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One to Watch – Ishmael Miller

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Name: Ishmael Miller

Date of Birth: 5/3/1987

Nationality: England

Former Clubs: Man City, West Brom, QPR, Nottm Forest, Middlesbrough

League Appearances (Goals): 163 (30)

International Appearances (Goals): 0 (0)

Stat of the Day: Ishmael Miller has won 47 of the 104 aerial duels he has competed in for Yeovil this season

Player Profile: The through ball from Wayne Routledge was delightful; the pace, strength and finish from Ishmael Miller even better. That Miller goal, his only in a QPR shirt, clinched a 1-0 victory over Leicester in 2011, and was the point when the Rs knew promotion to the Premier League was firmly in their sights. This was Miller at his best, displaying all the characteristics Manchester City had seen in the youngster and led to him bursting onto the scene in 2006. In truth, these moments, encapsulated by unrivalled power and force, have been hard to come by for Miller and the six clubs he has played for in his career. Only recently at Gary Johnson`s Yeovil has he fully demonstrated his striker`s instincts; 7 goals in 14 appearances have helped The Glovers to finally see survival as a possibility this season.

It was a shame for Miller that the flurry of foreign imports at City ultimately blockaded his pathway to the first team and a dreaded cruciate ligament injury at West Brom ruled him out for a prolonged period of time. Loan spells, substitute appearances and injuries failed to allow Miller to display his true potential and the quality of clubs he has joined has slowly deteriorated. Despite these setbacks, in true football cliché style, Miller can, on his day, pose a problem to any Championship defence. Despite his weighty unpredictability, and perceived ‘lazy` playing style, Miller has always put himself in the mix and an unpredictable world class goal is always creeping round the corner. Yeovil have been pining for a suitable replacement since Paddy Madden unexpectedly left, and it could be Miller`s goals that earn Yeovil survival and himself a hero`s reputation.

Player History:

Ishmael Miller was born in Manchester and quickly made his way through the youth ranks at Man City. Having signed his first professional contract in 2005 he went on to make his debut as a substitute a year later against Wigan. He made his first full appearance six months later in a 2-0 victory over West Ham, helping to set up a goal and proving a handful for the Irons` experienced defence.

With first team opportunities hard to come by, Miller joined West Brom on a season long loan in 2007. He made an instant impact for the Baggies, scoring after just seven minutes of his debut against Preston. His successful loan spell, in which he scored 7 times in 21 appearances, led to West Brom signing the striker permanently for £900,000 in January 2009.

Miller became a popular figure at The Hawthorns but an injury sustained in a collision with David James ruled the striker out for 14 months, during which time Peter Odemwingie and Marc-Antoine Fortune arrived and prospered in his absence. Upon his return from injury Miller joined promotion-chasing QPR on a 93-day loan in 2011. He scored his first and only goal for Rangers as he came off the bench to grab a late winner against Leicester in March 2011.

With West Brom failing to guarantee Miller first team football, the striker eventually joined Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2011, having made a total of 70 appearances and scoring 14 goals for the West Midlands club. Despite signing for £1.2 million, the imposing striker failed to make an impact at The City Ground under Billy Davies.

He scored only three times in 25 appearances for Forest before he joined Middlesbrough on loan in August 2012. He scored 5 goals throughout the 2012/2013 campaign before returning to Nottingham. In November 2013, Miller joined fellow Championship side Yeovil Town on a months-loan. He scored on his debut in a 3-0 victory over Watford and returned to Forest having scored three times in seven appearances. The Reds failed to offload Miller on a permanent deal in January and subsequently rejoined The Glovers for the remainder of the season with the target of keeping them in the Championship.

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