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Milner: No progress on new deal

James Milner says that he is in the dark regarding the possibility of extending his career at the Reds.

The popular veteran is entering the final 12 months of his current contract and despite some early progress, the 33 year-old said there has been no update for some time.

The Liverpool Echo reported the midfielder as saying:

“As it stands, last year we spoke to the club and asked them if they wanted to do something and they said not at that time.

"We haven’t heard anything since, so that’s where we are at."

Jurgen Klopp spoke of his complete admiration of Milner a couple of days ago saying that he is a manager's dream because he gives his all every time he takes to the pitch and cares so much to the overall cause.

The manager said having Milner around is non-negotiable as far as he is concerned.

“Character, talent, all that stuff is on the highest level. It’s strange, only in sports do we speak about a 33-year-old person as if he was old.

"Milly, especially, with all the things he has, there are still a few good years to come. 

 

milner4_600.jpg
 

"And for a guy like him, there is always a door open in our club.

"As long as I am here, there will always be a place for a guy like him.”

Milner who joined the Reds in the summer of 2015 was thankful for those kind words by his manager.

"It’s obviously nice. All I can do is concentrate on my football and do what I can.

"But in terms of where I am with my contract, that’s what has happened up until now and I haven’t heard anything from the club.”

Milner was an ever present for Klopp last season making 45 appearances in all competitions taking his career tally in the top flight to 516, which is the most of any current player.

There is a common school of thought that once you approach the mid 30s it is time for a footballer to look at other options, however the fitness fanatic doesn't fit the bill of someone appraching the end of his career just yet.

To the contrary, Milner feels he has a fair bit left in the tank.

"Yeah, I’d like to think so..

"Everyone pipes on about my age and stuff I understand you are going to get that.

"There are three things to it: availability, fitness and performance level. Hopefully I am delivering all three.

“I am just going to keep concentrating on my football, keep contributing to Liverpool and be the best player I can be for as long as possible.”

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Here's the thing. We clearly have squad spots and while he's here we won't bring anyone in (or back should Wilson or Gruic have good seasons). He's clearly still delivering (although I would imagine he has less minutes than his time last year), but I thought he looked dead on his feet at 60 on Saturday and was surprised klopp left him on. It's all well and good him doing ok now, but if we give him a 2 year contract today, it's about what contribution will he be making in May 2022. He might go on like Giggs and play till he's about 40, bit with way we play does that seem likely? Unless we're forced to offer something because he has an offer elsewhere, he's 34 in January, it makes sense to me to leave it till the spring and offer him some type of pay as you play if he still looks fit enough. And of course there's still the Leeds angle. 

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1 hour ago, RobbieOR said:

I wouldn't be adverse to him leaving. If you actually look at the games we haven't won since the turn of the year, he has played in them. I think his legs are starting to go a bit in all honesty. 

He's literally the fittest player at the club when starting back in pre-season with the beep test they've been doing for the last couple of years.

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8 minutes ago, Mark M said:

He's literally the fittest player at the club when starting back in pre-season with the beep test they've been doing for the last couple of years.

But what does that really mean? Mostly he's one of about 10 players back, about 8 of which will be 18 year olds who've been on the ale all summer and have never been at that level of fitness. Milner doesn't stop training through the summer, so of course he's fit when he comes back and ahead of everyone else. But you only have to watch his performances this season to see it is catching up with him, I think it's clear he's off physically where he was this time last year and it's only just October. 

 

If his fitness was as good as everyone else's in the squad and nobody had doubts about him maintaining that, I feel sure the contract would already have been signed. It's not that clear cut though and the club are rightly biding their time. 

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He looked fresher than half of the others on Saturday and when Hendo was coming on I said to my Dad that there's no way it would be Milner going off.

 

When the game gets a little hairy and we're having a wobble, I want him on the pitch. Like the other night when Salzburg had us on the ropes. Klopp gets Milner on and he steadies the ship.

 

I see him starting one in three/four and coming on as a sub in most of the others. That's his role and he seems happy with it.

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I'm not fretting about him leaving in the summer. He owes us nothing and gives 100% every time he steps on the pitch. I expect he will stay another year if he feels fit enough and Klopp asks him nicely. Neither the club or he will want an extension if he's on the wane by the end of the season. He's quite right to wait and see how things are in May.

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2 hours ago, RobbieOR said:

I wouldn't be adverse to him leaving. If you actually look at the games we haven't won since the turn of the year, he has played in them. I think his legs are starting to go a bit in all honesty. 

I see your point,in a way,but its clear he still has a bit to offer with his experience and bit part roles in the team. I think the stalling is all about the salary personally. I can see the club's point given his original contract and there is probably some serious discussion over giving the same sort of wage to a player of his age,even short term.

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2 hours ago, Barry Wom said:

Here's the thing. We clearly have squad spots and while he's here we won't bring anyone in (or back should Wilson or Gruic have good seasons). He's clearly still delivering (although I would imagine he has less minutes than his time last year), but I thought he looked dead on his feet at 60 on Saturday and was surprised klopp left him on. It's all well and good him doing ok now, but if we give him a 2 year contract today, it's about what contribution will he be making in May 2022. He might go on like Giggs and play till he's about 40, bit with way we play does that seem likely? Unless we're forced to offer something because he has an offer elsewhere, he's 34 in January, it makes sense to me to leave it till the spring and offer him some type of pay as you play if he still looks fit enough. And of course there's still the Leeds angle. 

 

Yeah this is where I'm at. 

 

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of his minutes end up with Chamberlain over the next few months. 

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9 minutes ago, RobbieOR said:

 

Yeah this is where I'm at. 

 

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of his minutes end up with Chamberlain over the next few months. 

They offer completely different things. They would struggle to be more different.

 

Give him a contract!

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I would give him a one-year extension without a doubt.

 

If his minutes started disappearing he has too much integrity to sit on a contract anyway so can't see any drawbacks to this offer. If the issue was finance I would be annoyed with FSG as they have done very well out of income and outgoings over the past 12 months.

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27 minutes ago, Spy Bee said:

They offer completely different things. They would struggle to be more different.

 

Give him a contract!

 

Im not sure what them being different has got to do with anything, Before he got injured Chamberlain was playing in midfield. It's the one position that Klopp rotates in. Milner is getting on a bit, I don't know how people can't really see that. 

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3 hours ago, dave u said:

He looked fresher than half of the others on Saturday and when Hendo was coming on I said to my Dad that there's no way it would be Milner going off.

 

When the game gets a little hairy and we're having a wobble, I want him on the pitch. Like the other night when Salzburg had us on the ropes. Klopp gets Milner on and he steadies the ship.

 

I see him starting one in three/four and coming on as a sub in most of the others. That's his role and he seems happy with it.

I didn't think he looked fresher at 60mins, I thought he looked as flat out as Gini, fabinho and Trent. But regardless of which, he should be fresher. He plays the least minutes out of the 4 midfield regulars and he doesn't go away on international duty. I reckon klopp kept him on on Saturday, because he knows he now has two weeks off... In fact in reality more than that as he won't be starting in Salford. 

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He's more than just a pair of legs. He's a major influence on and off the pitch and his skill level is phenomenal - that superb pass for Sadio on Saturday for example. He's not just skilful but he's a clever footballer, his reading of the game is second to none.

There's enough money in the coffers to pay him what he wants, I'd be happy to pay him whatever he asks - I can't see him being a greedy cunt and being precocious about it.

 If it's because he wants to finish his playing career at Leeds, then put a clause in to loan him to Leeds if they are promoted and if they want him.

 I've heard that Elliot is being a bit of a brat. Give him to James as a pet. That'll sort him.

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The comment about the milk at the end is textbook Milner.

 

 

FOOTBALL | MATTHEW SYED

 the times

I love James Milner, a resilient professional who knows how much milk costs

matthew syed

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I love James Milner. I love that he had the composure to score with a penalty in the 95th minute to hand Liverpool victory over Leicester City on Saturday, thus maintaining a winning record in the league stretching back to March. They are one victory away from the all-time record.

I love that he is serially underrated. Gary Lineker once tweeted that he “didn’t really know what Milner was on a football pitch”. Graeme Souness, when he was Milner’s manager at Newcastle United, said: “You will not win anything with a team of James Milners.” Other critics have included Glenn Roeder, another Newcastle manager. Needless to say, all have found it necessary to revise their opinions.

Milner showed calm from the spot in the 95th minute to ensure Liverpool kept up their winning start
Milner showed calm from the spot in the 95th minute to ensure Liverpool kept up their winning startPETER BYRNE/PA WIRE

I love his lack of ostentation. Unlike most footballers, he doesn’t have a tattoo. He married his childhood sweetheart and has been with her ever since. He is teetotal, shunning the VIP sections of nightclubs, whether in Leeds, Newcastle or Manchester. He is an assiduous father, learning Spanish in his twenties so that he could chat to his children in a second language. He wants them to be bilingual.

I love his kindness. He poses for photographs with fans and will sign autographs until his hands hurt. His charitable foundation supports Help for Heroes and the NSPCC. It raises money to help fight blood cancer, a cause that Milner has championed since Stiliyan Petrov, a former team-mate, had leukaemia diagnosed in 2012. “To go through what he went through was tough on him and his family,” Milner, 33, has said. “So anything we can do from our fortunate position as football players with our profile, we’ll do.”

I love how hard he works for his team. When Jürgen Klopp asked Milner to play at left back in 2016, the midfielder initially joked that it was like being asked to choose a lover for his wife. When he realised that he could do a job in the position, he threw himself into the task, spending countless hours on the training pitch and in the analysis room. Over the season, he played 36 league games, making decisive contributions. In the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City last year, he covered two kilometres more than any other player — at the age of 32.

I love his ability to lift the players around him. He has the eighth-most assists in Premier League history, above David Beckham and Teddy Sheringham in the top ten. The most recent was also representative: an inch-perfect pass to set up Sadio Mané for Liverpool’s first goal on Saturday. In the 2017-18 Champions League, Milner made nine assists in a single campaign, beating the record of eight by Wayne Rooney (2013-14) and Neymar (2016-17).

I love the way he has had the bigness of heart to take mockery on the chin. The Boring James Milner account on Twitter has become a phenomenon, lampooning the midfielder’s apocryphal love of ironing and housework. Last night, the account tweeted: “Still over the moon with my winning penalty against Leicester today. Now to keep the party going by getting home and giving the kitchen floor a good clean.”

Some players would have been outraged by such public mockery, but not Milner. When he joined Twitter last year, his first post was a selfie of his standing over an ironing board. Since then, he has parodied himself in dozens of ways, not least before leaving for a Champions League match in Rome when he posted a photo of a suitcase with a tin of Yorkshire Tea bags. The caption? “Packing almost complete. I just need to dig out my Italian phrase book and hot water bottle.”

I love the way that he makes fans of his managers. This season, Klopp said: “He’s Mr Professional, he’s very serious about what he does and he’s a role model for all the younger players at the club. It’s great that you can pick a side with five kids and six regulars for a cup tie and not have to worry because you have someone like Milly in the team. He’s still very ambitious, that’s his nature, and he has a few more years still left in the locker.” Others who have come to admire him include Terry Venables and Manuel Pellegrini.

I love the way he always bounces back from disappointment. After that shockingly misjudged quote from Souness, the teenaged Milner didn’t retreat into the shadows, still less develop a grudge. Instead, he intensified his training, arriving earlier and leaving later. “Any time that you’re criticised, it drives you on,” he said in an interview with FourFourTwo. “That’s what you have to do.”

Milner will publish his first book later this month called Ask a Footballer, in which he answers questions from fans about his life, training, diet, team-mates and more. It is a fine read, showcasing how an unassuming man, not the most talented of English players but among the most resilient, has forged success, winning the Premier League twice, the FA Cup and the Champions League.

Above all, the book shows that while many players accumulate headlines, rather fewer achieve the more exacting challenge of maximising their potential. Milner has done this with verve and professionalism, a man who has not merely pursued self-improvement, but consistently sought to raise the standards of those around him. For this, and for many other reasons, he is among the finest British sportsmen of my lifetime.

Long may he continue.

● My favourite quote from Milner’s book comes when asked if he looks at the prices in the supermarket: “If this is the old politician’s question about whether footballers know how much a pint of milk is, then yes I do, which is why I’d rather buy a two-litre bottle instead. Bargain.”

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20 hours ago, Evelyn Tentions said:

He's more than just a pair of legs. He's a major influence on and off the pitch and his skill level is phenomenal - that superb pass for Sadio on Saturday for example. He's not just skilful but he's a clever footballer, his reading of the game is second to none.

There's enough money in the coffers to pay him what he wants, I'd be happy to pay him whatever he asks - I can't see him being a greedy cunt and being precocious about it.

 If it's because he wants to finish his playing career at Leeds, then put a clause in to loan him to Leeds if they are promoted and if they want him.

 I've heard that Elliot is being a bit of a brat. Give him to James as a pet. That'll sort him.

Isn't big games James supposed to be mentoring Elliot shrewd move by Klopp if it's true 

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You have to cut ties with ageing players 1 year too early as opposed to 1 year too late. I think I would make this his last year, although a 1 year deal wouldn't be the worst thing because he's so versatile and his attitude is irreproachable.

 

It's not that he isn't fit, and he can still come up with some big moments like he did against Leicester, but his general performance level is dropping. Klopp picks his spots with him pretty well but I think it is noticeable that he's just losing a bit of sharpness, especially in Champions League games.

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On 07/10/2019 at 15:40, dave u said:

He looked fresher than half of the others on Saturday and when Hendo was coming on I said to my Dad that there's no way it would be Milner going off.

 

When the game gets a little hairy and we're having a wobble, I want him on the pitch. Like the other night when Salzburg had us on the ropes. Klopp gets Milner on and he steadies the ship.

 

I see him starting one in three/four and coming on as a sub in most of the others. That's his role and he seems happy with it.

His off the pitch contibutions should not be overlooked either .He's the one Klopp turns to in the dressing room to gee up the others .Listening to some of the stuff on the Bloodred pods and some of the other Journos ,his off field is almost as important as his on field ....he deserves another year

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1 hour ago, johnsusername said:

Deserves to be carried on our shoulders through the streets of Anfield. Can't believe Man City got rid of him. 

Can't believe the cunts have the cheek to boo him for coming to us. 

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No brainer to keep him for another year, the fella is fucking bullet proof. Was absolutely sensational against MK dons and Leicester. Seamlessly slots in at LB against Barca in CL semi. He’s fucking boss, give him another deal.

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He will only be 34 at the start of next season. The way people go on you'd think he was 36/37. He's easily got another 2/3 season at the very top level especially in a rotated midfielder. Give him a 12 month rolling deal. 

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8 hours ago, Lee909 said:

He will only be 34 at the start of next season. The way people go on you'd think he was 36/37. He's easily got another 2/3 season at the very top level especially in a rotated midfielder. Give him a 12 month rolling deal. 

If he stayed until the end of next season he would still be younger than Gary Mac when he joined us, and a lot fitter.

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