Menlove Bertie Image 2 Sheffield United 1923

Description

St Albans, Hertfordshire born centre forward Bertie Menlove joined Aston Villa in 1919 from junior club Barnet Alston, whom he’d joined prior to the First World War, but failed to make an appearance for Villa’s first team while on their books, joining Southern League club Crystal Palace in late 1919. He scored his only hat-trick for Palace in a Southern League match versus Gillingham in March 1920.

When Palace were elected to the Football League  in the summer of 1920, Menlo made his Football League debut in their third match in a 3-0 victory at home to Merthyr Town in September 1920 and scored 5 times in 21 League games in their inaugural League season, which saw them win the Third Division (South) Championship. His 9 Second Division goals in 1921-22 brought him to the attention of First Division club Sheffield United, who signed him in March 1922 after 20 goals in 65 matches for Palace, with his debut for The Blades coming immediately against Cardiff City and his first goal coming in a 1-0 victory against Everton the following month, being described as “a great distributor of play and an opportunist of the first order… a prolific goalscorer”.

Although a regular scorer for Sheffield United he wasn’t selected for the FA Cup Final team of 1925 which won the FA Cup with a 1-0 victory over Cardiff City at Wembley, but he bagged a hat-trick in October 1925 in a 4-1 victory over Birmingham at Bramall Lane, in what would prove his last season playing for Sheffield United. In 1926 he joined non league Boston Town after 42 goals in 77 appearances for The Blades, moving to Aldershot a year later, and on to Bangor City in 1928, before making a single appearance for Clapton Orient in an FA Cup tie in November 1929. The following year he returned to non league football with Connah’s Quay & Shotton, joining Irish League Coleraine in 1931, before returning to England with Kent League club Ashford Town in 1932, his last known club before his eventual retirement.