along tho. Just off the top of my head I can think of half a dozen brilliant balls last season.

I think that's where Milner excels. Everytime he's asked to play there he always gets his head-up and tries to pick out a man. Doesn't always get it right but at least he doesn't do the headless chicken thing like Walcott et al who just use speed to get past.

One thing I'll add is how Milner is evolving once again. We've basically asked him to do all the shitty jobs and he's never had chance to settle in a set position yet now after playing a few games on the right he's looking quite the accomplished player. Bugger me, I even seen him doing step-overs!

If Mancini decides to play the system he has been using during pre-season, I for one would be more than happy to see James playing every game.

[Ted Hughes]

BINGO!
This guy knows his shit. His one true weakness has always been that he hasn't been able to take his eyes off the ball which has limited his vision and therefore passing and also forced him to run blind alleys quite consistently. It seems he has really worked on that and if he can change it permanently he can actually turn into important contributor.

Nothing to do with systems as he has always been capable of playing various of systems and various of roles. His problem has been the limited vision.

The turn on Ashley cole that won a free kick last week was a thing of beauty.

I do think Milner has had a good eye for pass all along tho. Just off the top of my head I can think of half a dozen brilliant balls last season.

I think that's where Milner excels. Everytime he's asked to play there he always gets his head-up and tries to pick out a man. Doesn't always get it right but at least he doesn't do the headless chicken thing like Walcott et al who just use speed to get past.

One thing I'll add is how Milner is evolving once again. We've basically asked him to do all the shitty jobs and he's never had chance to settle in a set position yet now after playing a few games on the right he's looking quite the accomplished player. Bugger me, I even seen him doing step-overs!

If Mancini decides to play the system he has been using during pre-season, I for one would be more than happy to see James playing every game.

Some of his crosses have still been a bit daft but to balance that, he's put in some absolute beauties which really should have had someone finishing them off. It was strange watching the second half of the England game where, in the end, AJ was playing more like a midfield player & Milner more like a winger.

[Beefymcfc]

BINGO!
This guy knows his shit. His one true weakness has always been that he hasn't been able to take his eyes off the ball which has limited his vision and therefore passing and also forced him to run blind alleys quite consistently. It seems he has really worked on that and if he can change it permanently he can actually turn into important contributor.

Nothing to do with systems as he has always been capable of playing various of systems and various of roles. His problem has been the limited vision.

The turn on Ashley cole that won a free kick last week was a thing of beauty.

I do think Milner has had a good eye for pass all along tho. Just off the top of my head I can think of half a dozen brilliant balls last season.

I think that's where Milner excels. Everytime he's asked to play there he always gets his head-up and tries to pick out a man. Doesn't always get it right but at least he doesn't do the headless chicken thing like Walcott et al who just use speed to get past.

One thing I'll add is how Milner is evolving once again. We've basically asked him to do all the shitty jobs and he's never had chance to settle in a set position yet now after playing a few games on the right he's looking quite the accomplished player. Bugger me, I even seen him doing step-overs!

If Mancini decides to play the system he has been using during pre-season, I for one would be more than happy to see James playing every game.

Some of his crosses have still been a bit daft but to balance that, he's put in some absolute beauties which really should have had someone finishing them off. It was strange watching the second half of the England game where, in the end, AJ was playing more like a midfield player & Milner more like a winger.

What was even stranger was that some commented that AJ had actually gone off.

One thing for sure, if you ask Milner to do a job, he'll give it 100% and I'm wondering if Mancini, and Hodgson, have given him this role for the future.