Michael Anthony Mellows is an English former footballer. He was an England Amateur international,[1] who later played professionally for Reading and Portsmouth.[2] Born in Woking, Mellows attended Sutton Grammar School for Boys and played firstly for Sutton United before going to train as a teacher at King Alfred College, Winchester. During this time he played in the 1969 FA Amateur Cup Final and made 15 international appearances for the England national amateur football team.[3] While playing for the college he came to the notice of many league scouts[4] and eventually signed for Reading in September 1970, for whom he played 17 games (scoring twice).[5] After his time with the "Biscuitmen", he had spells with Winchester City and Wycombe Wanderers, before signing for Portsmouth in September 1973 as one of new chairman John Deacon's promised additions to what had been the previous season a very threadbare squad.[6] He came on to make his debut as a substitute in an away victory versus Sheffield Wednesday in October that year[7] and was to remain a regular for the next five years, even winning the clubs coveted "Player of the Year" trophy in 1975.[8] Somewhat a conundrum to the Fratton Faithful[9] his last appearance was at Rotherham on the last day of the 1977/78 season.[10] Mellows then joined Waterlooville and played for them in the Southern League until retiring from football in 1982.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michael Anthony Mellows | ||
| Date of birth | 14 November 1947 | ||
| Place of birth | Woking, England | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1964–1965 | King Alfred College | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1965–1970 | Sutton United | ||
| 1970–1971 | Reading | 16 | (2) |
| 1971 | Winchester City | ||
| 1971–1972 | Wycombe Wanderers | 8 | (1) |
| 1973–1978 | Portsmouth | 181 | (16) |
| 1978–1982 | Waterlooville | 153 | (33) |
| International career | |||
| 1969–1971 | England Amateur | 15 | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
A devout Christian, Mellows now runs (with Linvoy Primus) "Faith and Football"- a community initiative which reaches out through sport to the city's youth and disadvantaged founded in 2002.[11] Initiatives conducted by "Faith and Football" include the "Bring your Beans" initiative, which consists of people bringing beans for distribution for the less fortunate. The organisation also undertakes various charitable missions.
Personal life
editMick has a son, Jopseph Mellows, who teaches Economics at Dulwich College Seoul. Joseph attended The Portsmouth Grammar School
Notes
edit- ^ "Rothmans Football Year Book,1970–71" Peskett,R/Williams,T: Harpenden, QAP,1970 ISBN 0-362-00071-9
- ^ "The PFA Premier League and Football League Players' Records 1946–98" Hugman,B: Harpenden, Queen Anne Press, 1998 ISBN 1-85291-585-4
- ^ He also made one appearance for the British Olympic Football Team in a qualifying game versus Bulgaria in May 1971– accessed via AFS Database, 24 December 2007 13:28
- ^ Interview with Mark Storey in "The News Sports Mail", 6 June 2007
- ^ Mellows time with Reading
- ^ "Portsmouth, from Tindall to Ball" Farmery, C: Southend-on-Sea, Desert Island Books, 1999 ISBN 1-874287-25-2
- ^ Farmery(Ibid)
- ^ Programme Notes Portsmouth v Norwich, 28 April 1975
- ^ Favourite with fan Archived 12 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ A match in which long serving goal-keeper Alan Knight also made the first of his 683 league appearances-"Legend" Knight,A: Fareham, Legendary, 2003 ISBN 0-9526760-1-X
- ^ BBC Radio Solent Profile