Mellor gets what he negotiates as common sense prevails
Star forward commits to Macc for next season
In life, you don’t always get what you deserve… you get what you negotiate. Thankfully Robbie Savage and D’Mani Mellor, two parties with potentially competing incentives, have come together to find a solution that satisfies everyone.
Macclesfield FC’s announcement that Mellor has agreed a new contract at the club was received with excitement and relief from Silkmen supporters who have welcomed him with open arms since his arrival in September. And D’Mani has more than rewarded their faith and justified his new deal after scoring 19 goals in 39 appearances.
But there’s so much more to the pacey forward than goals. Mellor’s relentless work ethic and selfless nature by giving everything to the team has endeared him to fans, Head Coach Savage and his staff.
Who blinked first?
For many, the upshot that Mellor has put pen-to-paper on a new deal will require no further analysis. For those more inquisitive, let’s consider what may have transpired behind the scenes.
As you’d expect, Savage is handling the awarding of new contracts to this season’s title-winning squad with euphoria, but also with sensitivity and respect whilst talks remain ongoing with others.
Did Mellor initially ‘reject’ his contract offer, or request more time to consider it? I think we can assume the former.
According to a Silkmen News source, those players who received offers were given a deadline of last Thursday (3 April) to respond. This coincided with Friday’s official announcement that Max Dearnley, Tre Pemberton, Lewis Fensome, Paul Dawson, Rollin Menayese, Neil Kengni, Brandon Lee, Laurent Mendy, John Rooney and Luke Duffy have agreed terms for next season.
Savage later confirmed on Facebook that Danny Elliott, Justin Johnson and Sean Etaluku are also remaining having triggered a contract extension due to a promotion clause in their contracts.
In total, Savage has stated that ’15 or 16’ players are tied to the club for next season – a fantastic effort from everyone involved in the negotiations and show of commitment from the players to buy-in to the next phase of Macclesfield FC’s journey in the National League North.
However, we’re awaiting clarity on the futures of: Sam Heathcote, Danny Whitehead, Elliott Whitehouse, Dontai Gabbidon and Tom Clare.
How likely was Mellor to leave?
We’ll never know how far apart Mellor and the club were on numbers, if at all. Speculation that Mellor was attracting interest from EFL clubs Bradford City, Bristol Rovers and Wigan Athletic could simply have been agent bluster rather than any substance being behind it.
The destinations of all three clubs next season are currently in the balance. Bradford are hoping to secure automatic promotion from League Two, whilst Wigan and Bristol Rovers hover uncomfortably above the League One relegation places. Until they know what league they’re in, wouldn’t this influence how quickly they pursue Mellor, if any transfer targets at all?
But beyond that, some conservatism has to be applied when valuing Mellor’s current stock, and future potential. After being released by Manchester United in 2022 D’Mani went through a tough period in his career. He failed to break through at Wycombe after joining the League One side in a permanent switch, whilst subsequent loan stints with Rochdale (twice) and Sutton United were largely underwhelming.
In total, Mellor had notched 1 senior goal in 45 appearances prior to last summer. Trials at Hartlepool, AFC Fylde and Irish club Derry City ensued during pre-season, before Mellor landed at National League club Gateshead for a short-term spell. When that ended it was Savage and Macclesfield who came calling at a time when D’Mani may have been short of alternative avenues. Now 24 years-old, Mellor isn’t a pup anymore, nor can he be categorised as a raw, emerging prospect.
Mellor’s value to the Silkmen
However you want to deem it, whether it be ‘a project’ or a ‘rescue act’, Mellor has been good for Macclesfield, but Macclesfield have been even better for Mellor. The drop in standard from League Two / National League to Step 3 of the Northern Premier League will have helped. But both D’Mani and the Silkmen’s coaching team warrant enormous credit for knuckling down and allowing his strengths to thrive.
Instead of deploying him out wide where he isn’t naturally accustomed to beating a man, Savage had the foresight to play Mellor centrally, either as a main striker or as an attacking midfielder behind leading marksman Danny Elliott. And whilst Mellor like Elliott has been wasteful in front of goal on occasion, his finishing accuracy has improved, as evidenced when he embarked on a fine run before firing home to secure victory over Matlock last month. He’s also underrated in the air, either when scoring goals (away at Gainsborough for example) or winning flick-ons in the final third.
In fact, just where is Mellor’s best position remains open to debate. Despite his impressive displays as a ‘number 10’ behind Elliott, D’Mani isn’t a ‘creator’ as such with just three assists to his name.
Football will always divide opinions, but securing top scorer Elliott’s services for next season was arguably more vital than Mellor’s – a player who has consistently delivered goals in the National League North for Boston and Scunthorpe. To land both of them though is undoubtedly a major boost for Savage and the club.
With the jury still out on loan striker signing Diego De Girolamo, Savage can use the remainder of this season to reevaluate his forward options with the comfort that Elliott and Mellor are likely to be in tandem next season. That’s the expectation, but with the close season just around the corner, you just never know. We might see some surprises yet.
Mellor, like all our players, has committed his future to Macclesfield right now, but that doesn’t rule out any offers from clubs higher up the pyramid coming in, especially if he flourishes at the start of next season. Everyone has a price, after all. But with Mellor’s signature now on a new contract, at least Macclesfield are in a position of strength to negotiate should an approach be received.
For now, we can relax and celebrate our title-winning squad’s magnificent achievements as they aim to round the season off in style. Three more points and four more goals respectively are required to reach the magic 100 with four games remaining.
And beyond that, Savage’s heroes are hoping to eclipse Darlington’s record 104 points tally which was set during the 2015/16 season. The chase is on!