Editing James Milner (section)

====Early career====
[[File:Milner2.JPG|thumb|upright|Milner playing for [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]] in 2004]]

Milner made his first appearance for Newcastle United during their pre-season tour of Asia, scoring his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw against [[Kitchee SC|Kitchee]], in Hong Kong.<ref name=Impact>{{cite web |last=Pearson |first=James |title=Robson delight at Milner impact |website=Sky Sports |date=19 July 2004 |url=https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11678/2305641/robson-delight-at-milner-impact |access-date=29 July 2007 |archive-date=21 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150121180355/http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11678/2305641/robson-delight-at-milner-impact |url-status=live}}</ref> During this tour, he took the opportunity to observe how Newcastle striker [[Alan Shearer]] dealt with attention from fans and the media and said that his association with people like Shearer gave him a better idea of how to deal with the media.<ref name="Sunday Telegraph"/>

Milner's first Premier League match for Newcastle came against [[Middlesbrough F.C.|Middlesbrough]] on 18 August 2004, in which he played on the right of the field as a [[Winger (association football)|winger]], despite having featured regularly on the left for Leeds.<ref name=position/> When asked about this after the match, Milner said he had no preference where on the pitch he played.<ref name=position>{{cite web |last=O'Rourke |first=Peter |title=Milner makes Magpies vow |website=Sky Sports |date=18 August 2004 |url=http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11678_2308355,00.html |access-date=21 August 2007 |archive-date=8 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208035028/http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11678_2308355,00.html |url-status=live}}</ref> A month later he made his debut in European competition, when Newcastle played in the [[UEFA Cup]] against [[Bnei Sakhnin F.C.|Bnei Sakhnin]] from Israel, after coming on as a substitute for [[Shola Ameobi]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Newcastle 2–0 Bnei Sakhnin |website=BBC Sport |date=16 September 2004 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/3656126.stm |access-date=7 October 2007 |archive-date=24 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070824152506/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/3656126.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> In the same month, he scored his first competitive goal for the club, also as a substitute, in a 3–1 win against [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Newcastle 3–1 West Brom |website=BBC Sport |date=25 September 2004 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/3661816.stm |access-date=23 August 2007 |archive-date=28 August 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060828095021/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/3661816.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>

The situation changed for Milner after Newcastle manager [[Bobby Robson]], whom Milner considered his mentor, was sacked and replaced by [[Graeme Souness]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.shieldsgazette.com/news/james-milner-reveals-what-really-happened-between-him-and-graeme-souness-newcastle-united-252277 |title=James Milner reveals what really happened between him and Graeme Souness at Newcastle United |newspaper=Shields Gazette |date=20 September 2018 |access-date=22 April 2021 |archive-date=22 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422173726/https://www.shieldsgazette.com/news/james-milner-reveals-what-really-happened-between-him-and-graeme-souness-newcastle-united-252277 |url-status=live}}</ref> Under Souness, he started 13 league matches, but did not play his first full Premier League match for Newcastle until April 2005. Milner said that he was frustrated at not being used as a starter for most of the season.<ref>{{cite web |last=Buckingham |first=Mark |title=Milner's Magpies hope |website=Sky Sports |date=29 March 2005 |url=http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11678_2330925,00.html |access-date=10 September 2007 |archive-date=5 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505211001/http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11678_2330925,00.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

At the start of the [[2005–06 Newcastle United F.C. season|2005–06 season]], Milner scored in Newcastle's 3–1 away win against [[MFK Dubnica|FK ZTS Dubnica]] in the [[UEFA Intertoto Cup]], and also set up Alan Shearer for the team's third goal.<ref>{{cite news |title=ZTS Dubnica 1–3 Newcastle |website=BBC Sport |date=17 June 2005 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/4689063.stm |access-date=29 July 2007 |archive-date=26 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826033237/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/4689063.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>