Liverpool FC Forum

[anfieldadorer]

The arrival of Fernando Morientes means that Neil Mellor may now move on. The striker had been mooted to join Sheffield United when the transfer window reopened, but the move was scuppered when Djibril Cisse broke his leg. Blades boss Neil Warnock is noe keen to resurrect transfer discussions.

"We enquired about Mellor, who could now be pushed down the pecking order by the arrival of Fernando Morientes from Real Madrid," he said.

"I think people like Neil are better off getting some games under their belt, but it's difficult because Liverpool are such a great club.

"It must be difficult for young players to drop down to Championship level." 

lfcol

[anfieldadorer]

Liverpool deny Blades bid claim 
 
"He has good movement and an eye for a goal" Neil Warnock on Neil Mellor 

Liverpool have denied receiving the £500,000 bid for 22-year-old striker Neil Mellor which Sheffield United claim to have tabled. A statement on the Liverpool website said: "Anfield officials are mystified by quotes attributed to Blades boss Neil Warnock."
United boss Neil Warnock said: "We have tabled a bid of around £500,000 as we need a striker of his calibre.
"He has good movement, an eye for a goal, and is very athletic."

The Reds have rejected an offer from the Blades to take Mellor on loan and with Milan Baros injured on international duty on Wednesday, any bid could be snubbed.

Mellor could get a run in the Liverpool team as Djibril Cisse out for the rest of the season with a broken leg and Baros is facing a spell on the sidelines.

He impressed boss Rafael Benitez by scoring twice in the Carling Cup win over Middlesbrough and Warnock has other plans if he misses out on him. Warnock added: "I've made bids for three strikers, all different types of player, but all of real quality.

"It's a question of seeing which of them becomes available. If one does, I'd have to take a chance on him without knowing how the other two situations might unfold."

[taff]

While I sadly dont see a long term future for him I think it would be daft to sell him this season

[anfieldadorer]

Squad profiles


Player name:  Neil Mellor
Date of birth:  04 November, 1982
Nationality:  English
Position:  Striker
Height:  1.83

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Overall career totals
  Apps As sub Goals Yellow Red
Total (Club) 42 (18) 8 1 0
League 28 (13) 4 0 0
FA Cup 4 (3) 0 0 0
League Cup 8 (1) 3 1 0
European/Others 0 (0) 0 0 0


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Current club totals
  Apps As sub Goals Yellow Red
Total (Club) 21 (6) 6 1 0
League 12 (5) 2 0 0
FA Cup 1 (0) 0 0 0
League Cup 6 (0) 3 1 0
European/Others 0 (0) 0 0 0


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This season
  Apps As sub Goals Yellow Red
Total (Club) 15 (4) 5 1 0
League 9 (3) 2 0 0
FA Cup 0 (0) 0 0 0
League Cup 4 (0) 2 1 0
European/Others 0 (0) 0 0 0


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Liverpool
  Apps As sub Goals Yellow Red
Total (Club) 15 (4) 5 1 0
League 9 (3) 2 0 0
FA Cup 0 (0) 0 0 0
League Cup 4 (0) 2 1 0
European/Others 0 (0) 0 0 0

[LFCFan4Life]

If we sign Anelka then I would let Mellor go this month

[Ciggy]

If we dont get another striker I think its best we keep hold of him till the end of the season, as we only have Baros and Pongo for the champions league and if they get injured we are going to have to use Mellor.
I think its fair to say hes not going to be playing for a premiership club next season, its a shame really cause when he first came thru the ranks a few years back there was a glimmer of hope, that he just might have made it.
But he is overweight and has not had the right guidence when he got shipped out to the hammers.
Maybe if Rafa was in charge a few years ago maybe Mellor and Tony Le Tallec would have been banging them in for fun for us.
And Diouf and Cheyrou what a waste with the right guidence things could have been so different.

[Redrider]

This afternoon would do for me !!

[anfieldadorer]

Mellor: being interviewed

----------------
THE ACADEMY

I absolutely loved the Academy. It was a great experience, great coaches, Steve Heighway, Dave Shannon and Hughie McAuley down there. McAuley followed me down to Melwood, being the reserve team coach now. I was 16 when I went to the Academy and they signed me on a three year scholarship. I have progressed as well as a person as a footballer since arriving here. The key is to improve your skills and try to become a good person. Even though you don’t make it as a footballer you want to become a decent person. They put as much emphasis on education as well as footballing skills.

MELWOOD

It’s a big step from the Academy to Melwood because suddenly you’re training with players with international experience. It takes a while to adjust to, but you can learn a lot from them. There’s a lot more at stake in the first team than at the Academy. You certainly realise that when you’re training. Everything has got to be perfect. You learn different things from different players. When you train with people like Michael Owen you learn a lot. I still might not realise it, but in games you see it. I’ve still got so much to learn, but it’s a progress. I need to work a bit more on parts of my game before I can be a regular with the first team.

DEBUT

My debut was a special moment. My first game was in the Worthington Cup against Ipswich Town. I hit the post and won a penalty for us, it would have been nice to score. Every time I have played for the first team I have loved it and the fans have loved it. They have been special towards me. My first goal was quite far out for me. What 6 yards? It was in front of the Liverpool fans, in the semi-final of the cup, great moment, loved it….

HOBBIES

With football, you have to rest between and prepare yourself for the next training session. You get a fair amount of spare time, but usually I just like resting. In the summer you get to enjoy different things, holidays, snooker and like that, but during the season it’s intense football.

MUSIC

I like a variety of music. I love dance music, a bit of R&B, I like the classics, Lady in Red by Chris De Burgh, always a favourite of mine. The players went for a meal around Christmas and he performed that song live for us, absolutely loved it..


lfchistory

[anfieldadorer]

Neil Mellor is a young man who just can't stop scoring. His goals tally for the reserves in the last three seasons stands at 47 in as many games. His final season for the u19's saw him hit 26 goals in just 24 appearances.

Something of a late developer, it wasn't until the age of 18 that Mellor began to look like a player. Released by Man City at 16, Liverpool had snapped him up after he impressed during a trial.

A serious back injury ruined his final year at u17 level, but he began to make a name for himself the next season as the reds reached the youth cup semi final on the back of Mellor's goals.

His progression continued the following season when he hit over 50 goals in all games, and at the end of that season he was rewarded with a new contract and moved to train at Melwood.

He impressed Gerard Houllier on the club's pre-season training campaign, and a few months later the Sheffield born marksman made his debut in a League Cup game with Ipswich at Anfield.

His first half performance wasn't the best, as the occasion seemed to affect him, but after the break he came to life, hitting the post with a left foot shot at the Kop end, before winning a penalty which was converted by El Hadji Diouf.

Other chances came, and a goal looked to be on its way before Houllier subbed him just after the hour mark. Nevertheless, Mellor had shown that he had something to offer at first team level.

He was handed further opportunities in the early part of 2003 when injuries ruled out Michael Owen and Emile Heskey, and Milan Baros was dropped for disciplinary reasons.

He impressed as a substitute away at Newcastle, started the FA Cup tie at Maine Road against his boyhood team Manchester City, and then scored in the League Cup semi final against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

When everyone was fit again, Mellor dropped out of the reckoning, but he still finished as the reserves top scorer with an impressive 20 goals from just 23 games.

The arrivals of Sinama-Pongolle and Le Tallec in the summer of 2003 pushed him further back down the pecking order however, and after scoring twice in a friendly at Aberdeen after coming on as a sub with a little over ten minutes left, he was sent on loan to West Ham.

It started well for Mellor at the Hammers, but when Glenn Roeder was sacked and Alan Pardew was appointed, things took a turn for the worse.

First he picked up an injury, and whilst he was sidelined Pardew brough in three strikers. Once fit again, Mellor couldn't get back into the side and was also suffering from homesickness.

Desperate to get back to Melwood, he finally got his wish in March, although initially red tape prevented him from lining up for Liverpool, even at reserve level.

Eventually he was cleared to play for the second string, and to make up for lost time he hit four goals on his comeback in a game with West Brom at the Hawthorns.

More goals followed, as the hard working striker ended the season as the reserves top scorer for the third season in a row.

Mellor looks like scoring in every game he plays. He's big, strong, quicker than he appears and is not afraid to shoot with either foot. He's also strong in the air and scores plenty of headers.

If the ball is bobbling around in the box, the chances are it will fall at Mellor's feet. He has that knack of being in the right place at the right time, and Liverpool specialist striker coach Ian Rush rates Mellor very highly.

If anyone knows a decent striker, it's Rushy.

liverpoolway

[anfieldadorer]

...and the last but not the least...


Hvaða hafa margir leikmenn undanfarin ár skorað 27 mörk í 27 varaliðsleikjum?

Ian Mellor spyr þessarar einföldu spurningar og þeir eru án efa ekki margir sem hafa afrekað það. Neil Mellor sonur hans hefur þennan eiginleika að vera á réttum stað á réttum tíma. Mellor sýndi það og sannaði er hann skoraði fyrsta mark sitt fyrir aðalliðið í fyrri undanúrslitaleiknum gegn Sheffield United í deildarbikarnum.

"Ég afgreiddi boltann ansi langt frá markinu ef miðað er við mig. Þegar ég fer að sofa þá dreymir mig um að þetta hafi verið þrumuskot af 30 metra færi."

Þessi strákur er markaskorari út í gegn og á framtíðina fyrir sér. Við fögnum því að uppalinn leikmaður fái verðugt tækifæri á að sanna sig.

[jonnymac1979]

Lady In f***ing Red by Chris De Burgh? 

Tell me he's having a f***ing laugh there, PLEASE?

[Ciggy]

Lady In f***ing Red by Chris De Burgh? 

Tell me he's having a f***ing laugh there, PLEASE?

     

[Jan Cuelemans]

Could be worse "Lady in Blue", Sorry !

[ivor_the_injun]

Unless there's another striker signed, there's absolutely no way we should be selling Mellor. Morientes is cup-tied for the Champion's League, and we're still ill-equipped with just Baros, Pongolle and Mellor. Don't start me with mention of Kewell and Garcia, as we need them elsewhere.

[bigmick]

Incredible. I blitz read it and 'Lady in Red' jumped out and kicked me in the teeth. "I'm not having that" thinks Mick while chewing the remainder of his sausage roll, "sell the little fecker right now." Lo' and behold, I go onto the next page and Johnny's beaten me to the punch.
On a serious note what do agents and advisors do? Surely somebody should be giving these young lads a list of things not to admit to in interviews. Chris De Burgh should be right at the top, along with admitting you are partial to a drop of Archers and lemonade.