As a football photographer, one thing that’s always fun – if not chaotic – is the first home game for a new manager. The appointment of Micky Mellon as new Tranmere Rovers manager recently gave us photographers the opportunity to try and get those all-important wave to the crowd shots.
Micky is the fifth manager I have photographed at Tranmere, following on from John McMahon (briefly), Rob Edwards, Micky Adams and Gary Brabin. With Edwards and Brabin, there was very little fanfare for their first home games as they’d had a full pre-season for the photographers to get their snaps and the fans to greet them.
Adams came in at a crisis time for Rovers and, to pretty much everyone, looked like being the saviour in terms of our Football League status. His first game was a Tuesday night match at Prenton Park with Mansfield, and so my first experience of being in the mini scrum/chasing pack of togs trying to get those headline shots as the new man waves and claps his new fans.
Mellon’s appointment at Tranmere came at a time when fans wanted a big appointment to get the promotion bid back on track, and as a former player with a good track record as a manager, his arrival was always going to be well received by the Prenton Park faithful.
OCTOBER 8: Micky Mellon during the Vanarama National League match between Tranmere Rovers and Wrexham at Prenton Park, Birkenhead, England. (Photo by Richard Ault/talru.com)
Football photography: Photographing managers
It’s quite interesting to see how the styles and habits of football managers differ. Some managers you will see lurking in the tunnel while the team warms-up, or even before that. Occasionally, one will sit in the dugout while the stadium is still empty, gathering his thoughts or chatting to his coaches.
Whenever a new manager comes in, it’s a case of trying to identify his habits and what he does on match day. For the Wrexham game, I arrived in the ground at around 10:30-10:45am, given that it was a lunchtime kick-off. There was no sign of Micky doing anything around the tunnel or on the pitch, and so I went off to get some stock shots from warm-up instead.
After the teams have come out at the start of a match, the managers usually then follow. Some are out quickly, others can wait until kick-off to emerge, which is really tricky as a photographer. Whenever possible, I try to get shots of the managers. While it’s challenge to vary them from one week to the next, there is sometimes a slightly different angle you can do each week.
That may be including his coaches alongside him, or if he has a last minute chat to one of the players (Michael Ihiekwe often comes to the dugout right before kick-off), or the standard close-up shot. With managers, you never know when their last game will be, so with that and the need for up-to-date shots all the time, I generally try to shoot the managers and coaches as often as possible (every match).
I’m sure that some of them tire of me sticking the lens in their face immediately before the game every week, but they’re generally really good about it – the likes of Mellon and Adams will be well-used to it from having been in the game for some time.
The first game
It was quite the relief when Micky emerged from the tunnel in good time for his first game, giving plenty of photo opportunities. There were plenty of photographers on hand that day too, a mix of circumstance contributing to that (new manager, early kick-off, no Premier League games nearby). Unfortunately, Tranmere’s tunnel area seems to be incredibly busy on match days now, so getting the shots as Mellon emerged from the tunnel high-fiving young fans was incredibly tricky, short of barging people out of the way (I try to be courteous at all times).
Fortunately, he did do the customary walk out on to the pitch and take the applause of fans. In fact, he did it twice, which was perfect. You have literally no idea where the manager will walk or in which order he will clap each stand, so it’s a case of thinking on your feet and trying to get the best shots you can in the time you have.
The moment always passes so quickly as well, so you have to be aware of your surroundings and have your camera settings in and ready to go. As with so much of sports photography, there is no second chance – you cannot ask the subject to score the goal again, or in this case, walk out and clap the fans again
You’re also looking to get as much variation of shots as possible. That first week after a manager’s appointment, there will be a demand for photos, even if it’s just for the club’s own marketing activities. So I aim to give a real selection of shots – I supplied Tranmere with 22 images of Mellon from his introduction on the page, all of which differed in some way – be it facial expression, angle or posture/action.
I cannot make it to Tranmere’s game at Solihull Moors this weekend, so my next taste of action will be Tuesday night’s match against North Ferriby. In quite a contrast to the Wrexham game, I don’t foresee many photographers attending the game (I was the only one for Gateshead), so I’m afraid Micky will have my full attention for those few moments before kick-off.
OCTOBER 8: Micky Mellon during the Vanarama National League match between Tranmere Rovers and Wrexham at Prenton Park, Birkenhead, England. (Photo by Richard Ault/talru.com)
