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Aston Villa have not missed Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry this season - John Carew
Milner has seamlessly replaced him, says Norwegian
30 Apr 2010 10:14:00
By Adithya Ananth
Aston Villa striker John Carew believes that the rise of James Milner has nullified the void left in the squad when former skipper Gareth Barry chose to switch his allegiance to Manchester City.
The 29-year-old spent 12 years at Villa before making a move to Eastlands after a fee of £12 million had changed hands. And the Norwegian opines that Milner's presence in the engine room has more than made up for the exit of the former skipper.
"We've managed to deal without Gareth - and James has done very well with his performance this season," Carew told the press. "I won't compare him to other players but there's been some outstanding performances from him.
"I think he filled the gap after Gareth, maybe even more. We haven't really noticed [Barry's departure] to be fair and the team has got stronger.
"James had a lot of weight on his shoulders and he's not just fulfilled the expectations he's done much better than those expectations.
"He can play for any team in the world with the way that he's playing."
The former Olympique Lyonnais hitman then drew a parallel between Barry and Milner with regard to their composure and style of play, adding: "They are very similar in their knowledge of the game and their understanding of the game - the passing, seeing situations a bit quicker than the rest.
"James is never stressed and Gareth was never stressed. You can see how cool James was with the penalty against Birmingham. He's got all the qualities to be a big player."
Aston Villa travel to play Manchester City on Saturday at Eastlands in a potentially decisive game in the race to fourth place in the Premier League.
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The 29-year-old spent 12 years at Villa before making a move to Eastlands after a fee of £12 million had changed hands. And the Norwegian opines that Milner's presence in the engine room has more than made up for the exit of the former skipper.
"We've managed to deal without Gareth - and James has done very well with his performance this season," Carew told the press. "I won't compare him to other players but there's been some outstanding performances from him.
"I think he filled the gap after Gareth, maybe even more. We haven't really noticed [Barry's departure] to be fair and the team has got stronger.
"James had a lot of weight on his shoulders and he's not just fulfilled the expectations he's done much better than those expectations.
"He can play for any team in the world with the way that he's playing."
The former Olympique Lyonnais hitman then drew a parallel between Barry and Milner with regard to their composure and style of play, adding: "They are very similar in their knowledge of the game and their understanding of the game - the passing, seeing situations a bit quicker than the rest.
"James is never stressed and Gareth was never stressed. You can see how cool James was with the penalty against Birmingham. He's got all the qualities to be a big player."
Aston Villa travel to play Manchester City on Saturday at Eastlands in a potentially decisive game in the race to fourth place in the Premier League.
Become a fan of Goal.com UK's Facebook fan page for all the latest news and insight into everything related to the beautiful game!
| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
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