James Milner

[Beefymcfc]

.... is Ace.

[Alioune DVToure]

Now Englands BEST player ?

No

Who would you say is?

Still waiting.

For a whole 9 minutes?

Who would I say is England's best player? Not quite sure but Cole, Gerrard, Rooney, Baines, Lampard are all better than Milner I'd say.

I quite like Milner and would say he should be in England's first XI, but their best player? Nah.

Ashley Cole has quietly been England's best player for about a decade. That said, if offered a straight swap of Milner for any current England international not already at City, I wouldn't take any of them. He's not our (City's) best player, but he's one of our most valuable. Players like him are invaluable to any squad looking to win things.

[I Just Blue Myself]

Not even Wilshere?

[aaron bond]

Milner is a superb player. His all round game is excellent, and he can play wide or in the centre. He was up there with Zab as our best player last season. If Mancini had started him in the cup final, as he should have, then we would have put in a better performance.

The competition for places will be tough but Milner will be up to the challenge and I imagine (and hope) he'll get plenty of game time this season.

[BlueinBosnia]

I've got to say, but I really think that how you perceive Milner outside of the stadium is however the camera picks him up. I've had a totally different perception of him in the stadium than I ever did before I saw him play in the flesh, and now appreciate how much ground he covers during a game. I reckon he's going to be knackered by the time he's 32, though, even though he's been a 20-game-per season player throughout the entirety of his career.

[Slim]

I've got to say, but I really think that how you perceive Milner outside of the stadium is however the camera picks him up. I've had a totally different perception of him in the stadium than I ever did before I saw him play in the flesh, and now appreciate how much ground he covers during a game. I reckon he's going to be knackered by the time he's 32, though, even though he's been a 20-game-per season player throughout the entirety of his career.

I always got that impression even from the TV, I was quite surprised to see Navas holding the right back position on Tuesday and got the idea he was covering quite a lot of ground as well, so time will tell on that one I guess.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Pushing it a bit far saying he is England's best player.Quality pro without a doubt and will get plenty of game time this season but I expect he will be part of lots and lots of rotation this season.

Navas looks a shoe in on the right side when we play our "best" team and suspect Silva or Jovetic may well take the left side position even if only notionally a left sided role.If Yaya and Fred take the 2 slots in the middle with 2 "strikers" there is no way Milner will be a guaranteed starter.

Not a problem though as I said with all the rotation likely and all we have to do is sit back and enjoy the ride.

Agree.
Milner is really good and solid. However he will never be truly great. In team like ours it means you will be part of the rotation. Being jack of all trades type of player will always be both curse and bless for him.

For players like Milner the big question will always be whether to be star in upper mid-table team or to be part of the rotation with team like ours.

[Cocacolajojo1]

I've got to say, but I really think that how you perceive Milner outside of the stadium is however the camera picks him up. I've had a totally different perception of him in the stadium than I ever did before I saw him play in the flesh, and now appreciate how much ground he covers during a game. I reckon he's going to be knackered by the time he's 32, though, even though he's been a 20-game-per season player throughout the entirety of his career.

Depends if he smartens up though. Gerrard used to be all over the place if I understand things correctly but Benitez managed to get him to stay more still, so to speak.

At least in Hockey it's usually the case that young defenders cover a lot of ground and use their speed and stamina to compensate for their positional incompetence. Older defenders like Ray Borgque or Niklas Lidström still outclassed them with their experience and ability to stay still and still cover a lot of ground.

Was Barry always this slow? If not, I'd wager that he's seen the same development as described above. Covered a lot of ground as a young player but the older he got, the less ground he needed to cover because he became better at placing himself at the right places at the right time.

[Foreverinbluedreams]

Pushing it a bit far saying he is England's best player.Quality pro without a doubt and will get plenty of game time this season but I expect he will be part of lots and lots of rotation this season.

Navas looks a shoe in on the right side when we play our "best" team and suspect Silva or Jovetic may well take the left side position even if only notionally a left sided role.If Yaya and Fred take the 2 slots in the middle with 2 "strikers" there is no way Milner will be a guaranteed starter.

Not a problem though as I said with all the rotation likely and all we have to do is sit back and enjoy the ride.

Agree.
Milner is really good and solid. However he will never be truly great. In team like ours it means you will be part of the rotation. Being jack of all trades type of player will always be both curse and bless for him.

For players like Milner the big question will always be whether to be star in upper mid-table team or to be part of the rotation with team like ours.

Agree with this, he just lacks that extra bit of quality to be regarded as a top player, delighted he's part of our squad though.

[Cocacolajojo1]

I think MIlner will be in the top 7 when it comes to most starts for our club the next season.

[Alioune DVToure]

I think MIlner will be in the top 7 when it comes to most starts for our club the next season.

I'm not sure about that, but I bet he's in the top 3-5 for playing time in all competitions.

[Risby]

There are no reasons to dislike Milner. He works very hard for the team. He will fit in to any system. He good defensively and in attacking positions.

The lad is so consistent and pushed Zaba very close to best player last season in my opinion.

With all the new faces and new boss, not sure how much he will be used, but like a few have said, through rotation he will get game time and when he does, you know what you will get.

[Blue Since 76]

Was Barry always this slow? If not, I'd wager that he's seen the same development as described above. Covered a lot of ground as a young player but the older he got, the less ground he needed to cover because he became better at placing himself at the right places at the right time.

Didi Hammann was a great example - never saw him run and yet the man with the ball seemed to always run into him. Almost the opposite of a player like Silva or Scholes who were always in space, the best defensive players are always occupying that space.

[Cocacolajojo1]

I think MIlner will be in the top 7 when it comes to most starts for our club the next season.

I'm not sure about that, but I bet he's in the top 3-5 for playing time in all competitions.

Perhaps both!

[Slim]

I think players like Milner and Zabaleta are vital to our success, both fill in a lot of cracks, do the hard yards and are both the ideal 'model professional'. On top of that, they have both raised their game to match the current level of ability we have. Zabs was player of the season last time out, this time it may well be Milner.

[Ted Hughes]

There are no reasons to dislike Milner.

He comes from Yorkshire.

(Oooh you regionist pig, cry the commie fun police)

[Rodders]

Did I just see a hockey comparison?

WTF

[DoomMerchant]

Perhaps both!

But probably neither.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

I think MIlner will be in the top 7 when it comes to most starts for our club the next season.

I'm not sure about that, but I bet he's in the top 3-5 for playing time in all competitions.

How does that work then?

[Alioune DVToure]

I think MIlner will be in the top 7 when it comes to most starts for our club the next season.

I'm not sure about that, but I bet he's in the top 3-5 for playing time in all competitions.

How does that work then?

He will feature in 90% of matches at some point, whereas the likes of Nasty, Lescott, Nasri, Negredo, Dzeko, Kolarov, Richards, Jovetic, Garcia, Sinclair and Barry will probably feature in about 35-75% of our fixtures.

Say he makes 50 appearances and spends an average of 50 minutes on the pitch, that's a hell of a lot of playing time.