What should Liverpool expect from Milner?

Liverpool’s acquisition of James Milner on a free transfer is one that looks like a very good deal. Milner has vast experience, internationally, in the Premier League and also in Europe. His work rate is exemplary and throughout his career has shown he can play in almost any position.

For Milner the move makes sense, he wants to get more game time and specifically more time in the centre of the park. Milner is, at this time anyway, a shoe-in for the England squad for the Euros and he will be hoping he can show he deserves to be in the starting line-up.

It’s strange that City couldn’t make promises to give Milner more time, Fabian Delph has been signed as his replacement but whether he is an improvement is another question. Milner had his best goal scoring season since 2010/11 when he was at Aston Villa, as he scored five goals. He also provided seven assists, again his highest total since his move to City.  

Milner scored more goals than Nasri and Dzeko in the last season and provided as many assists as David Silva. Liverpool will be hoping he can replicate that kind of form at Anfield.  In fact Milner provided more assists than Lallana and Coutinho last season and with a consistent run in the side you’d expect Milner to surpass that total.

In many ways you know what you’ll get from James Milner, he’ll always put in the effort and he’s very consistent. He doesn’t catch the eye in the way that someone like Coutinho or Silva does but based on last season there’s evidence that Milner can provide Liverpool with much more that hard graft. Milner is someone who’s technical abilities are still underrated, I think there’s a tendency to overlook those qualities in his game.

A midfield of Jordan Henderson and James Milner will have plenty of energy and commitment but will be one that can also be a creative force and provide both chances and goals.   

Statistics courtesy of whoscored.com

Who is the better signing Cabaye or Wijnaldum?

Newcastle and Crystal Palace completed signings last week meaning that every club in the Premier League has now added to their squads. Newcastle and Palace will likely find themselves subject to comparisons throughout this coming season given that Alan Pardew left the former for the latter last season. Another reason is that Palace have now added former Newcastle fan favourite Yohan Cabaye from PSG for a fee of around £10m. I’m sure many Newcastle fans would have liked to see Cabaye rejoin them instead of their former manager, however the signing of Georginio Wijnaldum for £14.5m on Saturday is an excellent alternative, but who has got the better deal?

Cabaye is a real signal of intent for Palace and it’s surprising a bigger club didn’t move for him. It’s fair to say things didn’t work out for Cabaye in Paris, the 29 year old played just 967 minutes last season, scoring once and providing one assist. Cabaye’s move is likely fuelled by getting more game time ahead of the Euro’s next summer.

Wijnaldum on the other hand had no such problem, he captained title winning PSV last season and playing 2878 minutes, almost three times more than Cabaye. He provided 3 assists and scored 14 goals, all of which came from within the penalty area.

At 24, Wijnaldum is five years younger than Cabaye, so Newcastle will feel they have secured a player they can build a team around and one with his best years ahead of him. Palace fans will argue in favour of Cabaye’s experience and he is arguably at his peak. Experience, especially in the Premier League, is one thing that should count in favour of Cabaye, we have seen countless players take time to adjust to the Premier League but this should be no problem for Cabaye.

Both players can feature throughout midfield but are probably best deployed in the number ten role. In his time at Newcastle Cabaye proved adept at breaking up attacks, averaging 2.4 tackles and 2.4 interceptions per game the season before he moved to France. Whether this is something Wijnaldum will be able to replicate remains to be seen, in the World Cup we he was deployed in a deeper midfield role, so it is possible he could.

Athletically Wijnaldum has the advantage, he is a strong runner on the ball and a very good dribbler. Technically Cabaye probably just has the edge, his set piece delivery and general creativity have been sorely missed at Newcastle. Cabaye has an excellent passing range and is likely to be involved in building attacks and creating chances rather than finishing them off. Of his 17 goals at Newcastle 10 were from outside the box, that’s a stark contrast to all of Wijnaldum’s goals coming from inside the box.

For my money Cabaye’s capture is the better one, mainly because he has proven he can do it in the Premier League, and is one of the best signings of the transfer window so far. That’s not to say Wijnaldum is a poor acquisition, but a lot will depend on how he settles in England and whether or not Newcastle can add another striker and keep hold of their best players. Despite many similarities these are quite different players, both managers and sets of fans will be hoping they can add a creative force to take their side to the next level and there is certainly cause for hope in both cases.

Statistics courtesy of whoscored.com

Five players who will be like new signings

When your club hasn’t been particularly active in the transfer window in order to drum up a bit of optimism it isn’t unusual to hear your manager talking about players being “like new signings”. This is reserved for players who have faced a long spell on the sidelines or some time away on loan. It might be a bit early in the day for managers to start trotting this line out yet but I’m expecting to hear quite a bit of it come the opening week of the season.

This is a list of five players that you can expect to be referred to as like new signings and their managers will be hoping that they are.

Jay Rodriguez

I think every football fan really felt for Jay Rodgriguez when he was stretchered off with a knee injury prior to the World Cup, the Southampton man was considered a shoe in by many for Roy Hodgson’s squad but it was not meant to be. After over a year on the sidelines we should be seeing a lot more of Rodgriguez this season.

Prior to that injury Rodriguez had fifteen goals in thirty starts in the 2013/14 season. Whilst he will by no means be a shoe in for a starting place given how far Southampton have come in the past 12 months, Rodriguez will provide another attacking option and if he finds his goal scoring form once more he will be very hard to leave out.

Siem de Jong

Siem de Jong was meant to be Newcastle’s marquee signing last season, however he only managed a handful of appearances, although he did grab a goal in those 147 minutes. De Jong was ravaged by injury but Steve McClaren will be hoping the former Ajax captain spends more time on the pitch than treatment table this time around. In his last season in the Netherlands de Jong scored seven goals in sixteen appearances, not a 

bad return but one Newcastle fans will be hoping he can surpass this season.

Daniel Sturridge

Sturridge and Suarez came so close to helping Liverpool to the title the season before last and their struggles last year are reflected in the lack of game time Sturridge managed, the England striker played just 750 minutes for Liverpool last campaign.

You feel if they are to mount any real title challenge this season Sturridge must remain fit and score at least the 21 goals he managed when partnered with Luiz Suarez. There’s no doubting Sturridge is a real talent, with the likes of Roberto Firmino and Phillipe Coutinho creating the chances you’d like to think a fit Sturridge would be near the top of the scoring charts come the end of the season.

Bojan

If ever there was a player to signify the transition of Stoke’s footballing identity it would be Bojan. The young Spaniard, tipped earlier in his career to be the next Messi, traded the Nou Camp for the Brittannia last summer in a move that raised more than a few eyebrows.

Before suffering an ACL injury in an FA cup tie against Rochdale Bojan managed four goals and an assist in 14 Premier League games. He certainly added another dimension to Stoke’s attacks and there were glimpses of the talent that saw him posited as Mesi’s heir, Mark Hughes will be keen to have him fighting fit as soon as possible. Stoke have strengthened well this season as they look to build on a top half finish, if they are to push for European qualification you can’t help but feel Bojan will be central to that.

Mathieu Debuchy

Signed from Newcastle last summer Mathieu Debuchy was regarded as a solid replacement for the departing Bacary Sagna. Things didn’t work out as planned, with Debuchy featuring just ten times in the Premier League thanks to a series of injuries. Debuchy will be keen to regain a place in the Gunners side and will be hoping to be part of the French set up comenext summer’s Euros.

Hector Bellerin and Callum Chambers provided ample cover for Debuchy but Wenger will be pleased to have someone more experienced to call on in big games. He was regularly one of Newcaslte’s best players in his time on Tyneside and Arsenal fans will be hoping he can recapture that form and remain injury free for the upcoming season. 

Statistics courtesy of whoscored.com

Illori one to keep for Rodgers

Despite losing out in the final of the European Under 21 championships the Portugal side, who swept aside the much fancied Germany 5-0 in the semi final can certainly take heart from the way they performed. A few of those players will be hoping to be able to link up with the full senior squad for the Euros in France next summer.

Whilst, Bernardo Silva, Joao Mario and Segio Olivera stole many of the plaudits for the way Portugal attacked, especially against Germany, this Portugal side was built on a very solid defensive base. Portugal conceded just once in the entire tournament and that was in a group game against the Swedes when their qualification was all but assured.

Brendan Rodgers secured the services of Nathaniel Clyne earlier this week but most people still think Liverpool need more cover at centre back, especially if Sebastian Coates is to move to Sunderland and given that Emre Can is expected to play more of a midfield role next season. Whilst an experienced centre half is undoubtedly a priority Rodgers will have been pleased by the performances of Thiago Illori for Portugal in this tournament.

Despite having been at Liverpool for a few seasons Illori is yet to feature and spent last season on loan with Bordeaux in France. Whilst Portugal struggled later on against Sweden, especially with more direct play, they had the best defensive record in the tournament  and Illori was a big part of that.

In fact he was absent through injury when Portugal conceded their only goal and also missed the game against Germany through injury. It speaks volumes of his performance levels that Rui Jorge was willing to bring him in and alter the side that performed so well in the semi final.

At 6’ 2” Illori is a towering presence and his size could certainly help given Liverpool’s frailty at set pieces last season, he won 2.8 aerial duels per game suggesting that he is actually strong in the air. One of the features of his game which will certainly have enamoured him to Rodgers is his passing ability, in the four games he featured in Illori had a pass accuracy of 87.3%, fourth highest in the Portugal side. This is no fluke, in his time with Bordeaux Illori had a pass accuracy of 86.8%. Playing out from the back is how Rodgers likes to his sides up and so you’d expect Illori to slot right in.

For Bordeaux he will have gained plenty of experience, playing in games against the likes of PSG and Lille. In the 12 games he played in Ligue 1, Illori picked up just two yellow cards, suggesting he has a good level of discipline.

As part of a Portugal defence that kept out England and Harry Kane, Illori helped do something that many Premier League defenders could only dream of. He certainly isn’t the finished article yet but given Rodgers ability to develop young players and Liverpool’s lack of defensive cover Illori will be one Rodgers would be wise to keep around the squad.

Statistics courtesy of whoscored.com