Mel Sterland

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Mel Sterland
Personal information
Full name Melvyn Sterland
Date of birth (1961-10-01) 1 October 1961 (age 62)
Place of birth Sheffield, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Position(s)
Right back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1978–1989 Sheffield Wednesday 347 (49)
1989 Rangers 9 (3)
1989–1994 Leeds United 114 (16)
1994–1996 Boston United 32 (5)
Denaby United
Total 434 (73)
International career
1983–1984 England U21 7 (3)
1988 England 1 (0)
Managerial career
1994–1996 Boston United
1997–? Stalybridge Celtic
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Melvyn Sterland (born 1 October 1961 in

the Football League for Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United and in the Scottish Football League Premier Division for Rangers, and was capped once for England.[2][3]

Club career

Sterland's career is distinctly in two parts: 10 successful years with Sheffield Wednesday and 4 equally successful years with Leeds United split by four months at Rangers.

An energetic, dynamic right back, Mel's powerful shooting earned him the nickname 'Zico' – after the Brazilian star – and his attacking prowess saw him strike 49 goals for Sheffield Wednesday, many from set-pieces. His surges down the right flank and deliveries into the box often created goals for his teammates and he was also known for his lengthy throw-ins. He signed for Sheffield Wednesday on leaving school in the summer of 1978 and played in the final two games of their 1978–79 Third Division campaign, scoring on his second appearance.

The Owls were promoted to the Second Division a year later, but Sterland was still very much a fringe player, making just two league appearances. However, he emerged as a regular player in 1980–81, when still only 19 years old, playing 22 league games and scoring once in the Second Division.

In

UEFA Cup
action due to the ban on English clubs in European competitions following the Heysel disaster of May 1985.

By the time he was sold to Rangers for £800,000 in March 1989 Sterland had played 347 games for Sheffield Wednesday and scored 49 goals. His three goals in nine games helped a Rangers side managed by Graeme Souness win their second Scottish league title in three seasons, and their 39th overall.[4]

However, on 1 July 1989 Sterland returned to England when he linked up with his former Sheffield Wednesday manager

1991–92 competition
.

Sterland was a key player in Leeds United's title triumph of the

FA Premier League as the top division of English football – as he scored six goals in 31 league games. Sterland played three games in the new Premier League before suffering an ankle injury in the autumn of 1992.[5]

After failing to make an adequate recovery from the injury, he announced his retirement from playing in January 1994.[6]

International career

In 1988 Sterland won his only

1984 UEFA Under-21 Championship, in which he scored a goal in the final against Spain.[citation needed] At the time of his England cap in 1988, he was the first Sheffield Wednesday player to be capped by England since the 1960s.[citation needed
]

After retirement

Sterland went on to be player/manager with non-league Boston United and after a spell playing for Denaby United was appointed manager of Stalybridge Celtic in December 1997.[7] He also starred in the football film When Saturday Comes, ironically playing the captain of Sheffield United.[8][failed verification]

His autobiography Boozing, Betting & Brawling (Green Umbrella Publishing), was co-written with Sheffield-based journalist Nick Johnson and was published in August 2008.[9] His former Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United manager Howard Wilkinson wrote the foreword.[citation needed]

Honours

Rangers

Leeds United

Denaby United

England U21

References

  1. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5
    .
  2. ^ "Mel Sterland". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  3. ^ "Mel Sterland". Englandstats.com. Retrieved 14 February 2010. Edit this at Wikidata
  4. ^ "Sporting Heroes". Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  5. ^ Mel Sterland Archived 5 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Sporting Heroes; Retrieved 1 January 2010
  6. ^ "Sterland Retires". New Straits Times. New Straits Times Press. 22 January 1994. Retrieved 1 January 2010 – via Google News.
  7. ^ Metcalf, Rupert (26 December 1997). "Non League notebook: Harriers desperate for some local cheer". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
  8. ^ "When Saturday Comes (1996)". BFI. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Boozing, Betting & Brawling: The autobiography of Mel Sterland". Goodreads. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  10. ^ a b c d "Sterland: Melvyn (Mel". Oz Whites LUFC. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  11. ^ "England U21 results: 1976-1990". England Football Online. Retrieved 26 June 2022.

External links

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