Danny Higginbotham thinks players like Liverpool midfielder James Milner are a dying breed in football.
At 34, former Leeds United midfielder Milner is still playing at the highest level, playing 29 times in all competitions for Liverpool this term as Jurgen Klopp’s side race towards the Premier League title.
And former defender Higginbotham thinks Milner is “a manager’s dream” and invaluable to Liverpool.
Higginbotham wrote in his column for The Sun: “They don’t make them like James Milner any more — and sadly I don’t think they ever will again.
“Against Bournemouth on Saturday the Liverpool stalwart showed once again he is a manager’s dream.
“Players with the character of Milner are like gold dust these days.
“And one of the great things about Liverpool is they don’t just have him — they have Jordan Henderson, Virgil van Dijk and Andrew Robertson among others.
“You go back a few years and there were on-field managers galore.
“The ones that stand out are Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Vincent Kompany, John Terry and Gary Neville.
“It is a generation thing. Modern-day players need to be led because they are not given responsibility at a young age any more.”
Higginbotham added: “Even if he is not playing, Milner is important because you can guarantee he will be vocal before the match in the dressing-room, at half-time and after the final whistle.
“Much was made on Saturday of him calling the players into a huddle and giving them a gee-up and getting everyone together.
“The reason that is in the spotlight is because you don’t see it much any more — it used to happen all the time. It will soon go out of the game.
“You get the impression Milner is always there to give guidance to young players, to have a chat when things are going right, to put an arm around a shoulder or even a boot up the backside.
“If you remove players like Milner from the dressing room who do young players have to look up to?”
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