Neil Mellor

Neil Andrew Mellor (born 4 November 1982 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire) is an England professional football (soccer) player with Preston North End F.C.. He made his name in 2004 by scoring a stunning last-minute goal from long range to give Liverpool F.C. a 2–1 victory over Arsenal F.C. at Anfield. Mellor also scored a vital goal and set up another during Liverpool's match with Olympiacos at Anfield during the group stage of the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, which Liverpool went on to win.

Career

Liverpool

Mellor is the son of former Manchester City F.C. player Ian Mellor. A strong, physical, centre forward, Mellor was top scorer in Liverpool's run to the FA Youth Cup semi-final during the 2000–2001 season scoring eight goals in four games. He was also the top scorer for the under-19 team and Joe Corrigan's reserves during the 2001–2002 season and in total scored 46 goals (56 including friendlies). Mellor progressed through the ranks at Liverpool and in the 2002–03 season he scored 20 goals for the reserve team. He made his first team debut in the same season and played a total of three games and scored in a Worthington Cup semi-final match against Sheffield United F.C.. Although the Reds lost the match 2–1, Mellor showed promise and was rewarded in March 2003 with a new three-year contract running to 2006.

Manager Gérard Houllier sent Mellor on a year-long loan to West Ham United F.C. in August 2003. He scored two goals in the 3–0 win over Crystal Palace F.C. at the end of September, but an injury hit spell at Upton Park plus playing under three different managers and being forced to play out of position, proved unsettling. Mellor was soon back at Anfield and hit 10 goals in just four games for the reserves. Before the start of the 2004-05 in English football season, Mellor suffered a knee injury but regained fitness and a return to the first team in the 3-0 League Cup victory at Millwall F.C.. In the next round he scored two goals to knock out holders Middlesbrough F.C., and in late November he started a UEFA Champions League game at AS Monaco.

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 clinch the game for Liverpool. 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 Baros and within two minutes, he scored with a typical goal poacher's finish. A deft cushioned header set up Steven Gerrard to rifle in the third Liverpool goal and seal Liverpool's place in the last 16.

In March 2005, Mellor was ruled out for the remainder of the 2004–05 season after undergoing surgery on both knees. This robbed the young striker of his chance of European glory as his team mates 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 F.C. in December 2005. 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 F.C. Halton.

In January 2006, Mellor joined Wigan Athletic F.C. on loan for the remainder of the season. In his first match against Middlesbrough, he scored the winner during injury time in a 3–2 victory. However, further knee injuries that required more surgery ended his spell at Wigan after three games.

In 2006, despite a relative lack of first-team football at Liverpool, Mellor was voted into 90th position in a poll to find 100 Players Who Shook The Kop, ahead of such players as Mohamed Sissoko and Nigel Clough.

Preston North End

In August 2006, Mellor signed a three-year contract with Football League Championship club Preston North End F.C. for an undisclosed fee. Manager Paul Simpson said, "Neil is a goalscorer and hopefully that will continue to be the case. He is a tremendous signing. He has had his injury problems but we are happy he is over those and it's just a case now of building up his fitness levels." Another knee injury suffered in a pre-season friendly against Bolton Wanderers F.C. required more surgery and delayed Mellor's debut for Preston. Mellor finally got his first goal for Preston in the 3–1 victory over Southampton F.C. in March 2007. Out of favour under the Paul Simpson (footballer) managerial era, Mellor had to prove himself over again to new Preston North End F.C. boss Alan Irvine (footballer born 1958). Under Irvine, Mellor finally got going and scored nine goals under him after Christmas 2007. Mellor again showed his panache for the 30–yard volley on July 30th, 2008 by scoring in similar fashion for Preston North End in their friendly against Motherwell at Fir Park, which earned a 1–1 draw for Preston. During pre-season 2008/2009 Mellor scored eight goals.