Tom Cleverley - Loan Confirmed

[villan1975]

Yes I know but he wouldn't exactly be poor playing for any of the other established PL teams.

He gets paid a fortune, wins medals and plays for England. By any rational standards that's a successful career.

For the real world though it is just wrong to waste the finite talent that he has. The ordinary working man would do what he does for minimum wage every day of the week. It isn't the real world they live in so everything I have just written is science fiction.

[olaftab]

May be just may be that as a footballer he would want to compete on the pitch every week?

[dave.woodhall]

Yes I know but he wouldn't exactly be poor playing for any of the other established PL teams.

He gets paid a fortune, wins medals and plays for England. By any rational standards that's a successful career.

For the real world though it is just wrong to waste the finite talent that he has. The ordinary working man would do what he does for minimum wage every day of the week. It isn't the real world they live in so everything I just wrote is science fiction.

Look at what I wrote and tell me how that's wasting his talent.

[villan1975]

Yes I know but he wouldn't exactly be poor playing for any of the other established PL teams.

He gets paid a fortune, wins medals and plays for England. By any rational standards that's a successful career.

For the real world though it is just wrong to waste the finite talent that he has. The ordinary working man would do what he does for minimum wage every day of the week. It isn't the real world they live in so everything I just wrote is science fiction.

Look at what I wrote and tell me how that's wasting his talent.

He only plays for England because we are so poor and the EPL is full of better foreign players. As I said being a bit part at a top side may well be enough for him but I am pretty sure when he looks back on his career he will have regrets.

[Can Gana Be Bettered!?!?]

Yes I know but he wouldn't exactly be poor playing for any of the other established PL teams.

He gets paid a fortune, wins medals and plays for England. By any rational standards that's a successful career.

For the real world though it is just wrong to waste the finite talent that he has. The ordinary working man would do what he does for minimum wage every day of the week. It isn't the real world they live in so everything I just wrote is science fiction.

Look at what I wrote and tell me how that's wasting his talent.

Read what everyone thinks and think about that. Try something new!

[dave.woodhall]

Yes I know but he wouldn't exactly be poor playing for any of the other established PL teams.

He gets paid a fortune, wins medals and plays for England. By any rational standards that's a successful career.

For the real world though it is just wrong to waste the finite talent that he has. The ordinary working man would do what he does for minimum wage every day of the week. It isn't the real world they live in so everything I just wrote is science fiction.

Look at what I wrote and tell me how that's wasting his talent.

Read what everyone thinks and think about that. Try something new!

What, like having my own opinion? Or should I just agree with 'everyone'?

[dave.woodhall]

Yes I know but he wouldn't exactly be poor playing for any of the other established PL teams.

He gets paid a fortune, wins medals and plays for England. By any rational standards that's a successful career.

For the real world though it is just wrong to waste the finite talent that he has. The ordinary working man would do what he does for minimum wage every day of the week. It isn't the real world they live in so everything I just wrote is science fiction.

Look at what I wrote and tell me how that's wasting his talent.

He only plays for England because we are so poor and the EPL is full of better foreign players. As I said being a bit part at a top side may well be enough for him but I am pretty sure when he looks back on his career he will have regrets.

I doubt it.

[villan1975]

Yes I know but he wouldn't exactly be poor playing for any of the other established PL teams.

He gets paid a fortune, wins medals and plays for England. By any rational standards that's a successful career.

For the real world though it is just wrong to waste the finite talent that he has. The ordinary working man would do what he does for minimum wage every day of the week. It isn't the real world they live in so everything I just wrote is science fiction.

Look at what I wrote and tell me how that's wasting his talent.

He only plays for England because we are so poor and the EPL is full of better foreign players. As I said being a bit part at a top side may well be enough for him but I am pretty sure when he looks back on his career he will have regrets.

I dout it.

Pretty sure there were rumblings of discontent this summer from him or probably his agent and as a player he hasn't improved and although supposition on my part I believe it is because of how little football he has played. If anything he has gone backwards, football moves on very quickly.

[dave.woodhall]

Pretty sure there were rumblings of discontent this summer from him or probably his agent and as a player he hasn't improved and although supposition on my part I believe it is because of how little football he has played. If anything he has gone backwards, football moves on very quickly.

Maybe he's at the level best suited to him. I can't imagine any player who would swap his situation for playing 38 league games at Hull.

[IAmTheOneIanOlney]

I thought he was fairly important for City last season, especially coming off the bench, and if anything was playing to a higher standard than ever. I certainly saw him turn games they were struggling in. And I doubt he phones it in in training, he most likely works his nuts off all week, whether he's likely to start the next game or not.

[pauliewalnuts]

Who else is going to pay him 130k a week. As much as I would love to see him in the centre of our midfield, why would you give that up?

Indeed.

I imagine it's not quite so easy to say "know what, I value my career too much to not go somewhere I will play every week, so sod that 130k a week" if you are actually earning 130k a week.

That one crops up on here all he time: "but he could be a legend here!".

One of the weakest arguments out there.

[Can Gana Be Bettered!?!?]

Yes I know but he wouldn't exactly be poor playing for any of the other established PL teams.

He gets paid a fortune, wins medals and plays for England. By any rational standards that's a successful career.

For the real world though it is just wrong to waste the finite talent that he has. The ordinary working man would do what he does for minimum wage every day of the week. It isn't the real world they live in so everything I just wrote is science fiction.

Look at what I wrote and tell me how that's wasting his talent.

Read what everyone thinks and think about that. Try something new!

What, like having my own opinion? Or should I just agree with 'everyone'?

Just not trying to be so smug after every opinion given would be nice.

[richard moore]

Yes I know but he wouldn't exactly be poor playing for any of the other established PL teams.

He gets paid a fortune, wins medals and plays for England. By any rational standards that's a successful career.

Sadly it is. I like being reminded of why I can't be bothered much with football these days, outside of my half-hearted and withering support of the Villa. Milner is just one of many doing the same to a larger or lesser extent. The fact that he is at Man City means he gets a few extra medals and more dosh for doing bog all really 

[dave.woodhall]

[
Just not trying to be so smug after every opinion given would be nice.

It's called having a different opinion, and if you don't want to read it you don't have to.

[Chinchilla Bathhouse]

Milner's is a successful career by any standards, and you can't possibly say he's wasted his talent when it's brought him so much success and wealth, but it's hard not to think he could have done more.  He seems like a relatively bright bloke (not hard by footballer standards, I know) but I think he was naive if he assumed he'd walk straight into Man City's midfield.  Had he stayed with us for a bit longer, or moved to another club that played him in the central midfield role where he excelled for us, you'd think he might have continued on the trajectory that had him recognised with a PFA award.  By now he ought to have been the natural successor for the hole that has appeared in the England midfield, thanks to Lampard and Gerrard thoughtfully deciding to stop stealing caps and stinking out the national team; that's if he hadn't already ousted one of them.  In fact, I don't think it's too daft to suggest that Milner could well have been the next England captain, had he continued to play thirty odd games a season in central midfield for a top half club (particularly when you consider his rivals for the armband were a frustrated ape and a narcissistic shampoo peddler).  As it is, he wasn't even in the frame for the armband and he's become nothing more than a steady utility man.  He's been so long out of central midfield no one even remembers how good he was at it.  I doubt Hodgson has even considered him for that role, and he'll more than likely be stuck out on the right wing while the Ginger Pirlo repeatedly pings the ball out of play from the centre circle. 

Milner's move to Man City has brought him medals and money, but instead of winning renown as the dynamic all-round midfielder he had the potential to be, he's destined to be remembered as an unexceptional bits and pieces man, and a bloody boring one at that.  I think that's a bit of a shame.  Of course, I am talking from my usual romantic standpoint, somewhere on the outskirts of reality,  where money isn't everything and happiness cannot be bought.  Which is why James Milner will have absolutely no regrets when he hangs up his boots and why I will still be poor, hungry, squinting at my computer screen through salty tears and wrapping myself in yards of moral fibre to keep warm.