Former York City manager Gary Mills breaks silence to thank supporters

12:21pm Thursday 7th March 2013 in Sport Photograph of the Author Exclusive By Dave Flett, Sports reporter

Former York City manager Gary Mills Former York City manager Gary Mills

FORMER York City manager Gary Mills has expressed his appreciation for those who supported him during his two-and-a-half year reign.

Mills chose to make no comment following his dismissal after Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat to Bradford City.

But he has now contacted The Press to break his silence.

The double Wembley-winning chief is still not prepared to speak about his departure from Bootham Crescent but felt obliged to say his thank yous before contemplating his next move in the game.

Mills said: “I would like to thank the people who supported, trusted and believed in me over the last two-and-a-half years, which I will always be grateful for.”

The former European Cup winner was replaced on Monday by one-time Northen Ireland and Norwich City manager Nigel Worthington.

York Minstermen, meanwhile, will hold their monthly general knowledge quiz at the Pitchside Bar tonight.

It starts at 8.30pm with the doors open from 7pm and the cost is £1 per person with a maximum of five members to a team.

Comments(53)

rogue84 says...
12:25pm Thu 7 Mar 13

the feelings mutual Gary, we will never forget what you did for the club, despite the manner of your exit. good luck for the future from all (sensible) supporters of YCFC.

Report this post »

foreveryork says...
12:37pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Thankyou Gary. A few tears have been shed in this household, we thought you'd be with us for years to come. You'll forever be a York City legend & thankyou for one of the best weeks of our life last season. We now have to get on with supporting Nigel & the team to preserve our League 2 status but you'll never be forgotten. Good luck for the future.

Report this post »

ian923 says...
12:43pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Agree with Rogue 84. We will be forever grateful for our return to the League and the FA Trophy was a bonus.

Report this post »

yorkiemike says...
12:45pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Yes ,thanks Gary for two good years culminating with a fantastic double win at Wembley.You will be well remembered by all true YCFC supporters for giving us a team that played some entertaining football.
Good luck to you for the future in whatever you do and thanks again.

Report this post »

Fat Harry says...
12:45pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Thank you Gary for some extraordinary moments, and the fantastic achievement of leading us out of the Conference.

Good luck in whatever you choose to do next.

But for God's sake don't ever go to Luton.

Report this post »

Jo1971 says...
12:49pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Thank You Gary for bringing the good times back. Good luck in whatever you do next. You will always be a York City Legend.

Report this post »

old_school_minsterman says...
12:52pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Thanks for everything Gary and a double trophy season that none of us will ever forget.

Most of the shocking, negative comments towards Mills from posters on here I know for a fact (from the players) are from bitter YT's that Mills has released or former players causing trouble.

All true YCFC supporters are grateful for what Millsy acheived and i'm sure will wish him all the best in his next venture.

Welcome Nigel...and good luck!

Report this post »

RooBeck says...
12:52pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Best Wises to you and yours for the future Gary. It didn't quite work out for you and the team this season and things were at a tipping point after the Bradford game.Your efforts and that of the team during last May will never be forgotten - it was footballing history in the making and brought great pride back to this famous club! Not only will all City fans be backing Nigel, the squad and his backroom staff to steer us to safety, there will also be a great deal of interest in your future and heres wishing you quickly get fixed-up and have future successes. COYR.

Report this post »

Mickey T says...
12:54pm Thu 7 Mar 13

A big thank you Gary from me too. I echo all the previous post's.

Great memories and a wonderful photo of Gary stood with me taken at Ebbsfleet out side their main stand before the first game of a wonderful and never to be forgotten last season in the Conference.

Good luck to you and Darren at which ever club you take over.

Thanks for dragging the club out of the Conference Gary, everyone else who was in charge foud it too hard a task.

My little club at Wembley twice within nine days. Unbelievable yes, but it happened thanks to you.

Report this post »

Dortmun says...
1:12pm Thu 7 Mar 13

A big thanks not only to you but to Darren and Paul as well. Good luck with your futures.

Report this post »

prince naseem says...
1:25pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Jo1971 wrote:
Thank You Gary for bringing the good times back. Good luck in whatever you do next. You will always be a York City Legend.
What a sad endorsement if he's a legend. Best thing Jason has done is get rid of him. Nigel is the guy to take us forward and upward, not back to the Conference like Mills would have done, good riddance Gary

Report this post »

PositiveFootball says...
1:42pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Defeating Arsenal and Manchester United, draws with Liverpool and all the other significant episodes in the clubs history; nothing compares to what GM did for this club in such short time. He took this club from the darkness into the light. I am more than sure that Nigel Worthington can take up the red and blue baton and propel this great club to even greater heights. A new era dawns.

Report this post »

old_school_minsterman says...
1:58pm Thu 7 Mar 13

prince naseem wrote:
Jo1971 wrote: Thank You Gary for bringing the good times back. Good luck in whatever you do next. You will always be a York City Legend.
What a sad endorsement if he's a legend. Best thing Jason has done is get rid of him. Nigel is the guy to take us forward and upward, not back to the Conference like Mills would have done, good riddance Gary
Absolute tool you are!!

Report this post »

jcyorkie10 says...
2:00pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Thanks for all you did for the club Gary, some really fantastic times and playing some great football, good luck where you go next, total respect to you.

Report this post »

prince naseem says...
2:05pm Thu 7 Mar 13

old_school_minsterma
n wrote:
prince naseem wrote:
Jo1971 wrote: Thank You Gary for bringing the good times back. Good luck in whatever you do next. You will always be a York City Legend.
What a sad endorsement if he's a legend. Best thing Jason has done is get rid of him. Nigel is the guy to take us forward and upward, not back to the Conference like Mills would have done, good riddance Gary
Absolute tool you are!!
so you were happy to lose every match then

Report this post »

Paul29 says...
2:06pm Thu 7 Mar 13

First game v Bath - Last game v Bradford. Speaks volumes about how far we have come under GM. Shame the wheels came off but onwards and upwards. Thanks Gary and all the best for the future.

Report this post »

Jo1971 says...
2:17pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Prince naseem, my comment regarding Gary Mills being a legend relates to him dragging this football club from the hole that is non league back into the football years after 8 years. In order for him to do this he had to win plenty of games. That's how you get promoted.

Report this post »

Jo1971 says...
2:20pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Prince naseem, my comment regarding Gary Mills being a legend relates to him dragging this football club from the hole that is non league back into the football league after 8 years. In order for him to do this he had to win plenty of games. That's how you get promoted.

Report this post »

YCFC am byth says...
2:30pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Thankyou Gary for the best and most glorious season in our history. You will be a York city legend forever. Two Wembley final victories and the sweet repeated successes against our Luton friends for me mean you should be guaranteed a place in footballing heaven. I wish you the best of luck for the future.

Report this post »

YoRkIe59 says...
2:46pm Thu 7 Mar 13

prince your comments towards and regarding Gary Mills are a disgrace,i reluctantley agree with the decision to move for a different manager but Gary Mills commitment to York City and the city of York in general can never be in doubt or under estimated,one thing i loved about millsey was the the passion he so easily showed after every game we got a positive result,ok things went wrong but damm i hate this abuse of guys who have put their heart and soul into our great club but have eventually had to move on.i can only repeat that this must have been a difficult decision by the board,good luck Gary and thanks for your passion,as for the ungratefull xxxxards well they are not important

Report this post »

openallhours says...
3:17pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Last season was absolutely amazing and that's how I'll choose to remember the Mills era. Best of luck with your next challenge and thanks for helping to make us a league club again.

Report this post »

redwhiteblue says...
3:28pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Gary Mills did a fantastic job for York City - no one will ever be able to take that away from him. I know he loved the Club, the people and enjoy the city itself. As for Prince Naseem you are a disgrace - maybe you would be better off in Luton!

Report this post »

Dortmun says...
3:41pm Thu 7 Mar 13

prince naseem wrote:
Jo1971 wrote:
Thank You Gary for bringing the good times back. Good luck in whatever you do next. You will always be a York City Legend.
What a sad endorsement if he's a legend. Best thing Jason has done is get rid of him. Nigel is the guy to take us forward and upward, not back to the Conference like Mills would have done, good riddance Gary
Oh no not another **** posting on here

Report this post »

tips says...
3:54pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Garry Mills will be forever a legend at York City , he led us back into the league and won us a Cup too.
Thank you Garry , sorry you had to leave but football is a results business and frankly a change had to be made.
Wherever you go remember the good times at York City for all true supporters will always be grateful for what you achieved here
Best of luck Garry Mills !!!

Report this post »

uhtred says...
4:13pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Prince Naseem - never heard of the words dignity, respect or good manners. GM come onhere to thank the supporters which is good of him and you give him abuse, get a life!

As I have never seen you post before I suspect you are a troll.

Gary Mills brought us the best season we have had for many a year, and had a fanatstic positive attitude which rubbed off on the players. Pity it did not rub off on a miniority of posters on here.

He will undoubtedly get another club soon and do well.

However nothing is forever in football and now is the time to enjoy the ride with the new man.

Report this post »

Yorkieroy60 says...
4:20pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Thanks Gary it was your positivity that drove us to where we are now when you openly said "I want to go to Wembley twice" others would have said oh I don't want any talk about Wembley but not you and again it was your positvity that helped us win when we got there-for York City to go to Wembley and come back with a Trophy was fantastic and then the icing on the cake beating Luton in the Play Off Final absolutely brilliant!
Hope you do well in the future many City fans will be looking out for you and wishing you well.

Report this post »

limbert says...
4:37pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Gary did have a positive attitude that paid off with 2 Wembley trips,but this season,the same positive attitude,going for a second consecutive promotion,changed when he declared he would be happy finishing 17th.

Report this post »

legend7 says...
4:48pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Mcgrath has signed until the end of the season and goalkeeper Arron Jameson has signed today
http://www.yorkcityf
ootballclub.co.uk/ne
ws.php?id=3938

Report this post »

SamYCFC says...
4:54pm Thu 7 Mar 13

There's only ONE Gary Mills.

Well done, you will be a York city legend for as long as the world keeps turning.

Thank you and good luck.

Report this post »

OLD - HEAD says...
5:00pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Nobody wanted it to end like it did, but both parties have to move on now. York City to stay in the Football League, and Gary Mills to rebuild his career elsewhere. Good luck to both of them.

Report this post »

joejamestom says...
5:20pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Thanks Gary it was a great journey to be on, wish it could have continued best wishes for you in the future. I hope you move on to better days as all City fans should now. Cmon City chapter closed.

Report this post »

Gary_Mills_Haircut says...
5:21pm Thu 7 Mar 13

The King is dead. Long live the king.

Report this post »

prince naseem says...
5:26pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Gary Mills as i said a good conference manager, not for the league. best we're shot of him and Nigel can take us forward.

Report this post »

Yorkess says...
5:27pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Thank you Gary from the bottom of my heart. You gave me the most amazing 8 days of my life and I'll ALWAYS be grateful to you for that. You laid lots of demons to rest in those 8 days in May for me. You are truly a York City legend. No-one wanted it to end like it did, I've shed a few tears over it too. Thank you again and I wish you all the best in the future. I'm sure you'll go on to great things but you'll go down in history as the man at the helm for #wembleytwice and don't forget it. Yorkess.

Report this post »

Yorkess says...
5:28pm Thu 7 Mar 13

prince naseem wrote:
Gary Mills as i said a good conference manager, not for the league. best we're shot of him and Nigel can take us forward.
You sir are an ignorant idiot. This is a great article giving the true fans the chance to say thanks. If you haven't got anything nice to say then say nothing and sod off.

Report this post »

neutral observer 2 says...
5:47pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Well done Mr Mills and good luck for the future.
The mainstand moaners never won anything.

Report this post »

tomwillo1 says...
5:53pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Thanks to the best manager this clubs ever had. I will be holding up my appreciation sign at the game on saturday. Will miss you Millsy and Geebo. I certainly will never forget.

Report this post »

nigthepig says...
6:10pm Thu 7 Mar 13

I really wish our season had been a little different and you had guided us to safety. A real legend who will always be welcome in this city.

Report this post »

ADAMCUTHBERT says...
7:43pm Thu 7 Mar 13

All the best for the future Gary!

You achieved something last year that nobody at this club ever has! Be proud!

We will never forget!

COYR

Report this post »

skilly says...
7:45pm Thu 7 Mar 13

The appreciation shown by gary mills to the fans and people at the club who supported him is great. Last May was unforgettable and whilst we can't live in the past my memories of those 8 days will remain with me forever. I have the DVD of both games and I will always enjoy replaying those 2 amazing games at wembley. Thanks Gary and hope you have success in whatever you do next.

Report this post »

Peppa07 says...
7:50pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Thanks Gary, like all true York fans, we'll also regard you as a York legend. After years of strugle you gave us the best season ever and the best moments since Houchen's penalty against Arsenal. You're always welcome - if you bring another club to York please take a bow in the middle of the pitch. You'll never be forgotten. Good luck!

Report this post »

YO1 says...
8:04pm Thu 7 Mar 13

old_school_minsterma
n wrote:
Thanks for everything Gary and a double trophy season that none of us will ever forget.

Most of the shocking, negative comments towards Mills from posters on here I know for a fact (from the players) are from bitter YT's that Mills has released or former players causing trouble.

All true YCFC supporters are grateful for what Millsy acheived and i'm sure will wish him all the best in his next venture.

Welcome Nigel...and good luck!
You're not suggesting Openallhours as ever played football are you?

Only kidding Mr Hours, I hope you will be very happy from now on and can find a way of living in the world with fellow City supporters.

Report this post »

hangman says...
8:13pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Hold your head up high Millsy.What you achieved here will NEVER be forgotten.Every manager has a bad spell,but you dont deserve abuse for that.Yor enthusiasm was there for all to see,just a crying shame it didnt quite work out.All the best Gary

Report this post »

YO1 says...
8:16pm Thu 7 Mar 13

.... and thank you Gary. You gave me and my children probably the best day of our lives last May. I hope the true voice of fans response here heals some of your wounds from last weekend. Some club, somewhere is going to get a very good manager walking through their door very soon and my family will be looking out for your results in future.

We waited 25 years for you to come along and rescue the club and I only hope we don't live to regret losing your services.

Report this post »

arsene.about.york says...
8:25pm Thu 7 Mar 13

tomwillo1 wrote:
Thanks to the best manager this clubs ever had. I will be holding up my appreciation sign at the game on saturday. Will miss you Millsy and Geebo. I certainly will never forget.
I wouldn't go that far, the manager who took us to the F A cup semi final in 1955 must have been half decent as was Tom Johnston and,Denis Smith assembled a half decent team, not to mention John Ward. All of those managers of course managed City in the football league, something which Gary Mills has made a pigs ear of at both Notts County and now here. So yes, while I appreciate all that Gary Mills did last season and while I will never forget those two days at Wembley or the two semi finals at Luton and Mansfield, is it not about time to cut out all the sentimentality, remember Mills as a decent manager who got us back in the football league but was then out of his depth and get behind Nigel Worthington 100%. I will be there at Wimbledon on Saturday, something which would not have happened had Mills still been here, enough said. COME ON CITY

Report this post »

MD270563 says...
8:38pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Gary - thank you for a fantastic season in 2012/13. The Play Off Final at Wembley last May was one of the greatest occasions ever in my years of watching YCFC stretching back to the late 60s. My Father, who has been supporting YCFC for over 65 years remarked the other day
that at times last season City played some of the best football he has ever seen from a City team. Good luck in whatever you do next.

Report this post »

MUDAHIM says...
8:47pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Thanks Gary.

Wembley was great but for me turning the club around and getting us playing good football was a bigger achievement, which I hope lasts beyond your time here. I still had faith in you but I'm not the chairman.

I hope all goes well in the future and something good comes out of it for you and your backroom team.

Report this post »

duffy says...
9:38pm Thu 7 Mar 13

tomwillo1 wrote:
Thanks to the best manager this clubs ever had. I will be holding up my appreciation sign at the game on saturday. Will miss you Millsy and Geebo. I certainly will never forget.
For those of us slightly older Tom Johnston and Dennis Smith will always be seen as above Gary.

Report this post »

tips says...
9:48pm Thu 7 Mar 13

I understand that other managers have achieved great things but Garry is the only one to take us out of the wilderness and back into the Football League and win a Cup at the same time.
That is a unique achivement and will never be forgotten by all York City fans.

Report this post »

GreenshawGrinder says...
12:39am Fri 8 Mar 13

Gary Mills did a great job to get us back in to the football league. This season hasn't quite worked out, something had to be done to stop the slide back towards the conference. The board acted before it was too late. Thanks Gary, you will not be forgotten and good luck.

Report this post »

Fat Harry says...
12:34pm Fri 8 Mar 13

arsene.about.york wrote:
tomwillo1 wrote: Thanks to the best manager this clubs ever had. I will be holding up my appreciation sign at the game on saturday. Will miss you Millsy and Geebo. I certainly will never forget.
I wouldn't go that far, the manager who took us to the F A cup semi final in 1955 must have been half decent as was Tom Johnston and,Denis Smith assembled a half decent team, not to mention John Ward. All of those managers of course managed City in the football league, something which Gary Mills has made a pigs ear of at both Notts County and now here. So yes, while I appreciate all that Gary Mills did last season and while I will never forget those two days at Wembley or the two semi finals at Luton and Mansfield, is it not about time to cut out all the sentimentality, remember Mills as a decent manager who got us back in the football league but was then out of his depth and get behind Nigel Worthington 100%. I will be there at Wimbledon on Saturday, something which would not have happened had Mills still been here, enough said. COME ON CITY
We didn't have a manager in 1955, so perhaps that says something about the effectiveness of "legends"...

I'd hesitate to label any manager as "the best", because each manager faces his own unique set of challenges and opportunities. However it's a widely-held opinion that the Conference is the hardest league to get out of; on that basis Gary must surely be acknowledged as among the best we've had.

The sheer joy of it all, after eight miserable years, provided me with better memories than the promotions of the 1970s, winning division 4 in '84, getting promotion via Wembley in '93, or stuffing Man Utd in '95.

Report this post »

Rhatters says...
8:37am Sat 9 Mar 13

Thank You Gary from the bottom of my heart. The 8 days in May will always be remembered as will your total dedication to the Club and the fans.
Best of luck in your future we will always look out for you.
Just remember Gary,
Managers are temporary but legends live on forever "You my friend are a Legend"

Report this post »

greaves11 says...
1:20pm Thu 28 Mar 13

i have folowed york city since 1946 gary you were the best good luck in your next club thanks again

Report this post »

click2find

Get Adobe Flash player
About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree