Liam William Peter Miller is an Irish footballer who plays for Cork City in
the League of Ireland Premier Division. Miller began his career with Celtic and
was later loaned to Aarhus in 2001. He returned to Celtic Park and broke into
the first team squad during the 2003–04 season. Rejecting the offer of a new
contract from Celtic, he joined Manchester United in 2004 on a free
transfer under the Bosman ruling. Loaned to Leeds United during the 2005–06
season, Miller made 22 first team appearances for Manchester United.
In 2006, he joined Sunderland, but was linked with a move away from the club
because of alleged timekeeping issues. He joined Queens Park Rangers in January
2009 and was released at the end of the 2008–09 season. Miller joined Hibernian
at the start of the 2009–10 Scottish Premier League season on a free
transfer. He moved to Australian A-League club Perth Glory in 2011 after
his contract with Hibernian expired. Miller represents the Republic of
Ireland team internationally, making his debut in 2004 against the Czech
Republic. Background
Miller was born in Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland. He attended Coachford College.
In a web chat, Miller revealed that family has been his largest influence in
football, and that Martin O'Neill and Sir Alex Ferguson were also influential
to his career. Miller is married and has one son.
Club career = Celtic =
Miller then joined Celtic in 1997 as a youth player, and made his professional
league debut against Dundee United on 21 May 2000. His UEFA Cup debut came
against Luxembourg-based club Jeunesse Esch on 24 August 2000 in a 7–0 win, and
came close to scoring in the 64th minute. During his time at Celtic Park,
he had been on a six-month loan spell with Danish football club AGF Aarhus
during the 2001–02 season, making 18 appearances without scoring a goal. They
considered signing him permanently for £300,000.
His first Scottish Premier League goals came in a 5–0 win over Hearts on 18
October 2003; his first goal came after nine minutes when Stilian Petrov drilled
the ball in low and Miller finished it off, and completed the scoring in the
50th minute with five-yard finish. Miller scored a goal in a 2–0 Champions
League win against Lyon; Martin O'Neill then offered him a long-term contract,
attempting to keep Miller at the club. Despite this, Miller signed a
pre-contract agreement in January 2004 with Manchester United. This move
greatly disappointed Martin O'Neill, who had intended to build a new Celtic team
around Miller. According to Irish Abroad, "His departure from the Glasgow
giants, after only 26 appearances for the Bhoys, led to outrage among the
club's supporters who perceived Miller to be showing a distinct lack of loyalty
considering the Celts' support of him through long-term injury."
= Manchester United = Miller joined Manchester United for free
on 1 July 2004, and scored his first goal for the club on 26 October 2004
against Crewe Alexandra in the League Cup. After the start of his career for
the Red Devils, he found first-team opportunities rare towards the end of
the 2004–05 season. In his entire time at the club he made only 22 first-team
appearances. Miller later commented that "Man Utd didn't work out but I have no
regrets about giving it a go." In July 2006, The Telegraph reported
that Miller would be allowed to leave Manchester United, should the Red Devils
receive a suitable offer. It was made clear that Miller was not part of Alex
Ferguson's plans when, despite the huge number of senior players missing, he was
still only a substitute in the opening game of the Red Devils' tour of South
Africa against Orlando Pirates on 16 July 2006. On 31 August 2006, he moved
to Sunderland for free on a three-year deal, joining up with new Sunderland
manager and former team-mate Roy Keane. He left Manchester United after playing
just nine league games in two seasons. = Leeds United loan =
On 4 November 2005, Miller joined Leeds United on loan for three months, though
this was later extended to the end of the 2005–06 season. He scored one goal
during his time at Leeds, the winning goal in the 4–3 away win against
Southampton on 19 November 2005 and helped Leeds to reach the Championship
play-off final with a 3–1 on aggregate over Preston North End. Miller featured
in the play off final. However, Leeds failed to overcome Watford; they were
beaten 3–0 and so missed out on promotion to the Premier League. During
his time at Elland Road, he had scored one goal in 28 games.
= Sunderland = Miller made his debut for Sunderland in
a 2–1 win over Derby County on 9 September 2006 at the Stadium of Light,
and scored his first goal in the following game against Leeds United on
13 September 2006 in a 3–0 win shooting across the goalkeeper from 14 yards.
On 6 January 2007, he was sent off by referee Iain Williamson in the 37th
minute of an FA Cup match against Preston North End, after receiving his
second yellow card for a foul on David Nugent; Sunderland went on to lose the
match 1–0. He scored his first Premier League goal for Sunderland on 22
September 2007 against North-East rivals Middlesbrough in the 89th minute with a
20 yard left-footed shot. He was sent off for the second time in his
Sunderland career by Peter Walton; against Chelsea on 8 December 2007 for a
push on Claudio Pizarro. Sunderland went on to lose the game 2–0.
Manager Roy Keane placed him on the transfer list on 27 February 2008 due to
a 'lack of discipline' and 'poor timekeeping', evidenced by his frequent
lateness arriving to training sessions. He was linked with a move to Toronto FC,
a Canadian club with ties to former Sunderland players Danny Dichio, Carl
Robinson and Andy Welsh. = Queens Park Rangers =
Miller received interest in January 2009 as Queens Park Rangers expressed their
wishes to secure a loan deal. Sunderland manager Ricky Sbragia said "There's been
some interest in Liam from QPR, so something might happen there". The
following day, Miller signed a permanent contract until the end of the season for
an undisclosed fee. However, on 19 May 2009, just six months after joining, QPR
released Miller along with five other players.
= Hibernian = Miller was left without a club after the
summer transfer window closed on 31 August 2009, and he was training with
clubs in Ireland to maintain his fitness. He called Hibs manager John
Hughes to offer his services. Hughes, who was surprised that Miller was
available to him on a free transfer, quickly offered a two-year deal, which
Miller signed in September 2009. Miller quickly established himself in the Hibs
first team, with Graham Spiers describing him as the "king of Hibs"
after a 1–1 draw against Rangers at Ibrox. His early performances for Hibs
were rewarded with the Scottish Premier League player of the month award for
October 2009. Miller's form mirrored the rest of the
Hibs team as it went into a slump in 2010, leading to the departure of
Hughes. New manager Colin Calderwood signed three new midfielders in January
2011 and left Miller out of the starting lineup for two games soon afterwards.
Calderwood expressed hope that improved results would bring better form out of
Miller, who he described as a top-level player. Miller expressed a desire to
stay at Hibs in March 2011, but the two parties did not agree a new contact,
which allowed him to leave the club. = Perth Glory =
Australian A-League club Perth Glory signed Miller on a two-year contract on
3 June 2011. He scored his first goal against Adelaide United as Perth Glory
won the game 3–0. On 17 April 2013, it was announced he would not be signing a
new deal with Perth Glory, despite an offer being on the table.
= Brisbane Roar = On 22 May 2013, it was announced that
Miller had joined Brisbane Roar on a free transfer, following his release
from Perth Glory. He was given a two-year contract, while wearing the
number 11 shirt. On 20 July 2013, Miller started for the
A-League All Stars in the inaugural A-League All Stars Game against
Manchester United, a match in which the A-League All Stars were thrashed 5–1,
courtesy of goals from Danny Welbeck, Jesse Lingard and Robin van Persie.
Miller was substituted off in the 45th minute of the match, and was replaced by
Melbourne Victory midfielder Billy Celeski.
On 30 October 2014, Miller was released by Brisbane Roar after asking to have
his contract terminated following being dropped from the squad for two games
with no explanation, which he found unprofessional and disrespectful.
= Melbourne City = On 11 November 2014, 11 days after
leaving the Roar, Miller signed for another A-League club, Melbourne City,
on a short-term contract as a National Replacement Player in place of Aaron
Mooy, joining fellow Irish international Damien Duff. After playing a good game
for on his short-term contract, Miller signed another contract with Melbourne
City as an Injury Replacement Player in place of Jonatan Germano until the end
of December. = Cork City =
Miller joined League of Ireland outfit Cork City on 15 January 2015. Miller
made his debut for local team in the 1–1 away draw with Sligo Rovers.
International career Miller was part of the Irish squad that
won the UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship in 1998. He made nine
appearances for the Republic of Ireland at under-16 level. He then progressed to
the Ireland under-21 team. He was fielded in a game against Albania
despite having been suspended after receiving two yellow cards in UEFA
European Under-21 Football Championship games against Switzerland and Albania.
The Football Association of Ireland admitted the mistake and apologised to
UEFA. Miller's debut for the first team came
on 31 March 2004 against Czech Republic in a 2–1 win; he came on as a substitute
for Matt Holland. His first goal for Ireland came in a 3–0 win over Sweden on
1 March 2006 where he had made a run and a 25 yard shot rifled into the top of
the net. Despite Miller being without a club during the summer of 2009, manager
Giovanni Trapattoni continued to select him for the Ireland squad. Miller later
commented that "I am very grateful to the manager. He didn't need to pick me
in the squad but he showed faith in me and I'm delighted with that".
Career statistics = Club =
As of 16 March 2014 1 - includes A-League final series
statistics 2 - AFC Champions League statistics are included in season
commencing during group stages 3 - Includes other competitive competitions,
including the FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, FIFA
Club World Cup and Football League playoff matches.
= International goals = Score and results list Republic of
Ireland's goal tally first. Honours
Republic of Ireland UEFA European Under-16 Football
Championship: 1998 Celtic
Scottish Premier League: 2003–04 Sunderland
Football League Championship: 2006–07 Brisbane Roar
A-League: 2013–14 A-League Finals: 2014
References External links
Liam Miller at National-Football-Teams.com
Ireland stats at 11v11