Milner: James Philip (James)

2002-2004 (Leeds Player Details)(Player Details)

Midfield

Born: Wortley, Leeds: 04-01-1986

Debut: v West Ham United (a) (Substitute): 10-11-2002

5’7” 10st 7lb (2007)

#85 in 100 Greatest LUFC Players Ever

Born in Wortley, and raised in Horsforth, Leeds, Milner played most of his childhood football for Westbrook School in Horsforth. Milner was described as a "first class" student at his school; he left with eleven GCSE’s and an award for his performance in physical education. Milner also showed talent in cricket, sprinting and long distance running. He played for the Yorkshire Schools cricket team, was the cross-country champion at his school for three consecutive years and was the district champion over 100 metres for two years in a row. Milner took as much interest in watching football as he did playing it. He supported Leeds United from an early age. Watching them win the FA Youth Cup in 1993. He and his parents were season ticket holders for Leeds United and Milner became a ballboy at Elland Road. When he was ten years old, he joined the Leeds United Academy after being spotted by a scout while playing for Westbrook Juniors in Horsforth. Milner aspired to come through the academy and play for the first team. He was taken on as a trainee after leaving school. However, his father insisted that he attend college once a week to continue his education. He continued to improve his skills in the youth team, and played for England at Schoolboy levels. He also helped the England Under-Seventeen team win the 2002 Nationwide summer tournament against Italy, Czech Republic and Brazil, scoring against Brazil. Milner's debut for Leeds United came on 10th November 2002, in a League game at West Ham United, when he came on as a substitute for Jason Wilcox for the last six minutes. The appearance made him the second youngest player, behind Coventry City's Gary McSheffrey who was sixteen years and one hundred and ninety-eight days old, ever to play in the EPL, at the age of sixteen years and three hundred and nine days. He was also the second youngest player to represent Leeds United, behind the legendary Peter Lorimer. On Boxing Day of that year, he became the youngest player to score in the Premier League, with a goal in a 2–1 win against Sunderland. In a match against Chelsea a month later, Milner scored again, using his exquisite first touch, to avoid a tackle from Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly. This created a yard of space for him to deliver a shot that curled into the goal from eighteen yards. At the start of the 2003-04 season, Milner was sent on a month-long loan to Division Two side Swindon Town to gain experience as a first-team player and made his debut on 6th September 2003 in a 2-2 draw at Brighton and Hove Albion. His first goal for them came in the final minute of his penultimate game at home to Peterborough United on 27th September 2003 to give Swindon a 2-0 win. He scored his second goal in the eighth minute of his final game on 1st October 2003 when he opened the scoring as Swindon registered a 2-0 home win over Luton Town. In the month with Swindon, he scored two goals in six League games. Milner also continued to develop on the International scene. He represented England at Under-Twenty level at the 2003 World Youth Championship. Soon after this, Under-Twenty-one Manager Peter Taylor called him up to the England Under-Twenty-one team and Milner made his debut against Sweden on 30th March 2004. However, Leeds United's fortunes were different as they struggled in the League. The team received a lot of negative attention from the media, and several first-team players were sold. Leeds' eventual relegation to the CCCL led to speculation over Milner's future at the club. Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Everton all expressed an interest in signing him. Ultimately, Villa and Everton did not make offers and Milner rejected an offer from Tottenham as they were based too far from his family home, where he still lived. Leeds insisted that he would not be sold and the chairman of the club at the time, Gerald Krasner, even referred to him as "the future of Leeds". Nonetheless, financial problems eventually forced Leeds to sell him to Newcastle United for an initial price of £3.6 million. The final total paid was £5 million, after a certain number of appearances for the new club. Although Milner was not happy to be leaving the club he had supported as a child, he wished to do what was "in the club's best interest" and in July 2004, he agreed a five-year deal with Newcastle. Milner made his first appearance for Newcastle United during their pre-season tour of Asia, scoring his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw against Kitchee, in Hong Kong. Milner's first EPL game for Newcastle came against Middlesbrough on 18th August 2004, in which he played on the extreme right of the field as a winger, despite having featured regularly on the left for Leeds. He was replaced by Kieron Dyer after sixty-eight minutes and this was to be an feature of his early days with Newcastle as he was eased into the team. A month later he made his debut in European competition, when Newcastle played in the UEFA Cup against Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin from Israel, when he came on as a sixty-ninth minute substitute for Shola Ameobi. In the same month, he scored his first competitive goal for the club in a 3–1 win at home to West Bromwich Albion, when after replacing Patrick Kluivert in the seventy-seventh minute, he scored a minute later, when he gave the Magpies a two goal lead. It looked probable he would soon start and complete a game. However, the situation changed for Milner after Newcastle manager Bobby Robson, whom Milner considered his mentor, was sacked and replaced by Graeme Souness. Under Souness, he started thirteen League games, but did not play his first full Premier League game for Newcastle until April 2005. By the end of the season, he had made forty-one appearances in all competitions and scored once. However, Souness did not make Milner a regular in the Newcastle side. Despite playing less at club level, Milner scored his first goal for the England Under-Twenty-one side during the 2004-05 season against Wales. He scored in the first minute of the second half as England beat the principality 2-0 at Ewood Park, Blackburn on 8th October 2004. At the start of the 2005-06 season, Milner scored in Newcastle's 3–1 away win against FK ZTS Dubnica in the Intertoto Cup, and also set up Shearer for the team's third goal. His good run of form in this competition continued when he scored in the next round against Deportivo La Coruna. Despite these goals, a clause in Newcastle's purchase of Nolberto Solano from Aston Villa resulted in Milner being loaned to Villa for the rest of the season. Villa manager David O’Leary, who had managed Milner at Leeds, was happy to acquire Milner, saying that he believed Villa got the better of the deal and that he hoped to improve him as a player. Milner made his Villa debut on 12th September 2005 in a Premiership match against West Ham United. Five days later, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur. Manager David O’Leary confirmed during the season that he would like Milner to join the club permanently, but doubted he would be given the opportunity to sign him. Shortly before the end of his loan period, negotiations between Villa and Newcastle began. The newly-appointed Newcastle manager Glenn Roeder appeared to appreciate Milner's ability more than Souness and expressed a desire that he remain a Newcastle player. Later a move to Villa appeared to have been agreed, but at the last moment Newcastle recalled Milner and the talks broke down. He scored one League goal in twenty-seven starts and two goals in three League Cup ties but did not score in three F.A. Cup starts while at Villa Park. Newcastle's players and manager Glenn Roeder reacted positively to Milner's return at the start of the 2006-07 season. Roeder confirmed that he would play Milner in "plenty of games" during the season. This proved to be the case, as Milner was a starter in the Newcastle side for the entire season. He also continued to make progress at international level, scoring the winning goal for the England Under-Twenty-one side in a 3–2 win over Switzerland. The win secured England a place in the play-off stage of the 2007 Under-Twenty-one European Championship qualifiers. Milner signed a new contract at Newcastle in January 2007, which secured his future at the club until 2011. He signed another four-year contract in May 2007, when Sam Allardyce took over as manager of Newcastle. In June, Milner competed for England at the European Under-Twenty-one Football Championship. He played in all four of England's matches and was booked in the Semi-Final against the Netherlands, which meant he would have missed the final. The game was decided by a penalty shootout, in which Milner scored twice and England lost 13–12. Milner's performance in the tournament led to rumours that he would make his full England debut in a friendly against Germany, but he was not included in the squad for the match. He was however included in the Under-Twenty-one squad for a friendly against Romania, which ended in a 1–1 draw. A month later, Milner set an England Under-Twenty-one record by making his thirtieth appearance for the side in a 3–0 win against Montenegro. Historically, players with several England Under-Twenty-one appearances have not progressed to become regulars in the senior side, which has led some to doubt whether Milner would be able to successfully make the transition. In late October, he scored Newcastle's five hundredth home EPL goal in a 3–1 win over Tottenham Hotspur. By the end of the 2007-08 season he had made more than one hundred appearances for Newcastle, as well as making a record number of appearances for the England Under-Twenty-one side. It was rumoured in May 2008 that he would be part of a trade between Newcastle and Liverpool. Despite starting the season for Newcastle and scoring in a League Cup win over Coventry City, it was revealed after the game that Milner had handed in a written transfer request the week before. He signed for Aston Villa on 29th August 2008 for a fee of £12 million and signed a four-year contract with the club. In his time with Newcastle he had scored six times in seventy-two starts and twenty-two games from the bench in the League, Three goals from eleven starts and three games from the bench in the Cup competitions and two goals from seventeen starts and eleven substitute appearances in Europe. He made his debut for Villa on 31st August 2008 as a second-half substitute against Liverpool. On 7th February 2009, Milner was named to the England full team squad for the first time, after a run at club level that had impressed England manager Fabio Capello. Milner continued to impress and scored his second League goal of the season against Blackburn Rovers with a rifled shot from a difficult angle. He later scored a free-kick from outside the penalty area at home against Everton. In June Milner played for England in the UEFA European Under-twenty-one Football Championship in Sweden. He helped set up the winning goal for Micah Richards against Finland. In England's second match against Spain, Milner had a penalty well saved by Sergio Asenjo, and scored England's second goal in a 2-0 win. England faced the hosts Sweden in the semi-finals. In the first minute of the match, Milner delivered a corner the was headed in by Martin Cranie to give England the lead. Another corner from Milner would set up England's third goal. After the match ended in a 3–3 draw, it went to a penalty shootout. Milner was the only England player to miss in the shootout after he slipped just before kicking the ball, causing it to sail over the crossbar. England won the shootout 5–4 to advance to the final for the first time in twenty-five years.England lost the final to Germany 4–0. In August Milner made his debut for the full England team, when he came on as a substitute in a friendly match against Holland for the final twenty-three minutes. He provided a low cross from which Jermain Defoe scored to make the score 2–2. He played twice more for England the following month against Slovenia in another friendly and made his competitive debut four days later in a World Cup qualifer against Croatia, where he played the final nine minutes. He has played eleven times for England, mostly as a substitute, but was in the starting eleven in the first game of the World Cup 2010 in South Africa against U.S.A. and set up Jermain Defoe's goal. He has appeared a record forty-six times for England Under-Twenty-one, including six as a substitute and scored nine times. He was in outstanding form for Aston Villa in the 2009-10 season and took up a more central role in their midfield, rather than his usual place on the wing. Villa were beaten finalists in the League Cup and Milner was voted PFA "Young Player of the Year" and elected to the PFA EPL "Team of the Year". After spending two seasons at Villa Park, Milner once again got into a protracted transfer saga, this time involving a multi-million pound deal with Manchester City. Ultimately the negotiations between the clubs became so protracted that Milner, on 17th August 2010, was forced to issue an ultimatum declaring that if it was not resolved within twenty-four hours that he would be staying at Villa Park. This forced the issue and the deal was concluded for a fee of around £16m and Manchester's Stephen Ireland going to Aston Villa. This made Milner worth around £26m and he duly signed a contract for five years. While at Villa, in the two years subsequent to his signing a permanent contract, he scored eleven goals in seventy-three League games, of which five were from the bench. He alsi scored three goals in nine starts and one game from the bench in the F.A. Cup, five goals in seven starts in the League Cup and one goal from five starts and one game as a substitute in European competition. He made a fine debut for his new club in a 3-0 win over Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on 23rd August 2010, setting up the first goal for Gareth Barry. His first goal came in a 2-2 home draw with Leicester City in the Third Round of the F.A. Cup. City went on to win the F.A. Cup but Milner was to be an unused substitute as City defeated Stoke City 1-0 in the Final at Wembley on 14th May 2011. With the amount of World Class players accumulated by the money-no-object City owners it was always going to be a hard task for any player to establish themselves as an ever-present, but Milner was usually well-up the pecking order even though the club employed a rotation policy to get through the welter of fixtures caused by the club's success. In the first season of 2010-11 the Cup goal was to be the only time he found the net, but he started twenty-three League games and came from the bench in nine others but was a regular in the squad no matter which competition was being played. Milner scored his first EPL goal for Manchester City in the home fixture against Everton on 24th September 2011 and the rich vein of form continued with a second, against his former club Aston Villa in the next home match on 15th October 2011 in a 4-1 win. Milner started the move with a long diagonal pass and was there at the end of the move to score with a curling shot from well outside the penalty area. Eight days later at Old Trafford he was instrumental in the record 6-1 defeat inflicted on occupants of the Theatre of Dreams and set up at least two of the goals which sent the Sky Blue supporters into heaven and the supporters of the Red Devils into their own personal hell. A penalty against Liverpool in a 3-0 home win on 3rd January 2012 brought him his third goal of the season. At the end of the season he had started seventeen League games and was on the bench on twenty occasions of which he made the field in just nine, as City won the Championship. This pattern continued in 2012-13. He netted four times in the League, in a 3-0 home win over Sunderland on 6th October 2012, a 2-0 away win at Wigan Athletic on 28th November 2012, a 2-0 win at the Emirates over Arsenal on 13th January 2013 and at Old Trafford in a 2-1 win over rivals Manchester United on 8th April 2013. In the season, which saw City runners-up in both the EPL and the F.A. Cup, he started nineteen League games and came off the bench in seven more but only sat unused on three occasions. He was a fifty-fourth minute substitute for Samir Nasri in the loss to Wigan Athletic in the F.A. Cup on 11th May 2013. He is still a regular in both the England and Manchester City squads, and in mid-October 2013 he has scored seven League goals in sixty-two starts and twenty-eight games from the bench, while he has scored once in ten games in the F.A. Cup, of which, two were as a substitute, but has yet to score in other competitions and has started three and been a substitute three times in the League Cup and his seventeen European games have included eight as a substitute. On the International front he has six Under-Sixteen, eleven Under-seventeen, one under-Nineteen, six Under-Twenty, a record forty-six Under-Twenty-one, in which he scored nine goals, and after making his debut at the Amsterdam ArenA as a sixty-eighth minute substitute for Ashley Young, then of Aston Villa, in a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands on 12th August 2009 he now forty-three caps and has scored the one goal, which came in the seventy-fourth minute of the 5-0 win over Moldova in the World Cup European Group H Qualifier on 7th September 2012 at the Zimbru Stadium, Chisinau, Moldova.