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Millwall midfielder George Saville backing former club Middlesbrough to be in the Championship promotion mix at end of season
BY RICHARD CAWLEYrichard@slpmedia.co.uk
George Saville heads back to Middlesbrough tomorrow admitting he expects his former club to be right in the Championship promotion chase at the end of the season.
The Teessiders have been revitalised since appointing former Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick to succeed Chris Wilder as manager.
Middlesbrough have taken 22 points from their last 10 matches – top-two form – climbing from the lower reaches of the division up to fifth.
When Saville joined them from Millwall in August 2018 it was a club record sale for the South Londoners. It still remains the largest fee that the Lions have recouped for a player, the former Chelsea youngster coming off a sparkling campaign for Neil Harris’ side that saw him chip in with 10 goals from midfield as they just fell short of the top six.
Saville had three campaigns with Boro before signing up for a fourth spell with Millwall in July 2021.
“Michael has come in and they’ve hit the ground running,” Saville told the South London Press.
“I don’t know too much about him as a coach. But if he’s anywhere near what he was as a player then he will be fantastic for them. They are heading in the right direction – they’ll be a real force this year.
“They look like they have got a settled team, a settled style of play and they’ve all bought into the new manager. They’ll be tough on Saturday and right up there for the rest of the season.”
Saville played 118 matches for Middlesbrough.
Initially they wanted to make it a Den double swoop – also bidding for Jed Wallace – but Millwall made it clear they would not part with two prize assets.
Saville said he did not feel pressure from commanding such a hefty £8million pricetag.
“Middlesbrough, at the time, were throwing money around,” he recalled.” So there were players bought for bigger fees up there than me and on more money.
“So once I was up there, I wasn’t looking at that at all. I knew it was a big fee, for Millwall especially. It was brilliant, in terms of the amount of money they managed to get back for me.
“I’ve got fond memories of Middlesbrough. It’s a fantastic club and they have got great people there. As family we moved up there for three years and really enjoyed it.
“I scored against Spurs in the FA Cup [a 2-1 defeat at White Hart Lane in January 2020], from an individual point of view, that was a good feeling.
“As a team, I would say Leeds at home [a 1-1 draw in February 2019] was maybe a standout. We get it at Millwall for those games against Leeds, it was a sellout – 30,000. The atmosphere, when it is like that, is an incredible place to play.”
Saville describes the chance to pull on a Millwall shirt again as too big a lure to resist. He is one of the most experienced members of Gary Rowett’s squad with 273 Championship matches under his belt.
Millwall kept their play-off hopes alive until the final day of the 2021-22 season and have an even better points haul this time around as well as a more advantageous position in the standings.
“We’ll always be in and around [the play-offs], just because of the manner of how we stay in games,” said Saville.
“Sunderland, results wise [a 3-0 loss on December 3], blew us away. But that was the exception. If you look across the board then we’re always in games – 1-0s, 2-1s or 1-1s. We won’t roll over lightly.
“It’s just a case of whether we can maintain the consistency and keep finding the back of the net.”
Those central midfield spots are hotly-contested. Billy Mitchell has been a strong contender for the club’s top performer this season, arguably only leaving one spot up for grabs. Saville, Callum Styles, Jamie Shackleton and Ryan Leonard, back from injury, are all contenders to fill it.
“It’s probably the best squad we’ve had in a while, in terms of numbers,” said Saville, whose sole domestic honour is the EFL Trophy while on loan at Bristol City in 2015.
“I’ve been happy with my own form. I’ve shown a good level of consistency this year.
“I didn’t start the season, but I got my head down and worked my way in. I stayed in. The performances me and Billy have put in there, we have been good the majority of the time.
“Billy has been outstanding. He shows a high level of experience for someone so young, that impresses me.
“He’s young, energetic and got legs. For the last spell, maybe 18 months, he is going in the right direction. If he keeps doing what he is doing then he has a great future ahead of him.”
The Teessiders have been revitalised since appointing former Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick to succeed Chris Wilder as manager.
Middlesbrough have taken 22 points from their last 10 matches – top-two form – climbing from the lower reaches of the division up to fifth.
When Saville joined them from Millwall in August 2018 it was a club record sale for the South Londoners. It still remains the largest fee that the Lions have recouped for a player, the former Chelsea youngster coming off a sparkling campaign for Neil Harris’ side that saw him chip in with 10 goals from midfield as they just fell short of the top six.
Saville had three campaigns with Boro before signing up for a fourth spell with Millwall in July 2021.
“Michael has come in and they’ve hit the ground running,” Saville told the South London Press.
“I don’t know too much about him as a coach. But if he’s anywhere near what he was as a player then he will be fantastic for them. They are heading in the right direction – they’ll be a real force this year.
“They look like they have got a settled team, a settled style of play and they’ve all bought into the new manager. They’ll be tough on Saturday and right up there for the rest of the season.”
Saville played 118 matches for Middlesbrough.
Initially they wanted to make it a Den double swoop – also bidding for Jed Wallace – but Millwall made it clear they would not part with two prize assets.
Saville said he did not feel pressure from commanding such a hefty £8million pricetag.
“Middlesbrough, at the time, were throwing money around,” he recalled.” So there were players bought for bigger fees up there than me and on more money.
“So once I was up there, I wasn’t looking at that at all. I knew it was a big fee, for Millwall especially. It was brilliant, in terms of the amount of money they managed to get back for me.
“I’ve got fond memories of Middlesbrough. It’s a fantastic club and they have got great people there. As family we moved up there for three years and really enjoyed it.
“I scored against Spurs in the FA Cup [a 2-1 defeat at White Hart Lane in January 2020], from an individual point of view, that was a good feeling.
“As a team, I would say Leeds at home [a 1-1 draw in February 2019] was maybe a standout. We get it at Millwall for those games against Leeds, it was a sellout – 30,000. The atmosphere, when it is like that, is an incredible place to play.”
Saville describes the chance to pull on a Millwall shirt again as too big a lure to resist. He is one of the most experienced members of Gary Rowett’s squad with 273 Championship matches under his belt.
Millwall kept their play-off hopes alive until the final day of the 2021-22 season and have an even better points haul this time around as well as a more advantageous position in the standings.
“We’ll always be in and around [the play-offs], just because of the manner of how we stay in games,” said Saville.
“Sunderland, results wise [a 3-0 loss on December 3], blew us away. But that was the exception. If you look across the board then we’re always in games – 1-0s, 2-1s or 1-1s. We won’t roll over lightly.
“It’s just a case of whether we can maintain the consistency and keep finding the back of the net.”
Those central midfield spots are hotly-contested. Billy Mitchell has been a strong contender for the club’s top performer this season, arguably only leaving one spot up for grabs. Saville, Callum Styles, Jamie Shackleton and Ryan Leonard, back from injury, are all contenders to fill it.
“It’s probably the best squad we’ve had in a while, in terms of numbers,” said Saville, whose sole domestic honour is the EFL Trophy while on loan at Bristol City in 2015.
“I’ve been happy with my own form. I’ve shown a good level of consistency this year.
“I didn’t start the season, but I got my head down and worked my way in. I stayed in. The performances me and Billy have put in there, we have been good the majority of the time.
“Billy has been outstanding. He shows a high level of experience for someone so young, that impresses me.
“He’s young, energetic and got legs. For the last spell, maybe 18 months, he is going in the right direction. If he keeps doing what he is doing then he has a great future ahead of him.”
[https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/mill...-championship-promotion-mix-at-end-of-season/]
