Head to Head- Villa’s Milner vs City’s Milner

Never mind the PFA Young Player of the Year award or the step up to England’s senior squad, last season -much more importantly- saw James Milner firmly establish himself as one of the stand-out Fantasy Premier League (FPL) performers.

Whether on the right wing or after being moved by Martin O’Neill into the Aston Villa middle, Milner’s points returns made a mockery of his £7.0m starting price. Seven goals, twelve assists and 35 Bonus Points made him something of a must-have last time round. These performances subsequently saw his starting price hiked to £9.0m this time round, but with a move away from Villa Park hanging over him, most Fantasy managers were initially reluctant to take a punt.

However, with the transfer to Man City now finalised, Milner seemed to fit seamlessly into Roberto Mancini’s team on Monday night, setting them on the road to victory with a debut assist for City‘s opener in the 3-0 stroll over Liverpool. So, playing in a different position within a different system, the big question is will Milner have the same Fantasy impact this season now he‘s a Man City player?

A look at these heat maps (from Villa’s 3-0 win over West Ham and City’s 3-0 win over Liverpool) illustrate Milner’s differing role at both clubs. In conjunction with the OPTA stats, they can at least offer a hint as to where Milner‘s strengths may be utilised as a Man City player.

Aston Villa, Week 1

The Villa heat map shows his role as a central midfielder in a 4-4-2. Milner saw a lot more of the ball for Villa, but his role (in comparison to his position at City) was also a lot more defensive by nature. He made 53 passes against West Ham, but a whopping 34% of them were in his own half, with only 33% coming in the Hammers defensive third of the pitch, resulting in his 2 key passes that led to goal attempts.

Further analysis shows that at Villa, he spent much of the time right in the heart of the action; 48% of those passes in the middle four Heat Map squares attest to that. With 5 “Tackles Won“, 6 “Interceptions” and 15 “Ball Recoveries” , Milner’s defensive side was more to the fore for his previous team.

Man City, Week 2

The Man City heat map shows Milner’s role as an inside-out left winger in a 4-3-3. Roberto Mancin’s set-up means the City central midfield three of Nigel De Jong, Yaya Toure and Gareth Barry will always see more of the ball than their wide men, all making 50-60 passes apiece. In comparison, Milner made 39 passes, but as the heat map shows, just 14% of his passes against Liverpool were in his own half.

Subsequently, Milner won’t see the ball as much as he did for Villa, but his role at City will clearly focus much more on his attacking instincts; 49% of his passes were in the final third of the pitch, resulting in 4 key passes that led to goal attempts by team mates, one of which earned him an assist, thanks to Gareth Barry’s 12th minute finish.

Compared to his Villa central position, Milner made just 6% of all passes in the middle four squares on the heatmap, which shows, in comparison to the Villa figures, his low defensive stats of zero “Interceptions” and nine “Ball Recoveries”, as De Jong, Barry and Yaya Toure roamed the centre of midfield. Milner’s determination and will to win means he still won all 5 of the tackles he made, however.

Central Option

Upon completion of the transfer, Roberto Mancini hinted at Milner‘s adaptability as key, saying:

“I am very happy to have James with us. Everybody knows we have admired him for some time. He is an excellent midfielder, who can play in a number of positions. This is important for the team.”

With Mancini preferring inside-out wingers, it would seem unlikely that Milner will be stationed on the right flank. He could, however, also fit into one of the three central midfield positions; these Heat Maps from Monday night show that, in comparison to Nigel De Jong (right map), Yaya Toure (left map) played in a more advanced role, suggesting that, particularly in home games, one of the middle three will be given license to roam further forward and support the attack.

With the likes of Mario Balotelli able to play the inside-out wide left role, perhaps this alternative position has been earmarked for Milner as, and when, Mancini rotates to keep his quality squad happy.