Topic: James Milner - El Burro Magnifico

[rawcusk8]

3 months younger than Wayne Rooney.

Unbelievable how well he’s looked after himself.

He’s the example you give to any young boy or girl trying to forge a career in the game. A managers dream, looks after himself, stays out of the spotlight and will give his all no matter where he’s asked to play. I hope we sign him up to the coaching staff once he decides to hang up his boots

[farawayred]

El Beardo Magnifico

[Red Beret]

Shout out to Young James today. Put a shift in he did.

[Hedley Lamarr]

Made us more difficult to play through, that said he could hardly of made it easier. 

[tubby]

Yeah he played well when he came on, looked like he actually had some go in him, compared to how pedestrian our starting midfield was.

[JackWard33]

Must’ve been watching a different player - he ran around a lot but on the ball it wasn’t clever, he mostly gave it away or lumped it aimlessly forward

[jillcwhomever]

Must’ve been watching a different player - he ran around a lot but on the ball it wasn’t clever he mostly gave it away or lumped it aimlessly forward

He played well when he came on Jack, he was involved with some good crosses as well.

[Bend It Like Aurelio]

Must’ve been watching a different player - thought he was pretty terrible .. he mostly gave it away or lumped it aimlessly forward

Not sure about that, he had initiative, something I felt lacking from Fabinho for example. He's not going to be a world beater, he never was, but he was active and did a lot of closing down, something that was missing from quite a few of our players.

[JackWard33]

He played well when he came on Jack, he was involved with some good crosses as well.

Just had a look as I was curious .. 65% pass completion, lost it 3 times, no tackles won, no key passes

[Hazell]

Just had a look as I was curious .. 65% pass completion, lost it 3 times, no tackles won, no key passes

Was waiting for his stats to be posted

[Bend It Like Aurelio]

Just had a look as I was curious .. 65% pass completion, lost it 3 times, no tackles won, no key passes

It's a bit unfair to look at those stats without context, as we were chasing for a result at that point. We had decent pass completion rates in the first half with all that possession, but you can't say that was a great passing clinic from our players then.

[Hedley Lamarr]

Just had a look as I was curious .. 65% pass completion, lost it 3 times, no tackles won, no key passes

Yet shut down space when previous players were leaving gaps.

[Crosby Nick]

Just had a look as I was curious .. 65% pass completion, lost it 3 times, no tackles won, no key passes

Not being facetious but was his cross to the back post that Nunez headed down for Diaz not a key pass? And if that isn’t, what is?

[JackWard33]

It's a bit unfair to look at those stats without context, as we were chasing for a result at that point. We had decent pass completion rates in the first half with all that possession, but you can't say that was a great passing clinic from our players then.

Agreed our passing was pretty horrific apart from Salah and Elliot in the second half
Stats are obviously not the full story but if people want to argue Milner played well it would be good to know what he did because running around with desire is the minimum (I get Fabinho and Firmino didn’t manage that today but generally)
Anyway it’s obviously a side issue compared to some of our starters today

[Chris~]

Not being facetious but was his cross to the back post that Nunez headed down for Diaz not a key pass? And if that isn’t, what is?

Key pass is usually defined as just the pass before a shot

[marmite sw]

all those who said hes too old we dont need him today showed why we need him and why hes a big part of this team .... the guy is as good now as he was 3 /4 seasons back fit as a fiddle and the perfect player to kick others up the backside when needed

[Crosby Nick]

Key pass is usually defined as just the pass before a shot

Thanks. Makes sense I guess but thought he did really well for that chance.

[JP!]

I thought he was our best player today, which doesn't say a lot for everyone else.

Realise the amateur sporting directors will disagree but don't really give a shite to be honest - football isn't just about stats.

[gerrardisgod]

I thought he was our best player today, which doesn't say a lot for everyone else.

Realise the amateur sporting directors will disagree but don't really give a shite to be honest - football isn't just about stats.

That’s a bingo.

[Bobinhood]

things changed when he came on, we grew some balls and got back into it.

[LallanaInPyjamas]

For me Milner has been under-used a little in the last couple of years, he can be a bit of a mad footballer but I still think he's a fantastic option as an 8 against sides who will sit off him because his movement, interplay and crossing are excellent.

You can bet Firmino would have preferred having him nearby today. Those two have dovetailed brilliantly a lot in the past.

[Shanklygates]

things changed when he came on, we grew some balls and got back into it.

This

[naYoRHa2b]

things changed when he came on, we grew some balls and got back into it.

Yeah attitude was a bit better. I guess it begs the question why the likes of Hendo, Van Dijk, Robbo etc needed Milly on for that.

[Funky_Gibbons]

Things changed once Nunez came on. Milner did well when he came on but he wasn’t the catalyst.

[slotmachine]

Things changed once Nunez came on. Milner did well when he came on but he wasn’t the catalyst.

Well you better tell Klopp because he said post game it was Milner who gave us the structure and organisation to play better.

[MonsLibpool]

I think it's fair to say that he shouldn't be starting games like this at his age.

[Phineus]

I think it's fair to say that he shouldn't be starting games like this at his age.

Think that’s putting it kindly to be honest.

[Studgotelli]

Well in for bollocking VVD, thought Hendo was much worse than him today too.

[El Lobo]

Well in for bollocking VVD, thought Hendo was much worse than him today too.

Well in how? Save it for half time if you must, it’s not good old fashioned captaincy and it’s openly spreading dissent and giving their crowd more to get up for. It was just stupid shit, not good and those three need to get their heads together to sort this shit out because they’re letting the manager and the fans down on a weekly basis at the moment.

[Haggis36]

Well in how? Save it for half time if you must, it’s not good old fashioned captaincy and it’s openly spreading dissent and giving their crowd more to get up for. It was just stupid shit, not good and those three need to get their heads together to sort this shit out because they’re letting the manager and the fans down on a weekly basis at the moment.

Dunno I quite liked that it looked like he actually gave a fuck, more so than a few out there today who didn't.

Agreed that the whole side is letting the manager and fans down at the moment but it feels a bit cheap to go for Milner - yes he's rubbish at CM but we shouldn't even be asking him to play there, and we certainly shouldn't be needing to start him in key games at 36. Meanwhile there are some supposedly world-class players in their prime turning in repeated lazy performances, who are getting less heat.

[BER]

Looks 50 out there.

[Knight]

Well in how? Save it for half time if you must, it’s not good old fashioned captaincy and it’s openly spreading dissent and giving their crowd more to get up for. It was just stupid shit, not good and those three need to get their heads together to sort this shit out because they’re letting the manager and the fans down on a weekly basis at the moment.

Milner is Milner. He’s been this player for us the whole time. Now he’s a 36 yr old version. Why have we got ourselves to a point where he’s anywhere near the first 11 in a game like this? It’s horrific. He’s letting down no one. He just isn’t up to it anymore. We shouldn’t be asking him to start at Utd after drawing our first 2 games of the season. Our squad planning is the issue, not Milner.

[Phineus]

Milner is Milner. He’s been this player for us the whole time. Now he’s a 36 yr old version. Why have we got ourselves to a point where he’s anywhere near the first 11 in a game like this? It’s horrific. He’s letting down no one. He just isn’t up to it anymore. We shouldn’t be asking him to start at Utd after drawing our first 2 games of the season. Our squad planning is the issue, not Milner.

Agree with this. That he’s started 2 of our 3 games in 2022 says a lot about our midfield succession planning, or lackthereof.

[OOS]

Said in the match thread, you can see what he wants to do but his body won't let him. Can't fault his effort, and that's all I ask from a Liverpool player.

[amir87]

He should have been a 7th/8th choice midfielder, not a 3rd choice one. It's a big fucking problem.

[tubby]

He's just not a centre mid, he takes up the weirdest positions, always out wide.  There was a great example in the game today where he started off deep in his own half, helping us defend, which is great... but less than 30 seconds later he's playing as a right winger.  What is he doing all the way over there?





The last thing we need is for our central midfielder to vacate the middle of the pitch, it just leaves us so open on the counter and it's part of the reason Fabinho has struggled so much this season.

[Phineus]

He pulls out wide because there is space there and he can turn without been pressed, which leaves a donut in midfield and limits our options to progress the ball forward.

Same issues we’ve had in midfield since 2017 with him and Hendo in same midfield.

[MonsLibpool]

He's just not a centre mid, he takes up the weirdest positions, always out wide.  There was a great example in the game today where he started off deep in his own half, helping us defend, which is great... but less than 30 seconds later he's playing as a right winger.  What is he doing all the way over there?





The last thing we need is for our central midfielder to vacate the middle of the pitch, it just leaves us so open on the counter and it's part of the reason Fabinho has struggled so much this season.

It's because he doesn't feel comfortable in tight spaces. It wouldn't be much of a problem if he had the legs to get back.

[tubby]

He pulls out wide because there is space there and he can turn without been pressed, which leaves a donut in midfield and limits our options to progress the ball forward.

Same issues we’ve had in midfield since 2017 with him and Hendo in same midfield.

Yeah I get that, but why not stay outside the midfield on the side he's playing?  In that instance he's literally sprinted right across the whole midfield to occupy the space that Trent, Mo and Elliott play in.  It's just such a weird decision.

[MonsLibpool]

Well in how? Save it for half time if you must, it’s not good old fashioned captaincy and it’s openly spreading dissent and giving their crowd more to get up for. It was just stupid shit, not good and those three need to get their heads together to sort this shit out because they’re letting the manager and the fans down on a weekly basis at the moment.

I wholeheartedly agree. That was absolute bollocks. It was like feeding Virg to an angry mob but he was fine. A less-experienced player would have struggled.