Melia joined the Reds straight from St. Anthony's School[2] as a 15-year-old, when manager Don Welsh saw the potential in the young schoolboy international's feet.
After 23 appearances for Liverpool's reserve team, Melia made his début aged 18 on 17 December 1955 at Anfield in a 2nd Division fixture against Nottingham Forest.
During this spell Melia caught the eye of England manager Alf Ramsey who gave him his debut on 6 April 1963 in the 2–1 British Championship loss at Wembley to Scotland.
He remained an ever-present for Southampton in their first season in Division 1, as they narrowly hung on to their place in the top flight, with Melia's crosses helping Ron Davies and Chivers score 37 and 14 goals respectively, adding four for himself, the best being a header in a 2–1 victory over Arsenal on 27 December 1966.
[5] He continued to make a valuable contribution to the team but lost his place to Mick Channon and in November 1968 he moved on to Aldershot for a £10,000 fee and the player manager's job.
Melia moved to the United States of America as an assistant to Laurie Calloway with the Southern California Lazers in 1978 and became head coach of the Cleveland Cobras in 1979.
[8] Melia was appointed permanently as manager in March 1983 after Albion reached the FA Cup semi-final for the first time, beating Norwich City.
[6] During the summer, former Albion player Chris Cattlin was appointed as first-team coach by chairman Mike Bamber in an attempt to instil discipline into the side.
[6] Melia resigned his post on 19 October 1983, reportedly due to his disdain of backroom meddling by Cattlin, who had started to have an influence on team selection.