SPECULATION : Milner to City/Utd/Chelsea/Spurs

[wiggyrichard]

Take the over-inflaited cash and move on.

I'm still stunned you think we can easily replace him.

Well we have Sidwell to fill the void i suppose.

Im not saying it will be easy to replace him as he has been brilliant for us, but it IS possible to replace him. Did you think that when MON signed him £12m he would turn out like this? Its been done once so its possible it can be done again.

Its just that i dont see how you can turn that sort of money down (and by the sounds of it RL is not going to).

[Shillzz]

I would speculate that this deal is all but done, but that we are looking to sign a player or 2 before giving it the go ahead. For this reason I think it could drag a while, and Oneill wont mind making City or Milner wait thats for sure.

[barry'sboots]

Take the over-inflaited cash and move on.

I'm still stunned you think we can easily replace him.

Well we have Sidwell to fill the void i suppose.

Im not saying it will be easy to replace him as he has been brilliant for us, but it IS possible to replace him. Did you think that when MON signed him £12m he would turn out like this? Its been done once so its possible it can be done again.

Its just that i dont see how you can turn that sort of money down (and by the sounds of it RL is not going to).

We can replace Jimmy, but only if we get the balance of the team right.

For me, we need an attacking right back, another sitting midfielder (to play alongside NRC/Stan), an attacking midfielder, a right sided midfielder and a striker or 2. We will probably not get a direct replacement BUT £28m + money from sale of others + RL's contribution should allow us to build a better team overall.

[Shillzz]

Take the over-inflaited cash and move on.

I'm still stunned you think we can easily replace him.

Well we have Sidwell to fill the void i suppose.

Im not saying it will be easy to replace him as he has been brilliant for us, but it IS possible to replace him. Did you think that when MON signed him £12m he would turn out like this? Its been done once so its possible it can be done again.

Its just that i dont see how you can turn that sort of money down (and by the sounds of it RL is not going to).

We can replace Jimmy, but only if we get the balance of the team right.

For me, we need an attacking right back, another sitting midfielder (to play alongside NRC/Stan), an attacking midfielder, a right sided midfielder and a striker or 2. We will probably not get a direct replacement BUT £28m + money from sale of others + RL's contribution should allow us to build a better team overall.

Not much then

I personally think we should prepare ourselves for a season where we finish 7th-10th, without calling for Oneills head at the end of it. A lot of these things appear to be out of Oneills hands, and I would hope that we as fans can be a bit more patient towards him. Theres little he could/can do about having 2 of his best players taken from him in consecutive seasons, yet he will shoulder the blame if we dont some how manage to miraculously improve.

[dont_do_it_doug.]

That is one **** ton of money. I mean really.

I would miss Jimmy, but christ on a bike, £28m? Give me Rodallega, Ireland and Parker this summer in return and I'm happy to ferry them all to Villa Park. I'll even drop Jimmy off on my way up.

Of course, there's every chance the money is wasted. Would be a golden opportunity this....

[barry'sboots]

Not much then

I personally think we should prepare ourselves for a season where we finish 7th-10th, without calling for Oneills head at the end of it. A lot of these things appear to be out of Oneills hands, and I would hope that we as fans can be a bit more patient towards him. Theres little he could/can do about having 2 of his best players taken from him in consecutive seasons, yet he will shoulder the blame if we dont some how manage to miraculously improve.

Stupid talk man, get some nuts!! [snickers!!]

The players are out there to improve our squad and give it a better balance. Lets not get too negative. Many on here thought we would be in trouble last season after losing Barry and Laursen but we improved. With all that firepower/cash, we should be able to push on again if it is spent in a wise way building a balanced squad. I do not personally think MON is a great manager/tactician but I do think he has shown us he can pick a player over the last couple of years.

[privateer]

Not from the Villa so it's not cast iron but from the City end at the Belfry today at the Alex Ferguson Golf day are saying it's 28 mill done deal now with City . We will see but I am not surprised at all

Thanks for the info. Sounds about right both the fact he's going and the amount.

[Shillzz]

Not much then

I personally think we should prepare ourselves for a season where we finish 7th-10th, without calling for Oneills head at the end of it. A lot of these things appear to be out of Oneills hands, and I would hope that we as fans can be a bit more patient towards him. Theres little he could/can do about having 2 of his best players taken from him in consecutive seasons, yet he will shoulder the blame if we dont some how manage to miraculously improve.

Stupid talk man, get some nuts!! [snickers!!]

The players are out there to improve our squad and give it a better balance. Lets not get too negative. Many on here thought we would be in trouble last season after losing Barry and Laursen but we improved. With all that firepower/cash, we should be able to push on again if it is spent in a wise way building a balanced squad. I do not personally think MON is a great manager/tactician but I do think he has shown us he can pick a player over the last couple of years.

But is it realistic to expect Oneill to be able to replace Milner? We're talking about someone who only had to turn up to get the MOTM award for us last year. Could we not be a little more forgiving of the team, particularly if we're going to be introducing players like Delph and Delfouneso?

Any road, it is my opinion that Ireland would provide a more than ample replacement for Milner. Scott Parker on the other hand would not be a good investment (though not necesserily a bad player).

[Shillzz]

I've been told by a mancunian friend that the Blue Moon Equivalent to MYSTERYMAN is hinting heavily that a signing may be imminent.

It could however be Yaya Toure.

[hobbo]

For £28m he can go. Shame, but not irreplaceable.

[Maradona10]

Bargains to be had for 28Million, still a blow to lose Milner and i would have been much happier if Delph was fit but i'm sure MON will replace him wisely but as Spurs have proved with Carrick and Berbatov, star players can be replaced.

[villan-scott]

As long as MON uses the money wisely it's win win. 28m is a hell of a lot of money, and if spent correctly could improve is immensely. I would be hoping for Ireland to be part of any deal, time will tell I guess, but I would rather have it done sooner rather than later so we can biuld for next season knowing for certain that Milner will no longer be with us. Will be sad to see him go, but that's football.

[gee1971]

i have seen the future and its isiah osbourne.hes in a positive mood and ready for one last crack at breaking into the first team so the reports say

[Maradona10]

Also don't know whether this makes any difference, but David Platt has joined Mancini's backroom staff, he coached Milner at U-21 level!

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

Hillarious amount of money if true

[villabromsgrove]

For £28m he can go. Shame, but not irreplaceable.

Players that you can build a team around for the next half a dozen seasons are as rare as hens teeth. Milner may well be irreplaceable like for like at Villa's current level. If he does go he will be sorely missed imo.

[R.I.C.O.]

If he does go he is not irreplaceable but unless MON spends the money wisely I can see us finishing mid-table. There is no-one of Milner's standard around in the Prem (which is as far as MON looks, lets not kid ourselves) who would come to us, just a few ifs and buts. Stephen Ireland still does not convince me, and its unlikely we'll get him as he has an attitude problem. MON has made a "vow on signings" according to the E&S but that's probably wishful thinking, we all know we will leave it until the last week of the window.

Although £ 28 million is a hefty chunk this deal stinks to high heaven. Just another nail in the coffin of football for me I'm afraid.

[tinker]

If he goes then i would like to see downing in the middle, he needs to get his tackilng back to his borough days but i dont think thats beyond him. We could then get another winger as replacement, Bentley for one or perhaps someone else.

[daft]

I'm still stunned you think we can easily replace him.

Well we have Sidwell to fill the void i suppose.

I actually agree with you for once! The Devil must be wearing mittens. Kidding aside, I think that £28 mil is nowhere near enough to Milner considering how important he is to us now, and what he might become for us in the future if he stays. In fact, I would say that it would be a bargain considering the amount of cash City have. I also think that selling Milner will hurt us so much more than Barry and I think we will really struggle to find someone to replace the void left by him. Having two of our best midfielders leave for a rivalling club will hurt us on so many levels I'd rather not think about it at all. Anything under £35 mil should be rejected without any consideration.

[jon_c]

It's not losing Milner in particular, that makes it such a bad idea to me. If you sell two of your best players to close rivals two years running, you might as well tell the squad (and the fans), whoever has the best season will be going to City next summer.