Source: Man_City
Derby day: Mellor's memories
Ian MellorA well-known TV presenter with `the big red book' helped make Ian Mellor's first Manchester derby a special occasion. Eamonn Andrews popped up on the pitch at Old Trafford before the last match of the season to surprise Matt Busby by announcing those famous words "This Is Your Life." Busby was the guest on the popular TV series in May 1971 in his final game as United manager. "I was only young at the time and I remember we formed a guard of honour on the pitch with the United players on one side and the City team opposite them," recalled Mellor. "Matt Busby came out to a great ovation and then suddenly Eamonn Andrews came from nowhere to produce his red book. It was great to be part of such a tribute to a man who'd achieved so much with United as a manager and also as a player with City." To make the day even more memorable, Mellor scored late on as the Blues recovered from 3-0 down at half time to lose 4-3. "I scored with a header past Alex Stepney from a corner which was taken by Dave Connor if I remember correctly. I was good in the air as long as I didn't have to jump! "We played a game of head tennis in training and that helped with my touch," explained the leggy winger who earned the nickname Spider. Mellor's only other derby was the epic 3-3 draw in front of a crowd of 63,000 at Maine Road six months later. Regrets It still remains one of the best derbies of all time and provides Mellor with one of his biggest regrets. "I grew up a City fan and my boyhood hero in the side I used to go to watch was Denis Law. I was so looking forward to playing against him that day but he was injured so Sammy McIlroy made his debut in his place. "I was absolutely gutted I never got the chance to play against him, or with him." Mellor was sold to Norwich City for £60,000 in the spring of 1973, a move which led to the resignation of Malcolm Allison as manager. "Malcolm says he left Maine Road because I'd been sold without his permission when he was ill in hospital," Mellor said. "I should have stayed at City and then to make it even worse, soon after I'd left, Denis Law rejoined the club. I could have been playing in the same team as my idol. "It was great to play in the 3-3 draw against United. The likes of Bell, Lee and Summerbee were huge stars and I just made the numbers up to be honest." These days Mellor is still heavily in the game as commercial executive with the Professional Footballers' Association and his son Neil, also a big Blues fan, is a striker with Preston. "This is a tough one to call," admitted Ian. "United are such a good team they can still play badly and win. My concern is that City are not yet as consistent as them but I'd like to think we can win and I'm going for Tevez to score the winner." Prediction: City 2 United 1 Man of the Match: Carlos Tevez What do you think? Have your say. | Submit Comments| Comments (7)| PrintWhat's this? Emaildel.icio.usDiggredditFacebookStumbleUponNewsvineGoogle BookmarksNetscapeTechnoratiWindows LiveYahoo! MyWebMa.gnolia
