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09:38:00

Alex Revell holds a special place in Millers memories

Ask any Rotherham fan for their best moment over the last 10 years and there is a fair chance that Alex Revell delivered it.

When the bustling striker produced that ambitious-but-brilliant volley at Wembley it was a spine-tingling moment that sent him straight into club folklore and made a lot of Millers fans head's explode.

There's not too much room in the hearts of those supporters for former strikers, with Ronnie Moore, Alan Lee and perhaps Adam Le Fondre taking up most of it, but with that brilliance in the hour of need at the national stadium Revell barged his way in there and got his feet firmly under the table.


Under Steve Evans, we are used to seeing the exit door swinging at New York and most leave without batting an eyelid but some players mean more to fans than others.

Revell is one of those and it means that his exit, a surprise move to Cardiff, is tinged with sadness. A Rotherham hero has left the club.

Despite that tag, Revell has not been been exempt from criticism. Throughout his time in South Yorkshire he has often been called out on his lack of goals.

But Revell deserves remembering for what he was, not what he wasn't.

What he was was an integral part of one of the most exciting and memorable eras in the club’s history, leading from the front with incredible energy and enthusiasm which typified the team he was playing in.

He was the focal point to the entire way the team was set up, with his aerial threat, strength and hold-up play.

Sure, he has never been a prolific marksman, but would Daniel Nardiello have struck so many goals in League Two and Kieran Agard got 26 in League One had Revell not been there? Probably not.

Last season he embodied the thrilling way that promotion was won with his tireless energy and refusal to give up.


Probably his biggest attribute is that he is a fighter. He never knows when he is beaten and he had more comebacks at the Millers than Rocky.

His first major revival was in the summer of 2012 after completing his first season at the club. He had scored 11 goals and had been a vital player under Andy Scott.

But with Evans coming in and overhauling the squad, his future at the club was in doubt, with several offers coming in for him.

Evans gave him the opportunity to leave, but Revell spoke to his new manager about his dream of scoring in front of the home end at the Millers' magnificent brand-spanking New York Stadium and decided to stay.

He wanted to be a part of what was about to happen in South Yorkshire and he proved it as he ousted marquee summer signing Kayode Odejayi in the pecking order and played a major part in the club's promotion from League Two in 2012/13.

His reward was a new contract before beginning life well in League One, again central to the Millers' way of playing.

Then came a seminal moment at MK Dons. Despite his influence in other areas of the pitch, Revell was having a tough time of it in front of goal and had missed several decent chances over the preceding few weeks.

Again came opportunities at stadium:mk, but he continued to fluff his lines. Then, just after Evans' men had fallen behind on the stroke of half-time, the striker was put through on goal and instead of shooting, his confidence was so low that he chose to pass to an non-existent team-mate. Revell was hauled off at the break and dropped for the following game.


That could have been the end of him, but he showed his character to win his place back in the side and pulled off the ultimate comeback.

He was in sparkling form in the second half of the campaign, scoring fairly regularly and consistently putting in man-of-the-match performances as the Millers embarked on a memorable journey to Wembley.

And if there was one man deserving of what happened to him on that sunny May afternoon in the capital, then it was him.

Revell's two-goal heroics in the space of five second-half minutes, the second classed as one of the best ever goals at the rebuilt national stadium, picked his side up from their haunches and gave them a fighting chance.

That volley in particular was something that thousands of Rotherham fans will remember for the rest of their lives and put him up there with Lee for providing a moment that cannot be accessed in the memory bank without a huge side-serving of goosebumps.

For that alone he should always be held firmly in the affections of Millers fans.

His character was further enhanced this season as he embraced life in the Championship, again giving his all week after week and going to battle with a quality of defenders he has never come up against before.

This season more than ever a minority of fans have seemed to focus on his goal tally, though quite why people have made this an issue in the Championship when he wasn't prolific in League One or Two is something of a mystery.

But it is not his lack of goals that Revell should be remembered for, it's all times he put in a gut-busting run 30-yard run to close a defender down, the aerial battles he constantly came out on top of or the brilliant way he reacted uncontrollably when he scored a goal.

Oh, and for that afternoon at Wembley.

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