Just under eighteen months ago James Milner had signed for Aston Villa and was making his second debut for the club against Liverpool.
In the 18 months hes gone from warming up the bench to possibly the first name on Martin O’Neill’s teamsheet. The yorkshireman has made such a impact in his short time at Villa park he is now virtually a dead cert to be boarding the plane to this summers World Cup in South Africa.
On his 23rd birthday, Villa played Gillingham in the FA Cup third Round at the Priestfield. The midfielder managed to score both goals that day in a 2-1 victory for the Villans.
He also went on to score his first premier league goal against Sunderland in January 2009, at the Stadium of Light. Milner headed home a Ashley Young cross to equalise for Villa that day in a game they went on to win 2-1.
It was February 7th when supporters from across the country started to sit up and take notice of this young talent. Fabio Capello named Milner in his England squad.
However it wasn’t until August 2009 when he made his first team international debut, when he came of the bench for 23 minutes against Holland. He made such a impact in that time that he set up a goal for Jermaine Defoe which gave England a share of the spoils that day as the game ended 2-2.
Milner, was originally a wide man but in the 2009/10 season he has been moved into the centre of the midfield and now some compare him to Chelsea star Frank Lampard.
His workrate is second to none and one thing you can guarentee about James Milner, is he will always give 100%.
When he signed many questions his big price tag, however if you ask any Villa fans right now im sure they would agree with me that his pricetag was just a snippet of what hes worth now and it would take a lot for any club to prize him away from Aston Villa.
Its amazing what 18 months can do, lets hope we see James Milner playing in a Villa shirt for the next 8-10 years.
So remember, Theres only one Jimmy Milner!
