Mel Sterland, underrated?

[Stokey]

Tonight I was at the pub with the old man and at one point in the evening we got talking about our all time Wednesday XIs. Needless to say, as a 27 year old lad who is just about able to remember the Di Canio/Carbone years as opposed to my dad who is old enough to remember seeing Pele grace Hillsborough in our centeneray year and all the players we've had from around that time to nowadays,  my team would obviously get at least 6 put on them in a heavy defeat.

 

This did raise an interesting point of conversation about a certain Wednesday player who may be a candidate for one of our most underrated players of all time. When you say "Wednesday right back", most people would quite rightly (from all accounts and old footage I've seen) say Roland Nilsson. My dad reckons absolutely as a pure footballing right back Nilsson is the best he's seen, but if he needed to rely on a Wednesday team to win a game of football in a hypothetical situation to save his life, despite that he'd pick Mel Sterland, because in his words "Nilsson would try and win just playing football but Sterland would fight and kick and scrap the other team out the game and then beat them playing football".

 

Which led to a discussion about how underrated Mel Sterland is as a figure of our club's history. He was a great player in his own right and also a leader, so I've seen Owlstalk threads wax lyrical about Shezza and Waddle and Roland etc.

 

As a millenial who loves Wednesday and always loves hearing tales about past legends, but has seen all there is to see (available on video/dvd/youtube) or read or heard nealry all there is about the 90s lads like Hirst and Shezza, Waddle, Nilsson, even Warhurst) I'd love to hear some memories, anecdotes or see some clips of perhaps a forgotten Wednesday hero...

 

So Owlstalk fam share anything you have on Mel Sterland or other perhaps lesser known Wednesday legends from the past. Lets have a distraction from the dire situation we're in right now.

 

Cheers x
 

[Lord Snooty]

People groaned at Sterland, some even jeered -one of our own - so nothing much has changed in football in that sense. 

Then he became something of a hero. That's football all over isn't it.

 

Though thats digressing and not really answering your O.P.

Sterland was a blood and guts full back. Some would argue one of the first 'proper' wing backs - on these shores at least. He'd have zero problem being a top player these days in that role.

[kendoddsdadsdogsdead]

'ZICO' as Mel was affectionately known as, was as far removed from his nickname as you could imagine. But, he was a whole hearted no nonsense player, who always gave his all. He was initially subject of quite a bit of terrace ill humour (not unlike Palmer and Baker at the moment), but he pressed on and became a firm favourite of many.

 

 

 

 

[myHero]

 

[S36 OWL]

For me , Mick Lyons was the most underrated player we have ever had. No nonsense , hard as nails, brave as an Ox  and ive never seen a better leader in a Wednesday shirt. 

[sage owl]

Better ale cart than Roland. As a right back I'd have him behind Roland and petrescue?. I'd also probably choose him over both our current right backs as he is now. 

[Stokey]

Just now, S36 OWL said:

For me , Mick Lyons was the most underrated player we have ever had. No nonsense , hard as nails, brave as an Ox  and ive never seen a better leader in a Wednesday shirt. 

 

Incidentally in our all time Wednesday Xi's I mentioned in my original post Lyons was my one of my dad's centre backs.

[Stokey]

13 minutes ago, Lord Snooty said:

People groaned at Sterland, some even jeered -one of our own - so nothing much has changed in football in that sense. 

Then he became something of a hero. That's football all over isn't it.

 

Though thats digressing and not really answering your O.P.

Sterland was a blood and guts full back. Some would argue one of the first 'proper' wing backs - on these shores at least. He'd have zero problem being a top player these days in that role.

 

Sounds exactly like like the kind of full back we're lacking on both flanks right now tbf

[sonofbert2]

He was a great player in that team once he found his feet.

 

As has been mentioned, he was like a modern wing back and loved bombing forward both in possession and on the overlapping run and never struggled or shirked getting back.

 

Zico, Zico, Zico was heard often during his hey days and he was a big part of a team full of graft, fight and energy which always looked to win the ball and drive forward in possession.  

 

Nilsson was the much classier player as was Petrescu who was great too but if they were a Rolls Royce and say a Merc Limo of their time then Mel was a Golf GTI Cabriolet - very well built but a bit rough in comparison, dead reliable, great fun and like shitoff a shovel in a straight line.

 

I used to love sitting on the uncovered watching him kicking towards the kop close up as a youngster as he'd always interact with supporters and was never not pouring with sweat from his effort.

[sonofbert2]

I now have a semi-erection.

[Stokey]

2 minutes ago, sonofbert2 said:

He was a great player in that team once he found his feet.

 

As has been mentioned, he was like a modern wing back and loved bombing forward both in possession and on the overlapping run and never struggled or shirked getting back.

 

Zico, Zico, Zico was heard often during his hey days and he was a big part of a team full of graft, fight and energy which always looked to win the ball and drive forward in possession.  

 

Nilsson was the much classier player as was Petrescu who was great too but if they were a Rolls Royce and say a Merc Limo of their time then Mel was a Golf GTI Cabriolet - very well built but a bit rough in comparison, dead reliable, great fun and like shitoff a shovel in a straight line.

 

I used to love sitting on the uncovered watching him kicking towards the kop close up as a youngster as he'd always interact with supporters and was never not pouring with sweat from his effort.

 

Funnily enough the car analogy is almost exactly the same one my dad used in our conversation, Nilsson definitely was a Rolls Royce of a right back.

Edited December 14, 2018 by Stokey

[sonofbert2]

1 minute ago, Stokey said:

 

Funnily enough the car analogy is almost exactly the same one my dad used in our conversation

 

That's all well and good but did his wee wee tail start twitching?

[Stokey]

3 minutes ago, sonofbert2 said:

 

That's all well and good but did his wee wee tail start twitching?

 

That's a question I don't ever want an answer to.

[jamiejohn]

Zico was a terrific player full of energy a great crosser of the ball good goalscorer and a leader that nillsonn was better says more about him than sterland, I never thought we’d get better and it took one hell of a player to do it 

[Neal M]

I liked Mel.  He's a firm #2 on my all time Wednesday Right Back depth chart.

 

But Nilsson was a totally, totally different level.

[flo]

Frank Simek and Lewis Buxton all the way if your a proper millennial. 

Edited December 14, 2018 by flo

[trumbullowl]

A great memory of Mel was his goal in a late season home game against Arsenal in the mid 80's. He won the ball in our box (Kop end) and motored off down the right, looked up

at about half way line, put his head back down and carried on to the edge of the Arsenal box and buried it in the top corner. It was a fricking brilliant goal.

I think we took a 3-0 half time lead but drew 3-3. 

[Utah Owl]

My all time favourite Wednesday player.

[AwokenGiant]

Top bloke is Mel - great player for us as well. 

[Morepork]

2 hours ago, Lord Snooty said:

Sterland was a blood and guts full back. Some would argue one of the first 'proper' wing backs - on these shores at least. He'd have zero problem being a top player these days in that role.

2

 

and he did all that in some extremely tight shorts!!! He'd be twice the player in wicking polyester....