In 2011 he returned to Boston United and was appointed as manager initially alongside Lee Canoville, although he later took up the role on a sole basis before being dismissed in 2012.
He moved to Nottingham Forest in 1994. Initially, Lee failed to crack his way into Forest's first team. However, the departure of Stan Collymore to Liverpool saw him feature for the first team. In the 1995–96 season he scored eight league goals in 28 games.
Following two loan spells, back at his first club Charlton and at Grimsby Town, Lee was transferred to Watford in 1997 for £200,000 – the same fee paid by Forest three years earlier – and played in their 1997–98Second Division championship-winning side, scoring ten goals. However, Lee's refusal to uproot his family from Nottingham caused tension with manager Graham Taylor, who sold him to Chesterfield early in the 1998–99 season for £250,000.
After that, he played for Peterborough United (2000–2003), Falkirk (2003–2004), Boston United (2004–2006). In January 2006, Lee joined Northampton Town on a free transfer.[2] He was part of the Northampton side that won promotion from League Two, appearing 11 times for the Cobblers and scoring one goal against Notts County.[3] However, he was released at the end of the season and subsequently joined Aldershot Town. His stay at the Shots was a brief one, and in June 2006 he moved to Notts County, and was team captain for the 2007–08 season. It was announced on BBC East Midlands Today, during a feature presented by the player, that he would not be retained by the club for the 2008–09 campaign.[4]
Following his release from the Magpies, signed for Mansfield Town on 1 August 2008.
Lee signed for Kettering Town on 13 January 2009, for the remainder of the 2008–09 season from Mansfield Town.[5] Lee scored once in six league games for Kettering, his strike coming in a 2–1 loss to Stevenage on 27 January 2009.[6]
He moved on to Corby Town, making his début in a 3–3 draw against Farnborough on 21 March 2009.[7]
After a long and wide-ranging career Lee announced his retirement from football in November 2010 following the death of his mother.
Lee came out of retirement in March 2011 when he joined Arnold Town,[9] debuting in the club's Northern Counties East League 1–0 defeat at Hallam on 8 March 2011.[10] The same week he was announced as the Matchday VIP Host for former club Lincoln City,[11] a role which would limit his availability for Arnold. His second, and final, league appearance for the club saw him sent-off for two yellow cards, the second for the use of the elbow, in the 4–2 defeat to Pickering Town on 19 March 2011.[12]
Managerial career
On 22 March 2011, Lee, along with Lee Canoville was confirmed as caretaker coach of Boston United following the resignation of joint first team managers Rob Scott and Paul Hurst. Lee re-registered himself as a player towards the end of the 2010–11 season.[13][14] He made three appearances, including the final of the Lincolnshire Senior Shield and one Conference North playoff-game. Jason Lee was sacked as manager in December 2012 after a run of poor results in the 2012/13 season leaving the Pilgrims in 10th place.[15]
Football administration
In 2013 Lee became the Equalities Education Executive for the Professional Footballers Association (PFA).[16]
In popular culture
Lee was frequently mocked by comedians Frank Skinner and David Baddiel in the 1990s football comedy TV show Fantasy Football League. In a series of sketches, Lee was lampooned for his perceived poor footballing ability and his distinctive hairstyle, described as resembling a "pineapple". When asked what he made of Baddiel performing in blackface, Lee said: "I'd ask them if they realised the significance of what they were doing. It was, looking back, a form of bullying. I work in equalities now, and it can affect different people in different ways. I don't think people appreciate the possible harm it can cause. Not everyone has the make-up to deal with that, and they shouldn't have to."[17] In a 2022 interview, Skinner said their behaviour had been unacceptable: "Looking back, it was a bullying campaign. And it's awful. And yeah, I'm ashamed of it ... It wouldn't be too much to say we're both deeply ashamed."[18] David Baddiel featured on Lee's podcast, during which he apologised unreservedly for what Baddiel termed racist behaviour. The interview is the most successful on the 'absoluteleepodcast' podcast, earning 59,000 views on YouTube (Jan 2024 data). Afterwards, Lee was quoted in the Guardian Newspaper as saying he would have used violence against Baddiel had he made the comments in person, in the same room.[19]
Related Research Articles
Keith Alexander was a footballer and manager. Born in Nottingham, England, he was the manager of League Two side Macclesfield Town at the time of his death, in a career that included international appearances for Saint Lucia. Alexander played for a large number of lower league football teams. His main success, however, came from football management – managing in both non-league and the Football League. He took League One side Lincoln City to four consecutive play-offs, taking them to two finals at the Millennium Stadium. His eldest son, Matthew Alexander, is a FIFA licensed Football agent and works with many top flight players.
Francis James Green is an English former professional footballer and sports co-commentator who works for BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.
Spencer James Andrew Weir-Daley is a footballer who plays as a striker for Anstey Nomads and the Montserrat national team.
Lawrie George Dudfield is an English football coach and former professional player.
Leroy Paul Canoville is an English football coach and former professional footballer.
Gavin David Strachan is a Scottish professional association football coach, and former player and sports journalist. He is currently a first team coach at Scottish Premiership club Celtic, and he was assistant manager at Doncaster Rovers from 2015 to 2018, then Peterborough United until 2020. He is the son of former manager and player Gordon Strachan, and the father of player Luke Strachan.
Kevin James Wilson is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is currently manager of Banbury United. Born in England, he represented Northern Ireland internationally.
Stephen John Chettle is an English football manager and former professional footballer, who is director of football at Basford United.
Guy Peter Bromley Branston is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He was most recently PDP Loans Manager at Leicester City.
Paul Anthony Bastock is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Boston United, and also serves the club from the role of the assistant manager.
Edward Lee Glover is an English-born Scottish professional football manager and former player who is a coach at EFL League Two club Doncaster Rovers.
Brendan Anthony Moloney is an Irish former professional footballer who played mainly as a right-back.
Craig Naptali Westcarr is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Hucknall Town, having signed from Newark in July 2021.
Mick Walker is an English former football player and manager. As a player, he started his career as an apprentice with Nottingham Forest and played non-league football for several clubs including Kettering Town and Matlock Town. He later became manager of the reserve team at Ilkeston Town before being appointed first-team manager in 1971 following the departure of Dave Agnew. Six months later, Walker was hired as manager of the Singapore national team. He joined Burton Albion as manager in 1976 and spent two years in charge of the club, later joining the coaching staff at Notts County.
Chris Freestone is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Benjamin Michael Stanley Fairclough is an English footballer, who plays as a striker for Northern Premier League club Lincoln United.
John Lawrence Froggatt is an English former footballer and manager. A forward, he scored 45 goals in 215 league games in seven seasons in the Football League.
Paul Richard Cox is an English football manager who was previously a professional footballer. Cox was most recently manager of National League North club Boston United.
The 2011–12 season was Notts County Football Club's 123rd year in The Football League.
References
↑ Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2008). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2008–09. Mainstream Publishing. p.257. ISBN978-1-84596-324-8.
↑ "Lee coup for Eagles". NonLeagueDaily.com. Baltic Publications. 7 March 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
↑ "Eagles beaten at Hallam". Official Website. Arnold Town FC. 11 March 2011. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2011– via Pitchero.
↑ "Eagles beaten". Official Website. Arnold Town FC. 19 March 2011. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2011– via Pitchero.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
