Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt fears that the ankle injury he suffered while on international with the Netherlands will keep him out of action for several months.
The 30-year-old landed awkwardly during the 4-1 victory over Sweden in Amsterdam on Tuesday evening and admits that he is facing a lengthy absence.
He told reporters:"The swelling is so bad it will take three to four days (to be assessed) to be sure, but I fear the worst.
"You know your own body and it doesn't feel good – the doctors have the same feeling. They say I've probably torn ankle ligaments, so let's hope they're wrong."
Kuyt, who has only recently recovered from a shoulder injury, was given little hope of a better prognosis by Netherlands head coach Bert van Marwijk, who said straight after the game:"Dirk wanted to play on, but our doctor prevented that and told me to substitute him.
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"Following the doctor's first opinion it could be very serious and keep him sidelined for a long time."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
The tackling debate seems to take place every season, but not always with the same debaters, and not always with the same arguments. Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany’s, undeniably well thought-out, response to his red card against rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup made some interesting points. His main argument was that the reason the Premier League is the most watched league in the world is due to the physicality. The Belgian international said:
“My understanding is that English football prides itself on the hardness, the fairness and the tradition of its game. That is why hundreds of millions of people tune in to watch Premier League football.”
Kompany was quick to praise the referees whilst merely asking for more consistency. However there is a problem with this; players always call for two things from referees: common sense and consistency. However the two demands are juxtaposed to each other. Either there is a blanket criteria for red and yellow cards and that template is used for every single incident regardless of player mistakes and adhered to without consulting common sense, or common sense is used and the referees are allowed to make up their mind by applying the rules to the individual situation they see in front of them. Neither is objectively the better view, but it is important to recognise that consistency and common sense are, to an extent, mutually exclusive in football.
However Kompany’s point about us losing the physicality in our game that makes it so popular is a fair point. The loss of the physical competitiveness would be a shame, but tackling alone does not embody that. There are many elements to the physical side to our game: for example speed and strength are just as much a part of our game as hard tackling; you could also consider that not reacting to minor fouls is more important than allowing stronger tackles. If every player stayed on their feet every time they could then we wouldn’t be complaining as much as we are. There are bad and strong tackles in every league in the world, that in the English leagues players are less inclined to go down under those tackles is what makes the league ‘more physical’, not the tackles themselves.
However there are areas where perhaps it could be argued that we are less physical. Certainly our attitudes towards goalkeepers, even in the twenty years that I have been watching football, has changed. They are protected beyond belief these days and are always given the benefit of the doubt when they come for ball and miss it at corners or with crosses.
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It is also true that if we are looking at, not the strength, but the number of tackles in the Premier League then we are losing that side to the English game. In the last six years the number of tackles per game has fallen every single year and over that period there are now ten fewer tackles per game now than there were in 2006/07. During the 2006/07 season we had the highest number of tackles per game in Europe, now we are fifth in that table. However, whilst this data has some use to us it is not conclusive. The fewer tackles might mean more people playing the offside trap, or less players dribbling and more direct styles of football, or more wingers who are quick enough to evade tackles. There might be fewer tackles, but that doesn’t necessarily mean less physicality.
One final point is that increasingly these days we have older outfield players who are still able to be effective in the English game. Paul Scholes made a scoring return out of retirement whilst Thierry Henry scored on his second debut for Arsenal. Similarly Ryan Giggs is still playing football, and well, as he approaches forty. So how can we explain these older players, some who even retired, being able to come back to the Premier league and hold their own. Well you could put it down to a less physical English game, or you could put it down to developments in sports science; exercise, nutritional experts, yoga and other tools that can be used to prolong the physical prowess of these aging players and are more than capable of justifying their presence in the English game. Kompany’s, and others’, concerns that we may be losing the very ‘Englishness’ of our game that makes it so popular is perhaps a valid concern, depending on your definition of what makes a game physical, and what physical aspects make the game ‘English’. For Kompany it might be going in hard on tackles and giving the defenders the benefit of the doubt, however for me that is just too simplistic. There are so many aspects that make a game physically competitive and it is ultimately hard to argue that we are losing that side to our game.
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In Luka Modric and David Silva, the Premiership has two fantastic attacking midfielders blessed with pace, vision and technical ability. Both are slight in build, favour attacking from the left of midfield, have 40-odd caps for their respective countries and have embraced life in the Premier League
But, both were slow to adapt the fast-paced and physical nature of the Premier League after big money moves. Even now they occasionally suffer from lapses in concentration and are often caught in possession. And, their best performances tend to come in sides where they are freed from defensive duties by the likes of Wilson Palacios or Nigel De Jong. As such, could it be argued that the pair are somewhat underappreciated outside of their respective clubs?
Signed in the summer of 2005 for a fee approaching £17 million, fans and press alike were quick to write off the young Croatian Luka Modric. Then-coach Juande Ramos played Modric in a deep lying role alongside Jermaine Jenas in a stuttering Tottenham side. But, following the appointment of Harry Redknapp, Modric was allowed more attacking freedom and played in a much more attacking role, often on the left of midfield. This allowed the midfielder to play his natural game and, freed from defensive duties, Modric improved significantly as a Tottenham player. This season, however, with the rise of Gareth Bale and acquisition of Rafael van der Vaart, Modric has moved back into the centre of midfield. Admittedly he is now more of a player than when he was first used in central midfield and does a fantastic job as Tottenham’s playmaker. But, by receiving the ball in a more exposed position, he has rediscovered his tendency to get caught in possession to the disappointment of certain Spurs fans.
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Signed for around £26 million and with a World Cup winner’s medal in his pocket, big things were expected of David Silva at Eastlands. Silva was eased gradually into the hustle and bustle of the Premier League and, unlike Modric, was saved the baptism of being thrown straight into the centre of midfield. Having played most of his football on the left hand side or as a support striker and given time to adapt, Silva has flourished given attacking freedom and scored 6 times for Manchester City. Good on the ball with fantastic movement, Silva is any wing back’s nightmare but has been criticised by some City fans for his lack of defensive capabilities.
But whilst the pair have come under some criticism for their contribution based on stats alone, you cannot deny the impact they have had on this season Premier League. Both act as the heartbeat of their respective clubs, keeping play ticking over with a combination of fantastic vision and passing. Whilst they might not post as many goals or assists as other players, they are clearly integral to their teams.
Modric may have come under criticism for rarely beating his opposite man and Silva has been criticised for his lack of marking, but that is not their job at their clubs. At City, fans idolise Carlos Tevez as their goalscoring talisman, whilst this season Modric has had to watch on as the plaudits have hailed Bale and van der Vaart. On paper they might not seem the most important names on the teamsheet, but without them City and Spurs would lack serious creativity and drive.
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Various rumours have linked Modric with potential big-money moves to clubs across Europe. Manchester United have also been linked with the Croatian in their long-term project to replace Paul Scholes. Whilst he might not be every manager’s dream Premiership midfielder, there are clearly managers out there who appreciate his fantastic ability. And, if one of those is in fact Sir Alex Ferguson, then he must be doing something right.
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Listen to the third episode of our brand new podcast – The Football FanCast. – Featuring Razor Ruddock, Gary O’Reilly and singer/songwriter Alistair Griffin, who performs a live version of his cult tribute to Mark Viduka, with Razor on backing vocals!
Scoring a goal should be one of the best feelings a footballer should ever experience. Unfortunately for these 10 hapless souls, that euphoric feeling was lost on them when they managed to score some of the most spectacular own goals of all time. Here’s our list of the top 10 own goals ever scored.
10. Lee Dixon vs. Coventry
Who knew that Arsenal full-back Lee Dixon was a trendsetter? His sublime chip over David Seaman was faithfully recreated by Nayim and Ronaldinho who repeated the trick years later; however, Dixon can lay claim to being the first to have lobbed Seaman from 30 yards. And believe me, that is no mean feat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpSo1aciPqU
9. Franck Queudrue vs. Bastia
Carrying on the theme of glorious lobs is former Middlesbrough and Birmingham City favourite Franck Queudrue. The French defender started his career with Lens and this beauty comes from his time at the French club. Queudrue shows remarkable technique in volleying the ball almost 40 yards up in the air past his despairing goalkeeper who does a remarkable job impersonating David Seaman.
8. John Arne Riise vs. Chelsea
During his time with Liverpool, Riise became renowned for scoring spectacular goals. Unfortunately, these weren’t restricted to the opposition end. Riise found the back of his own net in stoppage time against Chelsea when he converted a Salmon Kalou cross with a bullet diving header that beat Pepe Reina all ends up. Riise’s own goal proved decisive as Liverpool were eliminated from the Champions League after they lost the tie 4-3 on aggregate to Chelsea.
7. Djimi Traore vs. Burnley
Like the venerable Martin Luther King, Djimi Traore had a dream. His dream was that he believed he was a half-decent footballer. He decided to put his dream to the test against Burnley in the third round of the 2005 FA Cup. He attempted a drag-back turn on his own goal line. To no-one’s real surprise, it didn’t come off and Traore ended up dragging the ball clumsily into his own net, looking more like Ronald McDonald than Ronaldinho. Traore’s delusions of grandeur were put firmly in check and he went back to the average footballer we all knew that he was.
6. Jamie Pollock vs. QPR
Manchester City defender Jamie Pollock shows all the poise and composure of a centre-forward with this consummate finish against QPR. He manages to lift the ball over an onrushing attacker and skilfully loop a header over his own goalie with a header than even John Arne Riise would have been proud of.
Continued on Page TWO
5. Peter Enckelman vs. Birmingham City
Aston Villa goalkeeper Peter Enkelman will forever be remembered for this howler in the Birmingham derby of 2002. Defender Olof Mellberg took a quick thrown-in to Enckelman who failed to control the ball which then rolled under his foot and into the goal. There have been question-marks about whether the goal should have counted as Enckelman said that he did not touch the ball. However, what is certain is that Enckelman’s mistake has landed him the number 5 spot in list of top 10 own goals.
4. Gary Neville vs. Croatia
The number 4 spot goes to Gary Neville’s freak own goal against Croatia. The United defender attempted an innocuous looking back-pass to Paul Robinson. However, the ball took a wicked bounce over a divot. With Robinson kicking fresh air, the ball rolled agonisingly into the back of the net as Borat looked on. Yakshemash indeed!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEuyfJGg7AA
3. Goran Rubil vs. Locomotiva
The first foreign entry in our list is probably the best finish of the lot. Hadjuk Split’s Goran Rubil shows others how a real own goal is scored by doing so in emphatic fashion with a right-footed pile-driver against Locomotiva.
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2. Tony Popovic vs. Portsmouth
Crystal Palace’s Australian defender Tony Popovic displayed skill that no-one thought he had by scoring a sumptuous backheel goal which Gianfranco Zola would have been envious of. Portsmouth’s Steve Stone puts in a hopeful ball into the box which Popovic finishes with a nonchalant flick of his heel into the top corner.
1. Chris Brass vs. Darlington
While not the most beautiful or the most emphatic of the goals on our list, Chris Brass’s effort against Darlington takes the top prize simply for being the most comical. The Bury defender’s attempt at an overhead clearance goes horribly wrong when the ball smashes off his face and into the net. To add insult to injury, Brass broke his nose when the ball hit him in the face. Football to the face. An absolute classic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1csQG0ZciFQ
Any other own-goal calamities you feel should have made the list?
Danny Wellbeck’s late goal gave Manchester United a well deserved win over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium and ensured they remained hot on the heels of rivals City at the Premier League summit.
With Roberto Mancini’s side emerging victorious from a thrilling contest earlier in the day to move six points clear at the top it was left up to United to close the gap once again. The pressure looked like it was getting to Sir Alex Ferguson’s men as they laboured to break down a stubborn Gunners side with Antonio Valencia’s header on the stroke of half time loosening the restraints after the break. It was the hosts who upped their game in the second half and deservedly equalised through leading scorer Robin Van Persie just moments after he had missed a glorious opportunity. However Arsene Wenger’s decision to replace the impressive Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain with Andriy Arshavin failed to pay dividends as he Russian allowed Valencia to ghost past him and cross for Danny Welbeck to secure the points for United and put them three points behind City.
Wenger certainly sprung a surprise before kick off as he opted to give 18-year-old Oxlade-Chamberlain his full Premier League debut and it wasn’t long before the teenager was causing havoc robbing Phil Jones in possession on the left and driving into the penalty area only to be thwarted by Johnny Evans. The Gunners bright start saw them fashion the first real chance of the game through Aaron Ramsey’s tame strike that trickled into the arms of Anders Lindergaard. The visitors were struggling to create anything of note and they were dealt a blow just after the quarter hour as Jones landed awkwardly on his ankle and had to be stretchered off. Despite that United steadily increased the tempo as they took control of the first period but just couldn’t get the better of an uncompromising home defence. That was until the stroke of half time when Ryan Giggs whipped in a terrific cross for Valencia to nod in at the back post and give United a deserved lead going into the break.
To Arsenal’s credit that came out firing after the restart although their comeback was put into doubt when Van Persie went down under a challenge from Valencia and required lengthy treatment before returning to the fray. That injury scare seemed to have had an adverse reaction on the Dutchman as his usual composure deserted him seven minutes after half time as his wild effort strayed well wide after Thomas Rosicky’s selfish pull back. Ramsey then scuffed a shot over the bar after being picked out by a superb ball from Oxlade-Chamberlain who then flashed an effort wide of the post. The Gunners had their opponents on the rails and finally made the breakthrough with in the 71st minute as Van Persie atoned for his earlier miss calmly slotting home after being picked out by Oxlade-Chamberlain in the area. The former Southampton winger was then giving a standing ovation by the Emirates crowd as he replaced soon after by Arshavin but seven minutes later all the fingers were pointed at the Russian as United regained the lead. The winger allowed Valencia to skip inside him way too easily before the Ecuadorian played a neat one-two with Park Ji Sung and crossed for Welbeck who made no mistake with an emphatic finish. It was a hammer blow to Wenger’s side who’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League next season took a huge hit as Ferguson’s Red Devil’s kept themselves firmly in the title race.
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On Friday, it was revealed that Liverpool will be signing a new kit deal with American firm Warrior Sports when their current supplier’s contract with Adidas expires in 2012/13. The biggest revelation from the deal is that the Reds will be getting £25m a year, taking over Manchester United’s deal with Nike (£23m a year) as the biggest kit supplier deal in British football.
Liverpool are currently the fourth largest replica shirt sellers in the world, with 900,000 sold per year, only trailing behind Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid. The Reds deal with Warrior Sports will be the first football shirt deal for the American company, who are little known outside of the United States.
So who are Warrior Sports? There were set up in the 1992 by former champion Lacrosse player David Morrow. Since, they have been at the forefront of new Lacrosse equipment and jerseys, becoming the first supplier to develop titanium shafts for Lacrosses sticks. They eventually branched out into Hockey, but they have yet to breakthrough into any other sports.
So how, you may ask, could they afford to outbid global giants Adidas for the right to make Liverpool replica shirts? In 2004, they were taken over by American Sportswear firm New Balance. New Balance have been going since the early 1900s, and are most famous in the US for developing footwear for athletes. New Balance grew steadily as a company and is now worth over $1billion, which is still only a tenth of the size of both Nike and Adidas. The American company, in addition to acquiring Warrior, has also bought out Dunham, PF Flyers, Aravon and Brine Sporting Goods.
The connection to New Balance for Warrior is crucial though, as they are a New England based firm, which will certainly have heavy business connections around Boston. It is no coincidence that the Liverpool deal, quickly followed one that saw Warrior Sports take on the role of manufacturing kits for the Boston Red Sox.
It seems then that Fenway Sports Group connections to American businesses was crucial in this bumper deal. There is a no real connection between a Lacrosse kit supplier firm and Liverpool other than FSG, and the massive marketing potential of Liverpool, and the exponential rise in their brand awareness around the world, must have been enough for Warrior to cough up the record £25million a year.
Although New Balance and Warrior Sports are small compared to Nike and Adidas, the fact the Reds will have no competition from other football teams, means the benefits could be hugely mutually beneficial. While the Reds get a massive kit supplier deal with a big firm fully behind them, Warrior Sports will get a massive benefit from their name being spread throughout the world by Liverpool FC.
Tremendous credit must go to FSG and the Reds marketing team for pulling off such a deal; a deal which would not have been possible a year ago.
David Tully is the editor of Live4Liverpool.com
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This week, our featured future England star in the making is West Ham United and England U-19 defender Jordan Spence.
Spence is a product of the hugely successful West Ham academy which has produced a number of notable England internationals, including the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Michael Carrick and Spence will be looking add his name to this illustrious group of West Ham players who have gone on to feature regularly for England.
He joined the academy back in 2004 as a precocious 14 year old and impressed almost immediately at Upton Park. The 2005-2006 season saw a young Spence make his academy debut in West Ham’s 5-1 defeat at Ipswich Town. In addition to featuring for the academy side, Spence’s talents were such that he was selected to play in the reserve team that very same season, making his reserve team debut as a substitute in the Hammer’s 3-0 defeat to Watford. A 15 year old Spence would go on to make a total of 5 appearances for the youth team and 2 substitute appearances for the reserve team.
His potential was not to go unnoticed by the England youth setup who called up Spence to the U-16 team. He played 6 times for Kenny Swain’s team, captaining the side and leading them to triumph in the Victory Shield in November 2005.
The next season saw Spence become a regular fixture in the academy side while also making the jump up on the international stage to U-17 football. The summer of 2007 saw Spence captain the England squad which competed in the FIFA U-17 World Cup where England produced a solid display, reaching the last 16 round under Spence’s leadership.
As a result of Spence’s increasing reputation, he found himself more heavily involved with the reserve team during the 2007-2008 season. He scored his first goal for the reserves in a 2-2 draw with Arsenal and went on to make 11 appearances for the reserve team as well as playing regularly for the academy side and the England U-18 and U-19 teams.
Manager Alan Curbishley rewarded Spence’s form by calling up the defender to the substitute’s bench for West Ham’s first two Premier League games of the 2008-2009 season and again in the Hammer’s League Cup victory over Macclesfield Town. September saw Alan Curbishley replaced at the Upton Park helm by Gianfranco Zola. The Italian sent Spence on loan to League One team Leyton Orient to give the youngster a taste of first team football. He joined the O’s in November 2008 initially on a one month deal and made his debut for the club in an FA Cup second round tie against Bradford. He returned to Upton Park in January only to be loaned back to Orient where he played regularly for the O’s until the end of the season.
The beginning of last season saw Spence go out on loan again, this time to Championship team Scunthorpe United on a one month deal which was extended until January 2010. Spence played eleven times in all for the Lincolnshire side before returning to West Ham where he was named captain of the reserve team.
After 6 years at the club, Spence finally made his first team bow at the end of last season when he came on as a late second half substitute for Alessandro Diamanti in the Hammer’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City.
During his time with West Ham and the England youth team, Spence has distinguished himself as an outstanding England prospect. He plays with an assurance beyond his years and possesses pace, versatility, positional awareness and is comfortable in possession. His style of play is very much reminiscent of fellow West Ham academy graduate and England captain Rio Ferdinand. He has captained England at U-16, U-17, U-18 and U-19 level so he certainly has the necessary leadership qualities to be a future England captain down the line. Time will tell whether he will be able to reach these lofty heights but there is no doubt that he has the potential to do so.
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The excitement is building as the Christmas period begins and it is now just a matter of days until the January transfer window opens. Plenty of festive football for everyone to tuck in to before the year ends is exactly what is required for players to put themselves in the shop window if they want out of their current clubs as soon as possible.
Over 100 players are out of contract at the end of the season and clubs will be looking to get whatever money they can for them in January to prevent losing the individual for free in the summer. It could be like walking into a footballing pound shop next month as players that would have been worth multi million pound bids in the past may now be able to leave for next to nothing.
Here is a look at the top ten likely transfer snips to be had in the Premier League over the next few weeks and who will be a possible bargain of the season.
Click on Junior Hoilett to unveil the top 10
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Earlier in the season I wrote a blog commenting on how ridiculous it was that so many people, fans and journalists alike, were comparing the transfer fees of James Milner to Manchester City and Mesut Ozil to Real Madrid when there were a number of extenuating circumstances. And predictably enough, as a new transfer window swings into action, we get the same shock, horror and outrage at the fee being discussed for the transfer of Darren Bent from Sunderland to Aston Villa. Yet again people are all too keen to point out other transfer fees as some sort of proof that he is overpriced.
Why is it so black and white with some people when discussing transfer fees? Every transfer is unique – so many factors come into play that decide what that fee is, that the actual skill of the player becomes the tip of the iceberg. And what is a market value for a player? Well the fact is there isn’t one. There’s no manual available, no graphs to check to see what a player is worth, no complex formula – it is a figure that cannot be determined – what is the worth of a human being to a football club? Almost impossible to say. And there are other costs as well of course – wages, signing on fees, payments to agents and so on. The transfer fee is just the beginning, and it often includes add-ons that will only be paid if the player is successful anyway, plus sell-on clauses, image rights, and so much more.
So it might be stating the obvious, but what are the factors?
Do the selling club need to sell? If the selling club are desperate to sell, this puts the buyer in a better position to haggle a good price.
Do the selling club want to sell? If the buying club is after a player the other club had no intention of selling, then the price will inevitably rise. The favourite quote of those shocked at the Bent fee over the last 24 hours has been to mention that van der Vaart only cost £7m. Good value for sure, but then he wasn’t wanted by Madrid, was languishing on the bench, and thus probably wanted out anyway, and Madrid were a few hours from being stuck with him for at least another 4 months. Any potential buying club was in a very strong position.
Does the player want to leave? If he is angling for a move, it of course helps the buying club to come to a deal on their terms. If there is one criticism of Villa’s fee that I personally would make, it’s that Bent wants to leave – but of course Sunderland could make him stay if they so wished, though the player usually gets his own way in the end.
How good is the player? Quite important consideration I guess!
Continue to PAGE TWO for more factors…
In what position does the player play? Quite simply, strikers cost more than anyone else, a simple fact of life. Every world record transfer fee of the last 10 years has been for a forward/attack-minded player – Zidane is the nearest to an exception. The seven highest ever fees show a similar pattern.
What nationality is the player? Yes there is a premium on English players in English leagues. I imagine there is for French players in France too. In a world where success is demanded instantly and a club is never more than 3 games away from a crisis or a manager 3 games away from the sack, their worth in being able to adapt and settle instantly should be apparent, and their experience in the league in question should not be underestimated either. Familiarity breeds high prices.
How long does he have left on his contract? The Bosman ruling changed everything, not just in snapping up free transfers, but in shaping transfer fees too. Any player can be purchased much more cheaply if he is near the end of his contract than if he has years left to run. And this is the crux of why Ozil cost less than Milner, in addition to some of the factors previously mentioned. Ozil was nearing the end of his contract – he had told his club he wasn’t going to sign a new contract, so the club had two options – keep an unhappy player and lose him for nothing at the end of his contract or sell him on the cheap (relatively speaking). Real Madrid signed Khedira under similar circumstances. And this is of course why Steven Pienaar is available for £3m.
Are there a number of clubs after him? Always useful for the selling club to instigate a bidding war.
Age? No need to explain this one. Bent has a good seven or eight years left in him, fitness permitting, maybe more.
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The factors listed above are just some of the reasons. There will be more that I haven’t mentioned – injury history, attitude, lifestyle – the player might have a release clause – as I said, every deal is unique. But the facts are that Darren Bent is the 3rd top scoring player of the last 18 months in the Premier League. He has scored consistently for years, and not in one of your “Top 4” teams. In the last 5 years he has scored one less goal than Rooney or Drogba. Those statistics suggest to me that he also is not too injury-prone. He is English, under contract, and Sunderland were not looking to offload. Yes, it probably is still too high a fee when looking at that set-in-stone market value, but the fact is that we won’t know how good value the fee represents until he has stopped playing for Villa – if he is the difference between staying up and getting relegated (not that I think they will anyway), then he will have been worth every penny.
With James Milner on the verge of a big money move to Manchester City, his days at Villa Park seem to be numbered. However, James Milner would be wise to resist the overtures of City’s millions and stick with Aston Villa, given that he is guaranteed a first team place and an integral role in the development of Villa’s future.
Under Martin O’Neill, Milner has become the fulcrum of Aston Villa’s midfield, becoming a dynamic and reliable presence in the middle of the park. His ability to link the play and provide assists has become a trademark of his game. Milner’s contribution of seven goals and twelve assists certainly proves his value to the attacking play of this current Villa side.
Along with his attacking prowess, Milner’s versatility is another great asset to the squad. Milner is naturally a winger by trade but his ability to adapt to different positions has proven invaluable to Martin O’Neill.
Milner has played in a number of different positions for Villa this season from right back to winger to his current position of central midfield. By incorporating different facets from each position that Milner can play to his new central role, Milner is able to bring unparalled nous to a hugely important role.
His displays in Villa’s claret and blue have resulted in Milner being crowned the PFA Young Player of the Year 2010, ahead of Cesc Fàbregas and Wayne Rooney. Unfortunately for Villa, the PFA weren’t the only ones to notice Milner’s potential as Manchester City declared their interest in signing the playmaker as part of Roberto Mancini’s new-look midfield.
With the promise of megabucks for Milner to sign on the dotted line, the temptation for Milner is certainly high. But he would be well-advised to steer clear of the Eastlands revolution as he would find himself near the bottom of the pecking-order at the City of Manchester stadium.
Mancini already boasts a wealth of midfield talent at his disposal with the likes of new signing Yaya Touré, Nigel De Jong, Patrick Vieira, Steven Ireland and Lord Voldemort himself Gareth Barry all vying for a few places in the centre of midfield. If Milner were to join Manchester City, he would be hard pressed to command a regular first team place with the amount of competition for a limited number of spots in the line-up.
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Similarly, on the wing, Mancini has the likes of David Silva, Adam Johnson, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Craig Bellamy battling it out for two places in the team.
Given the ferocious competition for places in the Manchester City squad, Milner would be foolish to join. If he did so, he would most probably find himself warming the bench and in so doing, severely damaging his chances of cementing his place as an England regular in the years to come.
Unless Manchester City match Villa’s £30 million valuation, Milner is going nowhere. And that is absolutely fine by me.