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James Milner: Gareth Barry Leaving Would Be Huge Loss For Aston Villa
The winger has admitted his concern that Villa might lose their most influential player ahead of next season...
| Bet: | Returns: | Sunderland £34.00 | Draw £33.00 | Arsenal £21.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Sunderland £34.00 | Draw £33.00 | Arsenal £21.50 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Sunderland £35.00 | Draw £33.00 | Arsenal £21.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Sunderland £35.00 | Draw £34.00 | Arsenal £21.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Sunderland £32.50 | Draw £33.00 | Arsenal £20.40 |
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May 24, 2009 5:39:20 AM
James Milner has described Aston Villa team-mate Gareth Barry as "top-class" and has urged the club to take the necessary steps to keep hold of him over the summer.
Barry's future was the subject of intense speculation last summer with a protracted move to Liverpool finally failing to materialise. The England man will almost certainly be a firm fixture in the transfer rumours section this time around again, though Milner hopes his fellow midfielder will stay at Villa as it will send out the right signals about the club"s ambition.
"Keeping Gareth or not is not down to me. I just come in and play football," Milner was quoted as saying by fifa.com.
"That will be decided by the manager and obviously Gareth and his agent.
"But Gareth is obviously going to be a wanted man because he is a top-class player and that's what happens when you are playing for a big football club.
"I am sure there are clubs going to come in for a few of our players this year but that is what happens when you have quality at the club - but hopefully we can keep the squad and maybe add to it and go again next year.
"We will see what happens but hopefully that is the case.
"Gareth is massive, a top-class player, and you are seeing that now when he is playing for England as well.
"He has got in there, he is staying in there, and is on that team-sheet every time. You don't realise how good he is until you watch him every week as a fan or you play with him, not just his ability on the ball but his work-rate as well. He does a lot of running for the team, going forward and tracking back, he gets stuck in.
"He has that ability and for the young players around him on the pitch but also in the dressing room, he is a leader. His attitude is excellent and he is very professional. When you have got a lot of young players around, he sets a good example."
The former Leeds United and Newcastle winger concluded by insisting that Villa's season has been a success despite their dramatic drop in form over the past couple of months.
"We could have had a couple of more wins in the last few weeks but you can look at it another way and say, 'yes, we've only won once since February but we are still in the top six'," he stressed.
"That shows how good a season we were having up to that point.
"Overall, in the last few games we have deserved more out of them but that's football. You just need that bit of luck and bit of extra we haven't had for the last few games.
"That bit of luck we maybe had earlier in the season hasn't been there. Of course, it's not just down to that. We have needed to try and iron out a few problems for ourselves, defending as a team from the front all the way through the side.
"But it is how you learn from these runs. It has been a poor run for us, and we know we should have done better, but it is about what you take from these and how you bounce back."
Derek Wanner, Goal.com
Barry's future was the subject of intense speculation last summer with a protracted move to Liverpool finally failing to materialise. The England man will almost certainly be a firm fixture in the transfer rumours section this time around again, though Milner hopes his fellow midfielder will stay at Villa as it will send out the right signals about the club"s ambition.
"Keeping Gareth or not is not down to me. I just come in and play football," Milner was quoted as saying by fifa.com.
"That will be decided by the manager and obviously Gareth and his agent.
"But Gareth is obviously going to be a wanted man because he is a top-class player and that's what happens when you are playing for a big football club.
"I am sure there are clubs going to come in for a few of our players this year but that is what happens when you have quality at the club - but hopefully we can keep the squad and maybe add to it and go again next year.
"We will see what happens but hopefully that is the case.
"Gareth is massive, a top-class player, and you are seeing that now when he is playing for England as well.
"He has got in there, he is staying in there, and is on that team-sheet every time. You don't realise how good he is until you watch him every week as a fan or you play with him, not just his ability on the ball but his work-rate as well. He does a lot of running for the team, going forward and tracking back, he gets stuck in.
"He has that ability and for the young players around him on the pitch but also in the dressing room, he is a leader. His attitude is excellent and he is very professional. When you have got a lot of young players around, he sets a good example."
The former Leeds United and Newcastle winger concluded by insisting that Villa's season has been a success despite their dramatic drop in form over the past couple of months.
"We could have had a couple of more wins in the last few weeks but you can look at it another way and say, 'yes, we've only won once since February but we are still in the top six'," he stressed.
"That shows how good a season we were having up to that point.
"Overall, in the last few games we have deserved more out of them but that's football. You just need that bit of luck and bit of extra we haven't had for the last few games.
"That bit of luck we maybe had earlier in the season hasn't been there. Of course, it's not just down to that. We have needed to try and iron out a few problems for ourselves, defending as a team from the front all the way through the side.
"But it is how you learn from these runs. It has been a poor run for us, and we know we should have done better, but it is about what you take from these and how you bounce back."
Derek Wanner, Goal.com
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