Emotional tribute to tragic former Cats star Liam Miller
Sunderland fans, players and coaching staff paid an emotional tribute to Liam Miller ahead of the Brentford game.
The former Celtic, Manchester United and Sunderland midfielder passed away recently, aged just 36, after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Miller was a hugely popular player on Wearside, a pivotal figure in the promotion campaign of 2006-07 and the Premier League campaign which followed.
There was a minute’s applause in his honour, a picture of Miller on the front of the Sunderland programme plus a tribute on the big screens inside the Stadium of Light.
Fans also sang ‘There’s only one Liam Miller’ before kickoff.
Sunderland chief executive Martin Bain and skipper John O’Shea paid tribute to Miller. Bain said: “Liam was a hugely likeable and respected figure both at Sunderland and across the wider football community. It is a tragedy to lose someone so young and our deepest condolences go to Liam’s family and friends.”
Writing in his column in the matchday programme, Sunderland captain O’Shea wrote: “It’s so sad that Liam has left us so soon.
“The amount of people at his funeral speaks volumes about him as a person.
“He had so many more things to look forward to in life. He had started to coach and had a beautiful family to be a part of and watch grow, and now that has been taken away.”