SPECULATION : Milner to City/Utd/Chelsea/Spurs

[Denis_B]

I can't believe we have 160 pages of speculating whether or not our star player will leave.....don't even get 160 pages when we sign someone...

We got 169 pages on the 'not signed anyone yet thread despite the speculation' thread

[MMFy]

I still find it unbelievable that we're talking about Citeh.. nothing club.

Perhaps you need a history lesson. To be honest, I don't really see the point of the argument, as the people who are idiotic enough to post something like that about a 130 year old club probably don't have any sort of inclination to read.

It's also funny hearing that some people on here feel that the media is anti-Villa. I'm pretty sure that every single forum thinks that, including City ones.

Anyway, for that poster for mentioned £15m + Hart + Ireland; you're living in a dreamland. You have to consider the worth of any player as the percentage of your transfer budget that you will spend on them. For example, if you have a £30m budget, is Milner worth 100% of it? Probably not. However, if you have a £300m budget (and I'm pretty sure ours is around half of that), is Milner worth 10% of your budget? Probably. This is akin to Spurs paying £4m for Milner, or you guys paying £2m for him. Whilst some may find it vulgar, it is no different from how football has been working since around 1995. Was Andy Cole 'worth' £15m? No, as budget wise at the time, that was a huge percentage of their annual spending, so they settled on £7m. It's all relative.

Due to this, Milner is quite obviously a player that we desire, but if we're arguing over £5m, we can't be that keen. We are certainly not keen enough to go out and swap the best young English goalkeeper, who is pivotal to our team. Ireland you may have more of a point over, purely because he wants to leave.

The City vs Villa argument came up during the Barry saga, so I won't repeat all of it again. What I will do though, is ask all of you an honest question. With the dropping in standard of Liverpool, the renaissance of Spurs, and the huge funding given to City, would you personally back Villa to make that Champions League spot in front of City/Spurs/Liverpool/Arsenal? More importantly, would you bet your career on it?

I discount everything you have written. Transfer fees are relative.

If you are willing to pay £24m for Lescott, you can pay £50m+ for Milner, because Milner is twice the player Lescott will ever be.

Milner is our best player. Lescott was not Everton's.

[avfc89]

I would lose a great deal of respect for Milner if he handed in a transfer request. Maybe I'm living in delusion about Milner's loyalty to the club; I always thought of Milner as a committed man and respectful to his current employers.

If this becomes reality then it would reignite the fact that footballers are generally selfish and disloyal to the supporters and the clubs themselves. I thought Milner was of a different mentality, and I hope he is still committed to us and this is all fantasy talk.

[briggaman]

Perhaps you need a history lesson. To be honest, I don't really see the point of the argument, as the people who are idiotic enough to post something like that about a 130 year old club probably don't have any sort of inclination to read.

This has to be the funniest post ever. Our history makes the history of Man City look absolutely garbage. Yes, you have a history but it isn't all that impressive. Wasn't the last trophy you won back in the 70's (other than the First Division in 2000 or whatever it was).

[Gizmo]

I would lose a great deal of respect for Milner if he handed in a transfer request. Maybe I'm living in delusion about Milner's loyalty to the club; I always thought of Milner as a committed man and respectful to his current employers.

If this becomes reality then it would reignite the fact that footballers are generally selfish and disloyal to the supporters and the clubs themselves. I thought Milner was of a different mentality, and I hope he is still committed to us and this is all fantasy talk.

He wants to win things and would presumably want to be at the most likely club to do that (ala Dwight Yorke). Nowt wrong with that if you ask me.

It's when players move just because they can add more millions to the millions they already have that I get pissed off (ala Barry).

[legov]

I can't believe we have 160 pages of speculating whether or not our star player will leave.....don't even get 160 pages when we sign someone...

Remember Sneijder?

[jonno_2004]

I still find it unbelievable that we're talking about Citeh.. nothing club.

Perhaps you need a history lesson. To be honest, I don't really see the point of the argument, as the people who are idiotic enough to post something like that about a 130 year old club probably don't have any sort of inclination to read.

It's also funny hearing that some people on here feel that the media is anti-Villa. I'm pretty sure that every single forum thinks that, including City ones.

Anyway, for that poster for mentioned £15m + Hart + Ireland; you're living in a dreamland. You have to consider the worth of any player as the percentage of your transfer budget that you will spend on them. For example, if you have a £30m budget, is Milner worth 100% of it? Probably not. However, if you have a £300m budget (and I'm pretty sure ours is around half of that), is Milner worth 10% of your budget? Probably. This is akin to Spurs paying £4m for Milner, or you guys paying £2m for him. Whilst some may find it vulgar, it is no different from how football has been working since around 1995. Was Andy Cole 'worth' £15m? No, as budget wise at the time, that was a huge percentage of their annual spending, so they settled on £7m. It's all relative.

Due to this, Milner is quite obviously a player that we desire, but if we're arguing over £5m, we can't be that keen. We are certainly not keen enough to go out and swap the best young English goalkeeper, who is pivotal to our team. Ireland you may have more of a point over, purely because he wants to leave.

The City vs Villa argument came up during the Barry saga, so I won't repeat all of it again. What I will do though, is ask all of you an honest question. With the dropping in standard of Liverpool, the renaissance of Spurs, and the huge funding given to City, would you personally back Villa to make that Champions League spot in front of City/Spurs/Liverpool/Arsenal? More importantly, would you bet your career on it?

In comparison to the top sides they are trying to compete with, especially in terms of achievements, there is frankly no comparison.

As for a 130 year history? I think Burnley come pretty close to that too, so a pretty irrelevant point to be honest.

So when you view the two in the light of day and aren't sucking on the dong of the Man City euphoria, I think you'll find it hard to compare Citeh with the likes of the PL's top sides.

[jonno_2004]

Perhaps you need a history lesson. To be honest, I don't really see the point of the argument, as the people who are idiotic enough to post something like that about a 130 year old club probably don't have any sort of inclination to read.

This has to be the funniest post ever. Our history makes the history of Man City look absolutely garbage. Yes, you have a history but it isn't all that impressive. Wasn't the last trophy you won back in the 70's (other than the First Division in 2000 or whatever it was).

It did make me laugh; as if the pathetic attempt to insult my intelligence could override the fact I could be bothered to waste my time reading about Manchester City.

[beasley14]

Maybe he should enlighten us on this great history of theirs? I can remember too much tbh. Take a look at ours son.

[Adam2003]

Perhaps you need a history lesson. To be honest, I don't really see the point of the argument, as the people who are idiotic enough to post something like that about a 130 year old club probably don't have any sort of inclination to read.

This has to be the funniest post ever. Our history makes the history of Man City look absolutely garbage. Yes, you have a history but it isn't all that impressive. Wasn't the last trophy you won back in the 70's (other than the First Division in 2000 or whatever it was).

Man City have a good history and I respect it.

However, that history ended for me the moment you became, basically, a real-life version of someone cheating on Football Manager.

That's not what City were all about.

[acwilliams]

I'm hoping that Man City will have been slightly discouraged by Milner's World Cup performances, but unfortunately I don't think that either Mancini or the Sheikh are that stupid.

[Denis_B]

Well Barry and Milner can sit in the Eastlands dressing room next season comparing wage slips and laughing at England and Villa supporters!

[avfc89]

I would lose a great deal of respect for Milner if he handed in a transfer request. Maybe I'm living in delusion about Milner's loyalty to the club; I always thought of Milner as a committed man and respectful to his current employers.

If this becomes reality then it would reignite the fact that footballers are generally selfish and disloyal to the supporters and the clubs themselves. I thought Milner was of a different mentality, and I hope he is still committed to us and this is all fantasy talk.

He wants to win things and would presumably want to be at the most likely club to do that (ala Dwight Yorke). Nowt wrong with that if you ask me.

It's when players move just because they can add more millions to the millions they already have that I get pissed off (ala Barry).

I'm not questioning Milner's desire to win trophies and medals, I'm sure all top quality players have the same mentality and ambitions. We competed a cup final last season and a FA cup semi final, surely most players in the Premiership would be please with this kind of ambition.

It's the loyalty that bothers me about modern football; I believe when you sign for a football club you should be completely committed and respectful to everybody connected with the club. Handing a transfer request in is disrespectful to Aston Villa FC, especially when we've developed Milner over the past two seasons.

[maqroll]

If a player wants to go, and someone is waving 30m pounds at you, you sell the player...and hopefully you use that money wisely to buy two top class players resulting in a new improvement for your team.

[rabbisson]

If a player wants to go, and someone is waving 30m pounds at you, you sell the player...and hopefully you use that money wisely to buy two top class players resulting in a new improvement for your team.

Agreed.

Losing Milner would be a tough blow, but as long as our scouting department does their job, he is eminently replaceable.

It is still disrespectful though, IMO, to ask for such a request. And I come from a culture in America where that is the norm. As the wise Notorious B.I.G. once said, "Mo' money mo' problems."

[MCU]

If a player wants to go, and someone is waving 30m pounds at you, you sell the player...and hopefully you use that money wisely to buy two top class players resulting in a new improvement for your team.

Agreed.

Losing Milner would be a tough blow, but as long as our scouting department does their job, he is eminently replaceable.

It is still disrespectful though, IMO, to ask for such a request. And I come from a culture in America where that is the norm. As the wise Notorious B.I.G. once said, "Mo' money mo' problems."

And that's where we stop.

[avfc89]

If a player wants to go, and someone is waving 30m pounds at you, you sell the player...and hopefully you use that money wisely to buy two top class players resulting in a new improvement for your team.

The egregious amount of money in football nowadays is seriously putting me off the game, it's too absorbed with finance and becoming less attractive with the same teams monopolizing the top spots each season.

I agree with you completely about Milner, if he wants to leave for City then he has that choice and the freedom to do so. I would hope he considers our football club and what we have given him.

[Renegade]

If a player wants to go, and someone is waving 30m pounds at you, you sell the player...and hopefully you use that money wisely to buy two top class players resulting in a new improvement for your team.

Agreed, 30m is a lot of money, and can help us acquire two or three needed players to strengthen our squad and make a push for a CL spot. The time is now to make that run with Liverpool in shambles.

I love Milner to death, he's a fantastic player, but we have a certain young guy in Fabian Delph waiting to explode in the midfield.

[reykjavik]

I would lose a great deal of respect for Milner if he handed in a transfer request. Maybe I'm living in delusion about Milner's loyalty to the club; I always thought of Milner as a committed man and respectful to his current employers.

If this becomes reality then it would reignite the fact that footballers are generally selfish and disloyal to the supporters and the clubs themselves. I thought Milner was of a different mentality, and I hope he is still committed to us and this is all fantasy talk.

He wants to win things and would presumably want to be at the most likely club to do that (ala Dwight Yorke). Nowt wrong with that if you ask me.

It's when players move just because they can add more millions to the millions they already have that I get pissed off (ala Barry).

I'm not questioning Milner's desire to win trophies and medals, I'm sure all top quality players have the same mentality and ambitions. We competed a cup final last season and a FA cup semi final, surely most players in the Premiership would be please with this kind of ambition.

It's the loyalty that bothers me about modern football; I believe when you sign for a football club you should be completely committed and respectful to everybody connected with the club. Handing a transfer request in is disrespectful to Aston Villa FC, especially when we've developed Milner over the past two seasons.

What piss me off, is Milner has ambition and I believe City has more ambition than our club. Today money talks and loyalty is not in footballers dictionary.

Of course 30m. is lot of money, and we can get Aiden from Celtic + others. BUT I want both Milner and Aiden.

But what is happening? How did City get Barry? First, in spring was roumor City wants Barry. We said, nonsense. In beginning of next season, Barry wanted to go and he in the end signed City.

Now, How will City get Milner? They use same tactic. I say it should be our principles we should never accept this way of negoatiation. If City want this player, they should talk direct to our club not try to affect directly to the player. We should sell Milner, but NEVER to city.

But now-a-days no one act like gentlemen, simply money talks. (My opinion; The main cause of money invasion, is Champion League.)

[string28]

I would rather us keep milner.

Aiden McGeady for 10-15 million? no thank you.