Supermac on Miley Newcastle breakthrough: Just like Parker at Fulham

Newcastle United legend Malcom Macdonald has sung the praises of Lewis Miley.

Supermac wrote for ChronicleLive: "Watching with admiration Lewis Miley star amongst superstars on his first Premier League and Champions League starts only days apart took my mind back 40 years to a similar experience I had as a manager.

"When I was at Fulham in the early eighties I like Eddie Howe gave a debut to a promising 17-year-old and, again like Eddie, was I rewarded! That player was Paul Parker who oozed potential and class which he confirmed during a sparkling career.

"Paul went on to win two Premier League titles, the FA Cup and the League Cup with Manchester United and earned 19 full England caps. He was under 5ft 7in tall but I put him in at centre-half against Reading and told him to mark their main striker Kerry Dixon man for man.

"Dixon was a giant who went on to star for Chelsea and he was devastating in the air but I knew what a clever player Parker was, how he would out think him and be totally unruffled, and he did a magnificent job. Parker later made his name as a right-back but he was capable of playing almost anywhere and as I watched Miley against Chelsea and Paris Saint Germain he reminded me so much of my little fella."