Liam Miller, a nippy midfielder, born on the windswept plains of Ireland on 13 February 1981 (now the ripe old age of 43), is currently seen knocking about with the Wilmington Hammerheads. Standing at 5ft 6in (or 1.7m for our metric friends) and weighing in at 11st 2lb (or 71kg for those preferring kilos), the lad has certainly managed to stay fit. Now, let's dig into the treasure chest of his career, misunderstood by most, yet riddled with dodgy transfers and loan spells.
Our young Miller first graced Celtic's training ground back in October 1997. His debut season, a rather forgettable 1999 - 2000, saw him appearing for the club precisely once in league matches. Remember when he took the pitch in the 2000 - 2001 season? No, neither do we - because he didn't. All shiny Celtic kit, no game. Same story for 2002 - 2003. Roll forward to 2003 - 2004 and Miller must have stumbled upon a footballer's potion or the boss sprouted a soft spot for him; he played an acceptable 25 matches, netting two goals.
During the autumn of 2001, as his Celtic mates stood in the chilly Glasgow rain, Miller trotted off to AGF Aarhus in the Danish Superliga on loan. This foreign excursion had him featuring in 18 primary league matches.
By July 2004, waving bye-bye to the stony soil of Scotland, he arrived at the Theatre of Dreams, Manchester United. However, the dream was somewhat astray for him. The 2004 - 2005 season saw him barely earning his keep, managing just eight matches. The following year the tea lady made more appearances - he played once.
November 2005, off on yet another short jaunt, this time to Leeds United on loan. Now, here's a surprise: he played in 28 league matches and pocketed a solitary goal.
After a bored half season, Miller traded the elegant backdrop of Manchester for a Sunderland swap in August 2006. He clocked up 30 appearances and two goals in his first season. His next two seasons exhibited dwindling performances, with 24 appearances and one goal in 2007 - 2008, and three appearances in 2008 - 2009.
Glancing southward again, Miller wasted no time and moved to Queens Park Rangers in January 2009 for an undisclosed fee. I'll let you fill the blanks on that one. He got his cleats dirty in 13 matches during the 2008 - 2009 season, however.
Come September 2009, Miller returned to the Scottish Premiership to join Hibernian. His performances? 33 spirited appearances both in the 2009 - 2010 and 2010 - 2011 seasons, with a tally of seven goals in total.
Then off on an overseas adventure to Perth Glory in the Australian A-League in June 2011. Over two seasons, Liam maintained a steady pace: 21 matches and two goals in 2011-12, and 23 participant games the following year.
Barely losing his blistering summer tan, our travelling midfielder turned east in May 2013 and joined Brisbane Roar. He fit in nicely during the 2013 - 2014 season with 20 appearances and three goals. However, his second season showed him limping behind with a mere two games.
Miller hopped over to Melbourne City in November 2014 and managed another two matches. By January 2015, you could find him at Cork City back in his home country. During the 2015 season, Miller appeared no less than 29 times, his best performance in years.
Finally, in February 2016, the say-yes-to-every-transfer Miller headed over to Uncle Sam's backyard to run about with Wilmington Hammerheads. Fast-forward to the present, and our 2024 season hasn't seen him play just yet. All that's left to say is: watch this space - preferably before he transfers again!
