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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Richard Garnett

James Milner almost landed Liverpool youngster with club fine after brilliant phone prank

A young Liverpool player almost fell foul of Liverpool's strict player fines policy after leaving his mobile phone on the team bus.

Club veteran James Milner has been talking to the club's official website about his successful time at Anfield and his responsibility as 'chairman of the fines committee'.

The Yorkshireman, who is widely credited with setting high standards for the Reds both on and off the pitch, revealed how senior group new-comer Stefan Bajcetic was stitched up by teammate Nat Phillips after leaving his mobile phone on the team bus. The fine for having a phone out in a forbidden period can be as much as £500.

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Speaking to match-day announcer Peter McDowall and Kop hero Robbie Fowler, Milner said: "We had a funny one the other day. Stefan left his phone on the bus. Nat Phillips brought it off and he pulled me at dinner. He's like 'get on this'. He set an alarm every five minutes to go off during dinner.

"The first one goes off and I'm like 'are you joking you? 17 years old and your phone's going off'. Everybody's kicking off. I've got it on the watch and the next five minutes is up and it's going off again. He's like 'no! no! no!' panicking like anything. He cottoned on after the second one."

Milner's interview is the first episode in a new series by the official website called 'We are Liverpool'. During the chat, the 36-year-old also revealed that he is now learning to play the piano and shared what his biggest regret since being a Liverpool player has been.

Speaking about Liverpool's most recent trophy parade after being edged out by Real Madrid in the Champions League final, he said: "You're starting early on and with what didn't happen - winning the two last trophies (Premier League and Champions League) - you might lock eyes with somebody there (in the crowd) and you feel like you've let the fans down. You've tried to win the Prem and you've tried to win the Champions League and you've fallen short, but they've come out and given you that support.

"But it was important that we did it (the parade) regardless, because we had to make that decision before we knew. The amount of money spent travelling around, the support they gave us going all over Europe. We won the title after so long after being desperate to do it and couldn't celebrate together. It was important that we did it as a thank you to them.

"It was needed on both sides. We hadn't managed to celebrate the league title and it was needed as a pick-me-up for the boys as well. When I signed there was still a massive hangover. The year we nearly won the league, so many times it came up and I think it was a big problem. What's your biggest regrets or lows in your career - I'd probably say not celebrating the league title with Liverpool."

When asked by McDowell if it still hurt, Milner added: "Yes it does. 100 percent."

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