Liam Miller

Background

Miller was born in 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.

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. He was given a rare first-team start in January 2005 in an FA Cup tie against non-league Exeter City, but turned in a poor performance and was substituted in the second half. 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 contract, 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.

Wilmington Hammerheads

Miller signed with American third-tier United Soccer League side Wilmington Hammerheads on 18 February 2016.

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".

Club

¹ - includes A-League final series statistics
² - AFC Champions League statistics are included in season commencing during group stages (i.e. ACL 2010 and A-League season 2009–2010 etc.)
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

Honours