Milner is not the answer for City

Posted by Alex Livie on 02/08/2010

James Milner appears to be rivalling Cesc Fabregas and Fernando Torres for the transfer saga of the summer award. Will he or won’t he leave Aston Villa for Manchester City? That is the question on the lips of many fans of the two clubs, but I doubt fans of Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal are losing too much sleep over the saga.

Milner is a good player, but is he really any better than that? I just don’t see it. I am a fan of Milner, he has a great attitude and is a tireless worker. But those are the sort of players that should be operating for teams in the middle of the table, not in the Premier League title race.

So is he worth £30 million? The transfer market suggests he is, so it must be the case, but that speaks as much about the money flooding through Eastlands than the quality of the player.

And that really is the problem as City do seem to have money burning a hole in their pockets. If you look at the players on City’s books, Roberto Mancini could field two teams that would stand an excellent chance of finishing fourth. But, worryingly for City and their fans, I don’t think the Italian could pick one side that would win the Premier League.

Shay Given is a top class keeper, as is Joe Hart, but if you look through the rest of the squad there are a glut of good players but only a small handful who are top-class talents. There is talk that Mario Balotelli is on his way and he is in the mould of potentially top class but far from the finished article.

If City want to challenge Chelsea and United, they need to be channelling their millions into signing top-class talents. Milner, for all his qualities, is not.