Mel Rees
Melvyn John " Mel" Rees ( born January 25, 1967 in Cardiff, † May 30, 1993 ) was a Welsh football player. The goalkeeper was professional since 1984 and became the youngest player who was used in all four English professional classes. In 1993 he died at age 26 from cancer.
Career
Rees was in 1982 goalkeeper of the Fitzalan School, became the first ever Welsh team the English Schools FA Cup. In 1983, the talented goalkeeper as one of the first youth players under the newly introduced Youth Training Scheme to Cardiff City and received a year later his first professional contract. Rees's competitive debut in the Football League Second Division followed a short time later on September 9, Rees made in the 2:4 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion but a " traumatic experience " and had to wait for the next assignments one year.
Beginning of the 1985/86 season came to Rees nine other stakes, including eight defeats in a total of 22 goals conceded before a wrist injury put him out of action for a year. The team rose to the end of the season from the Fourth Division in which the newly signed Graham Moseley was goalkeeper. Rees returned to the last 14 games of the 1986/87 season back in the gate of the Welsh and compelling performance with its services, the charge of the first division club FC Watford, undertook the Rees end of the season for a transfer fee of £ 60,000 as a substitute keeper behind Tony Coton.
Rees came at Watford in three years to as many inserts, all of the year 1987/1988. Because operating times were rare at Watford, he was awarded several times in a row and played on loan at Crewe Alexandra (1989, including goals by the Fulham goalkeeper Jim Stannard ), Southampton ( 1989) and Leyton Orient (1990). In September 1990, announced the second division side West Bromwich Albion, who was looking for a replacement goalkeeper behind Stuart Taylor, of interest in Rees. The goalkeeper accepted the offer and moved for a transfer of £ 55,000 in the Second Division. When Taylor injured in early January, 1991, Rees moved into the starting lineup. His competitive debut for West Brom became a debacle when he was defeated and his team at home 2:4 in the FA Cup against the amateurs of Woking FC. To 18 additional inserts joined to the cup game, including, however, only four winning games and the Albion were had at the end of the season take the course in the Third Division. With its operations in the Second Division Rees became the youngest player who had come in all four English professional leagues used. After the descent, he was demoted by coach Bobby Gould to " number 3" and was no chance of inserts. In February 1992 he went on loan to Norwich City and stayed there but as the representative for Bryan Gunn behind Mark Walton without use.
End of March 1992, he was a surprising change back to the first division to Sheffield United, who were desperately looking for a goalkeeper for the remainder of the season after the failures of Simon Tracey and Phil Kite and Rees paid a transfer fee of £ 25,000. It was on March 28 against Liverpool in a 2-0 win his debut for the " Blades", without first met his new teammates. The team remained in the episode six more games unbeaten, not least because of outstanding achievements by Rees who did not remain unnoticed by the Welsh national coach Terry Yorath. Rees received for an upcoming World Cup qualifier his first appointment to the Welsh national team, but had to cancel due to the penultimate league game against Leeds United suffered leg injury.
In the summer of 1992 she was diagnosed with colon cancer Rees, and he underwent an operation that initially appeared successful. After the disease appeared again in March 1993, he had to have surgery again. His last public appearance was Rees on 3 April 1993, the semi-final of the FA Cup between Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United in London's Wembley Stadium. End of May 1993, he died at age 26 the cancer.