Crystal Palace
Mel joined Crystal Palace in the summer of 1968 as an old-style wing-half, but he developed into a centre-back. He immediately became a regular member of Palace’s 1968-69 Division 2 promotion side, and in their first ever match in Division 1, he scored Palace’s first goal in the top flight with a looping header against Manchester United. He scored another goal the following Saturday, against Everton.
As Palace struggled in Division 1, regularly finishing just above the relegation zone, Mel became a permanent fixture in the defence alongside John McCormick. He was deposed as centre back for a while by Roger Hynd. But after playing in midfield for much of the 1969-70 season he won his place back when Hynd was temporarily switched to the forward line. The contrasting styles of Blyth and McCormick made for a good mix, and the two of them stayed together until McCormick's retirement, near the end of Bert Head's time in charge.
Palace eventually lost their fight to avoid relegation at the end of the 1972-73 season, under manager Malcolm Allison. The following season, Mel had a long spell of injury as Palace went straight down into Division 3. Shortly after the start of the 1974-75 season, in the same week that Ian Evans arrived from QPR, Mel was signed by Southampton for a fee of £60,000.
Read more about this topic: Mel Blyth
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