My little experiment trying to play like Milner back in his City days
So, I was watching some old Manchester City highlights the other day. You know, just randomly browsing. And James Milner popped up quite a bit. I remembered him being everywhere for City, like a proper engine. Left back, right wing, central midfield… bloke did it all.
It got me thinking. I play a bit of five-a-side with my mates, nothing serious, just a runaround. Usually, I kind of just float about, maybe try a fancy flick that never comes off. But watching Milner graft, even in those clips from years back, I thought, right, next game, I’m gonna try and be ‘Milner’. Not the skill part, obviously, but the running. The sheer work rate.
So, the plan was simple: run. A lot. Cover ground. Help out defensively, get forward, just keep moving. Sounds easy on paper, right?
Come game day, I started off like a train. Chasing everything, trying to press their players, making runs even when I didn’t get the ball. First five minutes? Felt brilliant. Like I was actually contributing something useful for a change.
Then, maybe ten minutes in, reality hit. My lungs felt like they were about to pack up and leave. My legs turned to lead. I was jogging back when I should have been sprinting. One time, I tried to track back like he used to, ended up tripping over my own feet near the halfway line. Proper embarrassing.
- Tried to make a ‘Milner-like’ tackle. Mistimed it completely. Gave away a silly foul.
- Attempted a lung-busting overlap run. Ran out of steam before I even got near their box.
- Spent the second half mostly gasping for air near the centre circle.
It was a disaster, honestly. But it gave me a whole new level of respect. We see these guys on TV, and yeah, they’re skillful, but the fitness and sheer determination to cover that much ground, week in, week out… it’s insane. Milner was doing that consistently at the top level for City, switching positions, never complaining.
So, my little experiment failed miserably. Turns out you can’t just ‘decide’ to have a Premier League engine. Who knew? Back to fancy flicks that don’t work for me next week, I reckon. But yeah, watching those old City games gave me a proper appreciation for what Milner brought to that team. Solid, reliable, and ran forever. Much harder than it looks.
