James Milner Doesn't Fit In

(Digging for Gold, Aye? Don't worry Man City will give you enough cash)

The England international is a talented player and I can't blame anyone for wanting to buy this player however I looked at Manchester City's lineup on Saturday and thought about any other places that he could be place and I just do not see him getting many games. The midfield and forward line is all but crowded. The only way you could play him is if you play a 4-5-1 and Milner in a wide-role or an attacking midfield role. Who are you going to take out?

Okay if you decide to play him centrally. Then you'll have to take out either Yaya Toure or Nigel De Jong because they do the exact same thing. Or if you wanted to keep both of the field, you'd have to slot Gareth Barry in the left back role. He could do that in emergency circumstances but I doubt that he would love to make that a permanent role.

Milner could be a creative force that is needed in that central midfield spot. When you have hard workers as Toure and De Jong, you'll need that player who can express their creativity. I think on that part Milner could potentially be better than Barry. But you can't have all four in the midfield. I mean you could but if you played that midfield in a 4-4-2 formation I highly doubt that it would work. There needs to be some creativity down the middle.

Plus, if you would play a 4-4-2 then you would leave one of the following out of the lineup. David Silva, Adam Johnson, Shawn Wright-Phillips, Mario Balotelli, or Emanuel Adebayor, and I forgot Robinho. As a manager, you cannot leave that kind of talent on the bench especially when it comes to flair and creativity. Two or three of these guys (with Tevez) could lead Manchester City to the Premier League title. I don't think Milner could do that for you. He is a decent player but I don't think he'll make a splash. He just be one of the squad players in my opinion and within a year, he'll be asking to go to Manchester United or Arsenal (where he could actually be used).

And like I said in the post before in order to have success, you have to be able to maintain the egos in your club. You have to coddle to some of their needs. I don't know about Milner's but some of the players above (Balotelli, Ade, and Robinho) will need that coddling and that'll cost Milner some game-time. Love it or hate it, it's still how this game works.

You cannot play him out-wide in a 4-5-1 or a 4-3-3 for those players above. The only player he might be better than is SWP if anyone on that list but I wouldn't trade a David Silva, Adam Johnson, or Mario Balotelli for him. I think I would take my chances on them. So where does that leave him? Pretty much out to dry. Of course he'll get his chances to show his worth and I don't mind if he proves me wrong because I am not blaming him for making his decision, I am more on the head-scratching side of why Manchester City decided that they needed this player. I think they were perfectly fine after getting the likes of Yaya Toure, Jerome Boateng, and David Silva. Any other team would love that type of summer transfer season but not Manchester City. They want to creative their own FIFA 11 soccer team that could potentially alienate players on the team and no team needs that in the rough and tough Premier League...

All He Needs is a Father

It is official. "Super" Mario Balotelli has taken his talents to Eastlands and joined the big-spending Manchester City club. Everyone has taken their shots at the young man. He has been a thorn to almost everyone's side ever since he came into the senior side for Inter Milan. However are these shots taken at the 20 year old unwarranted? We know of his antics but let me ask you something, was he this bad while he was with his current manager Roberto Mancini at Inter? I don't know maybe you can shed some light on that.

I think that this kid needs to be loved by others. While he was with the Special One, the Special One takes an impersonal approach towards his players. If you aren't performing to his level, he will sit you immediately. You won't get many chances and he will also try to "inspire" players by calling out players in the media.

Young players usually take two approaches to this:

1) Let this humble you and realize that you need to do the work in order to get the results.

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2) If the young player is brass enough, he'll shut down on his manager and his team when he feels like he's been done wrong. And start spouting off to media himself.

We can guess what approach Balotelli took to this.



Mario Balotelli needs a fatherly hand on his shoulder. Jose Mourinho didn't give that to him. He berated him and berated him until Balotelli ignored him altogether like that little kid who ignores his parents for a couple of days expecting them to coddle him and say that everything is going to be alright and he's special. When Balo didn't get that from Jose and his "brothers' were ignoring Balo too, Super Mario decided to throw his toys on the ground and said that he didn't want to play with them anymore. It isn't right and he could have done everything different but you remember as a kid trying to get your parent's attention by doing bad things and when the parents ignored him, you just kept on doing bad things until either you realized you're in the wrong or you get yourself in serious trouble. Or that daughter who wants attention from their parents and then end up being a stripper.


For obvious reasons, that boy doesn't need to be a stripper but he does need a fresh start and a "father" who would truly understand him and will coddle to the needs of the young prodigy.

I believe that Roberto Mancini is the right manager for him because he knows the kid and has grown up with him. So he knows the right buttons to push, he can berate him in one instance but tell him that he loves him and he's done a good job. That is what Balotelli needs, he needs a balance that he hasn't had in a long time. Of course people need constructive criticism but when they've done well, they need to be told they've done well.

It seems soft I know but you have to coddle egotistical emotions because they are humans and they need to feel the love like everyone else. Balotelli throughout all his stupid decisions is one of the most talented youngsters out there. He can reach that potential to be one of the greats but he needs that father figure that will put him in check but at the same time see his worth...

My Last Couple of Weeks

Had our first adult league game yesterday. It was quite interesting to say the least. I can't help but say that I kind of missed the Three Kings atmosphere. Back in NZ, even though some did trash talk, it was always in good nature. Also when tackles were made there, you had a good idea which was a rash tackle and which was a good clean tackle that might have just been mis-timed you know. Plus I hate the constant complaining, everyone has an excuse for anything. Just play the game, I love this game too much to complain about the little shit.

Well anyways, for me not playing a 11-aside game for the first time in forever, it was okay. I tried to avoid making desperate tackles of any kind. I'd rather wanted to just intercept and distribute. Plus, I wanted to make an attempt at putting myself in the perfect position so I didn't have to run as much as I usually do. I am pretty fit and lasted the 90 minutes but you know that you still would want to decrease your running if you could. We won the game 5-2. A very comfortable win, I really wanted to make runs but everyone else was making runs that I was left 3 v1 in the back by myself. Sweet right hahaha. Other than that the game was good to me. Sloppy with my clearances at times but other than that, it was a good shift of footy.



Nothing else to note of from me. I've been working and hanging out with my people. I am not going to talk about any type of work drama because there isn't any and I don't think I can for-see any. I just try to get on with my business without trying to cause problems. It makes the days go by faster instead of looking at the clock wondering when I am going to be off. It is tedious but I am getting use to it one day at a time.

Not going into the personal realm with this posting because it is just about the daily goings of my life. I am definitely not complaining things going on (I don't know how many times I've said that already). I do a lot of complaining about not finding any suitable ladies but I know that life is good enough as is and I'll find someone in time. Okay I said that I am not going to say too much and I am doing it right now. So I might as well stop before I really get started...

Still a Supporter

My loyalty to the Spanish Side Valencia CF has been tested in the last couple of years. With first not being able to pay their players on time, them getting into debt due to a proposed new Stadium being built and obvious the constant speculations of David Villa and David Silva leaving the side for greener pastures.

The day that I haven't been looking forward to has happened. Villa went to Barcelona and David Silva took his talents to Manchester. I told myself time after time that I would revoke my supporters card (I don't really have one) but I think that I am going to stand pat on this one. We obviously haven't bought the players with the same caliber as Villa and Silva but we have some experienced players on our side with the addition of a few talented up-comers that will make for an interesting season.

We still have Mata, Pablo, and Ever Banega among others. Also signings of Roberto Soldado, Tino Costa, Sofiane Feghouli, and Mehmet Topal to at least fill in some of the gaps that were lost. I am intrigue with these group of players and how they will adapt to each others styles of play

I have faith in all these players and I believe that our side will be very good over time. Now I don't think we are Spanish La Liga Champions. Barcelona and Real Madrid are a far ways away from us at this point in time but I am sure we are going to shock some people. I can't wait for the Champions League, especially with us not having to go through the preliminary stages. We will give every team everything we've got.

A year ago, I would have probably given up on Unai Emery's side and said, I am going to jump on one of these bandwagons but whatever happens this year, I am going to stand by this team in their endeavors. I cannot wait for this season to start. It is Christmas all over again.

Hopefully my words don't bite the team in their asses....

A lil Exercise of free-write

I usually have some motivating force for my blogs. Like what I am feeling at the time or what is going on in the world. For one, I am not having much of a feeling for anything at this point in time. I'm not depressed nor happy. I'm pretty neutral at this point in time. Plus I always get shit from these fools saying, "Wah, why you say what you feel? You are suppose to be harder than that." Often these people are alone and more insecure with their lives than I am.

Also I don't really feel like talking about what's going on in the world because:

a) I am not a political blogger so there ain't no need for me to talk about an oil spill or anything like that.

b) I don't think anyone's much interested in me talking about soccer all the time. I know a wee little bit but I doubt that many people want to hear my views

(Although, it is laughable that I have many people read my blog anyways)

So I continue to tread through this wave of life. There could be potential avenues that I could explore but then again I have to motivate myself to do the things that I want to do. I can do that though. I like the feeling of setting my mind on something and actually getting it done. It is probably one of the most satisfying things ever.



When I say that I want to make it through life, I am not saying that I want to just scrap through with the bare minimum. I say it because I want to enjoy life with the people that I love whether they are far or away. I've read about those who are the most successful (money-wise) and they aren't happy at all leading them to commit suicide or other random depressing acts. I'd rather not be in that category. You see I have a pretty good group of friends around me. So I shouldn't worry about that aspect of my life now just being happy about what I am doing, that is what I should accomplish with the remaining part of my time here.

I always complain about why I don't have more friends but I'm beginning to slowly realize that I don't need more. I want those people that I'd rather get to know better to hear me all and when it doesn't happen I often get irritated and think about what I've done wrong. However some people don't want to have anything to do with it. They have their group and they'll be stubborn in their ways and I should respect their feelings and actions. I'll get down the art of ignoring those that want to be ignored and I'll take the hint sooner or later.

So whenever my time is up on this world, whether it is 50 to 75 years from nor or it is tomorrow. I am going to keep the smile on my face, enjoy the company of friends and family, and I'm going to live one day at a time...