Derek Llambias has talked today about the sale of James Milner to Aston Villa, which probably initiated Kevin Keegan’s departure from Newcastle, when Aston Villa paid an amazing £12M for his services.
James Milner – head turned by Aston Villa
Llambias told the Newcastle Evening Chronicle today:
“We didn’t want to lose James Milner.” “Realistically, he was only worth £6M according to people on our football side.”
“Mike’s reasoning was that Villa would never pay £12M.” “But Villa went on and on and on, it got to 10 and we stuck to 12 because we didn’t want to lose him.”
“At the end of the day I sat here with Milner and his head was turned, he’d played for Villa before and he wanted to go.”
“We are not a selling club. We’re a buying club.”
What Derek doesn’t explain here is that Milner wanted a new contract at the Tyneside club, and that was brought up continually during last summer, by his agent. So we may have been able to stop his roaming ways with an improved contract.
But at the end Milner turned in a transfer request, much like Shay did a couple of weeks ago, and once that happens there’s not much the club can do.
But not many would disagree that £12M was a good deal for Newcastle for James, but we got just 80% of that fee, (£9.6M)and 20% (£2.4M) went to Leeds United as part of a sell-on clause agreed when Milner joined us from Leeds, in 2004, for around £3M.
It will not have gone unnoticed that James Milner is now in the full England Squad and Shay Given is being referred to as a world-class goalkeeper at Eastlands – give us a break!
Comments welocme.
132 comments so far
Stardust
Feb 11, 2009 at 2:30 PM
Comment #112mill for Milner – best bit of business in history
Joseph
Feb 11, 2009 at 2:31 PM
Comment #2i never would have thought they would pay 12m either
RyanToon
Feb 11, 2009 at 2:32 PM
Comment #3have to give ashley credit there, 12m for milner is good but PLEASE spend it in the summer (like you say youre gonna do) only time will tell!
RyanToon
Feb 11, 2009 at 2:34 PM
Comment #4i rated milner around 6-8m so we got 4m more which is good news for a change!. milner was good but not a touch on jonas WILL be imo
Macas35
Feb 11, 2009 at 2:36 PM
Comment #5I’d have kept Milner and signed Jonas as well.
RyanToon
Feb 11, 2009 at 2:37 PM
Comment #6Llambias added: “There is £8m there (from January transfers) and it will be spent in the summer, as will the next instalment (£4m) for James Milner. Mike isn’t afraid to spend money out of his own pocket either.
Danish_Magpie
Feb 11, 2009 at 2:37 PM
Comment #7Would have preferred Milner to 12m. Class, young, english.
GEORDIE69
Feb 11, 2009 at 2:41 PM
Comment #8Q Who would you rather have?
1 = One James Milner?
or
2 = Two Xiscos?
A For me James Milner any day of the week.
Stardust
Feb 11, 2009 at 2:42 PM
Comment #9Class is subjective Danish – I think you would only see the best of Milner played down the middle – he simply isnt a winger – he cant even get the ball past the first man let alone a corner yet he is played there. Yes he has heart, yes he never goes missing, But 12million!
Stardust
Feb 11, 2009 at 2:43 PM
Comment #10GEORDIE69 – not sure how you can make that call – surely you havent seen enough of Xisco? kneejerk opinion me thinks
RyanToon
Feb 11, 2009 at 2:44 PM
Comment #11http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article2226768.ece
ribery possibly going to citeh or chelsea, quality player
jordi
Feb 11, 2009 at 2:45 PM
Comment #12So why did they let him go without securing a replacement?
The rumours say it was supposed to be Schweinsteiger, which wouldn’t have been too bad. Never happened though.
Jonas is more of a left winger than right (despite being right-footed?), Duff and Zog were more LM than RM as well, so who did we have to cover the RM properly?
Why wasn’t the Milner money re-invested straight away? And I mean the full £9.6M or whatever and not just the installment. Surely Ashley could’ve supplied the difference and recouped it when Villa paid up?
Now it’s supposedly available in the Summer with the 8M from January….
Can’t wait til this seasons over.
bennytoon
Feb 11, 2009 at 2:46 PM
Comment #13How can you say newcastle got a good deal? He has been quality and is in the england squad. West ham fans were pleased with the money they got for carrick,ferdinand,lampard and cole at the time. Look at them now. Sell your best players and replace them with dross. The mike ashley blue print for success. No wonder JJB sports is on its knees. Where will sirjasontoon get his crash helmets and knee pads so he can ride his vintage bikes safely if that fine sporting goods institution crumbles?
Kevin
Feb 11, 2009 at 2:50 PM
Comment #14Look, the bottom line is that we did a great piece of business by selling Milner to Villa. But we did NOTHING with that money, so it was a waste. Milner was NEVER worth 12M – LameA$$ is right about that. Even the Villa supporters are fed up with his lack of crossing ability! He’s in the England squad becase the rest of England are as crap as he is.
Nadric
Feb 11, 2009 at 2:52 PM
Comment #15Milner is hard working, ok pace, not so good dribbling skill and not so good crossing skill.
he loves cut inside and shoot but he needs to practice more on shooting accuracy. but as a winger, Jonas is much much better than milner.
honestly 12M is obviosuly overprice. he should be about the same price as NZ. extra 6M is the price you pay for an english player.
Nadric
Feb 11, 2009 at 2:53 PM
Comment #16Kevin, EXACTLY!!!!
whenwillitend
Feb 11, 2009 at 2:58 PM
Comment #17wether millner was worth 12 million or not is irrelevant
“were not a selling team were a buying team” <<<< what a bunch of BS the millner money was not reinvested we made large profit in jan window and didnt try sign no one till last day of window
lambiarse needs to fk off n take his lies with him he is not fooling the faithfull
Zangwill_Ho
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:00 PM
Comment #18I did not feel Milner was good for Newcastle, he was not suitable for Newcastle style!
riquelminho
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:02 PM
Comment #19To GEORDIE69
Xisco was cheaper and has much more talent than Milner.. he needs a chance.. Xisco is future 20+ goalscorer.. for NUFC or somewhere else..
MAG PIE
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:03 PM
Comment #20I do think that £12m was a good price for Milner but selling before getting a replacement in was foolish.
I wonder if Deportivo bosses said to themselves Newcastle will never pay £9m for Coloccini ?
shearer4pm
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:05 PM
Comment #21Liam W (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says…
Chelsea fans should except they arn’t the biggest club in the world… Indeed not even the biggest club in London(in fact number 3)… Money can’t buy you love Chelsea… Once they drop out of the top 4(as Roman’s money is drying up & he’ll sell soon… Who’d want to actually buy a club in that sort of debt?!) they’re attendences should drop back down to the traditional 15-20k mark
quote from the bbc website bout the hiddink story, jus seen that a spurs fan says that chelsea are the 3rd biggest team in london, only assuming that me means chelsea are behind arsenal and a mystical london club no ones heard of, cus spurs damn sure aint bigger than chelsea
batty
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:05 PM
Comment #22riquelminho >>>Xisco was cheaper and has much more talent than Milner.. he needs a chance.. Xisco is future 20+ goalscorer.. for NUFC or somewhere else. your haveing a laugh arnt you
Stardust
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:06 PM
Comment #23whenwillitend – 37mill net spend – your obviously not the faithful then are you
RyanToonsBrother
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:10 PM
Comment #24MILNER was pants anyway
good riddance
GEORDIE69
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:10 PM
Comment #25riquelminho // Feb 11, 2009 at 3:02 PM
To GEORDIE69
Xisco was cheaper and has much more talent than Milner.. he needs a chance.. Xisco is future 20+ goalscorer.. for NUFC or somewhere else..
Mate what medication do you take?
20+ goals a season?
LoonyToon @ graft
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:13 PM
Comment #26Dont mind JJB being on its knees…not sure bout Sports Direct though 😉
Few people are barking up the wrong tree re the 8 million quote from wor Derek….my take on it was that if people think the 8 million profit is going into Ashleys pocket then they are wrong….
anyone who thinks that he is going to come out and say how much will be spent is off their nut…
For example if he had said we have 30 million in the summer the following would happen
1) The selling club would “hike” the coin up
2)If we didnt spend 30 million then we would have the same, “we are getting told lies” mentality we have now.
Time to pull together and see if these blokes are as good as their word….all of what has been said has been on the record…and surely they are not daft enough to lie about their intentions now….
If what they are saying they are trying to achieve comes off, I will be a happy lad….As always actions speak louder than words….
Time to get behind the side and let people back up their actions…It aint going to happen overnight….time to put past mistakes behind us and move on…
riquelminho
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:15 PM
Comment #27batty – no, I really think that he is a good goalscorer, he has got instinct.. I am sure with that, he is kind of player who you cant see whole match, but he can hit the target when the team need it.. I saw some matches when he was is Deportivo and he has been very good there.. why not here?
and Coloccini is more than solid or average, in Spanish league he was one of the top defenders, but the true is that Deportivo has a much better defense system than we have..
svilenrussev
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:16 PM
Comment #28Milner is a great player and will keep on improving.Martin O’Neill paid 12 million with good reason.I think he can play as a central midfielder in the future.There aren’t many players playing with either foot like him.He is also great pro and very good as a character so he is excellent business and he’ll prove that.
riquelminho
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:18 PM
Comment #29Gordie69 I dont understand why are you judging player without you saw him playing some matches in a row.. Xisco is much much better and talented player than Ameobi or Carroll ever was..
Davies
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:19 PM
Comment #30It comes to this; certain players work well with some managers and not with others. I think Milner is twice the player at Aston Villa than he ever would have been at Newcastle. O’Niell has obviously got the best out of him.
GEORDIE69
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:19 PM
Comment #31Stardust // Feb 11, 2009 at 2:43 PM
GEORDIE69 – not sure how you can make that call – surely you havent seen enough of Xisco? kneejerk opinion me thinks
I have seen enough football games to know what a top class footballer is. From what I have saw of Xisco he will never be a first team regular. 2 million would of been a fair price but he was never needed we have Owen, Smith, Ranger, Viduka, Carroll, Lua Lua, Martins and now Lovenkrands that are better than him. I know it was only a reserve game but Xisco didn’t want to know. He could’nt win a header had very little pace and an awful eye for goal. He scored twice but I would of had at least 5 against that Wigan side. I hope I am proved wrong but i very much doubt it!
LoonyToon @ graft
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:20 PM
Comment #32Xiscos second goal on Monday night was a pearler….cracking 1st touch then bang…ball in the net in a flash……he looked a different player after he scored….promise you that…I was there…
he has a little way to go before being a regular in the 1st team but only in terms of confidence and match fitness/practice….
lad showed glimpses of quality on Monday
Kash
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:23 PM
Comment #33@BennyToon – I hate to p1ss on your parade, but Ashley’s business is Sports Direct. JJB sports is actually Dave Whelans former company, which he sold….I think.
Sports Direct are doing alright in the current climate, and I thinks thats due to it’s cheap or discounted brands that they offer. Always popular during a recession!!!
batty
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:27 PM
Comment #34Kash // sorry ashley now owns jjb thats why there all changeing
riquelminho
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:33 PM
Comment #35Gordie69 you saw him in one match and you think you know everything about him.. When I see that you think Carroll or Smith.. are better then he is then it is for sure that you dont know much about football.. Carroll cant be a PL player yet Lua Lua and Ranger the same.. probably once yes, but for now definitely not.. Viduka used to be a good player, but now have more injury problems and is not like he used to be.. Smith is not Striker or Forward for me and I really believe that Lovenkrands could play good games for Nufc, but he is not so good like you think after one match..
avmark
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:33 PM
Comment #36Not looking to gloat lads just give what I hope is a constructive comment.
There are plenty of Villa fans who didn’t want Milner simply because they wanted someone flash with a foreign name. Your guy today has said he wants to follow the Villa model – you should have hung on to a 100% English Pro and built a team with the likes of him. Money is irrelevant it’s about who you can get. Some Villa fans wanted to take £18m for Barry but we couldn’t have replaced him because the top stars won’t come unless all they are bothered about is the cash.
Every transfer window the Villa fans are crying for a flash signing. Every time Martin O’Neal let’s them down and signs good young honest talent – but it’s working.
I hope noone takes this the wrong way, you are a top team and always will be regardless of what dickheads you have sitting in the boardroom.
riquelminho
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:39 PM
Comment #37I dont think that Xisco is the best player, but I think that he has much more to show and much more potencial than Carroll.. I think with good fitness and practice he can be 1st team regular in Nufc and is capable to score 20+. Not next season or this season but he can do it soon..
I wouldnt let him go, because in his age there are not so much available players for the right price and once he is here, he deserves chance before selling him..
Kash
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:40 PM
Comment #38@Batty – I didn’t realise that pal.
Apologies Benny, I didn’t p1ss on your parade then!!!
Kash
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:41 PM
Comment #39REGARDING THE XISCO ISSUE, THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE INTERESTED, HERE’S WHAT SPANISH PUNDITS THINK OF HIM:
http://www.guillembalague.com/blog_desp.php?id=66&titulo=Newcastle:%20Xisco%20under%20the%20spotlight
coxonfamily
Feb 11, 2009 at 3:43 PM
Comment #40isnt it funny how everyone was slating xisco a week ago, they read the blog saying he has scored 2 goals in the reserves and now he has the potential to be shearer, u know wot ppl are rite we are very delusion!!!