Mel Machin

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Mel Machin, born 16 April 1945 in Newcastle-under-Lyme, was an English footballer and manager.

[edit] As player

Machin started his playing career at Port Vale in 1962. He made 30 appearances and six goals as a striker, and then joined Gillingham in July 1966. After 156 league matches and 11 goals, Machin was signed in 1970 by Bournemouth, at the time managed by John Bond. His spell at the club was finished after 110 matches in December 1973, when he followed Bond to Norwich City despite interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace. Converted to a full-back role, Machin played 117 appearances and scored four times for the club. He conceded a penalty in the 1975 League Cup final defeat to Aston Villa at Wembley Stadium. After problems with injuries he finished his career in 1977 after a brief spell in NASL with Seattle Sounders.

[edit] As coach and manager

Norwich City then invited him to join their coaching set-up. Machin worked as youth team and reserve team coach, and then was promoted to chief coach before being appointed as assistant to manager Ken Brown. The partnership finished in May 1987, when he accepted an offer to manage Manchester City. After two seasons in charge, he got the club promoted to Division One with a young and promising squad. In the first season in the top-flight, his team beat local rivals Manchester United by 5-1 on September 23, 1989, however two months later Machin was sacked by chairman Peter Swales as the club was bottom of the division. He became Barnsley manager in December but resigned in May 1993 disillusioned with the club policy of selling their best players.

Machin then worked as a scout for West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur before he was appointed manager of Bournemouth in August 1994. In his first season at the helm, he managed to keep the club in the Second Division despite a start with seven consecutive defeats and serious financial crisis. In 1998, Bournemouth lost to Grimsby Town in the Auto Windscreens Shield final in their first ever Wembley appearance. In November 2000, he moved to a director of football role and later retired on August 29 2002.

On January 28, 2003, Machin came out of retirement to assist Mick Wadsworth at the helm of Huddersfield Town. Two months later he was promoted to the manager role. Machin was sacked at the end of the season as he failed to avoid relegation to the Third Division.