Justin Miller (footballer)

Justin James Miller (born 16 December 1980) is a South African former footballer who played as a central defender in England.

Justin Miller

Personal information
Full name	Justin James Miller[1]
Date of birth	16 December 1980
Place of birth	Johannesburg, South Africa
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Position(s)	Central defender
Youth career
	Ipswich Town
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2000–2003	Ipswich Town	0	(0)
2002	→ Leyton Orient (loan)	13	(0)
2003–2007	Leyton Orient	150	(5)
2007–2008	Port Vale	14	(0)
2008–2009	Chelmsford City	21	(0)
2009–2010	Bidvest Wits	14	(1)
2010–2011	Rushden & Diamonds	32	(3)
2011–2013	Chelmsford City	64	(4)
2014	Chelmsford City	11	(0)
2014–2016	Bury Town	48	(8)
Total		367	(21)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He started his career in England with Ipswich Town in 2000, but moved on to Leyton Orient three years later without playing a competitive game for Ipswich. In four years with Orient he made 150 league games, before he switched to Port Vale for the 2007–08 campaign. He spent the next season with non-league Chelmsford City, before returning to his native South Africa to play for Wits University. He returned to England in 2010 to spend a season with Conference side Rushden & Diamonds, before returning Chelmsford City the following year. He spent two years with Chelmsford, and was released for a few months before he re-signed again in January 2014. He joined Bury Town later in the year, and stayed at the club until 2016.

Playing career

Miller started his professional career at Ipswich Town, but was let go at the end of the 2002–03 season without making a first team appearance.[3] He signed with Third Division side Leyton Orient, who he had previously been loaned out to. In the 2004–05 campaign he racked up a total of 47 appearances in all competitions, and then in the following season hit a total of 43 appearances. In his four years with the club he racked up 150 league appearances before being released in May 2007.[4]

He moved to Martin Foyle's Port Vale ahead of the 2007–08 season on a two-year contract from Leyton Orient, along with fellow Orient player Shane Tudor.[5] He only lasted one season with the club, scoring once against Morecambe in the Football League Trophy,[6] before falling out of favour with new boss Lee Sinnott.[7]

In July 2008, he signed for non-league Chelmsford City,[8][9] following an unsuccessful trial period at Aldershot Town.[10] However, in January 2009 Miller moved back to South Africa for family reasons.[11] He signed for Johannesburg club Bidvest Wits.[12]

Miller joined Conference National club Rushden & Diamonds in June 2010.[13] He made 33 appearances in all competitions, though the club suffered a crisis in summer 2011 and were expelled from the Conference.[14]

In July 2011, he re-signed with Chelmsford City on a part-time basis, back in the Conference South.[15] The club finished one place and four points outside the play-offs in 2011–12, before securing a play-off spot in 2012–13. He was released by manager Dean Holdsworth for "financial reasons" in summer 2013, but was re-signed by Chelmsford for a third time in January 2014.[16] He helped the "Clarets" to a 17th-place finish in 2013–14.

He spent the 2014–15 season with Bury Town, as the Blues were relegated out of the Isthmian League Premier Division in last place. Bury Town finished 13th in Isthmian League Division One North in 2015–16.

Statistics

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Ipswich Town	2000–01[17]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2001–02[18]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2002–03[19]	First Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Leyton Orient	2002–03[19]	Third Division	19	0	2	0	1	0	2[lower-alpha 1]	0	24	0
	2003–04[20]	Third Division	34	2	2	0	1	0	0	0	37	2
	2004–05[21]	League Two	43	0	1	0	1	0	2[lower-alpha 1]	1[lower-alpha 1]	47	1
	2005–06[22]	League Two	34	1	5	0	1	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	41	1
	2006–07[23]	League One	31	2	2	1	1	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	35	3
	Total		163	5	12	1	5	0	6	1	186	7
Port Vale	2007–08[24]	League One	14	0	1	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	1[lower-alpha 1]	16	1
Chelmsford City	2008–09[25]	Conference South	21	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	21	0
Bidvest Wits	2009–10[26]	Premier Soccer League	14	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	1
Rushden & Diamonds	2010–11[27]	Conference	32	3	2	0	2[lower-alpha 2]	0	0	0	36	3
Chelmsford City	2011–12[26]	Conference South	23	1	4	1	1[lower-alpha 2]	0	0	0	28	2
	2012–13[26]	Conference South	37	3	4	0	3[lower-alpha 2]	0	0	0	44	3
	2013–14[26]	Conference South	15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	0
	2014–15[26]	Conference South	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		75	4	8	1	4	0	0	0	87	5
Bury Town	2014–15[28]	Isthmian League Premier Division	31	4	1	0	1[lower-alpha 2]	0	0	0	33	4
	2015–16[28]	Isthmian League Division One North	17	4	3	2	2[lower-alpha 2]	0	0	0	22	6
	Total		48	8	4	2	3	0	0	0	55	10
Career total			367	21	27	4	14	0	7	2	415	27

1. Appearance/s and goal/s in the Football League Trophy.
2. Appearance/s in the FA Trophy.

References

1. "Justin Miller". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
2. "FootballSquads - Port Vale - 2007/08". www.footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
3. "Ipswich let Reuser go". BBC Sport. 23 January 2003. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
4. "O's boss begins summer clearout". BBC Sport. 1 May 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
5. "Port Vale snap up ex-Orient pair". BBC Sport. 14 May 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
6. "Morecambe 2-2 Port Vale". BBC. 9 October 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
7. "Port Vale allow Miller to leave". BBC Sport. 8 April 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
8. "Another Impressive Duo Sign for City". NonLeagueDaily.com. 21 July 2008. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
9. "Clarets capture Moore and Miller". BBC Sport. 21 July 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
10. "Shots continue Murphy trial spell". BBC Sport. 22 July 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
11. "Chelmsford bolster promotion push". BBC Sport. 23 January 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
12. "Wits sign 'tough guy' from the South". Kick Off. 20 January 2009. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
13. "Rushden & Diamonds snap up defender Justin Miller". BBC Sport. 23 June 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
14. "Rushden expelled from Conference". BBC Sport. 11 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
15. "Chelmsford sign ex-Rushden & Diamonds defender Miller". BBC Sport. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
16. Phipps, Jon (11 January 2014). "Chelmsford City re-sign defender Justin Miller". Essex Chronicle. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
17. "Games played by Justin Miller in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
18. "Games played by Justin Miller in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
19. "Games played by Justin Miller in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
20. "Games played by Justin Miller in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
21. "Games played by Justin Miller in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
22. "Games played by Justin Miller in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
23. "Games played by Justin Miller in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
24. "Games played by Justin Miller in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
25. "Justin Miller Profile | Aylesbury United FC". www.aylesburyunitedfc.co.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
26. Justin Miller at Soccerway
27. "Games played by Justin Miller in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
28. "Bury Town Football Club - Player Stats". burytownfc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 May 2017.