Willie Miller

For other people of the same name, see William Miller.
Willie Miller
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Ferguson Miller
Date of birth(1955-05-02) 2 May 1955 (age 59)
Place of birthGlasgow, Scotland
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing positionCentral defender
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1972–1990Aberdeen558(20)
National team
1975–1989Scotland65(1)
1976Scottish League XI1(0)
Teams managed
1992–1995Aberdeen
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

William Ferguson Miller, MBE (born 2 May 1955 in Glasgow) is a former professional football player who made a club record 558 league appearances for Aberdeen. Sir Alex Ferguson described Miller as "the best penalty box defender in the world".[1]

Club career

Miller signed for Aberdeen in 1972 at the age of seventeen and was made captain four years later by manager Ally McLeod. His central defensive partnership with Alex McLeish was integral to Aberdeen's success in the 1980s, as they won all the major domestic honours and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1983. He retired from playing in 1990 due to an injury picked up whilst playing for Scotland. In 2003, Willie Miller was voted the greatest Aberdeen player of all time in a poll to mark the club's centenary.[2]

International career

Miller won 65 international caps for Scotland and scored one goal. He was an inaugural inductee to the Scottish Football Hall of Fame, in 2004.[3]

In 2010, Miller was chosen as one of the eleven members of Scotland's Greatest Team, by viewers of the Scottish Television documentary series, which sought the fans' opinion on the greatest ever Scotland players. Viewers also chose Alex McLeish as his central defence partner.

Career statistics

Club

[1]

ClubSeasonLeagueScot CupLge CupEuropeTotal
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Aberdeen1972–731000000010
1973–74311109040460
1974–75341416000442
1975–76360216000441
1976–77360308000470
1977–78362606020502
1978–79340518040511
1979–80311518020462
1980–81332106040442
1981–823606010060580
1982–833625080111603
1983–843427191100604
1984–85353601020433
1985–86331616061513
1986–87362302020432
1987–88423605040573
1988–89221005220293
1989–90150005020220
1990–910000100010
Career total56021666109361279732

International

[4]

Scotland national team
YearAppsGoals
197510
197810
197910
198061
198170
198250
198390
198460
198580
198680
198740
198870
198920
Total651

Honours

  • Scottish Premier Division (3): 1979–80, 1983–84, 1984–85
  • Scottish Cup (4): 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86
  • Scottish League Cup (3): 1976–77, 1985–86, 1989–90
  • European Cup Winners' Cup (1): 1982–83
  • European Super Cup (1): 1983

Managerial career

In February 1992, he was appointed Aberdeen manager, replacing the sacked Alex Smith. Despite two second-place finishes in the league and two losing cup finals, Miller was sacked in February 1995.

In May 2004, Miller was appointed to the Aberdeen board and given executive responsibility for football. He played a large role in the appointment of Jimmy Calderwood as manager.[5]

In June 2011, he was appointed as Aberdeen's Director of Football Development, with the responsibility of finding new playing talent for the club.[6]

Career outside football

He has worked for the BBC as a football commentator and analyst between leaving Aberdeen as manager in 1995 and returning as Director of Football in 2004. He has written two autobiographies, The Miller's Tale and The Don, the latter being published in 2007.[7] His third book, Willie Miller's Aberdeen Dream Team, was published in 2011.

References

  1. Jump up ^ Harry Reid (2005), The Final Whistle?, Birlinn, 237–8 ISBN 1-84158-362-6
  2. Jump up ^ "Miller is greatest Don". BBC Sport. 13 May 2003. Retrieved 2 February 2011. 
  3. Jump up ^ "Hall of Fame Dinner 2004". Scottish Football Museum. Retrieved 16 September 2010. 
  4. Jump up ^ Willie Miller at National-Football-Teams.com
  5. Jump up ^ "Aberdeen target Calderwood". BBC Sport. 24 May 2004. Retrieved 2 February 2011. 
  6. Jump up ^ "Willie Miller becomes director of football at Aberdeen". BBC Sport. 23 June 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2012. 
  7. Jump up ^ "Miller reveals football memories". BBC Sport. 30 October 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2011. 

External links

  • Willie Miller, Post War English & Scottish Football League A – Z Player's Database
 
Awards
PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year
SFWA Footballer of the Year
 
Scotland squads
Scotland squad – 1982 FIFA World Cup
Scotland squad – 1986 FIFA World Cup
Aberdeen F.C. – managers
  • Philip (1903–23)
  • Travers (1923–38)
  • Halliday (1938–55)
  • Shaw (1955–59)
  • Pearson (1959–65)
  • Turnbull (1965–71)
  • Bonthrone (1971–75)
  • MacLeod (1975–77)
  • McNeill (1977–78)
  • Ferguson (1978–86)
  • Porterfield (1986–88)
  • Smith & Scott (1988–91)
  • Smith (1991–92)
  • W. Miller (1992–95)
  • Aitken (1995–97)
  • A. Miller (1997–98)
  • Burkinshaw (1998–99)
  • Hegarty (1999)
  • Skovdahl (1999–2002)
  • Speirs (2002)
  • Paterson (2002–04)
  • Calderwood (2004–09)
  • McGhee (2009–10)
  • Brown (2010–13)
  • McInnes (2013–)



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