Liam Millar may be just what this Preston North End club has been looking for. Millar didn’t waste any time in presenting himself to the Preston North End crowd on Saturday. The crafty Canadian’s aggressive pace and skill resulted in the first goal within the first minute, and the former Liverpool star would continue to wreak havoc throughout the day.
During Ryan Lowe’s tenure, the wing-back positions have received the greatest attention. He’s tried a slew of players in those positions, and while Brad Potts has firmly established himself on the right, the left was up for grabs this season.
Kian Best excelled in his first few games, although he is still a relatively young player. Andrew Hughes can play there, as seen by his performance against Stoke City, while Robbie Brady is a more experienced alternative. Of course, Alvaro Fernandez was fantastic to see last season, but he is now on loan with Granada in La Liga.
So, Liam Millar, please take your place. While left-wing back was not his favored position, he made an impression there. This season, he played mostly on the left for Basel, but he was protected by a left-back. It meant he had to cover a lot of territory on Saturday, and he ended up playing on one leg essentially after cramping up.
Ryan Lowe hasn’t had access to this sort of talent since joining Preston at the end of 2021. The last players we had with any talent, pace, and flare were Tom Barkhuizen and Scott Sinclair. They never settled on a Lowe team, though.
We’ve been screaming out for speed in this squad, and having such a direct guy capable of taking on people is critical for us. It makes it much simpler for us to move up the pitch and get the ball into the box when, as Duane Holmes shown, we’ll have people in there supporting the striker.
Millar also played down the middle in the second half when Milutin Osmajic was pulled. If we can get him some through balls to run on, he can absolutely work in that position.
Aiden McGeady is one recent loan addition that springs to mind when thinking about players with that extra something. He joined on loan from Everton for the 2016/17 season and had supporters on the edge of their seats the whole season. He was a thrill to watch, and his eight goals and nine assists helped us go close to the playoffs that year.
We eventually ended 11th, and despite his desire to stay, the Irishman relocated to Sunderland to join Simon Grayson.
again. McGeady has the ability to create something out of nothing. When he was on his game, it seemed like he was always capable of performing some sort of magic.
Millar, hopefully, can play in a similar manner. On Saturday, he was a wonderful outlet for us, with a lot of our offensive play going through him. Perhaps a more straight runner than McGeady, who preferred to find some space and shoot rather than try to sprint past the guy. Mads Frokjaer is a better match for that job.
Millar, on the other hand, is definitely a gifted player. It was difficult at times during Lowe’s tenure when we were on the counterattack and lacked players with ideas and creativity.
Millar’s shot into Osmajic.
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