[ad_1]
The old statesman who has seen it all is looking at a picture of the young boy with a head full of dreams and he can’t quite believe it.
‘How big were the shirts?!’ James Milner exclaims, laughing at the image in front of him. It is from November 10, 2002 and the moment his Premier League career began, when Terry Venables sent him on as substitute in a 4-3 win over West Ham at Upton Park.
‘They’re ridiculous, aren’t they? That would be too big for Virgil (van Dijk), that! I’m sure the Leeds fans would have been thinking (then): “who the hell is this guy? I’ve never heard of him!’”
Liverpool midfielder James Milnes is set to celebrate 20 years as a Premier League player
Milner was handed his debut for Leeds by Terry Venables in a 4-3 win over West Ham in 2002
It’s a nice line in deflection, befitting of someone who would happily stay away from headlines, but such a momentous anniversary – 20 years as a Premier League player – invites Milner into the spotlight and presents an opportunity for reflection.
He will have to wait a week to join his good friend Gareth Barry, Ryan Giggs and David James in the 600 appearance club, having suffered concussion in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Napoli, but the enormity of what he has achieved cannot be downplayed.
From that starting point in East London, Milner has played for 22 different managers, six different clubs, represented his country 61 times, won 12 major honours and done things that 16-year-old in a baggy top would scarcely have thought possible.
The 36-year-old has played for 22 different managers at six different clubs in his career
He will have to wait for his 600th Prem appearance after suffering concussion in the week
This, then, is an appropriate juncture to reflect but, Milner being Milner, the future is what matters most and the idea of playing at 40 excites a man who will be 37 next January and he has been seeking advice on how to keep Father Time at bay.
His main point of contact, however, is an unlikely source: Jimmy Anderson, England’s greatest bowler. He is a patron of Milner’s foundation and the motivation he provides quickly becomes apparent.
‘He’s unbelievable isn’t he?’ Milner enthuses. ‘I saw him the other week – he is an inspiration. He said he feels unbelievable and the level he is still playing at it is fantastic and shows you can do it. It’s quite hard to get a round of golf with him, mind you, but what he’s still doing is incredible.
‘We were discussing how we were both feeling. He feels great and his schedule has changed how he trains; how many games he plays is a lot different to what it was in the past. But he is working as hard, he is doing his running, he is doing his stuff. I’ve never trained with him.’
Jimmy Anderson, who still plays cricket for England, is a patron of Milner’s foundation
Anderson, 40, is still playing at the highest level and showing no signs of slowing down
Would he want to?
‘Why not?’ comes the instant reply, before he adds a real-life superman into the conversation. ‘The other one is (Rugby League legend) Kevin Sinfield, who has been doing those ultra-marathons. He has been doing it for an unbelievable cause (supporting Motor Neurone Disease charities).
‘We had a chat about something not too long ago and we were joking and said we would get together and do one. He said he was doing his last one and I said you might have to wait for me! When I retire, we will do one together but it would have to be toned down for me!
‘You do what you can to be the best and anything you can add into your regime. What Jimmy Anderson is doing now is not a fluke, all these guys, they not lucky. They might have a good body and have been lucky with injuries but the work he has done to still be doing that is unbelievable.’
Milner has won 12 major honours in his career, including the Premier League with Liverpool
The midfielder, who could play until he is 40, also won the Champions league with the Reds
Milner would never talk about himself in such a way but it is no fluke that he has got to this stage of life and is still playing at the highest level. Nothing is ever left to chance as he searches to find ways of retaining the best physical condition he can.
He differs to Anderson, who enjoys a beer, in that he remains teetotal and mention of that has him smiling once again, reminded of the famous quote that even if he had wanted to get into a Leeds nightclub after breaking into the team the fact everyone knew his age meant it was impossible.
‘You had the likes of Dom Matteo, David Batty, and people like that at Leeds, and it was a different time,’ says Milner. ‘You had Wednesday and Sunday off, so the lads mostly went out on a Saturday, had team building on a Wednesday and some trained in a bin bag on the Thursday to sweat it out.
He also played 61 times for England before retiring from international football in 2016
‘It was different. On the other hand, some of the injuries I saw Dom play with – he was cutting holes in his boots to be able to play, he was in pain but just got out there and got on with it even with a grade two hamstring. It was a different time but there were pluses and minuses to both.’
It was a different time yet it only seems like yesterday and that is one of the tricks life plays on you, advancing the years without you really noticing until you check the date. How can it be 20 years since Wayne Rooney scored that goal for Everton against Arsenal?
‘It makes you feel older,’ Milner says. ‘Especially as Wazza came through at the same time as me. Every time you turn on the TV, there are people talking who you played with or you played with the manager in the other dug-out. I played against David Seaman, he’s just turned 59. It’s mind-blowing.’
Perhaps, but longevity is also something of which he should be proud. He has persistently had to face sceptics through his career but rarely have they been within the game: to put it another way, 22 managers, from Venables to Sir Bobby Robson to Jurgen Klopp, could not all be wrong.
‘When you think about it, there are so many stumbling blocks,’ Milner concludes. ‘It’s not like every manager had come in and said: “I’m having him as a player”. You have to prove yourself again and again. Now isn’t the time you reflect. That will be at the end. Really, I’m just trying to keep going.’
And you know he will do that, with no stone ever left unturned.
[ad_2]
Source link