AXA Melwood Training Centre
The reception area at Melwood.
LocationWest Derby Liverpool
Coordinates53°25′55″N 02°53′52″W / 53.43194°N 2.89778°W / 53.43194; -2.89778
OwnerLiverpool F.C. Women
TypeSports training facility
SurfaceGrass pitches (3)
Construction
Built1920
Renovated1952
2001
2023
Tenants
St Francis Xavier's College (1920–1950)
Liverpool F.C. (1950–2020)
Liverpool F.C. Women (2023-)

AXA Melwood Training Centre, in West Derby, Liverpool is the training ground and academy for Liverpool Football Club's Women's first team, youth teams and academy. It was formerly the men's first team's training ground from the 1950s until November 2020. It was not attached to The Liverpool F.C. Academy, which is at Kirkby. Melwood was bought by affordable housing development company Torus in 2019, as Liverpool invested in the Kirkby training ground so the First Team and Academy could train together, with increased space and better facilities.[1] Liverpool's First Team and Academy have trained at the AXA Training Centre in Kirkby since November 2020.[2] Liverpool's plans to move in the summer of 2020 had been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] It was repurchased by the club in June 2023.

The Melwood ground previously belonged to St Francis Xavier, a local school.[4] Melwood was named after two priests, Father Melling and Father Woodlock, who taught football at the school's playing fields.[5][6]

History

Liverpool moved into the facility in the 1950s, after previously training on the Anfield grass. This was having a detrimental effect on the pitch and a decision was eventually made to take over a few football pitches in the West Derby area of the city. However, by the end of the decade, the training base had significantly deteriorated.[2] When manager Bill Shankly arrived in 1959, the three playing fields and adjoining pavilion had not been maintained and the pitches were overgrown. In his autobiography, Shankly described it as a “sorry wilderness”. On seeing what looked like two huge bomb craters in one of the playing surfaces, he asked “have the Germans been here?”[2]

Shankly and his staff subsequently sought to transform Melwood into a top-class training facility. He introduced the five-a-side games that defined his "pass and move, keep it simple", philosophy. Players would meet and change for training at Anfield and then board the team bus for the short trip to Melwood. After training, they would get the bus back to Anfield to shower and change and get a bite to eat. Shankly thus ensured all his players had warmed down correctly and he would keep his players free from injury. Indeed, in the 1965–66 season, Liverpool finished as champions using just 14 players, and two of those only played a handful of games.[7]

In January 2001 Liverpool started work on the Millennium Pavilion, a modern facility for players and coaches, designed in part and heavily influenced by then manager Gérard Houllier. Houllier announced, the new upgrade would included new changing areas for players and referees, a gymnasium, swimming pools, saunas, a hydrotherapy pool, rehabilitation rooms, a new canteen and a state the art synthetic pitch. Even the management area revieved a significant upgrade with his new office featuring ceiling-to-floor glass windows and situated on the first floor overlooking the training pitches. New offices for coaches and analysts, along with media facilities were housed in the new building.[8]

When Liverpool won the UEFA Champions League for the fifth time in 2005, Rafael Benítez found a new home for the famous trophy, a glass case in the main entrance.[9]

The final upgrade came during Brendan Rodgers' time as manager. Upgrades to the changing rooms, a new main entrance which housed a bust of Shankly's head next to his famous 'We Are Liverpool' quote and introducing The Champions Wall.[10]Rodgers was extremely supportive of the Women's first team and had an excellent working relationship with his managerial counterpart manager Matt Beard. Both first teams would train often train together at Melwood.[11]

On May 31, 2023, it was reported that Liverpool had initiated conversations to buy back Melwood, as the housing project had fallen through. Melwood will be repurposed as a dedicated training centre for the Liverpool women’s team.[12][13]

On June 8, 2023, Liverpool Football Club officially announced that it had re-purchased the iconic landmark to once again serve as a dedicated training base as it had done for 70 years. This time it would be home to Liverpool Women's First Team. The club also announced it would be home to Liverpool Women's academy and youth teams after being awarded a Category 1 Professional Game Academy (PGA) licence by the Football Association. Included in the plans for the site, Melwood would continue to run community outreach programms for its award-winning LFC Foundation programmes, as well as for offering education programmes to young people via the Robbie Fowler Education and Football Academy (FEFA).[14][15]

In the Summer of 2023, Melwood once again went through refurbishment, redevelopment and upgrades and on 8 September 2023 officially re-opened as a training facility once again with a ceremony welcoming the Women’s first team.[16][17]

On 23 September 2023, Liverpool Football Club announced that Melwood would be officially known as the ‘AXA Melwood Training Centre’, with AXA aligning their commitment to both the men’s and women’s teams. [18]

Redevelopment

In 1998, youth and development teams had been moved to a new 56-acre integrated training facility at The Academy in Kirkby.

Due to size constraints of the site and obvious secrecy issues associated with Melwood, in 2017 LFC revealed a plan of a proposed redevelopment of the Kirkby centre at a cost of £50 million, allowing the first team to move training to the expanded facility. The approved plan incorporated the first team and the academy at Kirkby, allowing the redevelopment of Melwood into housing. The Kirkby plan was expected to be completed before the 2019–20 season,[19] allowing subsequent redevelopment of Melwood from summer 2020 onwards into 160 homes, mixed between detached and semi-detached properties, with an enclosed community amenity space.[20]

References

  1. ↑ "Affordable housing provider Torus set for Melwood redevelopment".
  2. 1 2 3 "Leaving Melwood: The end of an era for Liverpool FC". 2 August 2019.
  3. ↑ Doyle, Ian (6 November 2020). "Melwood training ground move set as Jurgen Klopp admits mixed emotions". Liverpool Echo.
  4. ↑ "LIVERWEB - Melwood Training Ground". Archived from the original on 18 July 2006. Retrieved 17 July 2006.
  5. ↑ Liverpool Street Names Archived 2009-05-24 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ "Untitled Document". www.liverpoolpictorial.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 January 2006.
  7. ↑ "ICA Coaching Sessions". www.theica.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2006.
  8. ↑ "This Is Melwood".
  9. ↑ "This Is Melwood".
  10. ↑ "This Is Melwood".
  11. ↑ Corre, Adam. "Ladies day at Liverpool: Luis Suarez and co train with women's team at Melwood".
  12. ↑ Pearce, James. "Liverpool close to deal to buy back Melwood for women's team". The Athletic. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  13. ↑ Feringa, Megan (31 May 2023). "Liverpool set to buy back Melwood training ground for women's team". mirror. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  14. ↑ "Liverpool FC to create an elite training facility for LFC Women at Melwood". Liverpool Football Club Official. 8 June 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  15. ↑ Kelly, Andy (28 April 2023). "Liverpool FC awarded Category 1 Professional Game Academy License". Liverpool Football Club Official. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  16. ↑ "Photos and video: Liverpool FC Women take first look at Melwood". Liverpool Football Club Official. 8 September 2023.
  17. ↑ Hunter, Steve; Urquhart, Joe (8 September 2023). "Matt Beard on LFC Women's Melwood move: 'We can create our own history'". Liverpool Football Club Official.
  18. ↑ "Reds announce AXA as Melwood naming rights partner". Liverpool Football Club Official. 23 September 2023.
  19. ↑ "Stunning pictures of Liverpool's new training ground | Sport Galleries | Pics". Express.co.uk.
  20. ↑ Media, Insider. "Liverpool FC's Melwood plans approved". Insider Media Ltd.
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