James Milner: From £70-a-week YTS player to brink of Premier League appearance record
“People joke that I did it just because he didn’t do his homework,” former Premier League referee Jon Moss says of the time he sent off James Milner.
Milner, 40, will equal the record for most appearances in the Premier League if he plays for Brighton against Crystal Palace on Sunday, 24 years after making his debut.
His stellar career, spanning more than two decades, including six top-flight clubs, 652 Premier League appearances, 61 England caps, three Premier League titles, two FA Cups and a Champions League triumph, has also brought some unexpected moments.
Like Milner’s time – Known as ‘Millie’, external by those close to him – while playing for Liverpool against Crystal Palace in 2019, he was sent off by his former teacher Moss at Westbrook Lane Primary School in Horsforth, Leeds.
“He said I couldn’t wait to get my card out,” laughs Moss about firing his former student after he changed careers.
“People say I’m the only teacher who sent one of his students to a Premier League game. Now we can both laugh about it.”
Some 8,491 days after making his debut for hometown Leeds United shortly after leaving school in 2002, Milner is set to move level with Gareth Barry, who has 653 appearances, on the all-time Premier League appearances list.
Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler said: “I think this will be something special for him, but beyond that he is also focused on the goals of the club. He always wants to be successful, as he has throughout his life.”
“He is a pilot of the winning mentality and I think it is very important to have such players in the squad.
“They know how to win, they know what it takes to win, how you need to prepare for the game, how you react in bad phases like the bad runs we have now.”
Alan Shearer, who played alongside Milner at Newcastle, describes him as an exemplary professional and a “manager’s dream”.
“You would have done well to have him in your team because you knew exactly what you were going to get,” adds former England captain Shearer.
This is the story of a young lad from Leeds who developed to set the standard for hard work, professionalism and longevity and earn the respect of fans around the world.
