Ian Miller (footballer, born 1955)

Ian Miller

Personal information
Full name	Ian Miller
Date of birth	13 May 1955
Place of birth	Perth, Scotland
Playing position	Right-winger
Youth career
	Bury
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1973–1974	Bury	15	(0)
1974–1975	Nottingham Forest	0	(0)
1975–1978	Doncaster Rovers	124	(14)
1978–1981	Swindon Town	127	(9)
1981–1989	Blackburn Rovers	268	(16)
1989–1990	Port Vale	21	(2)
1990–1991	Scunthorpe United	12	(0)
	Stafford Rangers
Total		567+	(41+)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Ian Miller (born 13 May 1955) is a Scottish former footballer who played his football in England as a winger. He made 567 league appearances in the Football League over an eighteen-year professional career.

He began his career at Bury, helping the club to win promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1973–74. He was then at Nottingham Forest, but did not feature for the first team before transferring to Doncaster Rovers in 1975. Voted onto the Fourth Division PFA Team of the Year in 1976–77 and 1977–78, he moved on to Swindon Town in 1978. He switched to Blackburn Rovers in 1981, and spent the next eight years with the club, lifting the Full Members Cup in 1987. He then had brief spells with Port Vale and Scunthorpe United, before ending his career with non-league Stafford Rangers.

Playing career

Miller started his career at a small Scottish side based in his home town of Perth called Jeanfield Swifts, before turning professional with English club Bury in 1973. The "Shakers" won promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1973–74, with manager Bobby Smith playing Miller in fifteen league games.

Miller then moved on to Nottingham Forest of the Second Division, then led by Allan Brown. He failed to play a league game for Forest in 1974–75, and instead moved on to Doncaster Rovers, who were in the Fourth Division and managed by Stan Anderson. He played 139 games for "Donny" in league and cup, scoring 15 goals, as the side posted mid-table finishes in 1975–76, 1976–77 and 1977–78. In his last two seasons at the club, he was voted onto the PFA Team of the Year for the fourth tier.

He transferred to Third Division Swindon Town, in a move that reunited him with manager Bobby Smith. The "Robins" declined from fifth in 1978–79 to tenth in 1979–80 and then seventeenth in 1980–81 – just one point above the relegation zone. He played 159 games for Swindon in all competitions, scoring 14 goals.

Miller then signed with Second Division Blackburn Rovers, then managed by Bobby Saxton. Rovers finished in the top-half of the table in 1981–82, 1982–83 and 1983–84, before missing out on promotion to the First Division by just one point in 1984–85. However they then plummeted in 1985–86, avoiding relegation by just three points. Saxton was replaced by Don Mackay half way through the 1986–87 campaign, and Mackay led Rovers to victory in the Full Members Cup in 1987, as they beat Charlton Athletic 1–0 in the Wembley final. He then led them to a play-off finish in 1987–88, though Rovers lost to Chelsea at the semi-final stage. They then reached the play-off final in 1988–89, but lost out to Crystal Palace 4–3 over the course of two legs.

Miller departed Ewood Park and joined Second Division Port Vale in June 1989, as manager John Rudge needed cover for an injured Gary Ford.^[1] He began the 1989–90 season as a regular, but lost his place by December and was released in August 1990, having played 24 games in all competitions, scoring once against Ipswich Town on New Year's Day. He moved on to Mick Buxton's Scunthorpe United, and helped them to the Fourth Division play-offs, where they lost to Blackpool at the semi-final stage. Miller then ended his career with Stafford Rangers in the Football Conference.

Coaching career

Miller remained active in the game after retiring as a player. He returned to Port Vale as the Community Programme leader in August 1991 and became the youth development officer in May 1992. In November 1994 he left Vale Park to become the reserve team coach at Wolverhampton Wanderers.^[2] He later coached at Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool (assisting Colin Hendry), Bury, Leicester City and Manchester City before joining the staff at Leeds United in 2008.^[3] On 1 February 2012, chairman Ken Bates sacked manager Simon Grayson, his assistant Glynn Snodin, and Miller.^[4]

Honours

Individual

• PFA Fourth Division Team of the Year: 1976–77 & 1977–78

with Bury

• Football League Fourth Division promotion winner: 1973–74

with Blackburn Rovers

• Full Members Cup winner: 1987

References

1. Kent, Jeff (1990). "From Rags to Riches (1979–1990)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 258–290. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
2. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 199. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
3. "Boss appoints his first member of coaching staff...". leedsunited.com. 27 December 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
4. "Leeds United: Ken Bates dismisses criticism". Yorkshire Evening Post. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.