It would
seem that Micky Mellon has gone to Tranmere. We say 'seem', because it was confidently
announced on Monday that he had indeed signed for them, only for it to become clear later
that he had in fact only gone on a month's loan. Let us work on the assumption that this
initial loan move has been undertaken to enable him to play for Tranmere straight away,
with the formalities of a permanent deal to be completed later. On that basis, let us
celebrate, in the spirit in which we raised our glasses on Monday night and offered a
toast to the departure of the Mellon. He's gone!
That said, this looks like a less than smart piece of work in the transfer
market for the normally astute Stan. When Mellon joined us from Tranmere in January 1999,
he cost £350,000. He was, at that time, the second most expensive Burnley signing ever,
after then recent recapture Steve Davis. Since then, only Ian Cox and Ian Moore have
joined for more money, so Mellon remains our fourth most expensive purchase. Two and a bit
years on, he's gone back to Tranmere, for precisely nothing. This loss of still precious
cash makes him one of the most expensive mistakes in the club's history. However, you
could say we've got what he's worth - nothing. And in this post-Bosman era, it happens
that players move on free transfers; it's usually us signing them and the other lot losing
a few quid, so it makes a change to be down on a deal.
It could also be said that, therefore, Tranmere have pulled off a good bit
of business. Perhaps - but now they've got Micky Mellon, and how smart is that?
Does this sound like overstatement? Possibly, but here's what Stan himself
said at the time of the signing:
"Micky Mellon is another big signing for us. The chairman has
backed me again and this is the second-biggest signing in the club's history. He will
bring quality, goals, know-how and competition for places. I have been trying to sign him
for a couple of months and bringing him in is a step in the right direction. He is exactly
the sort of quality player I am interested in bringing to the club… signing Micky so
soon after the likes of Steve Davis, Graham Branch and Ally Pickering shows the calibre of
player I want to bring to the club. I think that it shows the club means business."
Meanwhile, Mellon said at the time:
"It's a fantastic opportunity for me and I want to make the most
of it."
[January 1999 archive]
Shame he didn't. Mellon was fundamentally not good enough. He had a
handful of good games for Burnley. Of course, he had a fine debut. Has there ever been a
Burnley player who didn’t flatter to deceive by playing well in his first match? I'm
cynical these days, and tend to think, yeah, but let's see how you're doing in a couple of
months. His first match was that bizarre 4-3 win at Bristol Rovers. We said:
"Mellon had an outstanding debut, involved in three of the four
goals."
And:
"We had new boy, Micky Mellon, who with a name like that has much
to prove in life. He certainly played as if this weighed heavily upon him. But perhaps it
was the Rovers taunts of ‘shithead’ which helped feed his fire (Mellon began his
career at Ashton Gate). Whatever, he has good ball skills, a good motor and seems as hard
as nails. Nobody has successfully filled John Deary’s boots over the last four years.
It looks as if Mellon will, with interest, too."
And some more:
"Mellon’s accurate and pacy cross."
"Mellon’s outstanding display of scurrying."
"Mellon enjoying a terrific debut at the heart of absolutely
everything."
[Bristol Rovers 3 Burnley 4 match report]
Maybe we got carried away, but it didn't last. Mellon proved to be a
frustratingly patchy player. He could look good when the team looked good, but he would
hide in a bad game. If others struggled, he would. He had some decent games for us this
season - such as West Brom away - but that was when others were playing well, too. Too
often, a pass to Mellon was instantly returned to the player, without play having been
advanced. How often did Mellon play perceptive passes to forwards, against all the
innocuous, safe, trying not to make a mistake square balls? And even if he was okay when
on the ball, he never did enough to win possession from the other side. It always strikes
me as amusing that people are still capable of describing a player like Glen Little as a
'luxury player'. That's a player who can turn a game on his own. Surely the luxury players
are the ones who jog up and down and try to stay out of harm's way? And by the way, we're
still looking for the new John Deary.
Ultimately, being a member of the Fruit XI wasn't enough.
Mellon was part of a midfield over which there were severe question marks
last season, one division lower. Then, with an inspired goalkeeper, outstanding defence
and predatory attack, the midfield was the weak link. It was questionable whether Cook,
Johnrose and Mellon were good enough. One division higher, the jury's no longer out. None
of them are capable of putting in consistent performances at first division level.
Whatever the net loss we made on Mellon, if his departure heralds the start of a sorting
out of that troubled department, then it's welcome.
After all, we spent a million quid on a striker, brought another in on
loan from the premier league, and we can't actually get the bloody ball to them.
Meanwhile, the defence is needlessly pressured because attacks aren't stopped soon enough.
These are, naturally, personal views. But, for confirmation, I looked up
the London Clarets player of the year votes for the seasons Mellon played for us. London
Clarets members vote after every game for their first and second choice Man of the Match,
and at the end of the season these are added up to give us Player of the Year standings.
These, therefore, provide a relatively accurate assessment of a player's performance.
Mellon came nowhere in 1998/99. He came nowhere in 1999/2000. At the time of departure, he
was a distant 10th.
Mellon's finest moment came, of course, at Scunthorpe on 6 May 2000, at
around 3.41, when he banged in a half clearance from miles out to equalise in the game we
eventually won to go up. It's hard to be too nasty when you remember that. It was a
brilliantly well-taken goal. We said:
"Only Mellon seemed capable of driving us forward and fittingly,
it was his fizzing 25-yard half-volley that put us back on terms."
But as we also commented:
"Salvation can come from the unlikeliest of sources."
[Promotion 2000 coverage]
Why didn't he do that kind of thing more often? Why didn't he score more?
Think about what turned out to be his last game for us, at home to Huddersfield. It was
inside the last couple of minutes of a match in which we were hanging on for a 1-0 win. He
got into the box, ran, and just wouldn't shoot, until he was right next to the goalie and
it was easy to save.
Ah well, I suppose we'll thank him for that goal at Scunthorpe and wish
him well. He'll probably revert to being a good player for Tranmere. Whatever, he
didn’t work out for us. I've got nothing against Mellon personally. I even met him
once, briefly, and he struck me as a nice sort of bloke. It's just that at the moment,
when we're going through a bad patch, we need players who are prepared to work their
bollocks off, get stuck in and give the fans something to cheer about. In other words, we
don't need Micky Mellon.
Micky Mellon's Burnley record: played too many games, scored not enough
goals.
