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Mel Pejic

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Mel Pejic
Personal information
Full name Melvyn Pejic[1]
Date of birth (1959-04-27) 27 April 1959 (age 65)[1]
Place of birth Chesterton, England[1]
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1977–1980 Stoke City 1 (0)
1980–1992 Hereford United 412 (14)
1992–1995 Wrexham 106 (3)
Total 518 (17)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Melvyn Pejic (born 27 April 1959) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Hereford United, Stoke City and Wrexham.[1] His brother Mike was also a professional footballer as well as his son Shaun.

Playing career

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Pejic was born in Chesterton and joined the youth teams of Stoke City in 1977 where his older brother Mike had just spent ten years. He made just one first team appearance for Stoke which came against Ipswich Town on 12 January 1980, he played at right back as Stoke lost 1–0.[1]

He signed for Hereford United where he spent the majority of his footballing career. A serious knee ligament injury hampered his first two seasons at Edgar Street. However, in the next four seasons he missed only five matches and was voted Player of the Year for three successive seasons in 1983, 1984 and 1985. He later became the only Hereford United Captain to lifted the Welsh Cup in 1990 when Hereford defeated Wrexham at Cardiff Arms Park.

In a 12-season stint, he made 523 competitive appearances, scoring 24 goals. Of these, 412 were in league matches, for which he holds the club's Football League appearances record, where he also scored 14 goals, and puts him second in the all-time appearance list for the "Bulls", behind John Layton who played a total 549 times for the club during their non-league days. He moved to Wrexham midway through the 1991–92 season, and went on to make over 100 league appearances for the "Red Dragons" helping the Welsh side to gain promotion in 1992–93.

Post-retirement

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Towards the end of his playing days he firstly completed his FA Diploma in the Treatment and Management of Injuries, before studying and gaining a Physiotherapy Degree from Salford University, later taking over first physio duties at Wrexham and then under the managership of John Toshack the Wales national football team senior physiotherapists position, being promoted from a similar position with the Under 21 team.

In August 2012, after three years as physiotherapist with Bolton Wanderers, Pejic joined Macclesfield Town. In November 2013 Pejic returned to Stoke City to work in the medical department at the club's academy.[3]

Personal life

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One of Mel's sons, Shaun also played for Wrexham, and his elder brother Mike was also a footballer.

Career statistics

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Source:[4]

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[A] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Stoke City 1979–80 First Division 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Hereford United 1980–81 Fourth Division 13 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 15 0
1981–82 Fourth Division 27 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 0
1982–83 Fourth Division 45 1 1 0 2 1 0 0 48 2
1983–84 Fourth Division 44 0 1 0 2 1 1 0 48 1
1984–85 Fourth Division 46 1 5 1 2 0 2 0 55 2
1985–86 Fourth Division 45 1 2 0 4 0 6 0 56 1
1986–87 Fourth Division 31 0 2 0 2 0 3 0 38 0
1987–88 Fourth Division 44 1 2 0 4 0 4 0 54 1
1988–89 Fourth Division 18 3 0 0 0 0 3 0 21 3
1989–90 Fourth Division 38 5 2 1 4 1 3 0 47 7
1990–91 Fourth Division 46 1 2 1 2 0 4 0 54 2
1991–92 Fourth Division 16 1 2 0 1 0 1 0 20 1
Total 412 14 19 3 25 3 27 0 483 20
Wrexham 1991–92 Fourth Division 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
1992–93 Third Division 39 2 0 0 2 1 3 0 44 3
1993–94 Second Division 40 0 2 0 3 1 2 0 46 3
1994–95 Second Division 20 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 24 1
Total 106 3 3 0 7 2 6 0 121 7
Career Total 518 18 22 3 32 5 33 0 605 26
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League Trophy.

Honours

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Wrexham

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  2. ^ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
  3. ^ "Mel Pejic rejoins the club as medical chief". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  4. ^ Mel Pejic at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)