Mark Milligan

[Chairman Trigg]

Unfortunately for us ...quality around him was needed to get the best out of him which the team was sadly lacking in last term.We really needed a blood and guts leader last season not a skilful player past his prime.
With better players he would have probably looked a class act .Must have regretted joining us when he saw how poor the squad was ,and then the Chairman dismantled the club around him.

 

[GBJ]

Unfortunately for us ...quality around him was needed to get the best out of him which the team was sadly lacking in last term.We really needed a blood and guts leader last season not a skilful player past his prime.
With better players he would have probably looked a class act .Must have regretted joining us when he saw how poor the squad was ,and then the Chairman dismantled the club around him.

What certainly didn’t help him was having to play in midfield alongside people with no arsehole - namely Dieng, and that kid from Man U.

Sure he wasn’t a spectacular talisman-like player, but then he wasn’t brought in to play that role.

The fact that we played an out of balance midfield, with a terrible defence, hindered him immensely.

 

[GBJ]

People have forgotten that Milligan started well and was certainly not out of his depth at Coventry.

Where he was out of his depth was being made captain only to find when players faking injury, bullying the younger lads and fighting on a compulsory day out drinking. He got badly clattered in one home game but stayed on and from then on looked as bad and as dejected as the others.

As for a Deegan style player..... We won both games when he was sent off and when he started in his last season and took a yellow.... Won 4 and drew the other....I make that 19 points from seven games...... 19 points mmm that figure rings a bell.

Literally this post here sums it up perfectly.

N’Golo Kante would have looked dreadful alongside some of the mob we had.

 

[Shrimpet steve]

Agree with Ricey’s comments above. The bloke was one of the only senior players who was professional throughout the whole mess of a season despite the stick he often got on here .. yes his legs had gone but toward the end he showed his class and glimpses of why he was an Australia international. He’d have been great for the kids to have around, as someone to look up to. All the best, MM.

Dont think he would have been great for the kids! I heard from a good source he was disruptive in training and walked around like he owned the place! Glad hes off!!

 

[GBJ]

Dont think he would have been great for the kids! I heard from a good source he was disruptive in training and walked around like he owned the place! Glad hes off!!

I can say with a good degree of certainty that your source is wrong.

My source - a current player - says the complete opposite. MM is the man they look up to. He’s always got time for them. Always happy to listen to their thoughts & concerns, put an arm round them and advise them as best he can. He encourages and drives them.

The misconception about his sulking stems from the fact he was fed up with certain players treating the place like a playground or youth club. The misconception about him thinking he owns the place, was him standing up to those players, who of course didn’t like hearing a few home truths.

Thankfully, most of them aren’t here anymore.

 

[Richard Hearn]

Although from reading the Echo article I interpreted it as that he hasn't actually been released or told he can go he just hasn't been told anything and with his visa expiring soon he has assumed that he is not wanted.

Poor show if that's true.

 

[South Bank Hank]

Dont think he would have been great for the kids! I heard from a good source he was disruptive in training and walked around like he owned the place! Glad hes off!!

I can say with a good degree of certainty that your source is wrong.

My source - a current player - says the complete opposite. MM is the man they look up to. He’s always got time for them. Always happy to listen to their thoughts & concerns, put an arm round them and advise them as best he can. He encourages and drives them.

Interesting perspectives. Personally, I love it when players feel they can walk around like they own they place, so long as they've earned the right (with their peers!) to do it. Rightly or wrongly, I picked up a real professional arrogance about Timlin when I watched a training session a few years back. Even if his talent failed him at times, you could just see how much he was woven into the personality and work-ethic of the team. Sounds a lot like what we're about to lose with Milligan.

 

[Kris]

People have forgotten that Milligan started well and was certainly not out of his depth at Coventry.

Where he was out of his depth was being made captain only to find when players faking injury, bullying the younger lads and fighting on a compulsory day out drinking. He got badly clattered in one home game but stayed on and from then on looked as bad and as dejected as the others.

As for a Deegan style player..... We won both games when he was sent off and when he started in his last season and took a yellow.... Won 4 and drew the other....I make that 19 points from seven games...... 19 points mmm that figure rings a bell.

So we were better when he was off the pitch then...

 

[Strykr]

Interesting to see the outpourings, i thought the general concensus was that he was crap.

 

[kentblues]

Although from reading the Echo article I interpreted it as that he hasn't actually been released or told he can go he just hasn't been told anything and with his visa expiring soon he has assumed that he is not wanted.

Poor show if that's true.

It read as the club had until end of May contractually to take up the option and didn't. Although the club have not said anything he is now out of contract and a free agent. I guess the club could still next week if they wanted offer him a different reduced contract - unlikely you would assume but nothing would surprise me currently. FWIW I thought Sol rated him.

 

[kentblues]

Interesting to see the outpourings, i thought the general concensus was that he was crap.

No I don't think thats fair- some thought he was crap/average whatever but I wouldn't say that was the consensus. I thought he was decent but never lived up to what you would expect given his pedigree- didn't produce the 8 or 9 out of 10 performances you would expect. That actually changed when all the youngsters came in and I thought he was exactly what they needed.

If we intend to play a similarly youthful side in L2 then definitely he is the type of player you need. However, the big unknown factor is what were his wages and what would it cost to keep him on? That likely is/was a big factor although if one option was moving into a purely coaching role surely that wouldn't have been big ££- maybe much more expensive if extended as a player?

Fitness wise he played more games than most so that didn't seem to be an issue.

 

[amsemp]

Not disappointed to see him go. Thought he’d be the leader we’ve not seen since Barrett and the conductor we’ve not seen since Maher. But he was neither.

Wish him all the best wherever he ends up next, but the right decision considering he was probably on a decent packet.

 

[southendkid]

Interesting to see the outpourings, i thought the general concensus was that he was crap.

He was crap until January but once we started playing the kids he looked like the midfielder we thought we were signing, if these rumours about him calling a few players out are true then it's not surprising his performances improved once he started playing with people that gelled with him.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

What a shame.
It’s a shame 99% of the fan base would rather see Gary Deegan-esque midfielder tearing into number 10s, getting sent off 4 times a season culminating in him missing 20% of the season through suspension, with a passing range of a bin lorry, than Mark Milligan’s more nuanced style of play. Unfortunately maybe his legs weren’t up to the pace of League One, but you could see the undoubted quality he had on the ball.

Yes he could pass,that's why he was played in midfield.But as you say his legs had gone for L1.Suprised he wasn't tried at the back really.

 

[rlb999]

Of the more senior players, Milligan was one of the ones that I had more time for - but in honesty last season was such as shower that they all need to go in my view (retaining a few of the better youngsters). If we've found a way out of what looked like a 3 year deal, I'd say that's a good result. Best of luck back in Oz if that's where you're off to Mark.

 

[lombard]

Deegan,one of the worst players in SUFC recent times !!!

 

[Ricey]

Deegan,one of the worst players in SUFC recent times !!!

But but he had a beard and short shorts.

 

[OldBlueLady]

There'd be a great player if we could find someone with the appetite and strengths of the two of them though.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

There'd be a great player if we could find someone with the appetite and strengths of the two of them though.

Hmmm

 

[Tinks]

The way I read the story was that he had little contact with the c,up and said he took the contract as he had planned to start coaching at the club after his playing season. If so it’s pretty poor communication all round.
I too heard he was a nice guy and liked by most in the club it’s just a shame he didn’t deliver as we would have liked but, as others have said above he was playing outside his position and when I first watched him I was impressed.

I wish the guy the best of luck in whatever venture he now goes on