Melwood, in the West Derby area of Liverpool, has a history closely tied to Liverpool Football Club that stretches back to the 1950s. The ground originally belonged to St Francis Xavier, a local school, and takes its name from two priests – Father Melling and Father Woodlock – who used the playing fields to teach football. That school connection gave way to one of English football’s most storied training bases, and the site remains in use today as the AXA Melwood Training Centre, now home to Liverpool FC’s Women’s first team, youth teams and academy.
Bill Shankly and the Transformation of Melwood
Liverpool took over the facility in the 1950s after training on the Anfield pitch itself had begun to damage the playing surface. The move to West Derby made practical sense, but by 1959 the site had fallen into serious disrepair. When Bill Shankly arrived as manager that year, the three playing fields and adjoining pavilion were overgrown and neglected. Shankly described it in his autobiography as a “sorry wilderness” and, on spotting what appeared to be large craters in one of the pitches, reportedly asked whether the Germans had been there. He and his staff set about rebuilding Melwood into a proper training ground, and it was here that Shankly’s “pass and move, keep it simple” philosophy took shape through regular five-a-side sessions. Players would travel from Anfield to Melwood by team bus and return the same way after training – a routine Shankly used to ensure they warmed down properly. In the 1965-66 season, Liverpool won the league title using just 14 players, with two of those appearing only a handful of times.
Modern Redevelopment and the Move to Kirkby
In January 2001, work began on the Millennium Pavilion, a substantial upgrade shaped largely by manager Gérard Houllier. The project brought new changing rooms for players and referees, a gymnasium, swimming pools, saunas, a hydrotherapy pool, rehabilitation rooms, a canteen and a synthetic pitch. Houllier’s own office on the first floor had ceiling-to-floor glass windows overlooking the training pitches. Despite that investment, Liverpool eventually decided to consolidate operations at a single site. Affordable housing developer Torus purchased Melwood in 2019, and the men’s first team and academy relocated to the AXA Training Centre in Kirkby in November 2020 – a move that had originally been planned for summer 2020 but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Liverpool repurchased Melwood in June 2023, returning the site to club ownership for its current use by the Women’s team and younger squads.