Liam Miller

[tricky_colour]

I am Irish!
I was born in Ireland!
I was reared in Ireland!
I support Leeds

So what does that make me?

What's your story?

[macdermesser]

I am Irish!
I was born in Ireland!
I was reared in Ireland!
I support Leeds

So what does that make me?

Liam Miller's ma?
A sh1t stirrer?

[Stuttgart88]

I agree it's all about confidence with Miller.

Can the mods do something to keep this thread on-topic pls? It's getting tiresome.

[Dodge]

in fairness the debates on nationality and supporting foreign clubs have way more interest that a second rate championship foootballer. The only thing of note about Miller is that by Ferguson signing him (and David Bellion, obviously) Ferguson showed he'd finally lost the plot.

Hope I'm wrong. Good finish last week btw....

[Stuttgart88]

in fairness the debates on nationality and supporting foreign clubs have way more interest that a second rate championship foootballer.

But this nationality debate pops up in other threads too & is debated more extensively elsewhere. People can follow who they like but the guy who posted this thread wanted us to discuss Miller.

On Ferguson losing the plot, I think he only signed him because he was free. Maybe he thought it was a good risk / reward trade off. I doubt he'd have paid 2 million for him.

[Dodge]

I was kiddng about the nationality thing.

Over the past couple of years, Fergies's complaint about not being able to compete wages wise. If he loses Millar, Smith, Bellion, Fletcher then he'd be able to afford a top class midfielder.

[tetsujin1979]

I was kiddng about the nationality thing.

Over the past couple of years, Fergies's complaint about not being able to compete wages wise. If he loses Millar, Smith, Bellion, Fletcher then he'd be able to afford a top class midfielder.

He'd be able to pay a top class midfielder, but whether or not the funds would be there to buy one is another question

I think Leeds are the only team to have had 4 full Irish internationals in the team for a long time: Miller, Kelly, Douglas & Butler.

Could be 5 players very soon, reports today linking Andy Reid with a 1m move to them in January
Also did Harte, Kelly, McPhail and Robbie Keane ever all play together in the same team for Leeds?

[gustavo]

what about maybury too in the same team ?

[tetsujin1979]

what about maybury too in the same team ?

According to this - http://www.4thegame.com/wanadoo/resu.../whfclufc.html - they were all in the same team that day but Kelly and McPhail remained on the bench.
Also here - http://www.leedsfans.org.uk/leeds/history/87/8704.html - Maybury and McPhail were on the bench while Kelly, Harte and Keane played

[Plastic Paddy]

Puff-piece in today's Guardian about Miller.

http://football.guardian.co.uk/comme...669388,00.html

PP

[Hulsey]

why do you hate Manchester? Because people from Leeds do ? So why are you taking on a local english rivalry when you are from Ireland?

The main reason for this is that rivalries make things more interesting. I'm a SUper Leeds fan and out of my 4 best mates 2 support man utd, and 1 each support Arsenal and Liverpool. Forgive me if i'm wrong mate, but i feel that by adding a little bit of over the top banter to the mix (i.e refering to man utd as "the scum" etc.) that it makes for a far more exciting and enjoyable experience when a game against these teams come around. And about slagging someone off for the "We are Leeds" thing, seriously cop on. Everyones entitled to sing the songs for any team they support not just the Irish ones!

[Plastic Paddy]

The main reason for this is that rivalries make things more interesting. I'm a SUper Leeds fan

"Super" Leeds? I can think of another five-letter word beginning with 'S' that's more apt right now...

i feel that by adding a little bit of over the top banter to the mix (i.e refering to man utd as "the scum" etc.) that it makes for a far more exciting and enjoyable experience when a game against these teams come around.

Actually the vast majority of football fans find this whole facet pointless, divisive and anything but enjoyable. It only tends to be boys and men of a certain (mental) age with too much testosterone knocking about who go in for it with abandon. Try sex instead - it's far more enjoyable and doesn't leave you wanting to pick a fight with "the opposition" afterwards...

PP

[macdermesser]

The main reason for this is that rivalries make things more interesting. I'm a SUper Leeds fan and out of my 4 best mates 2 support man utd, and 1 each support Arsenal and Liverpool. Forgive me if i'm wrong mate, but i feel that by adding a little bit of over the top banter to the mix (i.e refering to man utd as "the scum" etc.) that it makes for a far more exciting and enjoyable experience when a game against these teams come around. And about slagging someone off for the "We are Leeds" thing, seriously cop on. Everyones entitled to sing the songs for any team they support not just the Irish ones!

Cop on yourself ... I think I made my point further on in the thread, and for fear of the hysterical reaction from certain people for going off topic (like any topic on this forum doesn't meander off), I think I'll leave it at that. The only interest I have in English football is if my bets will come up trumps this week or if my fantasy football team has done well. Far more enjoyable I think .. but each to his own. Personally, I can't identify with a team where I can't attend the matches or cry tears of joy when Liverpool or Porto win the Champions League.

Interesting article with Miller .. seems to be hanging for hope about getting his game for ManU. If he could get a couple of good games under his belt for United in the new year, then maybe it would boost his confidence and get him going. To be fair though, he was thrown in against Chelsea in his first game which he didn't do well in .. so he can't say that he wasn't given a chance. I think though, he might do better in a United team with a decent holding player. Overall though, the odds seem stacked against him.

[gustavo]

To be fair though, he was thrown in against Chelsea in his first game which he didn't do well in .. so he can't say that he wasn't given a chance.

in fairness its unfair to judge a player based on one game , even the best players in the world can have off days .

[macdermesser]

in fairness its unfair to judge a player based on one game , even the best players in the world can have off days .

true .. but I think he got a run of a few games though at the beginning of his career, and Fegie saw enough to cast him into the reserves ever since. He looked like a rabbit in front of headlights every time he got the ball.

he must have the potential to have so many people raving about him .. perhaps its a failure of Ferguson's part not to manage his potential .. or perhaps he flattered to deceive in those few months when he was the hottest thing since Kenny Dalglish

[Stuttgart88]

I'd like to see the Celtic teams that played when Miller made his impact.

My recollection is that he was allowed a relatively free, attacking role because midfield was anchored by Lennon, Petrov and Thompson, all physically commanding players. Once midfield was secured defensively Miller's creativity came to the fore. At MUFC he didn't have the luxury of this protection and most of the time he was picked as either an orthodox wide-right player or central midfielder. At Celtic, his worst games included away to Villareal where he was simply not pysical enough to exert any influence in a traditional central midfield role.

Regular Celtic watchers: does this argument have any merit?

[Hulsey]

Don't know how that prat fletcher was in the team ahead of Miller anyway. He's so bad its fcukin' unbelievable! He has to have some kind of blackmail on ferguson, its the only possible explanation.

[eirebhoy]

Stutts - You're spot on imo. Miller played the holding role in the majority of his games for Man U. His role at Celtic was a lot different. He didn't get so much praise for nothing. There's 2 ex-Celts singing Miller's praises in that Guardian article. Here's more:

"Probably the best 22-year-old in the world", "sensational", "his career possibilities are endless." - Magnus Hedman.
"Liam Miller is one of the best young talents that I have ever seen." - Henrik Larsson.
"Without putting too much pressure on him, I'm sure Liam is going to be a great player. He's carrying the can for the whole of Cork, but he'll deal with it and go on to be a big, big player for Celtic and Ireland." - John Hartson.
"An outstanding talent", "I take it as a compliment to be talked about alongside Liam." - Paul McStay.
"Wonderful." "I am going to make sure that we get him on a new contract as soon as possible - a 35-year deal if I can manage it!" - Martin O'Neill.
"Liam was frightening on Wednesday." - John Hartson.

BTW - Miller got his 5th booking of the season at the weekend and is banned for the next match. Good to see.

[Stuttgart88]

I may stick it up later as a separate topic but I've been thinking lately that we should look at reshaping our midfield similar to the set-up I mentioned above in which Miller flourished.

Players like Kavanagh, and both Reids could provide a narrower but more solid midfield than we're used too, allowing a creative player (Duff, Andy Reid, McGeady, Miller, Ireland, Quinn, Robbie Keane) to play between midfield and the front two. During the last campaign we lacked guile in central midfield, Duff nearly always got marked out of it and there was always a big gap between midfield & attack. We'd be giving up some width but if Finnan and possibly Kilbane played as our full backs they could provide the extra width necessary.

Just a thought.

[gustavo]

we could have a 4 3 2 1 formation with something like
Given
Finnan Dunne O Brien O Shea
S Reid Kavanagh/Kilbane A Reid
Duff Keane
Morrison/Doyle
with McGeady and Ireland et al all ready to come in