Micky Mellon
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Michael Joseph Mellon (born 18 March 1972) is a Scottish professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
coach and former player who is the manager of club Oldham Athletic. As a player, he was a
midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...
for clubs including Bristol City, West Bromwich Albion,
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
, Tranmere and
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
. Mellon began his managerial career with Fleetwood Town, where he took the club into
the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
for the first time in their history by winning the 2011–12 Football Conference title. He has overseen six promotions in total as a manager with Fleetwood, Shrewsbury Town, Tranmere and Oldham. After a year with
Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...
club Dundee United, Mellon returned to Tranmere in June 2021 but was dismissed in March 2023. In October 2023, he was appointed as Oldham Athletic manager.


Early life

Micky Mellon was born in
Paisley, Renfrewshire Paisley ( ; ; ) is a large town situated in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Located north of the Gleniffer Braes, the town borders the city of Glasgow to the east, and straddles the banks of the White Cart Water, a tributary of the River ...
. His family moved to
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
when he was nine months old, and he grew up in the South Nitshill area.


Playing career

Mellon began his career in 1989 as a 17-year-old with Bristol City gaining promotion to the old Second Division, then managed by Joe Jordan. In 1991, he was loaned out for two months to
League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...
club
Cork City Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...
, making his League of Ireland debut on 20 October 1991. He made eleven league appearances for Cork, scoring three goals. He spent four years at Ashton Gate, before joining Midlanders West Bromwich Albion in 1993 for a fee of £75,000. He played 45 league games for West Brom, scoring six goals in their promotion season ending in a play off victory over Port Vale at Wembley. It was his move to
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
for a fee of £50,000 in 1994, however, that saw Mellon establish himself as a regular on the team and scoresheet. Under Sam Allardyce's guidance, Mellon made 138 appearances and scored 17 goals in all competitions. He was voted the club's player of the year in the 1995–96 season as the club just missed out on promotion from Division Two. The season following Allardyce's sacking in 1997, Mellon moved up a division to join Tranmere Rovers, who were then playing in Division One, for a fee of £300,000. He spent two seasons at Prenton Park, followed by another two with
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
, whom he joined for £350,000 gaining promotion finishing second to Preston North End. He returned to Tranmere Rovers in March 2001 initially on loan, and then on a free transfer. He was released in May 2004. Mellon joined Kidderminster Harriers in August 2004, signing a two-year contract. After leaving Harriers, Mellon spent a short spell at Witton Albion in 2005 before joining Lancaster City.


Managerial and coaching career


Lancaster City and Burnley

Mellon was appointed as assistant manager of Lancaster City in June 2006. However, on 10 October after an
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
defeat to
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he left the club along with four players for financial reasons. He moved to his former club Burnley as a youth team coach, coaching the Under-15 and Under-16 teams.


Fleetwood Town

Fleetwood chairman Andy Pilley appointed Mellon as manager on 23 September, succeeding Tony Greenwood. Mellon initially divided his time between coaching the Under-15 and Under-16 teams at Burnley and managing Fleetwood. However, on 12 January 2009, his position was made full-time, a first in the history of the club. Mellon led Fleetwood to a successful
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
run, reaching the second round for the first time in their history. He introduced a number of new faces to the playing staff, and over the course of the season produced a settled team with increasingly improving league results. Fleetwood finished the season in eighth place, having been bottom of the league when he was appointed. From the beginning of the 2009–10 season, Fleetwood were seen as serious promotion contenders. By the end of 2009,
Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...
and Fleetwood had established themselves as the two strongest teams in the league. A 5–0 defeat to Southport on Boxing Day at Haig Avenue appeared to have tipped the balance Southport's way, but this was followed by a 4–0 Fleetwood victory in the return fixture at Highbury on New Year's Day. The demise of Farsley Celtic late in the season led their entire 2009–10 playing record being expunged, thereby costing Fleetwood three points relative to Southport. Fleetwood appealed against the decision but the appeal was rejected the day before the last match of the season, leaving Southport one point ahead. A final day 2–0 victory over Stalybridge Celtic proved ultimately inadequate in securing the championship as Southport defeated Eastwood Town 3–0 away from home to win the championship, and the automatic promotion place, by one point. A two-legged playoff semi-final against Droylsden away was decided on penalties, as a 2–0 defeat, countered by a 3–1 victory at Highbury. Goalkeeper Danny Hurst saved the last penalty to put Fleetwood through 4–3. The final was played against Alfreton Town at Highbury on 9 May, in front of a new record capacity crowd of 3,592. Fleetwood defeated Alfreton 2–1 in the play-off final. The team's second-place finish and ultimate promotion to the Conference, the fifth tier of English football, secured the highest position in the club's history since the 1997 re-establishment. In the 2010–2011 season, Fleetwood finished fifth in the Conference National, losing the play-off semi-final 8–1 on aggregate to
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. Fleetwood won the 2011–2012 Conference National, attaining 103 points in the process. Fleetwood progressed to the third round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history; beating Wycombe and
Yeovil Yeovil () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. It is close to Somerset's southern border with Dorset, west of London, south of Bristol, west of Sherborne and east of Taunton. The population of the bui ...
before finally succumbing 5–1 to neighbours Blackpool in front of a sell-out crowd. After three defeats in a row, including a second round FA Cup exit to Aldershot Town, Mellon was sacked on 1 December 2012 with Fleetwood in 4th place.


Barnsley

In December 2012 Mellon was asked to assist David Flitcroft who was caretaker manager at
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...
following the sacking of Keith Hill. In January 2013 Flitcroft was appointed permanent manager with Mellon as his assistant. Mellon helped to keep Barnsley in the Championship by securing a point at
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...
on 4 May 2013. On 10 May 2013 he agreed a new deal to stay at Oakwell. In October 2013 Barnsley turned down two approaches for Mellon from Conference Premier side Forest Green to take over as their Manager. Mellon said "Barnsley had two approaches, but the club turned them down twice because they want to keep me. "So I am happy to stay at Barnsley as long as they want me because the Championship is where I want to be. "(But) I am delighted that there are people who think I can do a job and saw what I achieved at Fleetwood." On 19 March 2014, Barnsley sacked Mellon. A club statement read: "Barnsley Football Club has (on Wednesday) terminated the employment of assistant manager Micky Mellon and goalkeeping coach Ian Willcock with immediate effect. "The club would like to place on record its thanks to both Micky and Ian for their service and wish them all the best for the future."


Shrewsbury Town

Mellon was appointed as the new manager of Shrewsbury Town on 12 May 2014, with former caretaker manager
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and Danny Coyne remaining as his assistants following the club's relegation back to League Two. Inheriting only a handful of players from the previous regime, Mellon made 16 signings over the close season, reuniting with former Fleetwood Town striker Andy Mangan, and ex-Barnsley players Liam Lawrence and Jordan Clark. Shrewsbury went unbeaten in their first month of the 2014–15 season, including League Cup upsets over
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
and away at
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
newcomers Leicester City. Despite hitting a difficult run of form in September, they also beat Championship leaders Norwich City to set up a fourth round home tie with Chelsea. Despite exiting the 2014–15 FA Cup in the second round, a narrow 1–0 away defeat at Preston North End, Shrewsbury enjoyed a highly consistent season in the league, culminating in winning promotion back to the third tier of English football at the first attempt, following a 1–0 away victory at Cheltenham Town on 25 April 2015. The following season, Mellon led Shrewsbury to the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1991, notably knocking out Championship opponents Cardiff City and
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...
in the third and fourth rounds respectively. The fifth round saw Shrewsbury draw
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at home for the first ever competitive fixture between the two clubs which subsequently ended Shrewsbury's FA cup run after a 3–0 defeat. Shrewsbury spent much of the league season battling relegation. Despite losing 3–4 at home to Peterborough United in the penultimate game of the season, same day defeats for
Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...
and
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
ensured another season of League One football, with one game to spare.


Tranmere Rovers

Mellon left Shrewsbury Town on 6 October 2016, after winning only two of the opening eleven games of the 2016–17 season, and was appointed manager of Tranmere Rovers in the National League. On 12 May 2018 Mellon led Tranmere back into the Football League with victory over Boreham Wood in the National League play-off final. On 25 May 2019, Tranmere made it back-to-back promotions, winning the League Two playoff at Wembley, 1–0, over Newport County, thus securing their spot in League One for the 2019–20 season. By March 2020, the team were within the relegation zone, but with a game in hand on their nearest rivals and on a run of three successive victories. The cancellation of fixtures due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
meant that the season could not be completed, and a vote was taken by League One clubs on 9 June to resolve promotion and relegation issues on a points per game (PPG) basis. This meant that Tranmere would be relegated to League Two for the 2020/21 season.


Dundee United

Mellon was appointed as manager of
Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...
club Dundee United on 6 July 2020. It was his first time working in his homeland as either a player or a manager. Mellon left United after the 2020–21 season, in which they finished in 9th place.


Return to Tranmere Rovers

After his year in Dundee, Mellon returned to Tranmere Rovers for a second spell as manager. Despite a strong start to the season, Mellon was sacked by Tranmere on 19 March 2023 following a 3-1 defeat to Newport County which left the club 14th in League Two. This followed a string of results that included six wins since mid-October.


Oldham Athletic

On 13 October 2023, Mellon was appointed manager of National League club Oldham Athletic on a three-year contract, taking charge following the club's next fixture.


Managerial statistics


Personal life

Mellon has lived in Blackpool since 1994. He is married to Jane. He opened the very first franchised energie Shokk gym aimed at teenagers with his wife in Blackpool in February 2009. The gym later went out of business in October 2009. He has co-authored a book about football management, ''The First 100 Days: Lessons in Leadership from the Football Bosses'', published in March 2021. He has a son called
Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...
in the youth academy at
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
who plays as an attacker.


Honours


Player

Individual *Blackpool Player of the Season: 1995–96 *
PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...
: 1995–96 Second Division


Manager

Fleetwood Town * Conference Premier: 2011–12 * Conference North play-offs:
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
Shrewsbury Town * Football League Two second-place promotion: 2014–15 Tranmere Rovers * EFL League Two play-offs:
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
* National League play-offs:
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
Oldham Athletic *National League play-offs:
2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...
Individual * EFL League Two Manager of the Month: March 2019, December 2021


References


External links

* *
An article by Mellon in ''The Guardian'', 6 January 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mellon, Micky 1972 births Living people Footballers from Paisley, Renfrewshire Scottish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Bristol City F.C. players Cork City F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players Witton Albion F.C. players Lancaster City F.C. players English Football League players League of Ireland players Scottish football managers Fleetwood Town F.C. managers Barnsley F.C. non-playing staff Barnsley F.C. managers Shrewsbury Town F.C. managers Tranmere Rovers F.C. managers National League (English football) managers English Football League managers Dundee United F.C. managers Oldham Athletic A.F.C. managers Scottish Professional Football League managers