The Times They Are a-Changin. The signing of Chris Mepham

‘I’ve got to work today, boss’

North Greenford United Reserves upcoming fixture away to Uxbridge Reserves, in 2014, left manager Barry Morris with an issue in central defence.

North Greenford were famous club for rolling the dice..

The season before, in a selection crisis in the goalkeeping department, 'The Blues' boss, ex Crystal Palace striker Neil Shipperley, persuaded a 54 Yr old FA Cup winning custodian to put the proverbial gloves back on and return for one game.

Dave Beasant.

Sadly the ex Dons 'keeper couldn’t keep a clean sheet in a 2-0 defeat.

Just over a year later, another late selection dilemma for North Greenford was answered with the opposite solution.

Youth.

And the youth happened to be a serially  discarded 16 year old, whose dreams of a professional career seemed at the last chance saloon..

But sometimes at the lowest ebb you never know how fate will play a hand and who is watching you?

Such is the career of Chris Mepham, who from being a 'chance call up' for a reserve team game, just four years later playing in front of 83,000 v Mexico and in the same time span afterwards play with distinction every Wales match in the 2022 World Cup Finals.

Almost 50 international caps later and Mepham’s understandable self doubt of a career ever taking place, memorably and emotionally placated by a parent.

"Do it for me, I wouldn’t live with myself if I didn’t convince you.."

The heartfelt message from the person who knows you best..

Your mother..

So were the words to Chris, of his mum, Sue Mepham.

It’s a cliche.

But you couldn't simply write the Chris Mepham life script…

Chris was born in Harrow and his life has been as explosive and vibrant as the day he was born.

Bonfire Night.

November 5th, 1997.

Chris was originally spotted by Chelsea at the age of eight and spent a large portion of his formative years, six seasons with the club.

The correlation of youngsters and rejection by a club at any early age is devastating, as I'm someone who saw his students/players attached to clubs like Aston Villa and Arsenal be summarily rejected.

It's the bitterest pill and one of the toughest heartbreaks.

For Mepham, it was the awestruck experiences at The Blues, particularly as he reflects, having the likes of one his heroes, John Terry regularly watching the Academy players train.

But age group football can be a brutally hard business and heartbreak occurred when he was 14.

Chris’s dad, Jim, of proud Welsh stock, took the phone call.

As Chris reflected, his dad’s expression said it all.

Bad news..

Mepham was emotionally hurt but not totally shocked, 

“ There were people in the pecking order, more physically developed and more talented in my position"

One of those fellow teens in that Chelsea team was Fiakayo Tomori, so the bar for developing a career at CFC was very high.

Tomori was part of the Chelsea team that won The FA Youth Cup the following two seasons after Mepham left and he made his full CFC debut, less than two years later, replacing the ex Baggie transfer flop, Branislav Ivanovic.

That type Ivanovic of signing is really a big part of where The Albion are now.. And the unavoidable future of selling our best players.

The past will always catch up with you..

For Mepham it was rejection..

A forerunner of what was coming next.

Watford quickly took the option of offering a trial to the lad Chelsea spurned, but it was to be a very quick sojourn with The Hornets and a devastating dismissal..

Six weeks into life at Vicarage Road, Mepham was informed he needed to work on parts of his game, and was ‘not at the level' needed.

The trial was terminated early.

The next club who took an interest in Chris was encouraging for him, as he’d always been a fan of QPR, however fandom did not mean a thing when the judgement by the Hoops staff would be so brutal.

The critique basically was, as a club, they looked to ‘develop aspects of players games', but damningly for Mepham, 

"We can’t see anything to work on with you."

From the dreams of a Chelsea future to the scrapheap of broken dreams.

As Chris reflects, I’m sure the same mood of so many rejected young players,

“My mindset was awful, it took a massive chunk out of me.”

Confidence and belief, well and truly blown, Chris took himself out of Academy level football and found the love for the sport again playing for his school team and Sunday League football..

The football boots were almost discarded for a possible life as a gardener working with his dad, looking to possibly take over his uncle’s business, who was recently diagnosed as suffering from Motor Neurone Disease..

But the fate of an unavailability of a player would lead to an offer of an invitation to a game for a teen in Uxbridge.

Watching that day unbeknown to anyone, was a Brentford FC scout, Shaun O’Connor, who was impressed by the young centre half playing men's league football and immediately asked Mepham his age, [16].

The plan by O’Connor was to ease Mepham back into age group football, with the Bees Under 16 squad, but fully aware that the weakness for the West London club was the defence, as that season in The Championship, despite finishing 9th, they conceded an eye opening 67 goals under Dean Smith.

Thrice bitten, once shy, Mepham baulked at the idea of playing age group football again, and his mother’s instinct, the aforementioned,

 ‘"I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t convince you", plea emerged.

Mepham was to complete the very rare sweep of playing for the triumvirate of West London clubs at age group football, and was now also joining the club his uncle had signed for decades ago.

Progress came fast, from earning a scholarship with the Bees, to signing a professional contract at 18, and making his Carabao Cup debut soon after, in Sept 2017, though it wasn’t to be a dream start, giving a penalty away against Norwich City in the first ten minutes.

After just eight starts for Brentford and displaying a similar calm, ball playing, central defensive style, comparable many said to England defender, John Stones, Bournemouth’s boss, Eddie Howe was so impressed, he tabled a 6.5Million Pounds bid with add-ons, for a truly stunned Mepham on hearing of the multi million bid, in January 2018.

The bid was rejected, and it took a year later for Eddie Howe to get his man, who by that stage was a regular for Wales, making his debut v China in 2019.

Eddie Howe, ‘sold’ the idea of being a good fit for The Cherries, probably in the same way Ryan Mason convinced Chris that his Baggies style of play would suit his new signing’s attributes, ‘Possession based and high pressing’, the playing style offered, and Mepham signed for 12 Million Pounds in Jan 2019.

This was to be a huge step up in level for Mepham, and he made his Premier League debut just eight days later, as substitute against Chelsea and eventually eased into the starting centre back role in his first Cherries season.

The next season started really well, scoring his first Premier League goal in August against Sheff Utd and in an incredibly rewarding personal game for him, for obvious reasons, thrived in a 1-0 away win, proving himself back at his old haunt, Chelsea, but the Mepham euphoria quickly gave way to testing times..

During a 4-0 FA Cup win at home to Luton, in January 2020, Mepham sustained a serious knee injury, only diagnosed later as he wasn’t substituted during the game, and consequently missed the rest of the season.

This situation was compounded just six months from his first knee injury by the need for Meniscus surgery on his other knee.

Mirroring the recent take of Daryl Dike and the ravages injuries and spells on the sidelines can have on mind and body, Mepham reflected on this period as,

“Anyone going through these injuries, it’s a dark place."

In fact Chris’s experiences affected him so deeply, his openness in discussing how mental health can be so affected by situations like the ones he went through, led to him being an Ambassador for the charity, Sporting Minds UK, urging more young athletes to be open about getting support for mental health issues, from not only recovering from injuries but also as importantly, youth players dealing with rejection from parent clubs.

It was also a dark time for The Cherries, as they were relegated back to The Championship.

The following 2020/21 Cherries season was to be very challenging for Mepham, recovering from injury to play 21 Championship games, but often the target of social media ire, the increasing bane sadly it seems for players from all clubs.

The Cherries boss mid season was Jonathan Woodgate, taking over from the now NUFC duo, Eddie Howe who mutually with the club, resigned following relegation and his successor, Jason Tindall, who was also fired in February 2021.

Early in Woodgate's short reign, he gave public support to Mepham, who was castigated by sections of The Cherries faithful after an error led to conceding an important and impactful late goal, 

Discussing Chris's character, Woodgate reflected,

“Meps’ is not the player to make a mistake and get on with it, it sticks with him..”

You can therefore, only imagine the mental strain when in May 2021, Bournemouth made the Champions Play-offs Semi Final and fatefully faced for Mepham, of all teams, Brentford.

Bournemouth won the home leg 1-0, with Mepham coming off the bench to replace the injured Cherries club legend, Steve Cook, but the second leg, with the match poised early at 1-1, Mepham was sent off after just 26 Minutes, changing the whole narrative of the tie, and possibly both club's future.

When you watch the game again, Bournemouth were still in control with a 2-1 aggregate lead, but a poor first touch by Mepham led to Bryan Mbuemo, stealing in, taking possession of the ball and racing on goal and Mepham dragging him down for an inevitable red card as the last defender..

The incident changed the long term narrative of Brentford and perhaps also, Thomas Frank’s career arc.

Down to ten men, The Cherries were no match for a forward line containing Ivan Toney, losing 3-1 and the victorious Bees were to subsequently get promoted, beating Swansea at Wembley 2-0.

Woodgate acknowledged, Mepham was in a devastated frame of mind in the dressing rooms afterwards.

“Listen, it's been difficult for him, I’m not going to say anything nastily about him.

We are all human, we make mistakes”.

The following season, under Scott Parker, Bournemouth were promoted finishing Runners Up in The Championship, with Mepham actually making less starts than the loanee defender who'd joined from Liverpool in January 2022 and simply thrived with The Cherries in that promotion late season.

Let’s hope the pair can gel and thrive with us as well, for now and the long term future.

The Liverpool loanee in question is Nat Phillips.

Such are football’s fates…

The undoubted high spot that year for Mepham was starting all three games for Wales in the 2022 World Cup Finals in Qatar, against England, Iran and Wales.

Mepham was first selected for Wales as a teen in 2018 by Ryan Giggs, back in his early Brentford days and is now one cap off half a century for the country of the “Land of his Father”.

In the Cherries first season back in the Premier League in 2022/23, under Gary O’Neill, Mepham started more than half the games, but appearances were harder to come by in the following season, with the expensive new signing Ukranian defender Iliya Zarbanyi, the favoured central defensive selection of new Bournemouth boss, Andona Iraola.

When Iraola signed the truly brilliant fellow Spanish defender, Dean Huijsen from Juventus in July 2024, the writing was truly on the wall for Mepham, his days as a Cherries starter was compromised and he made smartly made the loan move to the Stadium of Light and Sunderland.

This was to be a turning point in Mepham’s career.

Confidence lost became confidence gained.

Mepham shined in both games against The Albion last season, the first being a 0-0 draw with the return for Josh Maja at the sight of his infamous injury inflicted by Dan Ballard, the second a crucial negative turning point in The Albion’s eventual forlorn play off hopes, a 1-0 home defeat to The Black Cats, in April 2025.

The fact over the those two matches last season, the Albion failed to score and only mustered three shots on goal, says much about Mepham’s defending, and over the season a reflection of that form was Sunderland conceded less than a goal per game in The Championship.

Mepham started 38 games, including both Play-off Semi Finals and Final.

Mepham, warmed to the idea of signing permanently to The Maccums’, but pointedly admitted,

“I love my connection here, but a lot has to happen before that.”

Indeed with promotion secured, interest also from the likes of Leeds and Sheffield Utd perhaps oddly waned, so the transfer to The Albion was duly made.

Andrew Nestor summed up the reasoning behind another Baggies pivotal signing in this Bilkul revolution stating,

“At 27, Mepham brings additional quality to our revamped defence”

Revamped?

Yes, looks like most of those defenders play for Ipswich now!

Prime age for central defenders, seems a central tenet for Nestor, with Nat Phillips being just 18 months older and in a similar career arc of needing a long term home, being a trusted character and natural leader.

Taking the views of a trusted eye is so important and few have seen more of Chris Mepham than 

UTCIAD - AFC Bournemouth Fans Channel

 Podcaster, Craig Beasley, his balanced, deep take on Mepham's impact at The Cherries says it all..

‘It's crazy to think Meps is only 27.

Since signing from Brentford for what was expected to be £12 million by Sir Eddie Howe, he has been a player who might not have had as many chances as some would feel he deserves, not had the rub of the green in particular situations (Brentford, Playoff Semi Final, anyone?) but he has been and was an integral player in getting us back to the promised land and a superb professional.

Meps has been fantastic at times, but naive in others however it's fair to say his naive days came in the earlier part of his career and like a fine wine, he has improved and become more astute and assured as each season has gone by.

You might be asking why we are selling him? Unfortunately for Meps, fortunately for us (a pinch yourself moment here), we have moved onto a whole different level.

Mepham could be a great squad player for AFC Bournemouth but that's not what he is about.

He went to Sunderland on loan, got a taste of the regular football helping the Black Cats back into the Premier League and wants more. And he will be an absolute asset at the Hawthorns.

After his sending off in that playoff semi against his former club, which we went on to lose from a great position, he didn't hold back and put right the mistakes made.

There have been times across the past 6 years he has looked so assured in defence like nothing is getting past him.

Meps is a Premier League footballer and hopefully he will help the Baggies ‘boing’ back there this season!”

Mepham spoke glowingly about the type of manager Ryan Mason is, his source being Welsh team mate, the ex Spur, Brennan Johnson, and his take of wanting to feel he has found a long term home, welded in with being part of two promotion wins to the Premier League is exactly the character and experience West Brom need.

Losing Torbjorn Heggem in central defence was always going to be a hard act to follow.

Replacing him with an experienced international player, who two promotions under his belt and to be close to his peak playing days at just a Million Pounds plus add-on’s is outstanding business by Bilkul.

With Caleb Taylor leaving The Baggies to join Millwall today for 2.5 Million Pounds, as Bob Dylan famously sang,

‘The Times They are a-Changin’

The Baggies are ‘a-Changin too..

No doubt, this is ‘Bilkul and Mason’s Baggies squad now.

Let’s trust the process and hope the 'a-Changin' works.