James Milner MBE: Best Moments in Football
Milner #Milner
James Milner has been awarded an MBE for his services to charity through his ‘James Milner Foundation’. The charitable cause has raised over £1.25 million for some fantastic causes such as Help for Heroes, NSPCC and Cancer Research UK.
A remarkable footballer and a remarkable man, this is probably Milner’s proudest moment off of the pitch. Still, he’s certainly had some moments within football to remember during his time over a vast span of clubs including Leeds United, Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Manchester City and Liverpool.
With this, it’d be nice to look back at seven of James Milner MBE’s finest moments.
Check it out below.
Little Milner breaks a big record
Starting at the very beginning is fitting for this list. A young lad called James Milner burst onto the scene for Leeds United, and at the age of just 16 years and 356 days – he scored a 50th-minute goal in just his fifth appearance for the club against Sunderland – which made him at the time the youngest ever Premier League goalscorer.
Milner’s 50th-minute strike got Leeds back level to 1-1 in the fixture, before Robbie Fowler’s late goal settled the match in Leeds’ favour. I think at this moment fans realised that this young man was destined for great things in English football.
A rocket against the Red Devils
Little did James know this at the time, but he’d probably go on to be one of Manchester United fans’ most hated players of all time. A lad from Leeds, who played for them… and went on to join Manchester City and Liverpool – he’s a United fan’s worst enemy!
This is why when he reminisces on this strike against the Red Devils during his time at Newcastle, he probably looks back very fondly. It was one of his best, no doubt, take a look at it below.
First Taste of Success
Despite playing professionally since 2002, it wasn’t until nine years down the line that Milner acquired his first bit of silverware. Manchester City faced off against Stoke City in the FA Cup final, and luckily for Milner – the Cityzen’s ran out 1–0 winners at Wembley. A great moment for the lad from Horsforth, which foreshadowed many a trophy to come in his near future.
Champion of England
He only had to wait a year after his first to secure the most coveted trophy in English football – the Premier League.
Not only this, Manchester City won the league in the most dramatic way possible, with the infamous Sergio Aguero goal against Queens Park Rangers pipping their noisy neighbours to the title. Milner was an integral part to this squad, playing 26 times, netting four goals and having the same amount of assists.
Champion of Europe
So what’s better than winning the Premier League? Why, conquering Europe of course! Milner did just that in the 18/19 season when Liverpool were simply unstoppable with a team of elite names such as Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
Milner was obtained by Liverpool to be a great utility option under Jurgen Klopp, and with a hectic schedule in this season, Milner more than proved his worth and 100% deserves his Champions League winners medal.
How may I assist you?
Speaking of the Champions League. A remarkable achievement that Milner accomplished is the fact that he holds the record for the most Champions League assists in a single campaign.
He tops the list with Real Madrid’s Luis Figo, who are both on nine assists in a single season. Milner beat the likes of Neymar and Wayne Rooney in second, which is phenomenal going. He really is up there with the very best.
600 Club
Finally, one of the proudest moments of Milner’s career has to be when he joined the exclusive 600-game club for the Premier League. The English veteran joins only three other names in achieving the elite milestone in Gareth Barry (653 appearances), Ryan Giggs (632) and Frank Lampard (609) (Via SkySports).
He’s currently on 607 and shows no sign of slowing down – which he reach Gareth Barry’s total?