ITK – Milner deal collapsed and MON turning into Cloughie
On H&V a regular poster called Juan Pablo has said the Milner deal has collapsed
Milner deal looks off –
Milner thinks it will collapse
( until next year ))
Its what he feels… not saying a lot.. The clubs aint saying a lot neither
Well thats what James feels..I can only tell you what James is saying….
I understand this guy may have proper information but as usual it is all a ITK story and should NOT be taken as the gospel truth 
For my pennies worth whatever our valuation is Man City will not pay it (£30m reckoned to be it) ad we knw over the Barry deal just how stubborn we are once we have our minds set.
I have no doubt that Milner will give us all for Villa but this will certainly restrict the budget though !
IF true I want Villa to come out with a firm statement that no bids whatever the money will be entertained until the end of the season, put it to bed
As usual following Villa is NOT boring
Thanks to GH on the comments he made me aware of this MON comment
The manager said: “We met on Monday, and the word amicable was quite right. I suppose I could use the old Cloughie line that we chatted for 20 minutes and decided I was right all along!”
Love that quote as it shows MON is in total control of the situation and does indicate that whoever spoke for Milner on the weekend is no longer involved.
Milner looks relaxed in all the photo’s so positive all roung
What Man City fans think of Milner
I do like the Man city Bluemoon forum and on their Milner thread we see the following comments and I have tried to pick out a fair selection. To be honest the response is mixed about him which for me shows just how under appreciated as a player he is.
RICHARDS30
think milner is gonna be a brilliant signing to be honest!!!! is more talented than people give him credit for.
MONKFISH
Are any of you saying what a pointless signing Milner would be aware of a complete lack of energy in our midfield last season – and also aware of the energy Milner provided for Villa? If Milner was a City player last season I think we would have strolled 4th and possibly pushed Arsenal for 3rd.
LEE-MCFC
fingers crossed he stays at villa
AUSSIE!
This statement, makes me (as a City fan) nervous because it implies Milner will be going to City. (Similiar situation)Much like the Lescott scenario where he was excluded from training before we signed him.
The last thing i want is for that overrated – overppriced prick to come.
In reply – FANTASYIRELAND
Regardless of whether you rate him as a player,and,for the record,he is a very good one who will improve our team immensely,what right have you to call him a prick.
As ever Milner has acted in a dignified manner throughout this saga,he is a superb example of how a footballer should live their life.
Your well out of order here mate.
LARDERLAND
if we go over 24 mil il be extremely embarressed,and thats coming from someone who really wanst him here
CELEBRITY KILLER
That’s precisely the point, there must be a plan B or C instead of this guy. I understand the need for this type of player… but let’s not turn it in a obsessed Hughes-type transfer. If they won’t take 24m walk away… look at other options… let the player force the transfer through if need be – 24m should be enough to make it happen.
SPECULATION : Bid of £24m for Milner (rejected – SSN)
I heard on Radio 5 today in two different news bulletins that they ‘understand’ a bid of £24m has been officially placed by Man City for Milner. This at the moment is not being reported elsewhere but I am NOT deaf
So whilst the talks today were amicable we have no statement from either side indicating any possibility of contract talks and that can only lead to a conclusion that Milner does not want to commit himself.
Of course that means we have a choice to make, do we hang on for £28-30m we are reported to want, knowing he could go for £12-15m next summer especially if he repeats last season a lot more clubs will want him and he becomes more affordable for say a Liverpool or Spurs.
And no chance of him staying, I would imagine right now only Randy, Paul Faulkner and MON know the answer to that.
EDIT : reports on Man City’s Bluemoon forum said a reporter outside Bodymoor claimed we have rejected the £24m bid
Also on same forum they have said
Interestingly SSN has just said the reason for the delay in signing Balotelli is because CITY have stalled the deal and the reason is that all of our negotiation team are deep in talks for Milner so Balotelli has to wait.
End game ? and remember a guy commenting on here said deal would completed by tomorrow
SPECULATION : Milner ‘DONE DEAL’ for cash plus Ireland, has improved bid been made
Not see this mentioned elsewhere but the Independent on Sunday is reporting Milner is a ‘done deal’
James Milner’s move from Aston Villa to Manchester City is a “done deal”, but Martin O’Neill is holding out for at least £25m, The Independent on Sunday understands.
An impeccable source said that the Villa manager would hold out for every penny he could get for the England midfielder but that O’Neill would be interested in a player-plus-cash deal, with City’s Stephen Ireland of particular interest.
I think I speak on behalf of every Villa fan that we just want this situation finished ASAP now, it seems to be holding everything else up and all of us are totally bored of it.
I reported a couple of weeks ago that ‘Mysteryman’ on VT said it was a done deal then so you do wonder why it has took so long to get it completed.
EDIT : Someone it seems with a good rep on City’s Bluemoon forum has claimed an improved bid has been made – LINK
SPECULATION : Milner (yet again), this time to Spurs, hmmm
Maybe MON’s plan to smoke out other bidders has worked as the NOTW runing a story that dear old ‘Arry is ready to hijack City’s bid for Milner
Now this sounds feasible to me (though they call Milner a winger !) as they have some cash but City could eaily blow them out of the water if they wanted to. Of course if MON’s plan is right he will see this story and chuckle to himself !
OFFICIAL – MILNER wants to GO, bye, Villa always moves on
All the stories have spread from a Radio 5 interview by Juliette Ferrington and on her twitter
# martin o’neill: “james intimated he wanted to leave before he left for the world cup. I haven’t spoken to him since.”
This is after Mancini has said today that he would not pay over the odds for Milner and for me is a clear MON plan to force Milner’s hand by handing in a transfer request.
This will mean Villa can lower their asking price (as they do not have to pay Milner) and the deal can be done.
Get this done quickly Villa, end game is now here. A deal can be struck at the right price for us but we do not want the situation like with Barry when an unhappy player is stuck around the club.
£25m should do it
Milner has lost a lot of my respect and I hope he likes being rotated something he has never seen at previous clubs and obviously never learnt the lesson from Gareth Barry.
Whilst being disappointed at this, we move on, Villa are bigger than any player or individual and MON will have to find the next James Milner. Besides we still have Ash who after his comments this week is fully committed ot the club and should become the focal point of the team
Also I would say this is MON’s way of alerting any other possible clubs as no direct comment about Man City and rumours were around Chelsea would like to speak to him.
An auction ?
MON all but admits Milner will go, ignore the positive spin.
It is all over the press this afternoon that Martin O’Neil has spoken to Sky Sports and said the following.
“Eventually if players do want to leave the football club, or any football club for that matter, then it becomes more difficult than ever before,”
“But what I will say is we have a better chance of performing in the manner in which we did last season if we could keep the best players and James Milner comes into that equation.”
I posted last week a story which said that ‘Mysterman’ on Villatalk plus other ITK’s were saying that Milner is all but a done deal. No matter how some try and spin these comments it is not saying that Milner will stay or even if he wants to negotiate a new contract and not that we will be speaking to him.
In fact it is quite conclusive in stating he does want to leave, ignore the IF that is for show, MON has resigned himself and his tone of language shows this that Milner wants to go and there is little he can do to stop him.
That is the fact of modern Premier league football, a fact I hate but one we must admit is there and the power of oil money is far to large to resist.
SPECULATION : Milner final bid and contract talks postponed
The Mirror (of course) have a story that Villa have postponed any possible contract talks with Milner. This story of course is something Mysteryman hinted at, no stated, on yesterday’s Milner thread, did the Mirror pick up on that.
However they state Man City will make one final bid for Milner worth £23m plus adds on and if this is true we can tell them where to get off very quickly.
You have to say that you ddo get the feeling that this is finally drawing to a conclusion, I personally can not see Milner ever pulling on Claret and Blue again.
EDIT: Daily Star report that Ireland and Ohnura plus cash for Milner which is a very obvious link
Milner for £28m – done deal – MYSTERYMAN
Mysteryman on Villatalk is someone I have the ultimate respect for and I believe when he speaks he speaks with authority and his ITK’s are something we should listen to
So on VT in regards to Milner he has just posted
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
This ties in with a couple of reports in last nights papers as well but it has to be said it is reported that James Milner is now on holiday.
Whilst I understand some saying we should not be a selling club is £28m for Milner really a deal we should turn down ?
Time will tell of course !
Milner – think carefully about your future
I have posted far too many blog posts on James Milner that I care to remember nor wanted to but now the world cup is over this debate will only just continue. Some of these points I am about to make will have been covered before by myself but it is worth mentioning them again now that the world cup is over.
I did expect Milner to have an impact on the world cup and he did have because despite what some of our fans say he was a success, his performance against Slovenia would have made Man city happy and yesterday he was for me one of the few players who were OK. However all this was done from the wing but in the near future I reckon a central midfield position will become open for England.
And this is what James simply has to think about.
Man City next week it appears will sign Toure from Barca and along with Viera, De Jong, Ireland, Barry there is such a competition there for central midfield (if all stay of course), however out wide there is less competition and does Barry want to become a wide utility player ?
Now if he is motivated by money, which I do not believe the choice is very simple but at Villa he simply knows he has the confidence of the manager and will be playing when fit every game from central midfield as an attacking midfielder, the position that will become vacant for England as Lampard I predict will be shoved aside.
At Man City I see no chance of that as it is likely they will play two holding midfielders with possibly Milner has the attacking option with possibly others to come or already there say Bellamy.
I think his choice will be based on his professional career and what Man City say are in their plans for him but he must know he risks a lot going to Man City if he can not get into central midfield and destined to play n the wings, does he really want that ?
England out, when will Milner go
First I have to say that today James Milner was one of the few England players who could hold their heads up high. He never disappeared, he was always available for the ball and some of his crosses were top quality.
Why did Capello take him off for the media´s darling Joe Cole who contributed nothing only Fabio can say.
But because of that performance I would say Man City will want him even more and the only question is when Milner decides to push it, after his holiday and before, could the long running drama be over very quickly or take even longer ?
He showed today for me all the qualities he posses and unfortunately the ones Man City will want.
Nothing we can do if that match the price.
SPECULATION: Milner to hand in transfer request & Senijad Ibricic
Quiet time with the world cup but the usual rubbish from the Daily Mirror
The Mirror claims that Milner will hand in a transfer request if Villa block his move to Manchester City. I think this is rubbish but he did do that at Newcastle and since the Slovenian game his stock has risen.
The other link tonight is an old one with the NOTW saying were are after Senijad Ibricic. He is a free scoring midfielder with Hadjuk Split but was linked a few weeks ago, so hardly new news !
Is Milner an England starter
On the BBC website and also on five live they are speculating with some knowledge it seems that James Milner who is still an Aston Villa player will start tonight against the US.
He may be playing on the left instead of Joe Cole as Milner is thought to be more defensively sound and also frankly he is the apple of Capello’s eye. For a few months now it became clear that Capello really does rate Milner and even though he will not dislodge either Lampard or Gerrard from the centre of the park (he has played much better than Gerrard) Fabio has been desperate to find him a starting place.
There is no doubt if Milner gets a start he will have deserved it on the season’s performances and even on the left he will keep his place for the whole competition.
Of course that makes it harder for us to keep him but for now he is a Villan.
The other Villan that could start is of course Heskey but so many fans hate him I doubt they care.
Ballack gone at Chelsea, is Milner the replacement
The news today that Chelsea have released Ballack comes of no surprise, his wages are enormous down on the Kings Road and the signs were being said that Chelsea were ready to let him to go to try and ease their enormous wage bill.
However despite the fact they still have Lampard, Mikel and Essien there is now a gap in their squad for a central midfielder who likes to attack with passing (not like with Lampard) and unfortunately for Villa I would reckon James Milner fits their bill. Added to this they have also said they will not be looking to keep Joe Cole as well which leaves space on the wings for a player and look who can play there ?
It has been a while since Chelsea have signed anyone and it is said by the press that they have a substantial war chest in which they are looking to bring in just two quality players. James Milner for the reasons stated above therefore fits the bill for Chelsea, they would have the cash to at least try and compete with City and pay the £30m we would want. Added to this as well are the new rules in Europe and PL about the numbers of ‘home grown’ players which at Chelsea they have few of, a player like Milner therefore would easily fit into this rule and make it a fairly simple choice for Chelsea to make.
unfortunately for us it is also a fairly easy decision for Milner to make and once Chelsea bid the asking price I see no way we can keep him.
I am very pessimistic that James Milner will be in claret and blue next season.
Tuesday – deadline day for Milner
As it is understood the England squad fly out tomorrow for South Africa for the World Cup and Fabio has dictated that any transfer talk must stop. If the stories were correct last week then any meeting between the club and James Milner has took place.
We may not hear about any progression in those talks tomorrow but we should neither hear any news about him leaving and frankly for Villa fans not only does that mean a month of waiting it means a month where as a club we can not plan properly for the season.
In other words it is a distraction that Villa does not need.
The other problem a delay could encounter is that other teams start looking around and a bidding war starts to happen. The obvious team looking to buy Milner is Man city but what happens if Chelsea feel Lampard could go to Real with Jose ?
A bidding war between billionaires to prove who has the biggest pockets, may actually generate a lot more that £20m for Villa, could head up towards £30m and more. However the longer this goes on then we just are stuck with the cash with targets possibly going elsewhere whilst negotiations continue.
So tomorrow will come and go and Milner will still be a Villa player when I am sure he will star (if given the chance) in the world cup but with no declaration he will stay at Villa then I fear Milner has played his last game for the club.
Jose in for Lampard, does this mean Milner is London bound
Many reports on the media today that after Mourhino’s appointment at Real some players are being very heavily linked with moves to the Bernabeu.
Now the linking of Lampard to Jose is of no surprise to anyone and there is an obvious impact to us with the future of Milner. Chelsea do need to keep their quota of ‘home grown’ players at the required level for European football and doesn’t Milner tick all the boxes for them ?
Reports indicate they do have the cash to bid for Milner and I suspect we would prefer a straight cash deal than any swaps. Milner for them is young (in an ageing squad), English and in many ways the perfect replacement for Lampard at club and international level and he takes penalties !!
So you have to wonder is Milner waiting for a Chelsea bi and is Chelsea the club Wanock referred to when he said
From his point of view, if there’s a chance to play at a higher level, then it’s something that I’m sure he’ll be open to.
He never referred once to Man City in his quotes and no Villa fan if Chelsea came in for Milner can seriously say we can stop Milner from going there.
Milner Starts for England and has a decent game, eventually
Still Aston Villa player starts for England tonight against Mexico at Wembley
Green
G.Johnson, Ferdinand, King, Baines
Walcott, Gerrard, Carrick, Milner
Crouch,Rooney
He appears to be starting on the left and I am sure he will have a decent game to help seal a starting place against the US in a couple of weeks or so.
Whether we need him to have a decent game from a Villa point of view is a rather mute point.
EDIT: appears Milner is playing central midfield over and above Gerrard, Capello really does rate him
However has to be said that Milner has been average at best and playing too deep when compared to Villa
2nd half Milner had finally looked better moved to the left and showed much better for the performance as the whole team seemed so much more balanced. His natural position at international level should be as the supporting attacking midfielder.
So what are James and Paul talking about
The Telegraph are reporting that when Milner gets back from Austria this week he will speak to Villa’s newly appointed Chief Executive Paul Faulkner with a PFA representative.
They speculate that Villa will try and persuade Milner to agree to a new contract in principle to head off any further bids from Man City, Chelsea and whoever. Now we could write off this report and think it is rubbish but frankly I think it is true from a ‘quality’ newspaper with some links to MON.
They report MON and Randy will not be there to ‘sell’ a new deal to MON so you have to think what they are talking about and in fact is there much to talk about at all. I want James to say to Paul that he would like to stay if the deal is right but I just do not see that, he could have hinted at that a couple of days ago.
I suspect MON and Randy also believe we would rather have James at the club rather than £20, £30, £40m in the bank but I am not sure that they can do much about it, we do not have the luxury like with Barry waiting until next summer. We stand to lose far too much with £15m instead of £5m as with Barry so in this meeting I really believe the fans need a final word on what is happening.
We can not like with Everton & Lescott go through weeks of speculation, we need this sorted this weekend or when England are out of the world cup. We need it for ourselves to get in the right quality players.
Milner will LEAVE – Look Forward
Today Milner in his England press conference had to address the issue of the Man City bid and he said
“Do I expect to be at Villa next season? I don’t know. I’ve worked as hard as I can and concentrated on club football while the season has been on.
“I’ve enjoyed my time at Aston Villa, it’s a good club, we’ve had a lot of success this season, came close in two competitions, and we are moving forward.”
Does that sound like a player who will stay ?
Is the quote I put in bold actually speaking in the past tense ?
I believe he will leave and instead of bitter recriminations aimed towards the club we should trust that the undoubted large fee will be put to good use.
It is not the end of the aspirations at Villa but a bad blow from which we can and should recover from if we manage it right.
Am I being too positive maybe, I have loved Milner since he came on loan to the club, we gave him the chance in central midfield to shine. It feels like a betrayal in many ways but we have been here before and we have used the money to good effect, Gray, Gidman, Platt and Yorke.
The club is far bigger than James Milner who will be leaving for a team one place above us, I personally thought he was better than that.
PLEASE prove me wrong James
Milner bid REJECTED – OFFICIAL
Sky Sports news have said Villa have rejected Man city’s bid of £25m including add ons for Milner.
You can bet the classy Man city will come back and back until we get to a level we can not reject or Milner makes a clear statement he is staying.
Milner said this in the Birmingham Mail a few days back
“I think we’ve shown we’re moving in the right direction.”
“We’ve improved on our points total from last year and, with a bit of luck with decisions at Wembley, it might have been a different story.”
“We are moving forward as a club and as a set of players so the more you get into those positions and get into finals and semi-finals the experience we’ve gained from this season is invaluable.
“Hopefully next season we’ll get there again and use that experience to get the result you need.”
Milner is no Gareth Barry, he has class in the way he deals with peopel and I guess he will leave it to Villa to decide.
He has only to look at the way they dealt with Richard (he does not sell shirts in China) Dunne for a close example of the way the slimy club operates. Or that they promised Barry Hughes would be the manager for a while and guess what ?
James knows this and will only do what is best for his career and not his back pocket
UPDATE: Bid has now been officially rejected on BBC
“We have received an offer from Manchester City for James Milner and this has been firmly rejected,” said a Villa spokesman late on Wednesday.
“We plan to sit down with James and his representative after the World Cup to agree a new long-term deal and this remains our position.”
£20m for Milner, WHAT A JOKE, tell Man City to stick it
Sky Sports (yellow bar) are reporting that Man city have officially bid £20m plus £5m add ons for Milner
Not only is that a joke bid when you consider £24m for that awful defender Lescott, it is an insult to Villa an more importantly to James Milner himself. To do this as well whilst James is in the pre world cup camp also shows their total disregard for his mindset and the England preparations.
If true we should tell them where to stick it and shows the total lack of class that Man City now have
EDIT: In reply to Shave in the comments I base the valuation of Milner on
1) Lescott’s value of £24m
2) Milner’s great potential
3) This season’s performances
4) How much Man City have
5) How desperate they are to get ‘home grown’ players
VILLA – James Milner MUST stay
I posted a month or so back why James Milner must stay at Villa
and now we have today further stories from the papers that Man City, the nouveau rich club where money is not equating to class and style (headline from their OS) is considering a £24m initial. Now whilst they are allowed to do this their whole approach is discreditable and designed to rush James into making a quick decision before the World Cup starts and no one can do a deal during this.
I will repeat what I said here.
Milner is our future and we have to simply do everything we can to keep him at Villa Park. He is in my book the best player at the club and the heartbeat of the team. No matter what money or players that Man City offer we can not afford to let him go.
When Barry was sold the situation was different in my view at 29 we had seen the best days of him at VP and subsequent performances only went on to prove this. Milner at 24 has still 4/5 years at his peak and whilst if Man Utd were sniffing around I could understand the attraction to move, why move to City now with all kinds of uncertainty over the manager’s future, Milner saw this at Newcastle and Leeds.
No one at VP, Randy, MON, players or the fans wants James to leave, his best prospects still continue to be at a club which transformed his whole career by switching positions and we showed we can challenge.
Lets just show the rest of the football world we mean business with James leading from the front because there is no better player to do that.
Because if we do not then I am afraid we will not suceed like we all want us to, not least Randy and MON.
A reminder of what said about Milner and staying at Villa
“No, I’m not worried about losing James Milner,” said Lerner. “I think James Milner will play for Aston Villa and should play for Aston Villa.
“I’m not dismissive of the realities that a player that has received the attention and acclaim of James Milner is going to spark discussion and debate about a move. But I’ve kind of lived through that and as I’ve had more experience I see those realities play out in front of me.
“The answer is ‘No’ I don’t worry about him leaving because he is wanted at this club. I think he has a role. He contributes superbly well.”
New James Milner Flag
You may have seen this flag from the Upper Holte today and I think it is class.
My mate Richard Franks gave me this link to the person who made the flag, someone he knows. If they would like to contact me I will namecheck them
For the record I think it is class
James Milner - Welcome to Birmingham
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