Does James Milner offer England another option in centre midfield?

As things stand, there are unlikely to be many arguments against James Milner being included in the squad for South Africa based on his performances for Aston Villa and England. In Wednesday night’s game against Egypt, he came on in the second half to replace Steven Gerrard, and had the initial shot that led to Wright-Phillips’s goal. But does he offer something else for England? Villa originally signed Milner as winger, but in recent months he has moved inside to play in the midfield three in Villa’s 4-3-3. This has enabled Milner to influence the game much more as well as increase his goal scoring threat. Early in the season against Chelsea, Milner plays as a classic wide player and hugs the touchline (see below Chalkboard). But in the recent home game against Manchester United, Milner plays in the midfield role and is much more active across the pitch, but also picks up the ball deep inside his own half (see below Chalkboard). As witnessed in Sunday’s Carling Cup Final, Milner can take advantage of the ball carrying skills he learned as a winger to take the ball out of defence and into the opposing half.


by Guardian Chalkboards

Nobody would argue that Milner has been one of the form players in the Premier League this season. But does he offer more than wing play for England? If we look at the current occupiers of the central midfield roles for England – Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry – they play slightly different roles with Barry playing more of a holding role and Lampard getting more advanced. Both Barry and Lampard playing similar roles for their clubs – Manchester City and Chelsea respectively. In the Chelsea vs. Manchester City game at the weekend, Barry plays further back and arguably does most of his work in the City half; Lampard roams across both axes of the pitch, but gets into the box frequently as well as puts a number of crosses in from both flanks (see below Chalkboard).


 by Guardian Chalkboards

Milner’s type of play would seem better suited to Lampard’s type of role. But two things to point out. As can be seen in a losing Chelsea performance against Manchester City, Lampard is still an important influence on a game through his heavy involvement, willingness to get advanced and ability to create chances. Secondly, England play more of a 4-2-3-1 system with Lampard part of a sitting axes in front of the back four, albeit more advanced than Barry. In this type of system, Milner might be better suited to play wide right or left as part of the three: in a sense, that is why Steven Gerrard is out on the left side of midfield as that is a much more attacking role than centre midfield. Based on his performances this season for Villa, Milner’s inclusion in the squad for the World Cup appears to be a pretty good prospect; his adaptability across the midfield is an added bonus for England, but in Cappello’s current system, Milner will probably be more effective as a winger.