melchester rovers : definition of melchester rovers and synonyms of melchester rovers (English) History Early years According to the comic strip's continuity, Melchester Rovers were founded in 1885 winning at least three League Championships and a number of FA Cups during the pre-war years of their existence. In 1954, however, the first Roy of the Rovers strip appeared, telling the story of the club and its star striker Roy Race (whose grandfather, Billy Race, had played for the club in the early part of the 20th Century). Melchester finally became League Champions in 1958, and won the FA Cup the following season, by which time Race was captain. 1960s It was in the 1960s, however, that Rovers became a footballing force to be reckoned with. The decade brought three league titles, two FA Cups , two European Cups , one European Cup Winners' Cup and one Intercontinental Cup .

It wasn't a decade without its problems, though, and in an example of the topsy-turvy nature of the history that would follow, Rovers only narrowly avoided relegation at the end of 1967, the same year they won the Cup Winners' Cup. 1970s In 1972, Rovers achieved their first – and currently only – League and Cup " Double ", and later that year, long-serving team manager Ben Galloway was promoted upstairs to General Manager, with former Rovers winger Tony Storme taking over team affairs. His tenure began well, with a third European Cup win in 1973, and Rovers began the next season with an all-new, modern strip and a strong sense of optimism. Poor results and a spate of injuries, however, meant a demoralising first half of the season, with many of the team believing the new kit was "jinxed". Happily, this was overcome, and despite a disappointing league season, achieved their first domestic cup double, winning the League Cup in addition to another FA Cup.

In 1975, though, a humiliating defeat in the 3rd Round of the Cup to non-league minnows Sleeford Town led to the disappearance of manager Tony Storme. Roy Race took over as player-manager, and kept the post when Storme came out of hiding some months later and made his retirement official. Race's Melchester won a trophy at their first attempt, the 1975 Cup Winners' Cup. The first title under Roy came two years later, in 1977, the season in which a supermarket chain offered a (then) staggering £30,000 to the first player in England to score 50 League and Cup goals. The competition went down to the last day of the season, and was won by Mervyn Wallace, despite many fans' belief that Race himself had got the last touch on what would have been his 50th goal. Controversy reigned in 1978, when it was rumoured that Race was due to accept a £1million offer to take over as team manager of Middle-Eastern state Basran. Rovers' form slumped, and Ben Galloway temporarily took back over as manager.

However, once the rumours were quashed, Roy was reinstated and Rovers pulled themselves out of the relegation zone, the 1978–79 season ending in style with a UEFA Cup win. 1980s Martin Kemp (left) and Steve Norman of pop group Spandau Ballet played for Rovers in the 1980s. The 1980s were full of drama with many events of a "soap opera" style, the sort that would eventually inspire series like Sky One 's Dream Team . Melchester were League Champions in 1979–80 but were relegated to Division Two by one goal just one year later. The 1981–82 season saw a potential tragedy when Roy was shot by a jealous actor, Elton Blake, who was due to play him in a TV series about the club. Rovers set a new league goal-scoring record – 14–0 against Keysborough – an event that saw Roy recover from his coma when the commentary was played in the hospital. Sir Alf Ramsey managed the club during this period and helped Rovers to set a new league record of 34 games undefeated and comfortably win the Second Division.

Roy recovered to start the 1982–83 season where Mel Park becomes Britain's first all-seater stadium. However, in April 1983 Roy sensationally quit Melchester after a row with Rovers chairman Sam Barlow and signed for Walford Rovers. Blackie Gray was appointed new player-manager, but his reign was short-lived, as Roy returned in December 1983 and led an injury-ravaged Rovers to an unlikely FA Cup win over Walford. They followed up this dramatic FA Cup win with an equally dramatic European Cup-Winners' Cup victory on penalties against Real Santana of Spain in 1985 (Rovers would not reappear in Europe for another five years due to English clubs being banned). The following season was an eventful one, as Roy shook up the team by signing retired players turned TV pundits Bob Wilson and Emlyn Hughes , as well as two members of pop group Spandau Ballet .

Rovers won the Milk Cup , beating Tynecaster 3–0 and set a new league record of 12 consecutive games without conceding a goal, but in the close season, the club faced its biggest tragedy ever when a terrorist bomb in Basran killed eight team members – Noel Baxter, Vic Guthrie, Steve Naylor, Carl Hunt, Neville Jones, Kenny Logan, Jimmy Slade and Trevor Cassidy. Roy dedicated Rovers' 2–1 League Cup Final win over Stambridge City in 1987 to those players. 1987–88 saw the club become League Champions once again, but they were fighting relegation in 1988–89 during a season that saw them play most of their home matches at Wembley Stadium after massive local subsidence during a match led to Mel Park being closed for major reconstruction. Rovers avoided relegation with a 3–1 win over Melboro' in the season's final match. 1990s Rovers started the decade well by winning the 1990 FA Cup Final, 2–1 against Weston Villa.

They were League Champions in 1991–92 while Roy set a new league goal-scoring record, notching up his 436th goal to win a charity bet with former record-holder and now TV pundit "Chippy" Croker (an obvious analogue for Jimmy Greaves ). 1992–93 saw a season of turmoil when Roy resigned as manager live on Sky TV. He returned before the end of the season, but on the way to scout a promising youth player, crashed his helicopter and was left in a coma and badly injured. He recovered in time for the 1993–94 season, but learned that his left foot had been amputated. Recovering, he left England to become manager of Italian side AC Monza. With his departure, Rovers' fortunes became bleaker, occasional moments of brilliance from players such as Roy's son "Rocky" Race and the Nigerian Paul "Del" Ntende shining among the troubles, which included now-manager Blackie Gray resigning after receiving death threats, and the club only narrowly avoiding relegation in the 1993/94 season, with Rocky scoring a last-minute goal to save them.

However, soon after that match a Melchester Director was found guilty of attempting to bribe the opposition to throw the game. They won the FA Cup in 1995 but, after the death of Rocky's mother Penny in a car crash in Italy, Rocky quit Rovers to join fierce local rivals Melborough. 1995–96 was a complete disaster for Rovers as more top players left after a bribery scandal shamed the club, and they were relegated at the end of the season into Division One. In 1996–97, Roy Race Sr. returned to manage the club, and arrived in time to save the Rovers from an impending second successive relegation. In 1997–98, Rovers finished the season fourth in Division One but won in the play-offs to gain promotion back to the Premier League. Following Rocky's transfer back to the club, they won the 1999 FA Cup in extra time, and the turnaround was complete in 1999–2000, when they won the Premier League title on the last day of the season, their first top-flight title in eight years and their most recent to date.

The following season, Race was finally able to buy out the club's owners, the Vitner brothers, and the club began to look forward to the new millennium, with a planned move to an exciting new stadium under the ownership of their greatest hero. Colours and kits The various kits worn by Melchester over the years Melchester Rovers' colours have always involved some combination of red and yellow, although as with real life professional teams, their precise shirt designs have varied considerably over the years. When the comic was first introduced, the club played in plain red shirts with yellow sleeves, and navy blue shorts. This strip persisted for many years, until a dramatic new look was introduced in 1973. This involved an all-red strip, with a yellow vertical stripe running down one side of the shirt, one on the other side of the shorts, and a yellow "T"-shape on the socks. In addition, the shirts uniquely featured the players' numbers on one sleeve. This kit was worn until 1981, when Rovers were relegated to the Second Division, and switched back to a more conventional, symmetrical design.

This shirt featured yellow bands across the chest, waist and sleeves, and would remain until 1986, when following the drastic rebuilding of the team a fresh new kit was introduced, this time all-red with a narrow yellow stripe running down each side. Then in 1991, a competition was held for Roy of the Rovers readers to design a new kit for the team. The winning entry was a simple and classic combination of yellow and red stripes with red shorts. Variations on this kit (sometimes using more yellow than red) would continue to be used until the end of the weekly comic, and for the duration of the subsequent monthly one. However, when ROTR strips returned in Match of the Day Magazine in 1997, a new kit had been introduced. Unusually, this kit was predominantly yellow, with a large red star motif across the chest and back. This strip did not last long, however, as the following season another strip appeared. This was again all-red, with yellow trim, and a predominant yellow "V" shape across the front and back of the shirt. This was the last kit that Melchester have been seen to play in.

Away strips were not seen very often in the ROTR comic, but three main designs were used, particularly in the 1980s – a plain blue shirt with white shorts and red socks, a yellow shirt with a red stripe running down its side with yellow shorts with a red line running down its other side and an all-white kit that also sometimes employed red socks. After 1992, Rovers away kits would generally be all-white with some combination of yellow and red trim, and in the Match of the Day strips the same design as the home kit, in white and red, was used. As in real football, shirt sponsorship logos were non existent prior to the 1980s, and when eventually introduced to the strip, their use was intermittent. The first genuine commercial logo, that of Gola appeared on the new kit in 1981 but disappeared the subsequent year. The 1986 kit first appeared with Nike branding, but again this would be removed after one season. The shirts were blank for a while, but in the last couple of years saw the comic's publishers Panini and Fleetway used.

When the striped kit was introduced in 1992, meanwhile, it featured Sega as the sponsors. This deal only lasted for a season, however, and for the last season portrayed by the weekly comic TSB appeared on the shirts. This deal carried over to the monthly comic, after which for a short time the shirts were again sponsorless, before a deal with Subbuteo saw that brand appear for the final few issues. The predominantly yellow kit introduced in Match of the Day magazine saw MotD itself as the sponsor, only to be replaced by McDonald's after only two episodes. This latter instance marked perhaps the first time Melchester's shirts made use of appropriate corporate colours! Honours Note that all records are fictional, and only date as far as 2000, the last completed season of the comic strip. 1967, 1971, 1975, 1985 Opponents and rivalries Although throughout Roy Race's playing career there was never a definitive list published of who the other teams in the First Division were, the majority of sides Rovers played against were familiar names who they opposed regularly in later years.

These included: Blackport, Burndean, Carford City, Castlemere, Danefield, Deans Park, Eastoke, Gatesfield, Holverton, Kelburn, Kingsbay, Melborough, North Vale, Oldfield, Portdean, Redstoke, Stambridge City, Tynecaster, Walford Rovers (who Roy managed in 1983) and Weston Villa (also known as Western Villa). There were also several lower league sides who Rovers met in cup football and their occasional stints outside the top-flight, as well as foreign teams in European matches. For much of the story's history, Rovers' traditional local rivals were Melborough (sometimes shortened to Melboro). For decades, Melchester held the upper hand over their cross-city neighbours, but in later years Melborough became a major force and were in a higher division than Rovers in the late 1990s. Melborough often had outspoken managers, most notably Andy Jackson and Ralph Gordon (who made an ill-fated and unpopular switch to Rovers in 1992), to help intensify the rivalries.

The monthly comic (1993–95) changed the sides Rovers played, basing them on real-life clubs (Toxteth being Liverpool; Prestwich North End replacing Manchester United etc.). The comic featured Melchester City as ambitious Football League newcomers who believed they could ultimately compete with Rovers. However, they did not reappear in any future Roy of the Rovers storylines, and nor did the other sides Rovers faced in this period. Notable players Melchester Rovers - The Full Wiki The Full Wiki More info on Melchester Rovers Wikis Note: Many of our articles have direct quotes from sources you can cite, within the Wikipedia article! This article doesn't yet, but we're working on it! See more info or our list of citable articles . Related top topics From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Melchester Rovers Away colours Melchester Rovers are a fictional football team with whom Roy Race spent most of his illustrious career in the British comic strip Roy of the Rovers , which first appeared in Tiger at its inception in 1954.

Contents Advertisements Early years According to the comic strip's continuity, Melchester Rovers were founded in 1885 winning at least three League Championships and a number of FA Cups during the pre-war years of their existence. In 1954, however, the first Roy of the Rovers strip appeared, telling the story of the club and its star striker Roy Race (whose grandfather, Billy Race, had played for the club in the early part of the 20th Century). Melchester finally became League Champions in 1958, and won the FA Cup the following season, by which time Race was captain. 1960s It was in the 1960s, however, that Rovers became a footballing force to be bargained with. The decade brought three league titles, two FA Cups , two European Cups , one European Cup Winners' Cup and one Intercontinental Cup . It wasn't a decade without its problems, though, and in an example of the topsy-turvy nature of the history that would follow, Rovers only narrowly avoided relegation at the end of 1967, the same year they won the Cup Winners' Cup.

1970s In 1972, Rovers achieved their first - and currently only - League and Cup " Double ", and later that year, long-serving team manager Ben Galloway was promoted upstairs to General Manager, with former Rovers winger Tony Storme taking over team affairs. His tenure began well, with a third European Cup win in 1973, and Rovers began the next season with an all-new, modern strip and a strong sense of optimism. Poor results and a spate of injuries, however, meant a demoralising first half of the season, with many of the team believing the new kit was "jinxed". Happily, this was overcome, and despite a disappointing league season, achieved their first domestic cup double, winning the League Cup in addition to another FA Cup. In 1975, though, a humiliating defeat in the 3rd Round of the Cup to non-league minnows Sleeford Town led to the disappearance of manager Tony Storme. Roy Race took over as player-manager, and kept the post when Storme came out of hiding some months later and made his retirement official.

Race's Melchester won a trophy at their first attempt, the 1975 Cup Winners' Cup. The first title under Roy came two years later, in 1977, the season in which a supermarket chain offered a (then) staggering £30,000 to the first player in England to score 50 League and Cup goals. The competition went down to the last day of the season, and was won by Mervyn Wallace, despite many fans' belief that Race himself had got the last touch on what would have been his 50th goal. Controversy reigned in 1978, when it was rumoured that Race was due to accept a £1million offer to take over as team manager of Middle-Eastern state Basran. Rovers' form slumped, and Ben Galloway temporarily took back over as manager. However, once the rumours were quashed, Roy was reinstated and Rovers pulled themselves out of the relegation zone, the 1978-79 season ending in style with a UEFA Cup win.

1980s The 1980s were full of drama with many events of a "soap opera" style, the sort that would eventually inspire series like Sky One 's Dream Team . Melchester were League Champions in 1979-80 but were relegated to Division Two by one goal just one year later. The 1981-82 season saw a potential tragedy when Roy was shot by a jealous actor, Elton Blake, who was due to play him in a TV series about the club. Rovers set a new league goal-scoring record - 14-0 against Keysborough - an event that saw Roy recover from his coma when the commentary was played in the hospital. Sir Alf Ramsey managed the club during this period and helped Rovers to set a new league record of 34 games undefeated and comfortably win the Second Division. Roy recovered to start the 1982-83 season where Mel Park becomes Britain's first all-seater stadium. However, in April 1983 Roy sensationally quit Melchester after a row with Rovers chairman Sam Barlow and signed for Walford Rovers.

Blackie Gray was appointed new player-manager, but his reign was short-lived, as Roy returned in December 1983 and led an injury-ravaged Rovers to an unlikely FA Cup win over Walford. They followed up this dramatic FA Cup win with an equally dramatic European Cup-Winners' Cup victory on penalties against Real Santana of Spain in 1985 (Rovers would not reappear in Europe for another five years due to English clubs being banned). The following season was an eventful one, as Roy shook up the team by signing retired players turned TV pundits Bob Wilson and Emlyn Hughes , as well as two members of pop group Spandau Ballet ! Rovers won the Milk Cup , beating Tynecaster 3-0 and set a new league record of 12 consecutive games without conceding a goal, but in the close season, the club faced its biggest tragedy ever when a terrorist bomb in Basran killed eight team members - Noel Baxter, Vic Guthrie, Steve Naylor, Carl Hunt, Neville Jones, Kenny Logan, Jimmy Slade and Trevor Cassidy. Roy dedicated Rovers' 2-1 Littlewoods Cup Final win over Stambridge City in 1987 to those players.

1987-88 saw the club become League Champions once again, but they were fighting relegation in 1988-89 during a season that saw them play most of their home matches at Wembley Stadium after massive local subsidence during a match led to Mel Park being closed for major reconstruction. Rovers avoided relegation with a 3-1 win over Melboro' in the season's final match. 1990s Rovers started the decade well by winning the 1990 FA Cup Final, 2-1 against Weston Villa. They were League Champions in 1991-92 while Roy set a new league goal-scoring record, notching up his 436th goal to win a charity bet with former record-holder and now TV pundit "Chippy" Croker (an obvious analogue for Jimmy Greaves ). 1992-93 saw a season of turmoil when Roy resigned as manager live on Sky TV. He returned before the end of the season, but on the way to scout a promising youth player, crashed his helicopter and was left in a coma and badly injured.

He recovered in time for the 1993-94 season, but learned that his left foot had been amputated. Recovering, he left England to become manager of Italian side AC Monza. With his departure, Rovers' fortunes became bleaker, occasional moments of brilliance from players such as Roy's son "Rocky" Race and the Nigerian Paul "Del" Ntende shining among the troubles, which included now-manager Blackie Gray resigning after receiving death threats, and the club only narrowly avoiding relegation in the 1993/94 season, with Rocky scoring a last-minute goal to save them. However, soon after that match a Melchester Director was found guilty of attempting to bribe the opposition to throw the game. They won the FA Cup in 1995 but, after the death of Rocky's mother Penny in a car crash in Italy, Rocky quit Rovers to join fierce local rivals Melborough. 1995-96 was a complete disaster for Rovers as more top players left after a bribery scandal shamed the club, and they were relegated at the end of the season into Division One. In 1996-97, Roy Race Sr.

returned to manage the club, and arrived in time to save the Rovers from an impending second successive relegation. In 1997-98, Rovers finished the season fourth in Division One but won in the play-offs to gain promotion back to the Premier League. Following Rocky's transfer back to the club, they won the 1999 FA Cup in extra time, and the turnaround was complete in 1999-2000, when they won the Premier League title on the last day of the season, their first top-flight title in eight years and their most recent to date. The following season, Race was finally able to buy out the club's owners, the Vitner brothers, and the club began to look forward to the new millennium, with a planned move to an exciting new stadium under the ownership of their greatest hero. Colours and kits The various kits worn by Melchester over the years Melchester Rovers' colours have always involved some combination of red and yellow, although as with real life professional teams, their precise shirt designs have varied considerably over the years. When the comic was first introduced, the club played in plain red shirts with yellow sleeves, and navy blue shorts.

This strip persisted for many years, until a dramatic new look was introduced in 1973. This involved an all-red strip, with a yellow vertical stripe running down one side of the shirt, one on the other side of the shorts, and a yellow "T"-shape on the socks. In addition, the shirts uniquely featured the players' numbers on one sleeve. This kit was worn until 1981, when Rovers were relegated to the Second Division, and switched back to a more conventional, symmetrical design. This shirt featured yellow bands across the chest, waist and sleeves, and would remain until 1986, when following the drastic rebuilding of the team a fresh new kit was introduced, this time all-red with a narrow yellow stripe running down each side. Then in 1991, a competition was held for Roy of the Rovers readers to design a new kit for the team. The winning entry was a simple and classic combination of yellow and red stripes with red shorts. Variations on this kit (sometimes using more yellow than red) would continue to be used until the end of the weekly comic, and for the duration of the subsequent monthly one.

However, when ROTR strips returned in Match of the Day Magazine in 1997, a new kit had been introduced. Unusually, this kit was predominantly yellow, with a large red star motif across the chest and back. This strip did not last long, however, as the following season another strip appeared. This was again all-red, with yellow trim, and a predominant yellow "V" shape across the front and back of the shirt. This was the last kit that Melchester have been seen to play in. Away strips were not seen very often in the ROTR comic, but three main designs were used, particularly in the 1980s - a plain blue shirt with white shorts and red socks, a yellow shirt with a red stripe running down its side with yellow shorts with a red line running down its other side and an all-white kit that also sometimes employed red socks. After 1992, Rovers away kits would generally be all-white with some combination of yellow and red trim, and in the Match of the Day strips the same design as the home kit, in white and red, was used.

As in real football, shirt sponsorship logos were non existent prior to the 1980s, and when eventually introduced to the strip, their use was intermittent. The first genuine commercial logo, that of Gola appeared on the new kit in 1981 but disappeared the subsequent year. The 1986 kit first appeared with Nike branding, but again this would be removed after one season. The shirts were blank for a while, but in the last couple of years saw the comic's publishers Panini and Fleetway used. When the striped kit was introduced in 1992, meanwhile, it featured Sega as the sponsors. This deal only lasted for a season, however, and for the last season portrayed by the weekly comic TSB appeared on the shirts. This deal carried over to the monthly comic, after which for a short time the shirts were again sponsorless, before a deal with Subbuteo saw that brand appear for the final few issues. The predominantly yellow kit introduced in Match of the Day magazine saw MotD itself as the sponsor, only to be replaced by McDonald's after only two episodes. This latter instance marked perhaps the first time Melchester's shirts made use of appropriate corporate colours!

Honours Note that all records are fictional, and only date as far as 2000, the last completed season of the comic strip. 1967, 1971, 1975, 1985 Opponents and rivalries Although throughout Roy Race's playing career there was never a definitive list published of who the other teams in the First Division were, the majority of sides Rovers played against were familiar names who they opposed regularly in later years. These included: Blackport, Burndean, Carford City, Castlemere, Danefield, Deans Park, Eastoke, Gatesfield, Holverton, Kelburn, Kingsbay, Melborough, North Vale, Oldfield, Portdean, Redstoke, Stambridge City, Tynecaster, Walford Rovers (who Roy managed in 1983) and Weston Villa (also known as Western Villa). There were also several lower league sides who Rovers met in cup football and their occasional stints outside the top-flight, as well as foreign teams in European matches. For much of the story's history, Rovers' traditional local rivals were Melborough (sometimes shortened to Melboro).

For decades, Melchester held the upper hand over their cross-city neighbours, but in later years Melborough became a major force and were in a higher division than Rovers in the late 1990s. Melborough often had outspoken managers, most notably Andy Jackson and Ralph Gordon (who made an ill-fated and unpopular switch to Rovers in 1992), to help intensify the rivalries. The monthly comic (1993-95) changed the sides Rovers played, basing them on real-life clubs (Toxteth being Liverpool; Prestwich North End replacing Manchester United etc). The comic featured Melchester City as ambitious Football League newcomers who believed they could ultimately compete with Rovers. However, they did not reappear in any future Roy of the Rovers storylines, and nor did the other sides Rovers faced in this period.

Notable players The Melchester squad of 1986/87, including Blackie Gray and Roy Race, second and third from the left respectively in the front row Roy Race (1996 - ) Other clubs Due to the popularity of the Roy of the Rovers strip, a number of amateur football clubs have chosen to name themselves after Melchester Rovers in recent years. Examples include a team in New York City composed of Americans and British citizens living in New York, and a club playing out of Rozelle, Sydney, Australia comprising British, Irish and Australian players. It is also a popular name for fantasy football teams. There is a successful football team in San Francisco, CA, USA called Melchester Rovers , founded in 1997, composed largely of Irish and American citizens. In Dunedin, New Zealand, there are over 25 junior and senior teams making up a club called Melchester Rovers . See also Tiger (comic) Notes ^ Up until 1992, the top division of English football was the Football League First Division ; since then, it has been the FA Premier League .

References The Greek Roy of the Rovers Fan Club: MELCHESTER ROVERS: A TRIBUTE Δευτέρα, 9 Μαΐου 2011 MELCHESTER ROVERS: A TRIBUTE Which team do you support? They’ve always been your one and only right? Ever since whatever it was that occurred – your first match; seeing a cool kit on The Big Match whilst stuffing your face with Opel Fruits; copying your best mate – that sparked your lifelong love affair, this club has always held an exclusive place in your heart? Wrong. Or at least, for most of us anyway. Because if you were a small boy between the years 1954-2001 (like I say, most of us), and if you enjoyed comics (see previous brackets), then odds on there was another allegiance. A sort of trainer club, that taught you the discipline, loyalty and devotion required to follow the same outfit every week come rain or shine, miserable defeat or glorious victory.

Melchester Rovers first appeared in Tiger magazine in the mid-fifties and became a regular, much-loved fixture there for over twenty years until the eponymous Roy of the Rovers launched in 1976. The early side contained two raw recruits from the reserves – schoolboy friends Roy Race and Blackie Gray – who would go on to become key figures at the club and were instrumental in leading the side to ten league titles, ten FA Cup victories, and three European Cup triumphs. Roy certainly had an eventful life both on and off the pitch. During his time with the club – that spanned over half a century – he was shot, spent time in a coma following a helicopter crash, and lost his devoted wife Penny in a car accident. He also survived the atrocious terrorist explosion in Basran in 1986 that ripped apart his talented side that had only recently broken the league record of going twelve games without conceding a goal. Eight players died that awful day, several of whom came through Melchester’s youth system, including Noel Baxter, one of the most naturally gifted defenders ever to grace the game.

Yet, although Roy Race came to symbolise Rovers, the club existed long before he was even an idea in the artist’s pencil. Founded in 1885 on the River Mel by the Crib Lane Freight Company they would secure their first piece of silverware twenty years later – a successful F.A Cup campaign skippered by none other than Billy Race, Roy’s great grandfather. Mel Park was built soon after, a ground that hosted countless nights of gripping drama and more stories than Dustin Hoffman could possibly eulogize about on top of a New York building. Sadly it succumbed to an earthquake in the late-eighties. Just six years earlier it had become Britain’s first all-seater stadium, its 56,000 capacity often packed out with silent, but flag waving, supporters….apart from two quite chatty guys who clearly saw themselves as amateur commentators. In 2001 Melchester Rovers, to all extents and purposes, quietly folded when the publication that housed its strips during the latter years, Match of the Day, also fell from existence. In over a hundred years this incredible – often incredulous – club gave millions of children, bridging many generations, twenty minutes of joy every week before school.

Weetabix hardening and forgotten in a nearby bowl they absorbed themselves in a world where one club never, not once, achieved mediocrity. It was either a title race or relegation. Where every foreign player sported a rather natty pencil-thin moustache. And where Geoffrey Boycott was chairman for several years. Rovers were one of the most successful British club sides of all time and in tribute to this fine institution here is what we consider to be their finest XI. GK – Tubby Morton Although Charlie ‘the cat’ Carter pushes him close it can only be Tubby. A long-standing stalwart between the Mel Park sticks the England international kept the deadliest Tynecaster and Cranville attackers at bay for nearly twenty years. Made an emotional return to first-team football several years after his retirement but alas the endearing chubbiness had ballooned by then to full-on fatty. In his prime though the safest two-dimensional hands around. RB – Ben Galloway In many ways Galloway’s magnificent career was the prototype for Races.

A lengthy and highly-acclaimed spell as player/captain (during the 1930s and 40s) before moving upstairs to guide the mighty Rovers to further glory. Although the club had other managers, most notably Tony Storme, the firm but fair Galloway will always be the ‘gaffer’. He is included in this team entirely on playing merit however due to being an exceptional attacking full-back, forming a long and fruitful partnership down the right flank with Jimmy Potter. LB – Duncan Mackay It is a common misconception held by many that Johnny Depp based his character in Pirates of the Caribbean on aging rocker Keith Richards. In actual fact Depp, a renowned anglophile, was an avid reader of British comics during the eighties and was particular impressed by Rover’s hot-headed and tenacious Scottish full-back. Transfer-listed on a number of occasions yet always thoroughly committed to the red and yellow cause. CB – Noel Baxter An exceptionally gifted stopper Baxter came through the ranks yet initially found his innate shyness hard to overcome. He once fled the city life and camped in the Brecon Beacons until Race tracked him down and persuaded him to return.

Once he’d matured and gained confidence however Baxter developed into one of the most natural and stylish defenders the British game had ever seen. In time he even became the dressing room joker. The popular and likeable England international was killed in Basran alongside seven of his team-mates. Gone but never forgotten. CB – Lofty Peak Solid, tough as teak, and ever dependable, Peak began his career at Kingbay before establishing himself as the mainstay of the stubborn Melchester back-line throughout one of their most successful eras. Very much in the John Terry mould of defending yet it is inconceivable to even imagine the rugged Peak crying like a little girl over a missed penalty. RM – Mervyn Wallace Even today there are cartoon full-backs who still have cartoon nightmares about the legendary ‘Merv the Swerve’. Blessed with searing pace, trickery in abundance, and a strike ratio that was the envy of many a centre forward, Wallace had the lot. Eventually retired to join the backroom staff at Melchester, twice stepping in as caretaker manager. CM – William ‘Blackie’ Gray Calmness personified Gray was a gentleman locksmith of defences for many years.

A lifelong chum of Race, he began his career up front before settling into a deeper, more influential, role during the latter stages of his career. Never put a foot wrong apart from falling hopelessly in love with French film star Suzanne Cerise just prior to the 1964 European Cup final. His name is even included in a line from the official club song – ‘That was a sizzler from old Blackie Gray!’ The preceding line has the crossbar fall onto the hapless opposition goalkeeper’s head. CM – Jimmy Slade The playmaker of the side, Slade could also dish it out when needs must with a volatile temperament forged from his tough scrap-yard upbringing. His surname is quite ironic considering that he had hair like a Bay City Roller. LM – Lord D’Arcy Plantagenet ‘Jumbo’ Trudgeon-Marclay Would be worth a fortune in today’s market though that would mean little to Jumbo who was already a multi-millionaire land owner. A genuine Lord he resided at Fallowfield Manor, on the outskirts of Melchester, and never took one penny in wages from the club.

He played purely for the thrill and adventure, a probing and dangerous winger who liked to cut inside and get in on the glory. Was a prominent member of the great Melchester side of the early-seventies that secured two European Cup triumphs Jumbo is rightfully considered a club legend. CF – Vic ‘Superbrat’Guthrie The initiation ritual for any new player at Mel Park was to bow three times to the bronzed statue of George Armstrong, the legendary manager of the 1930s. Guthrie refused and from there his reputation as a petulant trouble-maker was set for the remainder of his tragically short career. Blessed with sublime gifts he formed a brief prolific partnership with the avuncular Race before dying amidst the rubble of the Basran bomb attack. In hindsight he probably should have bowed. CF – Roy Race The main man. The guvnor. Roy overcame more traumas and heartbreak than a single individual should ever be expected to endure yet remained approachable, integrity intact, to the very end. His career drew to a close in 1992 when he lost his leg in a helicopter crash.

He also lost his wife, was kidnapped on numerous occasions, and was shot by a failed actor named Elton Blake. Despite all this his hair remained luscious and blonde throughout. Kudos. During his illustrious career he scored more goals than Pele and won every trinket under the sun before going on to manage Melchester twice, AC Monza, and England. Look up the word ‘legend’ in the dictionary and admire the blonde locks. Subs – Martin Kemp Yes, that Martin Kemp. He of the dodgy quiff and weird, whispery voice. Melchester briefly signed two members of Spandau Ballet whilst they were at their popular peak in the mid-80s. So true, funny how it seems. Kemp was, by all accounts the better player than his band-mate Steve Norman Rocky Race Roy’s only son who continued the closely-linked Melchester/Race legacy. Aptly, given his name, the young Race had a rather….erm..rocky relationship with his famous father, blaming him for the death of his mother in a car crash whilst on holiday. Roy was driving that day yet the circumstances were never fully resolved.

Question: Who was manager of Melchester Rovers when Roy Race joined the club?
Answer: Ben Galloway