The Biography of Willie Miller

The Biography of Willie Miller

William Ferguson Miller
Born May 2, 1955, Glasgow, Scotland,
Playing position Central Defender
Senior clubs
1972-1990 Aberdeen 558 games 20 goals
National team
1975-1989 Scotland 65 games 1 goal
Teams managed
1992-1995 Aberdeen

William Ferguson Miller, MBE is a former professional football player who played only for Aberdeen. He played in defence. He also won 65 international caps for Scotland & is a member of the Scotland Football Hall of Fame.

He signed for Aberdeen at the age of seventeen & was made captain four years later. He was involved in Aberdeen's most successful period under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson. Willie Miller's partnership with fellow defender Alex McLeish was a large part of Aberdeen's success in the 1980s. He holds the record for most league appearances for Aberdeen, standing at 556 between 1973 & 1990, when he retired due to an injury picked up whilst playing for Scotland.

In February 1992 he stepped up from his position as a club coach to become manager, succeeding Alex Smith, but despite two second-place finishes in the league & two losing cup finals, including a treble of Runner Ups one season, most people would say that is not great, but is something, being runner up, shows you are still competitive, and up there. Willie was sacked in February 1995, as of being close to relegation, something unheard of for Aberdeen, in over 2 decades, & he was replaced by Roy Aitken. They still have not been relegated since then. Many say that the reason he was near to relegation, was as he still had high ambitions for Aberdeen, which Aberdeen managers should have of course, for him 2nd place was not good enough so he went out and bought and got new players, but they just did not get up there that season. He was appointed Dons manager on request of the fans. He had already been placed in the management staff, and so Alex Smith who had won 2 Cups with Aberdeen, after Porterfield's barren spell, and Ferguson's era, was in trouble when he was mid table part way through the season, in 1992. Aberdeen fans chanted outside the stadium for Smith to be fired, as that season Aberdeen would finish 5th the lowest posistion since the 1970s. It seemed the right thing at the time, to say 5th was not good enough, and maybe it is right to say that, Smith had done quite well though, but Aberdeen fans exepcted better at the time. After Miller, Aitken used much of Miller's buys to win a League Cup and finish 3rd, but then they kept on falling from then, for some reason, maybe as the best players were not attracted to Aberdeen anymore at such a a rate as they were in the early 1990s, and late 1980s, and by the early 2000s Hearts claim to be the 3rd biggest team in Scotland had some credance to it, though still most would say Aberdeen are a bigger club, as of certain factors. And Aberdeen could not claim as they were under Miller to be the 1st team in Scotland.

Miller after management joined the BBC as a football commentator & analyst until he returned to Aberdeen in May 2004, when he joined the board with executive responsibility for football & appointed Jimmy Calderwood to the Dons' hotseat. Since then Aberdeen have seemed to improve. At this rate they could become the top team in Scotland again, if buying well and using their strenghs.

Miller had a chance of being Raith manager in the 1990s, some say, I am not sure about this, but then Raith players it is said, were not so happy at this, as he had said some things they did not like.

All in all though it has to be said that he was the backbone of the Dons team in it's most succesful era, his partnership with Mcleish and Leighton was said by many to be essentially the team's real strengh.

Considered by most neutrals to be the best Scottish defender ever, Sir Alex Ferguson has referred to him as "the best penalty box defender in the world".

Miller's greatest goal was scoring a equaliser at home versus Celtic, in the 1984-85 title run in, that goal, then made Celtic's attempt to win the title essentially over.

His claim to fame, is lifting the ECWC cup single handed, which few people do, in the celebration, as it was different to what most people did.

He also scored in a European Cup Quarter Final, and was in the Bayern Matches, and 4 European Semi Finals, including the ones V Porto.

He also played in the 1971-72 season on loan for then Highland League Peterhead, at that time he played as a forward, and finished the season as top scorer.

Then next season saw John McMaster at Peterhead too, it was a era when Aberdeen were loaning allot of players to the Highland League for experience. These players did make a big impact on Scottish football, for Aberdeen's good.

Miller's debut season at the Dons, saw him play one game as a substitue for about half an hour, at Morton at the last game of the season. He saw the Dons beat Morton 2-1 and finish 4th in the 18 team Scottish League Division One, behind Hibs, Rangers and Celtic. Then ext season saw him play 31 matches,

He was made captain in 1975. Throughout his playing career, apart from 1 season the first season of the 10 team premier league in the mid 70s when Aberdeen were near relegation, and just avoided it, Aberdeen were among the real eliite of teams, of being real competitors for trophies, and the league often.

His first cap also was in 1975 against Romania,

Apparently he played as a forward for his school team in Glasgow, and Eastercraigs boys club, he was singed as a striker for Aberdeen but became a top class sweeper.

He had some rumors he would join English teams in his career, but did not join, essentially none of the teams were really all that big enough to tempt him, and Rangers tried to bid for him, but maybe as of oil wealth of Aberdeen, or the success of AFC, or as Rangers were doing bad at the time, their wage offer was not really better than the Dons were offering.

Miller was Scotland captain from 1983, and in many games afterwards.

His first league match at home was V Dundee in 73-74.

His first goal, the same season in a 3-1 home win over Hearts.

He played in a 1-0 Victory over England in 1985, that won Scotland the Stanely Rous Cup at Hampden.

He is rarely called William Miller

He scored a goal versus Wales in the 26th minute at Hampden in 1980 in the Home International Championship

Scotland squad - 1982 FIFA World Cup

The most succesful captain in Dons history, with McLeish the best defender, for the Dons, and probabaly the best, and also his whole career was essentially at Aberdeen. So in many ways the most sucessful Aberdeen player ther was. He played a number of games in the World Cup Finals, his last against Uruguay in a 0-0 draw in 1986. Through his era as a player, Aberdeen had their best ever era, and many of Aberdeen's list of most trophy winning mangers had him as their captain. His record at manager, was not the best, but in a a league of so few teams, many of even the best managers near relegation now, in the last decade alone, from Jim Jefferies at Hearts, to most Dons managers, to Hibs, Dundee United, and every smaller team, and very few teams have won 2nd place, other than Old Firm managers, so his record was not destroyed as Dons manager. And he may be helping the Dons back up to the level, he helped make seem normal in the 1980s, and that was not the case before him and other 1970s players arrived. So aAberdeen are now among the best teams in Scotland and most neutrals would say are now at worst the 3rd most well respcted team in Scotland, though Hearts and Hibs could one day replace that, at current rates of progress the Dons will probabaly go back to their best or above that again, maybe partly as of Miller's joining and remining Aberdeen they can do it.

In the 1980s he was rated at Height:, 5 foot 9. Weight:, 11 stones 9 pounds

This site was written in June 2007

Abderdeen's Major Trophies

Europe

European Cup Winners' Cup - 1982-83

Runner - Up 0 times

European Super Cup :- 1983-84

Runner Up 0 times

Domestic

Scottish League Titles 1954-55; 1979-80; 1983-84; 1984-85

Runner - up 1911, 1937, 1956, 1971, 1972, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994

Look at http://www.lonympics.co.uk/
Scottish Cup Winners 1946-47; 1969-70; 1981-82; 1982-83; 1983-84; 1985-86; 1989-90

Runner up 1937, 1953, 1954, 1959, 1969, 1978, 1993, 2000

Scottish League Cup Winners 1955-56; 1976-77; 1985-86; 1989-90; 1995-96

Runner - up 1947, 1979, 1980, 1988, 1989, 1993, 2000,

Southern League Cup Winners 1946

Other major trophies
Drybrough Cup Winners 1971-72; 1980-81
Tennents' Sixes Winners 1986, 1987
Scottish Highland Football League (reserve team contested championship) 1915, 1925

North American Soccer league Runner up 1967. Aberdeen took part as the Washington Whips in the innagural NASL.

Links to more Scottish Football Subjects

A site saying the best Aberdeen results ever

A site on football, Listing which teams won each of the 3 major trophies in Scotland & England since the 1870s, & also with a list of which are the 40 biggest clubs in Scottish Football, by list

A site saying the best scottish sport team results ever

A Multiple Choice Quiz on Aberdeen FC

A History of Aberdeen FC

A site listing all World Club Championship wins, including Scottish 19thC wins

Aberdeen interesting facts site

A biography of Jim Leighton

A Biography of John Hewitt

A list of which nations have won the Most European trophies,