James Milner footballer: Encyclopedia II - James Milner footballer - Newcastle United

James Milner footballer - Newcastle United

Milner signed for Newcastle on July 2, 2004. He was introduced by the Magpies in their pre-season Asian tour, and he made good use of the opportunity to score his first goal for the club, against Kitchee in Hong Kong, a 1-1 draw.

He also received a boost to his international career in August 2004, when he made his first start for the England Under-21 side, against Ukraine.

His first Premiership game for Newcastle was a 2-2 draw at the Riverside Stadium against Middlesbrough F.C. on August 14, 2004. On September 16 he made his European debut when Newcastle played Israel's Bnei Sakhnin in the UEFA Cup, and 9 days later he scored his first goal for the club, against West Bromwich Albion at home on September 25, 2004, a 3-1 win.

But Newcastle's poor start to the season, when they could not find a win in the first four matches in the Premiership, resulted in the manager Sir Bobby Robson being sacked. New manager Graeme Souness gave Milner only 13 league starts in the whole season. He played 41 games in all competitions, but could score only once.

The 2005-06 campaign saw Milner scoring his first European goal when he struck in Newcastle's 1-3 win against Slovakian side FK ZTS Dubnica in the Intertoto Cup on July 17, 2005 in Slovakia.

But his inability to find first team place, and the clause in the purchase of Nolberto Solano by Newcastle from Aston Villa resulted in Milner being loaned to the West Midlands club for the 2005-06 season.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Newcastle United", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki