SPECULATION : Milner to City/Utd/Chelsea/Spurs

[jimbojames]

I would accept a bid of around £24m for Milner.

Don't get me wrong, I think he is a fantastic player for us, but some of the posters on here make him out to be World Player of the Year!!! I wouldn't say for one minute that he is the easily the best player at the club like some are making out.

If United came in with an offer of say £8m plus Carrick, I would be happy with that as I think he would offer us that creativity through the middle of the park that we currently lack.

Have you ever seen Michael Carrick play?

Yes thanks, oh right he's good enough for United but not for the Villa?

This time last year, everyone was turning their nose up at the prospect of Richard Dunne joining the club. Who feels that way now?

Im sorry mate but Carrick is awful. He reminds me a bit of a rich mans Steve Sidwell. If Milner went and Carrick came i think i would cry lots. Would add absolutely nothing to our team.

I'd take Carrick to compliment Milner but certainly not to replace him.

When I say compliment I don't mean tell him what a good player he is or tell him how good he is looking., think he would do a decent job along side him.

There are not many players in the premier who can run all day long and get into the poistions he does filling in for the full backs, wingers and central defenders at times.

[Woodytom]

Milner will stay. He is a man of morals and loyalty, with no agent agitating for his payout. We will give him a big payrise and a 4 year contract, he will further cement his standing as the rock of our side.

This is if MON stays - which he will if we beat Blues at the weekend, and give Citeh a run for their money. A lot is riding on the next couple of games!

As for people saying Carrick this, Ireland that - you're missing something which is ablsuoltely key. Both decent players, yes, but what Jimmy has is the attitude and commitment only matched by the likes of Rooney and Gerrard. You can't teach that, or buy it for less that £25million.

Is Martin off then if we don't beat blues?

[OutByEaster?]

I'm not sure that the idea that Milner doesn't have an agent is true, I think he was with the PFA and that they were handling his affairs, but that the man he was working with at the PFA went freelance and took a number of his clients with him.

A number of the PFA's agents have done this is recent years and it doesn't mean they'll be any more ethical or loyal than any other agent.

Alex Black, Gareth Barry's former agent and the man who it appeared to me worked with Benitez and used every dirty trick in the book to drive down the price of a move for Gareth from here to Liverpool also used to work for the PFA.

Phil Sproson who represents Curtis Davies, Marlon Harewood and Craig Gardner left the Players Management Agency (The PFA's group of agents) last summer and he's moved one player from Villa Park already, he'll move another in the summer and he's clashed with MON publicly on the other.

The PFA remain a sensible, ethical choice for young footballers, but they struggle to keep their tame sharks in the tank for long.

[Gizmo]

Milner will stay. He is a man of morals and loyalty...

He's also a winner. If he doesn't win things here it seems inevitable he'll want to win something somewhere else.

However there's plenty of cause for optimism about winning things at Villa (honest) so I doubt he'll be going any time soon.

[Wof]

Milner will stay. He is a man of morals and loyalty, with no agent agitating for his payout. We will give him a big payrise and a 4 year contract, he will further cement his standing as the rock of our side.

This is if MON stays - which he will if we beat Blues at the weekend, and give Citeh a run for their money. A lot is riding on the next couple of games!

Is Martin off then if we don't beat blues?

Given the response from the fans after our 2 home draws and the loss to Chelsea, if we don't beat Blues and then give a lame performance against City i wouldn't be suprised if the fans turned again, and fan support is clearly a big factor for Martin.

However my comment was more that he will definitely stay if we beat Blues and play well against City. Rather than definitely go if we don't. If you get my drift.

OBE you are probably right about the agents. But the fact that Jimmy was happily represented by the PFA for so long does indicate he's not fussed for giving over 10% of his salary for an agent's services, and he's not an egotist who's salary demands double after a good season, like for examlpe Adebayor.

[Wof]

Milner will stay. He is a man of morals and loyalty...

He's also a winner. If he doesn't win things here it seems inevitable he'll want to win something somewhere else.

However there's plenty of cause for optimism about winning things at Villa (honest) so I doubt he'll be going any time soon.

I'm with you on both points. We've got closer this season than we have since 1996. I have faith we can get a trophy in the cabinet in the next couple of years, Milner may well be captain by then!

[PauloBarnesi]

Milner will stay. He is a man of morals and loyalty...

He's also a winner. If he doesn't win things here it seems inevitable he'll want to win something somewhere else.

However there's plenty of cause for optimism about winning things at Villa (honest) so I doubt he'll be going any time soon.

He left Newcastle because they broke promises to him. He never wanted to leave to win thing, but the lies broke the camels back.

[Wainy316]

I think we'll get another year from him.

A lot of my United mates think he's as good as theirs.

[Harry]

I think we'll get another year from him.

A lot of my United mates think he's as good as theirs.

Dare I say typical from United 'fans'. As the Barry sage proved RL won't be bullied by the so called bigger clubs. If Milner wants to go and asks for a transfer, which I doubt he will, Man U had better be prepared to pay big big money for him.

Have they got it??? Now there's a question and I suspect the answer is no without selling players.

[Stu_The_Villan]

Can we just close this thread now please?

[MMFy]

A lot of my United mates think he's as good as theirs.

A lot of Manure fans know not a lot about football.

Apart from they think they own the ball, and they can take it home when they have a tantrum.

[meregreen]

If we sell we get lots of money......and simply become another feeder club for Man Utd. Make a stand. Not just for ourselves , but for every other club those b##rds think they can cherry pick.

[darrenm]

When I say compliment I don't mean tell him what a good player he is or tell him how good he is looking., think he would do a decent job along side him.

Then you probably mean complement

[Reality]

We must stop becoming a feeder club.

United fans what the hell do they know. I know a few who rattle off Fergie's coaching staff. That apparently makes them MORE of a fan...yeah....

[danceoftheshamen]

If we sell we get lots of money......and simply become another feeder club for Man Utd. Make a stand. Not just for ourselves , but for every other club those b##rds think they can cherry pick.

Well said!! ^^^

They always pull the same manouvre's don't they the "Top 3" clubs & it most certainly ain't rocket science!!!

If one of the teams in the 5th to 10th region starts to close in .. poach their best player! Result=they get stronger we get weaker & they remove the threat!

Just does your head in that the players always see the sparkly lights get impatient for success NOW & do one! It causes most of the "treading water" effect & is the primary reason it is so hard to break into that group.

Wayne Rooney, Dwight Yorke, Gareth Barry & i am sure many more have all been down a similar path though happily Martin is well aware that this is a major factor that needs to be halted if we are to keep progressing as we saw with his insistance on Barry not going to Liverpool when they were trying every dirty trick in the book to get him... & look at the result... He didn't go & they won't finish in the top 4 for the 1st time in ages!

[Mr_Dogg]

Manchester City will give the first sign in the next 48 hours of their summer transfer spending power with an offer for Aston Villa midfielder James Milner, thought to be £24million.

Mindful of Fabio Capello's rule that England players must not negotiate transfers during World Cup duty, City have moved quickly.

In demand: Chelsea are also keen on Milner

They expect Chelsea to compete for Milner and want to declare their interest first. Villa are expecting Chelsea to match City's offer this week.

Sources close to the player believe Villa will demand closer to £30m to even consider selling Milner, 24, which would make him one of the most expensive signings in English football history.

The England midfielder has had an excellent season with Aston Villa, but City believe Randy Lerner is ready to cash in on the former Leeds and Newcastle star. Lerner has told manager Martin O'Neill he must sell before he can buy.

O'Neill is likely to resist the transfer, but it would enable him to add to his squad this summer. Selling the popular Milner for £24m would represent a 100 per cent profit for Villa, who signed him from Newcastle for £12m in 2008.

Milner, who has represented England at under 16. under 17, under 19, under 20 and under 21 level, as well as senior level, has been destined for great things since bursting on to the scene as a 16-year-old at Leeds.

Milner last night found himself embroiled in disrupted preparations for next month's World Cup due to the ash cloud flight chaos and the weather at the training camp for Fabio Capello's England squad in the Austrian Alps.

The England boss will reluctantly start the team's training in Hertfordshire if Iceland's volcanic ash cloud prevents him from taking them to their high-altitude base in Irdning as planned today.

Twenty-five of England's 30-man provisional squad are due to fly from Heathrow to Austria today - those involved in the FA Cup final will join them on Wednesday - but the FA were yesterday making contingency plans after predictions that British airspace could close again this week.

If it does, Capello will use Arsenal's training ground, but his players would lose the advantage of practising at altitude. And the squad's usual hotel in Hertfordshire, The Grove, cannot accommodate them this week, so they would have to move to Bedfordshire's five-star Luton Hoo hotel.

Capello is concerned the ash cloud could prevent players holidaying abroad, as Wayne Rooney has been, from making it back for the camp.

Even if they all get there, there are fears the squad could get stuck in Irdning if flights are cancelled later. England are due to return home on Sunday ahead of a friendly with Mexico at Wembley next Monday.

The weather, meanwhile, is as bad as Austrians have had it at this time of year. Torrential rain and temperatures as low as 6 degrees Centigrade are forecast for the next few days, which is not quite what Capello intended.

On a chaotic day at the FA, there was one piece of good news, however. Capello has committed to England beyond the World Cup, bringing some vital stability to an organisation rocked by the resignation of Lord Triesman.

When the Italian became England boss more than two years ago, a clause in his contract allowed both parties to walk away without paying any compensation. Last week Capello agreed to have the clause removed from his four-and-a-half -year contract, which runs until the 2012 European Championship.

Tottenham captain Ledley King yesterday also signed a new deal, for two more years with Spurs. King, whose outstanding performances this season have put him in England's preliminary World Cup squad, will stay at the club until 2012. 'I could never see myself going anywhere else,' he said.

Click

I believe they want him, but I don't know if they will get him.

[Oaks]

If they buy Lescott for £24 million, i want £40 for Milner.

[Rodders]

If they buy Lescott for £24 million, i want £40 for Milner.

or even £40million. [/pedant alert]

[John]

If they buy Lescott for £24 million, i want £40 for Milner.

:nod:

[ml1dch]

Lerner has told manager Martin O'Neill he must sell before he can buy.

It's nice of them to put in little pointers that prove that the whole article is a fabrication.