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Grenville Rodney Millington (born 10 December 1951 in
Queensferry, Flintshire
Queensferry ( cy, Fferi Buddug / Fferi Isaf) is a town, community and electoral ward in Flintshire, Wales, lying on the River Dee near the border. The community includes the village of Sandycroft. It is between Connah's Quay, Shotton and Sal ...
) is a former professional footballer who played in
The Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
. He enjoyed a long career with
Chester and was voted the club's
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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...
Cult Hero in 2005. Millington is now an established goalkeeping coach. He is the younger brother of
Tony Millington
Anthony Horace Millington (5 June 1943 – 5 August 2015) was a Welsh footballer who played as a goalkeeper for West Bromwich Albion, Crystal Palace, Peterborough United and Swansea City in the 1960s and 1970s and made 21 international appear ...
, who played in goal for
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
.
Playing career
Chester
Millington made his Chester debut as a 17-year-old in April 1969 in the final home game of the season against
Lincoln City, in a match which also provided the first Chester appearance for
Nigel Edwards (who would go on to be a long–serving colleague for Millington) and the last for the prolific
Gary Talbot
Gary Talbot (15 December 1937 – 22 December 2019) was a professional footballer in the 1960s with Chester, where he set a record as the second highest Football League goalscorer, and Crewe Alexandra. He also worked as a photographer.
Playin ...
. However, this was to be Millington's only appearance for Chester before being released and he returned to
Rhyl
Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the historic boundaries of Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at the mouth of the River Clwyd ( Welsh: ''Afon Clwyd'').
To the we ...
, where he had been as a youngster. While with the Lilywhites he came up against Tony for the only time, when Rhyl met
Swansea City in January 1971 in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
. He also had a spell with
Witton Albion and played on trial for
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
, before returning to Chester in November 1973. His first game back ended in an FA Cup win over
Telford United and he replaced
John Taylor as first-choice goalkeeper at the club.
The
1974–75 season was one of Chester's finest, as they reached the
Football League Cup semi–finals and won promotion from
Division Four
The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...
. Millington was vital to both successes as he played in every game, memorably making an outstanding save from
Malcolm MacDonald
Malcolm Ian Macdonald (born 7 January 1950) is an English former professional footballer, manager and media figure. Nicknamed 'Supermac', Macdonald was a quick, powerfully built prolific goalscorer. He played for Fulham, Luton Town, Newcastle ...
in a quarter-finals giant killing win over
Newcastle United. The season also saw him set the club record for the longest run without conceding a goal.
Millington remained first choice goalkeeper ahead of
Mike Craven until early in
1977–78, when fellow Welshman
Brian Lloyd was signed from
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
and Millington was to barely play for the next two years. However, he regained his place early in
1979–80 and helped Chester reach the FA Cup fifth round. He was an ever-present in
1980–81 and the following season retained his club player of the season award despite Chester being relegated. This season saw Millington involved in a bizarre incident when a
Football League Cup tie with
Plymouth Argyle was abandoned after he collided with a goalpost – which snapped in the process.
Later career
The
1982–83 season saw Millington begin as regular goalkeeper for Chester, but an arm injury in a home defeat by
Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional 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 play in a blue and ...
in October 1982 marked the beginning of the end of his playing days with the club. Millington was released two months later but rejoined the club on non-contract terms in March 1983, combining being cover for
Phil Harrington with a coaching role at the club. He played in the final game of the season, a 2–1 loss to
Scunthorpe United, before joining non–league side
Oswestry Town in the summer of 1983.
Millington returned to
Football League circles the following season, when he made 13 league appearances for
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
. This brought the curtain down on his league career.
In the late 1990s, Millington became goalkeeping coach with both Wrexham and Chester and worked off and on for the latter until leaving in February 2006. He is now goalkeeping coach at
Connah's Quay Nomads and president of the Chester City Supporters Trust.
Honours
*
Football League Division Four
The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...
promotion as fourth placed team:
1974–75,
Chester.
*
Football League Cup semi-finalists:
1974–75,
Chester.
* Player of the Season:
1974–75,
1980–81 and
1981–82,
Chester.
* Voted Chester City ''cult hero'' in December 2004 by viewers of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
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