Tamworth Football Club, a National League minnow, is set to face Premier League giant Tottenham Hotspur in a David versus Goliath FA Cup clash. Leading the charge for Tamworth is their captain, Ben Milnes, a 33-year-old midfielder whose pre-game ritual is as unconventional as it is intriguing. In sub-zero temperatures, after a training session on the frost-covered pitch at their home ground, The Lamb, Milnes immerses himself in a wheelie bin filled with icy water. This chilling five-minute plunge, he claims, aids his body’s recovery and, paradoxically, makes him feel warmer in the frigid conditions. This starkly contrasts with the state-of-the-art cryotherapy chambers available to the Premier League stars at Tottenham’s luxurious training facility.
While the odds are heavily stacked against Tamworth, listed as 2,500-1 underdogs to win the FA Cup, Milnes and his team are determined to give a memorable performance against their formidable opponents. They aim to make their mark on this grand stage and, perhaps, even rattle Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy. Milnes, with his own unique sporting background, embodies the spirit of this ambitious underdog story. He could just as easily have been a professional cricketer, following in the footsteps of his younger brother, Matt Milnes, who plays for Yorkshire and has represented the England Lions.
Ben Milnes’s cricketing pedigree is noteworthy. He excelled at youth levels, playing for Notts Academy and Midlands age groups. However, at the crossroads of his sporting career, he chose football over cricket, finding the latter too slow-paced for his liking. The family connection to cricket remains strong, as Matt will be present at The Lamb to support his brother in this landmark game. While Ben has missed some of Matt’s key cricket matches due to his own footballing commitments, he follows his brother’s career closely whenever possible.
Milnes’s footballing journey has been marked by a remarkable streak of success. In the past two and a half years, he has captained three different teams to league titles: Buxton in the Northern League Premier Division, then Tamworth in the Southern League Premier Division, followed by another triumph with Tamworth in the National League North. He realistically acknowledges that maintaining this winning streak in the current National League season will be a significant challenge. However, simply surviving in this highly competitive league, against teams with superior resources and experienced players, would be a remarkable achievement in itself, akin to winning another title.
The magnitude of the upcoming match against Tottenham is not lost on Milnes. He recognizes this as the biggest game of his career in terms of the occasion, even though the league remains their primary focus and, therefore, holds greater overall importance. A victory against Spurs, however improbable, would be the equivalent of winning three consecutive titles compressed into the span of a single 90-minute match. This underlines the immense symbolic value of this FA Cup tie for Milnes and his Tamworth teammates.
Beyond football, Milnes runs a financial planning business with his wife, balancing the demands of his sporting passion with his professional life. This multifaceted aspect of his life adds another layer to his story, demonstrating the dedication and commitment required to compete at this level while maintaining a career outside the sport. The upcoming clash with Tottenham is not merely a football match; it’s a culmination of years of hard work, dedication, and a unique personal journey for Ben Milnes, a captain leading his underdog team into the spotlight against one of English football’s giants. The freezing plunge into the icy water, his unorthodox recovery ritual, becomes a metaphor for the team’s willingness to embrace the challenge, to go above and beyond, even in the face of overwhelming odds.
