John Tony Miller (21 September 1950 – 18 February 2016) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

, described by Jeff Kent as an "exciting

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who provided pinpoint crosses". He scored 23 goals in 213 league games in a 14-year career in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

playing for

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

, Norwich City,

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

, and

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

. He was

promoted Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

out of the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

with Norwich City in 1974–75, and won the

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

with Mansfield Town in 1976–77.

Career

Miller began his career at

. The "Blues" finished 12th in the First Division in 1968–69 under the stewardship of Bobby Robson. They then went on to finish 18th in 1969–70, 19th in 1970–71, and 13th in 1971–72, before launching title challenges that ended with fourth-place finishes in 1972–73 and 1973–74. He scored two goals in 51 league appearances at Portman Road. He then switched to

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

Norwich City for a fee of £47,500, and helped John Bond's "Canaries" to win promotion out of the

in 1974–75. He also appeared at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

in the 1975 League Cup final, where Norwich lost 1–0 to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

. They then posted a tenth-place finish in the top-flight in 1975–76. Miller scored three goals in 23 league games in his spell at

Carrow Road Carrow Road is an association football stadium located in Norwich, Norfolk, England, and is the home of EFL Championship side Norwich City. The stadium is located toward the east of the city, near Norwich railway station and the River Wensum. N ...

. Miller then dropped down to the

with

, and helped Peter Morris's "Stags" to win promotion as champions in 1976–77. However, they were then relegated straight back down to the third tier in 1977–78. New boss Billy Bingham took the club to an 18th-place finish in 1978–79, before Mick Jones led Mansfield to relegation in 1979–80. He scored 14 goals in 113 league appearances at

Field Mill Field Mill, currently known as One Call Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a Football pitch, football ground in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England, and the home of Mansfield Town F.C., Mansfield Town Football Club. It is the oldest ground in ...

. He joined

, initially on trial, in September 1980. He scored five goals in 31 appearances in the 1980–81 season, and became a key first-team player at Vale Park as

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

John McGrath began rebuilding the "Valiants" to challenge for promotion out of the

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

. However, he was prevented from playing in the 1981–82 season due to a

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

injury; this injury led to his retirement in March 1982. He later made a comeback with Oakham United, before moving on to

Selston Selston is a large village and civil parish approximately 12 miles (19.3 km) NNW of Nottingham in the Ashfield district, Nottinghamshire, England. At the time of the 2001 census Selston Parish (which includes the settlements of Underwood ...

and taking up the assistant manager position at

Blidworth Welfare Blidworth Welfare Football Club is a football club based in Blidworth, near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. They are currently members of the . History Blidworth Welfare was initially formed in 1926 as Folk House Old Boys FC but changed ...

. After leaving the game he worked as a

taxi driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying and ...

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...

. He died in a hospital in Mansfield after a battle with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on 18 February 2016 at the age of 65.

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Norwich City *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

third-place promotion: 1974–75 * League Cup runner-up:

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

Mansfield Town *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

: 1976–77

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Johnny 1950 births 2016 deaths English men's footballers Footballers from Ipswich Black British sportsmen Men's association football wingers Ipswich Town F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Oakham United F.C. (Nottinghamshire) players Selston F.C. players English Football League players Association football coaches British taxi drivers Deaths from cancer in England