Jimmy Melia
This article may be written from a fan's point of view, rather than a neutral point of view. (January 2017) |
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | James Melia | ||
Date of birth | 1 November 1937 | ||
Place of birth | Liverpool, England | ||
Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Youth career | |||
1952–1954 | Liverpool | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1954–1964 | Liverpool | 269 | (76) |
1964 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 24 | (4) |
1964–1968 | Southampton | 139 | (11) |
1968–1972 | Aldershot | 135 | (14) |
1972 | Crewe Alexandra | 4 | (0) |
Total | 571 | (105) | |
International career | |||
1963 | England | 2 | (1) |
Managerial career | |||
1969–1972 | Aldershot | ||
1972–1974 | Crewe Alexandra | ||
1975 | Southport | ||
1979 | Cleveland Cobras | ||
1982–1983 | Brighton & Hove Albion | ||
1983–1986 | C.F. Os Belenenses | ||
1986 | Stockport County | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
James Melia (born 1 November 1937) is an English former footballer who spent most of his career playing for Liverpool and went on to become a manager.
Playing career
Liverpool
This section of a poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. )Find sources: "Jimmy Melia" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2017) |
Melia joined the Reds straight from St. Anthony's School
It wasn't until the following season that he got a real run in the side starting 27 matches. Melia followed this up with a 36-match season scoring 10 goals.
Melia did well in the
During this spell Melia caught the eye of England manager Alf Ramsey who gave him his debut on 6 April 1963 in the 2–1 British Championship loss at Wembley to Scotland. Melia's one and only goal came in his second and final appearance for his country, on 5 June 1963 at St. Jakob Park, Basel as England beat Switzerland 8–1.
The next season Liverpool won the
Wolverhampton Wanderers
His stay in the
Southampton
In December 1964, Melia was signed for a fee of £30,000 by Southampton's manager Ted Bates "who was keen to acquire his scheming visionary skills".[1] Melia was reluctant to move to the south coast, but when he was eventually persuaded, "Saints' (then) record signing added finesse"[1] to the midfield. Although Saints missed out on promotion at the end of the 1964–65 season, Melia linked up well with Terry Paine and Martin Chivers in the following season, helping them to promotion from Division 2, finishing five points behind champions Manchester City.
He remained an ever-present for Southampton in
He continued to make a valuable contribution to the team but lost his place to Mick Channon and in November 1968 he moved on to Aldershot for a £10,000 fee and the player manager's job.
In his four years at The Dell he made a total of 152 appearances, scoring 12 goals.
Management career
Aldershot and Crewe Alexandra
Melia joined Aldershot as player-coach in November 1968, taking the management position in April 1969. Melia moved on from Aldershot in February 1972 to take up a similar role at Crewe Alexandra; after retiring as a player in May 1972, he took on the managerial role at Gresty Road full-time. While at Aldershot, Melia gained a reputation for his hard-hitting and occasionally controversial column in the club's match day programme.
Brighton & Hove Albion
He went on to manage
After Brighton
Melia went on to spells in charge of Southport, Portuguese side Belenenses and Stockport County.
In 1989 he had a stint in youth training when he travelled to
Honours
As a player
Liverpool
Southampton
- Football League Division 2 runner-up: 1965–66
As a manager
Brighton & Hove Albion
- 1983
References
- ^ ISBN 0-9534474-3-X.
- ^ "St. Anthony's Church – Scotland Road". Scotland Road 2003. Scottie Press. Archived from the original on 11 July 2003. Retrieved 5 February 2008.
- ^ "Youth star Melia to make his debut". Daily Mirror. 15 December 1955. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ^ "Wolves pay up £48,000 for Jimmy Melia". Daily Mirror. 9 March 1964. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ^ Holley & Chalk. In That Number. p. 90.
- ^ "Tributes to an Albion stalwart". 27 August 2006.
- ^ a b Rob Smyth (15 April 2011). "The Joy of Six: FA Cup semi-final memories". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ^ "Dark deed at Brighton". Shoot View!. Shoot!. 12 November 1983. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ^ Kuen-Wah Cheung. "Jimmy Melia: So near but yet so far" (PDF). vivabrighton.com. Viva Brighton. p. 53. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ^ "Jimmy Melia". liverpoolfcamerica.com. Liverpool FC America. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
External links
- Player profile at LFChistory.net
- Jimmy Melia at Soccerbase
- Management statistics on Soccerbase
- Jimmy Melia at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database