The Milner Transfer Saga has Overstayed it’s Welcome

Just. Leave. Already… All personal opinions aside, it’s time for him to go. Whether you believe Martin O Neil was told that Milner wanted to go, or that Milner was thrown under the bus by his manager, it is all leading to his eventual departure from Aston Villa.

The reasons for him going are there. We all know that when Manchester City want their man, they most likely get him, and apparently they want James. You can’t blame him for leaving a club that has finished 6^th three seasons in a row, for a club that could very easily challenge for the title this year. And whether or not O Neil’s comments were true, it still means he’s most likely leaving. If O Neil is telling the truth, then Milner wants to go and no one can stop him. If O Neil is exaggerating the truth to speed up a deal, then he obviously is more concerned with the money coming in rather than trying to convince James to stay. It’s not fun especially since Milner has really excelled in his new role and was a real up and comer in English football, but there’s no sense in keeping a player who doesn’t want to say. There’s also not much sense in saying no to an offer for a player that is worth double than what Villa paid for him.

After saying all of that, there is still one thing that can stop this deal from happening—stubbornness. We all know O Neil is very stubborn, and when he sets his price for his player, then he better get that price or the player goes nowhere. He was prepared to let Gareth go for 18 million and some reports even suggested Liverpool came within a million or two of that valuation, but they didn’t match it, therefore Gareth stayed and was sold for 6 million less the next summer. It’s very simple—if Martin doesn’t get what he wants, then neither will Man City.

I understand how important cash is in this modern game, but if O Neil is really holding out for 30 million rather than say 22-24 plus Stephen Ireland, then he must not admire the player all that much. It’s a step by step process, if you sell a player you need to replace, you need to go buy a replacement. Why not kill 2 birds with one stone? You can still get 8 million more than Milner is really worth, plus his replacement just like that. That would be one more thing O Neil could cross off his checklist. Not to mention Ireland is a fantastic young player, and I for one would put a lot of money on him having a better year at Villa next year, than Milner would at City. I suppose time will tell, but I’m sure many Villa fans are with me when I say just go already, so we can move on. UTV