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To say that Neil Mellor's Liverpool career amounted to just two games
would be harsh, but such was his impact in them it's hard to get away
from. Born in Sheffield, and to a father, Ian, who played for Manchester
City, it seemed strange that the striker should emerge from Liverpool's
youth system. Many fans, hearing of the youngster's scoring exploits,
had called for him to be thrust into the first team picture in the
winter of the 2002/03 campaign, as the Reds' striking quartet of Michael
Owen, Emile Heskey, El-Hadji Diouf and Milan Baros were performing in
fits and starts. Mellor was given his chance in a League Cup tie with
Ipswich Town at Anfield, and promptly won a penalty, converted by Diouf,
as the Reds went on to win from the spot in a shootout. Neil's league
debut, a 1-0 defeat at Newcastle, typified Liverpool's poor league
season, although the youngster couldn't be faulted for his work rate and
effort. They found solace in the League Cup though, where Neil scored
his first goal for the club, a crucial away strike in his home city in a
semi-final tie with Sheffield United. His 2003/04 season was spent on
loan at Championship side West Ham United, but in a disappointing
campaign at Upton Park he scored just two league goals. He returned to
find a new man in charge at Anfield, and Rafa Benitez gave the forward
his chance, Mellor scoring twice in a 2-0 League Cup win over
Middlesbrough. Djibril Cisse's horrific broken leg limited striking
options, and Mellor led the line in a Champions League defeat in Monaco,
before the 10 days that would prove the apex of his Reds career. As a
titanic tussle with champions Arsenal stood at 1-1 deep into stoppage
time, a shattered Mellor's stunning 25-yard strike beat Jens Lehmann and
flew into the bottom corner of the Kop end net to spark delirium in the
stands and announce him on the Premier League stage, and Europe was to
follow.
Appearing as a 78th minute substitute in Liverpool's Champions
League clash with Olympiakos, and with the score at 1-1, Neil knew
Liverpool had to score twice to survive in the competition. Two minutes
later, that task was halved; Mellor pouncing with a poacher's effort
after Antonis Nikopolidis had palmed away an Antonio Nunez header. Six
minutes further on, Mellor's cushion header fell perfectly for skipper
Steven Gerrard to strike a thrilling, spearing drive into the back of
the net. Not that they knew it at the time, but Liverpool were on their
way to Champions League glory. Sadly for Mellor, he would not experience
it. A goal against Newcastle at Christmas was masking injury problems,
and after a handful of appearances in early 2005, tendonitis would keep
him out of action for the rest of the campaign. On his return, the likes
of Peter Crouch and Fernando Morientes were now blocking the route to a
first team place, and a brief loan spell at Wigan was followed by a
permanent transfer to Preston North End in August 2006. No doubt
frustrated that injuries robbed him of a prolonged career at Anfield,
Mellor must have left thinking it better to have made a big impact in a
short time than a small impact in a long time. (Mark Jones)
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