MILNER SUPPORTS HENDERSON

James Milner believes Jordan Henderson can be a “great leader” for England having been named captain for Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier in Slovenia.


The Interim manager, Gareth Southgate benched Wayne Rooney for the match after their Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Malta at Wembley, with Henderson set to deputize.

The 30-year old Liverpool’s vice-captain who retired international footballer after England’s flop at Euro 2016, said Henderson deserves to captain the Three Lions.

“It is amazing and fully deserved,” Milner told Liverpool’s official website. “He is a top player with a top attitude, he is a great captain here – obviously I have played under him for the last year. Last year times were tough for him when he was injured and desperate to be out on the field, but he was a great leader even when he wasn’t playing, which isn’t the easiest thing to do.

“He has shown what a good captain he is really. When things aren’t going well for you, that’s when your strengths come through as a captain. He showed that last year and obviously this year on the field he has been playing amazingly. He will be a great leader for England as well.”
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James Milner joined Liverpool because he wants assured playing time in the central midfield role

James Milner played in 31 Premier League matches for Manchester City of the past season, just by judging from this statistic and amount of games played for his club, anyone would consider the English midfielder to be an important and regular player for the Premier League club but after taking a closer inspection things aren’t as great as it seems like for Milner at the Etihad Stadium as he spends a large period of time on the bench.

Out of the 31 league matches that he played for City in the previous season, 19 of them arrived from the bench and a big chunk of those matches only saw Milner playing for nothing more than 30 minutes in each game.

Milner is 29 years old and he is well aware that at this stage of his career, it’s time to start analyzing what to do in the final seasons and years that are left in him. This is one of the biggest reasons of why he decided to join Liverpool as he left behind his career with Manchester United which expanded to almost 5 years.

A lot of people are baffled by Milner’s decision of leaving Manchester City and joining Liverpool. Manchester City indeed does have a better chance of snatching bigger titles such as: The Premier League and the Champions League. City are one of the favorites of becoming the new champions of England and taking the crown away from Chelsea but Liverpool on the other hand would be happy if they are able to secure a spot in the Champions League which is something that they failed to do in this past season. (more…)

Reyna to visit England to meet MC Officials

The head of New York City FC, Mr. Claudio Reyna, would be on his way to England in a few days to have meetings with the Manchester City officials regarding the situation of Frank Lampard.

According To Reyna, no talks have been held between the two clubs at all as of now. So, he can’t make a statement. But, he is sure that the correct decision would be made.

It suggests that Reyna is not too sure that he would be able to bring the English playmaker to USA ahead of the start of the new Major League Soccer season.

Reyna was pretty confident about it the previous month when he had said that the New York City board was planning to get Lampard back for the pre season training.

But, he did not speak with the same tone when he was asked about Lampard earlier today.

Answering the question which was asked by a newspaper correspondent, the 41-year old said, “I first need to talk to them (MCFC) and see what they are thinking. At this point of time, I won’t say anything because I have no idea whatsoever. In a few days’ time, I will be there in UK. I will meet the staff there and then, with mutual consent; we would be making a call.”

When asked if he reckons it’s important to have Lampard in the camp in the pre-season, Reyna said, “Yes obviously. You want everyone especially the new guys to join as early as possible so that they know the other members of the group. But, somebody like Frank, who has played with so many different players, will not have problems to adjust.”

Lampard has happened to be very successful at Manchester City in the first half of this season and that’s why, the Sky Blues want him to stay with them for an extended period of time.

12 MONTHS TO GO

England recently visited the Brazilian soil with just under 12 months left for the FIFA World Cup 2014. They were in Rio de Janeiro as part of a friendly match with the Brazilian team. Even though there were several concerns that the game would be called off, it is now learnt that the match will progress as scheduled. England have failed to win a major tournament since the 1966 World Cup victory, which was achieved in a home tournament. They have failed to win any tournament away from home, but it could change with the 2014 World Cup according to James Milner.

The Manchester City midfielder has said that the visit to Brazil ahead of the World Cup will certainly serve as a motivation to the team to lift the famous trophy. England manager a credible 2-2 draw with Brazil in the iconic Maracana stadium, which has been renovated for the purpose of the World Cup. England are currently fighting against Montenegro to finish top of the World Cup qualifying group. It is extremely imperative that England finished top of the group because it would enable them to go straight into the World Cup without having to play any play-off matches.

“Experiencing Rio has helped us massively. We are all desperate to finish the job and qualify for the World Cup. You don’t get too many chances to play in World Cups, but playing a World Cup in Brazil… just being here for the last few days, I have seen the love they have for the game. They play head tennis and beach football every single day. You can sense the love and the atmosphere in the ground, it’s going to be some tournament next year,” said Milner.

England will see Montenegro move five points clear of them if they win against Ukraine.

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