Gary Mills (footballer born 1981)

Infobox Football biography
playername = Gary Mills


fullname = Gary Leonard Mills
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1981|5|20
cityofbirth = Isle of Sheppey
countryofbirth = England
height = height|ft=5|in=9
position = Midfielder
currentclub = Stevenage Borough
clubnumber = 8
youthyears = 1999–2000
youthclubs = Rushden & Diamonds
years = 2000–2006
2006–2007
2007
2007
2007–2008
2008–
clubs = Rushden & Diamonds
Crawley Town
Rushden & Diamonds
Tamworth
Kettering Town
Stevenage Borough
caps(goals) = 124 (39)
021 0(0)
017 0(0)
009 0(2)
00? 0(?)
001 0(0)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
pcupdate = 12:31, 10 August 2008 (UTC)
tupdate =

Gary Leonard Mills (born May 20, 1981 in Isle of Sheppey) is an English professional footballer, currently playing for Conference National side Stevenage Borough, where he plays as a midfielder.

Playing career

Rushden & Diamonds

Mills began his career with Rushden & Diamonds as a trainee in 1999. The following season, Mills enjoyed promotion to The Football League after winning the Conference National.

Seemingly a club heading in the right direction, Mills and Rushden & Diamonds exceeded expectations by reaching the Division Three playoff final but lost to Cheltenham Town.

The Diamonds continued to impress in the league and subsequently manger Brian Talbot, became the subject of speculation linking him with bigger clubs. March 2004 saw Talbot leave his post to join Oldham Athletic, this saw a quick demise in their fortunes.

On September 11, 2004, Mills suffered a dislocated ankle in a league match against Oxford United [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_3/3615168.stm Oxford United 0-0 Rushden & Diamonds] ] , leading Mills to miss most of 2004.

After all the success Mills had enjoyed in the early part of his career, Mills tasted the heartbreak of relegation from The Football League in the 2004/05 season.

Mills remained loyal to the cause and started the Conference season, however struggled to find his form.

Crawley Town

Mills left The Diamonds and joined fellow Conference National side Crawley Town on August 10 2006.

Rushden & Diamonds

After just six months with The Red Devils, Mills rejoined Rushden & Diamonds on January 9 2007. Despite numerous managerial changes, Mills became a regular in the first team squad making 17 appearances for the remainder of the season [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rushden_and_diamonds/6245409.stm Rushden return for defender Mills] ] .

Tamworth

On May 25 2007 Tamworth manager Gary Mills signed his namesake after previously been released by Rushden & Diamonds at the end of the 2006/07 season [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/t/tamworth/6708985.stm Tamworth complete deal for Mills] ] , reuniting the midfielder with former team mate Carl Heggs who he played alongside at Rushden & Diamonds.

On October 24 2007, Mills was sacked by Tamworth following a massive fallout with manager, Gary Mills. [cite news |first=Dave |last=Clayton |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Manager scathing over namesake's departure |url=http://www.thelambs.co.uk/news/newsDetail.asp?secID=1&newsID=695 |work= |publisher="TheLambs.co.uk" |date=2007-10-24 |accessdate=2007-11-01 ]

Kettering Town

Following Mills ill fated departure from Tamworth, the player went into talks with former Tamworth manager Mark Cooper at fellow Conference North club Kettering Town and signed for the club on the exact same day.

tevenage Borough

Mills signed for Stevenage Borough on May 13, 2008, having been previously managed by the current Stevenage Borough manager, Graham Westley whilst he was at Rushden & Diamonds and Kettering Town.

Honours

flagicon|England Rushden & Diamonds

Winner
* 2000/01 Conference National

References

External links

*soccerbase|17291|Gary Mills