Neil Mellor
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Neil Andrew Mellor | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 4 November 1982||
Place of birth | Sheffield, England | ||
Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[2][1] | ||
Position(s) |
Striker | ||
Youth career | |||
1999–2002 |
Liverpool | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2002–2006 | Liverpool | 12 | (2) |
2003–2004 | → West Ham United (loan) | 16 | (2) |
2006 | → Wigan Athletic (loan) | 3 | (1) |
2006–2012 | Preston North End | 130 | (38) |
2010–2011 | → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 33 | (13) |
Total | 194 | (56) | |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Neil Andrew Mellor (born 4 November 1982) is an English retired professional
Career
Liverpool
The son of former
Manager
After becoming a fixture in first team squad, Mellor burst into the starting team with some style. With Liverpool and Arsenal level at 1–1 with 90 minutes gone at Anfield in November 2004, he cracked in a sensational 30-yard volley to win the game for Liverpool.[10] Things got better still for Mellor ten days later when Liverpool were being held 1–1 by Olympiacos in a game they had to win by two clear goals to progress to the Champions League knock out stages. He was brought into the game to replace Milan Baroš and within two minutes, he scored with a typical goal poacher's finish. Then, a cushioned header from Mellor set up Steven Gerrard to rifle in the third Liverpool goal and seal Liverpool's place in the last 16.[11] He scored his second and what proved to be his final league goal for Liverpool in December 2004 in the 3–1 win over Newcastle at Anfield.[12]
In March 2005, Mellor was ruled out for the remainder of the 2004–05 season after undergoing surgery on both knees.[13] This robbed the young striker of his chance of European glory as his teammates succeeded in bringing a fifth European cup back to Anfield. Although Mellor played no part in the knock out stages, his contribution to that year's success was massive. Mellor returned to action for the Liverpool reserve side in the 2005–06 season coming on as a substitute in their 2–0 victory at Manchester United in December 2005.[14] He was back on the scoresheet in his first start in a year as Liverpool cruised into the quarter-finals of the Liverpool Senior Cup after a 3–0 win over Runcorn.
In January 2006, Mellor joined Wigan Athletic on loan for the remainder of the season.[15] In his first match against Middlesbrough, he scored the winner during injury time in a 3–2 victory.[16] However, further knee injuries that required more surgery ended his spell at Wigan after three games.[17]
In 2006, despite a relative lack of first-team football at Liverpool, Mellor was voted into 90th position in a poll to find
After his retirement from professional football, Mellor returned to Liverpool to do media and commentary work with their in-house television company LFC TV.
Preston North End
In August 2006, Mellor signed a three-year contract with
Despite the promising pre-season and Mellor being a favourite amongst sections of the Deepdale crowd, indifferent form led to him losing his place to new signing Jon Parkin. Mellor regained his place in the team in time to score in Preston's 3–1 victory away at local rivals Blackpool, but another injury saw him miss a number of games. He regained fitness for a match against former club Liverpool in the FA Cup 3rd round, which Preston lost 2–0.
Mellor scored his first goal for Preston North End since March 2010 on the opening day of the 2011–12 season, scoring their first goal in a 4–2 defeat to Colchester United at Deepdale. In the December of that season, Mellor picked up a knee injury in the 1–0 win over Milton Keynes and was ruled out for three months. After an injury-plagued season at Preston, Mellor announced his retirement on 9 May 2012.[19]
Sheffield Wednesday
On 2 July 2010, Mellor rejoined former manager Alan Irvine at
Career statistics
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup
|
Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Liverpool | 2002–03[22] | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
2003–04[23] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
2004–05[24] | Premier League | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2[a] | 1 | 16 | 5 | |
2005–06[25] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 6 | ||
West Ham United (loan) | 2003–04[23] | First Division | 16 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 2 |
Wigan Athletic (loan) | 2005–06[25] | Premier League | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 1 | |
Preston North End | 2006–07[26] | Championship
|
5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 1 | |
2007–08[27] | Championship | 36 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 40 | 10 | ||
2008–09[28] | Championship | 33 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2[b] | 0 | 38 | 12 | |
2009–10[29] | Championship | 39 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 44 | 11 | ||
2010–11[30] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
2011–12[31] | League One
|
17 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1[c] | 0 | 21 | 9 | |
Total | 130 | 38 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 150 | 43 | ||
Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 2010–11[30] | League One | 33 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4[c] | 4 | 43 | 20 |
Career total | 194 | 56 | 19 | 3 | 19 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 241 | 72 |
- ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
- Football League Championship play-offs
- ^ Football League Trophy
References
- ^ a b "Neil Mellor: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "Neil Mellor". Liverpool F.C. Archived from the original on 9 April 2006. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "Blades cut down Liverpool". BBC Sport. 8 January 2003. Retrieved 30 July 2008.
- ^ "Houllier clinches Mellor signature". BBC Sport. 24 March 2003. Retrieved 30 July 2008.
- ^ "Liverpool lift Worthington Cup". BBC. 2 March 2003. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
- ^ "Mellor moves to West Ham". BBC Sport. 7 August 2003. Retrieved 30 July 2008.
- ^ "Brooking hails Mellor brace". BBC Sport. 1 October 2003. Retrieved 31 July 2008.
- ^ "Liverpool 2–0 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 9 November 2004. Retrieved 31 July 2008.
- ^ "Monaco 1–0 Liverpool". BBC Sport. 23 November 2004. Retrieved 31 July 2008.
- ^ "Liverpool 2–1 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 28 November 2004. Retrieved 30 July 2008.
- ^ "Liverpool 3–1 Olympiakos". BBC Sport. 8 December 2004. Retrieved 31 July 2008.
- ^ "Liverpool 3–1 Newcastle". BBC. 19 December 2004. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
- ^ "Knee injury ends Mellor's season". BBC Sport. 3 March 2005. Retrieved 30 July 2008.
- ^ "Mellor makes Liverpool comeback". BBC Sport. 6 December 2005. Retrieved 31 July 2008.
- ^ "Wigan capture Thompson and Mellor". BBC Sport. 19 January 2006. Retrieved 30 July 2008.
- ^ "Middlesbro 2–3 Wigan". BBC. 21 January 2006. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
- ^ a b Fletcher, Paul (20 October 2006). "Mellor dreams of new glories". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 July 2008.
- ^ a b "Preston swoop for striker Mellor". BBC Sport. 30 August 2006. Retrieved 30 July 2008.
- ^ "Neil Mellor retires". BBC Sport. BBC. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
- ^ "Sheff Wed 2–0 Dag & Red". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 August 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
- ^ "www.soccerbase.com - The Internet Soccer Database". Archived from the original on 25 September 2004.
- ^ "Games played by Neil Mellor in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ a b "Games played by Neil Mellor in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ "Games played by Neil Mellor in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ a b "Games played by Neil Mellor in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ "Games played by Neil Mellor in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ "Games played by Neil Mellor in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ "Games played by Neil Mellor in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ "Games played by Neil Mellor in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ a b "Games played by Neil Mellor in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ "Games played by Neil Mellor in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2013.