Times Online - Sunday Times
Prodigy Milner grows up fast under Elland Road spotlight
The 18-year-old feels recent performances have seen a revival in team that which will stand Leeds in good stead against Liverpool today, writes Joe Lovejoy
AT LIVERPOOL they have taken to adorning the ground with sick graffiti about the manager. At Leeds United the writing has been on the wall much longer.
These famous old clubs used to contest cup finals and championships. Today they meet at Elland Road in circumstances that must have Bill Shankly and Don Revie grimacing in their graves. Liverpool, who monopolised the League title in the 1980s, are reduced to scuffling for fourth place and a backdoor entry to the European Cup they won four times between 1977 and 1984.
Hard times at Anfield then, but their rivals across the Pennines would swap them any day. Champions and Champions League contenders only three years ago, Leeds have fallen far and fast, and with talk of bankruptcy and relegation they need not so much a lift as a dredger.
There was snow on the ground and gallows humour in the air at their Thorp Arch training complex on Friday when, on reporting to the usual building, I found it deserted and, like just about everything else, up for sale.
If morale could get any lower, it must have done so last week, when the iconic Alan Smith spoke of “sticking it out” to the end of the season before leaving. Management and fans alike are desperate to keep the England striker, seeing him as the foundation stone for a renascent future. The carpetbaggers, they know, will leave town now that the money has run out, and good riddance, but heaven and earth will be moved in the attempt to persuade the bedrock boys to stay.
Smith is one, James Milner another. Milner eclipsed another prodigy, Wayne Rooney, as the Premiership’s youngest goalscorer on Boxing Day 2002, and has been tipped for a stellar career ever since. Leeds fans (Milner has been one of them since the age of six will be encouraged to learn that this son of the West Riding has no intention of deserting, come what may. “Once a White, always a White” was the catechism drummed into him by his father — a season ticket-holder since the Revie era.
Nobody could have been more proud than Peter Milner when his boy was accepted by, and then graduated with honours from, the celebrated Leeds academy. The decision to pursue a career in football rather than cricket — Milner was a wicketkeeper as a schoolboy — has been handsomely vindicated. He is often likened to Rooney, which is misleading, for they are chalk and cheese.
Everton’s favourite son is a striker prone to laddism, with a build that reflects his enjoyment of a night out. Milner is a midfielder whose lean frame is the product of a dedicated lifestyle, where relaxation means nothing more hedonistic than a round of golf. In terms of character, the teetotal Smith is a more valid comparison, both players coming from similar backgrounds and following an identical path to the Leeds first team. Both were playing for the club when they were still in short trousers, and both were fast-tracked from the under-11s to the academy, where Smith, older by five years, was Milner’s role model. “Everybody at the academy looks up to Smithy because he’s done what all the young players want to do,” says Milner. “He was one of my heroes when I used to watch the team. When he scored at Liverpool on his debut, it showed me what was possible. He was only 17, and I looked at him and thought, ‘I want to do that’.”
Milner did even better. In November 2002, Terry Venables made him the second-youngest debutant in Premiership history after Coventry’s Gary McSheffrey, and the following month, at 16 years and 357 days, he became the competition’s youngest scorer, in a 2-1 win at Sunderland. “Terry always had faith in me, which did me a lot of good,” he says.
It speaks volumes about what has gone wrong at Leeds that Milner, 18, has already played for three managers, and says just as much for his ability that all three have placed their trust in him. After the departure of Venables, Peter Reid loaned Milner to Swindon in order to toughen him up before bringing him back as an integral part of the team, which he remains under Eddie Gray.
Gray believes Milner could eventually be the answer to England’s problem on the left. “He is as good as any young player in the country, with the exception of Wayne Rooney, who is a bit special,” says Gray. “He is a key player for us, even though he is so young. He can play either side or up the middle. He’s versatile, extremely quick, he’s got two good feet and he’s intelligent. If he has a bad day, he readily admits it, and that’s refreshing. He’s very much his own man.”
Milner’s versatility is such that Leeds had used him all across the midfield, and as a striker. Was he not worried about becoming a jack of all trades? “Not at the moment,” he says. “I’ve been playing mostly on the left because we don’t have a left-winger. Jason Wilcox has been injured for a long time, and I’ve covered for him. I was brought up on the right, but Penno (Jermaine Pennant, on loan from Arsenal has come in there and done well, and I really don’t mind playing on the left.
“When you’ve got the big man (Mark Viduka inside you, he makes it easy to link up, and I can always go outside (that ought to be music to Sven-Göran Eriksson’s ears). Eventually I’ll need to settle in one position, but for the moment I’m happy to be in the team anywhere”.
Milner admits it has been “difficult” being a young player in a struggling side, but adds that it is not all doom and gloom. “You’ve just got to use it as a learning process,” he says. “You’ve got to learn, and grow up quickly. There are positives. I’ve experienced more in the past two seasons than some players do in six, and that should stand me in good stead for the future.” That said, he admits that not having had a settled manager has been disadvantageous. “It doesn’t help that every time the gaffer changes, I feel I have to start from scratch and prove myself all over again”, he says. “We could definitely do with a period of stability.”
For a young man with Leeds United in the blood, the decline has been depressing. Three years ago, David O’Leary’s team were Champions League semi-finalists. “I was playing for the under-16s then,” says Milner. “The game I remember best was Milan, when Lee Bowyer scored in the last minute. It was a great result (1-0 to Leeds). We had a great side.
“Obviously we’ve gone downhill fast ever since, but it’s no good looking back. Recent performances have shown that everyone is prepared to work hard. The big man (Viduka has come back after a break and is looking really sharp. He’s got everybody going, and there has been an improvement lately. Against Liverpool we’re looking to explode from the first whistle and get on top of them quickly.”
Can Leeds get out of trouble? “Definitely,” he says. “I’m sure we can after the way we’ve been playing lately. Once you think you might not get out of it, you’ll go down.” Alan Smith, you have been told.
Prodigy Milner grows up fast under Elland Road spotlight
The 18-year-old feels recent performances have seen a revival in team that which will stand Leeds in good stead against Liverpool today, writes Joe Lovejoy
AT LIVERPOOL they have taken to adorning the ground with sick graffiti about the manager. At Leeds United the writing has been on the wall much longer.
These famous old clubs used to contest cup finals and championships. Today they meet at Elland Road in circumstances that must have Bill Shankly and Don Revie grimacing in their graves. Liverpool, who monopolised the League title in the 1980s, are reduced to scuffling for fourth place and a backdoor entry to the European Cup they won four times between 1977 and 1984.
Hard times at Anfield then, but their rivals across the Pennines would swap them any day. Champions and Champions League contenders only three years ago, Leeds have fallen far and fast, and with talk of bankruptcy and relegation they need not so much a lift as a dredger.
There was snow on the ground and gallows humour in the air at their Thorp Arch training complex on Friday when, on reporting to the usual building, I found it deserted and, like just about everything else, up for sale.
If morale could get any lower, it must have done so last week, when the iconic Alan Smith spoke of “sticking it out” to the end of the season before leaving. Management and fans alike are desperate to keep the England striker, seeing him as the foundation stone for a renascent future. The carpetbaggers, they know, will leave town now that the money has run out, and good riddance, but heaven and earth will be moved in the attempt to persuade the bedrock boys to stay.
Smith is one, James Milner another. Milner eclipsed another prodigy, Wayne Rooney, as the Premiership’s youngest goalscorer on Boxing Day 2002, and has been tipped for a stellar career ever since. Leeds fans (Milner has been one of them since the age of six will be encouraged to learn that this son of the West Riding has no intention of deserting, come what may. “Once a White, always a White” was the catechism drummed into him by his father — a season ticket-holder since the Revie era.
Nobody could have been more proud than Peter Milner when his boy was accepted by, and then graduated with honours from, the celebrated Leeds academy. The decision to pursue a career in football rather than cricket — Milner was a wicketkeeper as a schoolboy — has been handsomely vindicated. He is often likened to Rooney, which is misleading, for they are chalk and cheese.
Everton’s favourite son is a striker prone to laddism, with a build that reflects his enjoyment of a night out. Milner is a midfielder whose lean frame is the product of a dedicated lifestyle, where relaxation means nothing more hedonistic than a round of golf. In terms of character, the teetotal Smith is a more valid comparison, both players coming from similar backgrounds and following an identical path to the Leeds first team. Both were playing for the club when they were still in short trousers, and both were fast-tracked from the under-11s to the academy, where Smith, older by five years, was Milner’s role model. “Everybody at the academy looks up to Smithy because he’s done what all the young players want to do,” says Milner. “He was one of my heroes when I used to watch the team. When he scored at Liverpool on his debut, it showed me what was possible. He was only 17, and I looked at him and thought, ‘I want to do that’.”
Milner did even better. In November 2002, Terry Venables made him the second-youngest debutant in Premiership history after Coventry’s Gary McSheffrey, and the following month, at 16 years and 357 days, he became the competition’s youngest scorer, in a 2-1 win at Sunderland. “Terry always had faith in me, which did me a lot of good,” he says.
It speaks volumes about what has gone wrong at Leeds that Milner, 18, has already played for three managers, and says just as much for his ability that all three have placed their trust in him. After the departure of Venables, Peter Reid loaned Milner to Swindon in order to toughen him up before bringing him back as an integral part of the team, which he remains under Eddie Gray.
Gray believes Milner could eventually be the answer to England’s problem on the left. “He is as good as any young player in the country, with the exception of Wayne Rooney, who is a bit special,” says Gray. “He is a key player for us, even though he is so young. He can play either side or up the middle. He’s versatile, extremely quick, he’s got two good feet and he’s intelligent. If he has a bad day, he readily admits it, and that’s refreshing. He’s very much his own man.”
Milner’s versatility is such that Leeds had used him all across the midfield, and as a striker. Was he not worried about becoming a jack of all trades? “Not at the moment,” he says. “I’ve been playing mostly on the left because we don’t have a left-winger. Jason Wilcox has been injured for a long time, and I’ve covered for him. I was brought up on the right, but Penno (Jermaine Pennant, on loan from Arsenal has come in there and done well, and I really don’t mind playing on the left.
“When you’ve got the big man (Mark Viduka inside you, he makes it easy to link up, and I can always go outside (that ought to be music to Sven-Göran Eriksson’s ears). Eventually I’ll need to settle in one position, but for the moment I’m happy to be in the team anywhere”.
Milner admits it has been “difficult” being a young player in a struggling side, but adds that it is not all doom and gloom. “You’ve just got to use it as a learning process,” he says. “You’ve got to learn, and grow up quickly. There are positives. I’ve experienced more in the past two seasons than some players do in six, and that should stand me in good stead for the future.” That said, he admits that not having had a settled manager has been disadvantageous. “It doesn’t help that every time the gaffer changes, I feel I have to start from scratch and prove myself all over again”, he says. “We could definitely do with a period of stability.”
For a young man with Leeds United in the blood, the decline has been depressing. Three years ago, David O’Leary’s team were Champions League semi-finalists. “I was playing for the under-16s then,” says Milner. “The game I remember best was Milan, when Lee Bowyer scored in the last minute. It was a great result (1-0 to Leeds). We had a great side.
“Obviously we’ve gone downhill fast ever since, but it’s no good looking back. Recent performances have shown that everyone is prepared to work hard. The big man (Viduka has come back after a break and is looking really sharp. He’s got everybody going, and there has been an improvement lately. Against Liverpool we’re looking to explode from the first whistle and get on top of them quickly.”
Can Leeds get out of trouble? “Definitely,” he says. “I’m sure we can after the way we’ve been playing lately. Once you think you might not get out of it, you’ll go down.” Alan Smith, you have been told.