James Milner's awesomeness

[graham poll]

James  Milner eats  Three shreaded wheat.. and a double cheese and bacon burger  from MY burger van for his pre match meal

[Olneythelonely]

I thought his passing was awful last night.

Really? I'd like to see stats backing that up, I couldn't see much wrong with it. Sure, he was none too inspiring with it, but he had fewer options than a stockbroker circa 1930, so I don't think he's totally to blame for that.

I agree with Monty. Except for the cross for the goal, his passing last night was abysmal. I recall at least 5 or 6 passes which went to or were cut out by an Everton player. I put it down to him having to do all of the running for Petrov, Young and Downing giving him tired legs.

He was still our best player by a mile.

So you mean you agree with me?

[Olneythelonely]

Passing was shit... did you see his work rate....

and that one move when he chased the long cross, kept it in..got up took on the defender and crossed it in all in the space of 2 seconds!

Like all great players, he can have a bad game by his standards and still be the best player on the park

I did see his workrate, it was tremendous.

He wasn't the best player on the pitch though.

[PaulTheVillan]

Milner is the only player in our side who looks match fit.

[PaulTheVillan]

Passing was shit... did you see his work rate....

and that one move when he chased the long cross, kept it in..got up took on the defender and crossed it in all in the space of 2 seconds!

Like all great players, he can have a bad game by his standards and still be the best player on the park

I did see his workrate, it was tremendous.

He wasn't the best player on the pitch though.

Who did you think was?

[Olneythelonely]

Passing was shit... did you see his work rate....

and that one move when he chased the long cross, kept it in..got up took on the defender and crossed it in all in the space of 2 seconds!

Like all great players, he can have a bad game by his standards and still be the best player on the park

I did see his workrate, it was tremendous.

He wasn't the best player on the pitch though.

Who did you think was?

Baines, Cahill and Pienaar were better. I also think Cuellar was our best player, a dodgy last 15 minutes aside.

[PaulTheVillan]

Passing was shit... did you see his work rate....

and that one move when he chased the long cross, kept it in..got up took on the defender and crossed it in all in the space of 2 seconds!

Like all great players, he can have a bad game by his standards and still be the best player on the park

I did see his workrate, it was tremendous.

He wasn't the best player on the pitch though.

Who did you think was?

Baines, Cahill and Pienaar were better. I also think Cuellar was our best player, a dodgy last 15 minutes aside.

I thought Cuellar was decent defending, he's just shite coming forward, but that's not his fault. MON is not using his brain.

Baines was decent, as was Neville.

Pienaar has that burst of energy in the middle that we really lack.

[Olneythelonely]

I thought getting forward was Cuellar's biggest improvement. I'd still play Young or Beye at right back though.

[pauliewalnuts]

Pienaar has that burst of energy in the middle that we really lack.

I like Pienaar. And Cahill. And Baines and Jagielka.

How much did that lot cost?

[Olneythelonely]

About £15m I think.

[pauliewalnuts]

Good business. Esp Pienaar and Cahill.

[PaulTheVillan]

Pienaar has that burst of energy in the middle that we really lack.

I like Pienaar. And Cahill. And Baines and Jagielka.

How much did that lot cost?

The price of Downing and Beye.

[TheSandman]

Passing was shit... did you see his work rate....

and that one move when he chased the long cross, kept it in..got up took on the defender and crossed it in all in the space of 2 seconds!

Like all great players, he can have a bad game by his standards and still be the best player on the park

I did see his workrate, it was tremendous.

He wasn't the best player on the pitch though.

Who did you think was?

Baines, Cahill and Pienaar were better. I also think Cuellar was our best player, a dodgy last 15 minutes aside.

I thought Cuellar was decent defending, he's just shite coming forward, but that's not his fault. MON is not using his brain.

I thought he was our best player at Wembley... He seems to have got some of the aspects of playing right back.

[TheSandman]

LINKY

World Cup scouting: attacking midfield

James Milner and Frank Lampard
Is Milner close to usurping Lampard in the England team?

By Alan Shearer
Former England captain and BBC Sport pundit

Of the many stories that emerged from last weekend's FA Cup semi-finals, there was one that may have been overlooked.

Sure, there was Portsmouth's shock victory over Tottenham, renewed criticism of the Wembley pitch, and John Terry's tackle on England team-mate James Milner, but Frank Lampard also bagged his 22nd goal of the season for Chelsea.

His strike sealed a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa and helped put the Blues on course for a league and Cup double. It also meant Lampard has now scored more goals in a single season than ever before.

And with the World Cup in South Africa just over eight weeks away, that can only be very good news for England.
   
Last week, Lee Dixon talked about the defensive midfield options for England boss Fabio Capello. As far as the attacking midfield role is concerned, the 31-year-old Lampard is once again the man in pole.

But there are a few challengers to his position, including Milner, who has surprised many, including me, with the way he has adapted so well to the central midfield role at Villa. He has been a real force this season and his form has had Capello rightly purring.

I've already outlined my thoughts for the right side of England's midfield and next week I will look at the choices on England's left, but this week I will assess Milner's chances of breaking into the England midfield.

THE CONTENDERS

It is pretty safe to say that both Lampard and Milner will be in Capello's provisional squad when it is announced on 16 May. In my view, both will make his final 23-man squad on 1 June, too.

Milner's versatility means he can play anywhere in midfield, but he has a tough job getting into the starting line-up.

He is not going to beat Lampard, Steve Gerrard or Gareth Barry to a starting spot, so that leaves the right side of midfield. But with pacy pair Aaron Lennon and Theo Walcott vying for that position, would Milner make it?

Michael Carrick is a contender in central midfield, of course, but Dixon spoke about him last week and feels he is more of a holding midfielder. Milner provides more dynamism and has definitely overtaken the likes of Jermaine Jenas in the pecking order.

From an attacking perspective, England's midfield is blessed with riches. Not only can they call upon Lampard but there is always the option of bringing Gerrard into the middle. Personally, I think that is the Liverpool captain's best position.

The problem for Gerrard is that employing Lampard in front of Barry proved very successful for England in their World Cup qualifying campaign, so I don't think Capello will change that.

Why would you want to alter something that has worked so well?

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

The fact that Milner is pushing for a starting spot has come as a pleasant surprise to me, but I'm not shocked he is looking a certainty for England's World Cup squad.

I know him quite well from the time we played together at Newcastle. I can tell you first-hand that he has a tremendous attitude and works very, very hard.

What impressed me most about him was that he always wanted to improve. He was one of those players who you had to drag off the training pitch. It appears he is reaping the rewards for all that effort.
   
LAMPARD AND MILNER THIS SEASON
Frank Lampard and James Milner
32 -- League appearances -- 30
17 ------- League goals ------- 5
14 ------ League assists ------ 11
77 ---- Total England caps ---- 7
20 ---- Total England goals ---- 0

Milner is a pretty smart lad, too, and was always prepared to listen. I expect he relishes working under managers like Martin O'Neill and Capello.

With 10 goals and 11 assists in the Premier League so far this season, he is definitely a creative player with attacking intent, but he still has some way to match Lampard.

The former West Ham midfielder has scored 20 or more goals in his last five seasons at Chelsea, an incredible achievement for a central midfielder - albeit an attacking one.

A lot of strikers would be delighted with those kind of statistics. I think that puts his achievements into perspective.

But there is a lot more to Lampard than just his goals. For a start, only Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas has more assists in the Premier League than the Chelsea star this season - Lampard has 14 of them.

There is his hunger and desire, too. It seems if you are beyond 30-years-old and you have one bad game, you are past it, but Lampard has not had many of those over the last few years.

For me, he just keeps getting better and better. His goalscoring record this season backs that up.

It helps that he plays the same role for England as he does for Chelsea, although he did feature in a slightly different position earlier in the season under Carlo Ancelotti.

VERDICT

Gerrard might be more suited to playing an attacking role in the middle of midfield, but Lampard is my choice.

England have flourished with the Chelsea man in that position, qualifying with ease for the World Cup finals in South Africa.

As for Milner, he is a very good option to have on the bench, although I think there is more to come from my former Newcastle team-mate.

[SoccerHQ]

Has to learn sometimes to pass the ball earlier instead of trying to shield the ball from 2-3 players around him and eventually losing it.

Nice cross for the goal and nearly a fantastic assist for the Cuellar header that showed all that is good about the PFA young player of the year.