Jimmy Riddle

JAMES Milner has been so dedicated and dynamic since joining Aston Villa that he can be excused an occasional off day like at Everton on Saturday.

And there's no doubt that Villa will miss him if, as expected, he fails to recover from a calf problem to maintain his ever-present run at West Ham on Wednesday.

But perhaps the open training session at Villa Park last week solves the riddle about why he repeatedly gave the ball away at Goodison Park.

During a small-sided practice match, the bumper crowd given free access to the stadium for the event might have noticed Milner was kicking both ways.

Wearing a green bib to distinguish him from the other players on the two teams, Milner had to constantly swap ends to join whoever had possession.

It was a training exercise which showcased the winger's amazing work-rate but it meant him having to try hard to remember which set of players to pass to.

Which might explain why he so uncharacteristically struggled to find the feet of his claret and blue team-mates during Saturday's draw at Everton!