Jimmy Anderson is my inspiration... he’s unbelievable!
After 20 years and nearly 600 games, JAMES MILNER reveals what keeps him coming back for more
THE old statesman who has seen it all is looking at a picture of a young boy with a head full of dreams and he cannot 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 for Leeds in a 4-3 win over West Ham at Upton Park.
‘They are ridiculous, aren’t they? That would be too big for Virgil van Dijk! I’m sure the Leeds fans would have been thinking then, “Who the hell is this guy? I’ve never heard of him!’”
It is 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 Premier League 600 appearance club, having suffered concussion in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Napoli, but the achievement 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.
This, then, is an appropriate juncture to reflect but the future is what matters most to Milner and the idea of playing at 40 excites a man who will be 37 next January.
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. 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.’
Would he want to? ‘Why not?’ comes the instant reply, before he adds a real-life superman into the conversation. ‘The other one is Kevin Sinfield ( rugby league legend), 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. 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. They might have a good body and have been lucky with injuries but the work he has done is unbelievable.’
Milner would never talk about himself in such a way but it is no coincidence that he has got to this stage of life and is still playing at the highest level. Nothing is left to chance as he searches to maintain 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. 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 injury.’
It was a different time yet it only seems like yesterday and life plays tricks 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.’
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 left unturned.