Lee Wilkie

Last updated

Lee Wilkie
Personal information
Full name Lee Wilkie [1]
Date of birth (1980-04-20) 20 April 1980 (age 44)
Place of birth Dundee, Scotland
Height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Position(s) Centre-back
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1998–2006 Dundee 111 (4)
2001 → Plymouth Argyle (loan) 2 (0)
2001 → Notts County (loan) 2 (0)
2001–2002 → Falkirk (loan) 9 (2)
2006–2010 Dundee United 81 (8)
2006–2007 → Ross County (loan) 4 (0)
Total209(14)
International career
1999–2000 Scotland under-21 8 (0)
2002–2003 Scotland 11 (1)
2003 Scotland B 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Lee Wilkie (born 20 April 1980) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played as a central defender. He spent the majority of his career in Dundee, playing for both Dundee and Dundee United. Wilkie started his career with Dundee, making over 100 appearances in the Scottish Premier League. He won 11 Scotland international caps between 2002 and 2003, during the tenure of Berti Vogts. Soon after this he suffered from a series of knee injuries, which led to Wilkie being released by Dundee in August 2006. Wilkie then signed for Dundee United and he again played regularly for a while, but ongoing knee problems forced his retirement from professional football in April 2010.

Contents

Club career

Wilkie had been with city rivals Dundee for his entire professional career, having ended his contract with them in August 2006. During his time at Dens Park, he had short loan spells in England with Plymouth Argyle and Notts County, plus nine games with Falkirk.

Wilkie suffered serious anterior cruciate ligament injuries in January 2004 (ironically, against United) and in April 2005, which left him without the ligament. Unable to receive an operation, he hoped to continue playing professional football by strengthening the knee muscles to compensate for the lack of ligament. [2]

Despite interest from other clubs, Wilkie announced his intention to give first option on a contract to the team he has supported all his life, Dundee United. [3] In October 2006, it was announced that Dundee United would offer Wilkie a 'pay as you play' contract, [4] with Wilkie's signing confirmed on 10 October 2006.

In early-November 2006, new manager Craig Levein stated his intention to send Wilkie out on loan for "about a month", feeling he was "not ready to play first-team matches at this [SPL] level." [5] Subsequently, in December 2006, Lee joined Scottish First Division side Ross County on a one-month loan deal. [6]

Following his spell at Ross County, Wilkie returned to Dundee United and played in a 1–0 defeat to Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on 20 January 2007. After the match, Wilkie cast doubt on his future at Tannadice by expressing doubts over his ability to play in the SPL due to his ongoing injury and fitness issues, and stated he will review his situation in the near future. [7] Wilkie, like defensive colleagues David McCracken and Lee Mair, was to be out of contract at the end of 2006–07, but signed a two-year deal in March 2007 to take him to summer 2009. [8]

On 1 February 2008, following Barry Robson's move to Celtic, Wilkie was named captain; six weeks later, he led the team out at Hampden Park for the 2008 Scottish League Cup Final, where he was one of three players to miss a penalty in the defeat to Rangers. [9]

In January 2009 Wilkie signed a new three-year contract until May 2012 [10] but announced his retirement on 3 April 2010 due to ongoing knee problems. [11]

International career

Prior to his injury problems, Wilkie was a regular in the Scottish national team. He was given his international debut by Berti Vogts, in a Reunification Cup match against South Africa in May 2002. His only international goal secured a 2–1 victory over Iceland at Hampden in March 2003. Wilkie's last international appearance was an unhappy experience, as the Scots suffered a 6–0 defeat against the Netherlands in November 2003 that ended their hopes of reaching UEFA Euro 2004.

Wilkie was offered a return to international football in November 2007 through the Scotland B team, but he declined selection because he needed more games to be ready to compete at international level. After playing regularly for the whole of season 2007–08 and completing pre-season training for 2008–09 without any serious injury problems, Wilkie said he wanted to be selected. [12] A recall never came, however, leaving him with a total of 11 caps. [13]

Managerial career

After retiring from his playing career, Wilkie joined Premier Sports Management as a client manager. [14] He became assistant manager of Montrose in the summer of 2012 but left the following May because of family and other work commitments. [15]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEuropeOthersTotal
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Dundee 1999–2000 23020100000260
2000–01 9000200000110
2001–02 8000002000100
Total40020302000470
Plymouth Argyle (loan)2000–01200000000020
Notts County (loan)2001–02200000000020
Falkirk (loan)2001–02920000000092
Dundee United 2002–03 35250200000422
2003–04 21120214000292
2004–05 12010000000130
2005–06 211000000031
2006–07 33100200000351
2007–08 29330410020364
Total1328120102402016010
Ross County (loan) 2006–07 200000000020
Career total18710140132602022212

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year [16]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Scotland 200250
200361
Total111
Score and result list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Wilkie goal.
International goal scored by Lee Wilkie [17]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
129 March 2003 Hampden Park, Glasgow, ScotlandFlag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 2–12–1 UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying Group 5

Honours

Dundee

Dundee United

Related Research Articles

Collin Andrew Samuel CM is a Trinidad and Tobago former professional footballer who played as a winger or striker. He represented Trinidad and Tobago at senior international level and played in the 2006 World Cup. He played abroad professionally for a number of clubs in Scotland, including Falkirk, Dundee United and St Johnstone, as well as Toronto FC in Canada and Luton Town in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Dailly</span> Scottish footballer (born 1973)

Christian Eduard Dailly is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

James Hamilton is a Scottish retired footballer who played as a striker in a career that saw him appear for thirteen different league clubs, including Dundee, Heart of Midlothian, Aberdeen, Dundee United, Motherwell, Dunfermline Athletic and St Mirren in the top tier. Hamilton's only major honour in club football was winning the Scottish Cup with Hearts in 1998. He appeared for the Scotland under-21 team fourteen times, scoring six goals.

Andrew Neil Webster is a Scottish retired professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Gallacher</span> Scottish footballer

Paul James Gallacher is a Scottish former professional footballer who currently is the goalkeeping coach for Heart of Midlothian. Gallacher made eight appearances for the Scotland national team between 2002 and 2004. He started his career at Dundee United and made 127 appearances for them over a seven-year period, and has also played for Airdrieonians, Norwich City, Gillingham, Sheffield Wednesday, Dunfermline Athletic, St Mirren, Ross County and Partick Thistle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Wilson (Scottish footballer)</span> Scottish footballer and coach

Mark Wilson is a Scottish football player and coach. He also works as a pundit and on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard.

Stuart Duff is a Scottish retired professional footballer who last played for Inverurie Loco Works in the Highland Football League. He was primarily a central midfielder although his versatility saw him play in most defensive and midfield positions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Mair</span> Scottish footballer

Lee Mair is a Scottish former footballer who played as a central defender. Mair played for Dundee, Aberdeen, St Mirren, Partick Thistle, Dumbarton and Stranraer, as well as having had a spell in the English League 1 with Stockport County.

Greg Cameron is a Scottish footballer who last played for Montrose. He previously played for Dundee United between 2004 and 2010, from where he had loan spells with Partick Thistle, St Johnstone, Shamrock Rovers and Raith Rovers. He then played for Brechin City before joining Montrose, initially on loan. He has represented Scotland up to an under-21 level.

The 2005–06 season was the 97th year of football played by Dundee United, and covers the period from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006. United finished in ninth place for the second consecutive season and meant they had only finished in the top six once in the six seasons since the split was introduced.

The 2002–03 season was the 94th year of football played by Dundee United, and covers the period from 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003. United finished the season in eighth place.

The 2006–07 season was the 97th year of football played by Dundee United, and covers the period from 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007. United finished in ninth place for the third season in the row and meant they had only finished in the top six once in the seven seasons since the split was introduced.

Kevin John Moon is a Scottish footballer, who last played as a midfielder for Scottish League Two club Stirling Albion. He began his career with St. Johnstone and was part of the side which gained promotion to the Scottish Premier League in the 2008–09 season. He also tasted promotion with Alloa Athletic and won the Scottish Challenge Cup with both St. Johnstone and Raith Rovers. He has also played in Australia for ECU Joondalup SC.

Paul Andrew Dixon is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen O'Donnell (footballer, born 1983)</span> Scottish footballer

Stephen James O'Donnell is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder. He began his career with Dundee United, making his debut in 2002. He spent time on loan with Ross County before leaving Dundee United in 2005 to play briefly in England with Boston United. Returning to Scottish football, O'Donnell had spells with Clyde and St Mirren before joining Dundee in 2010, where he later became club captain. He rejoined Clyde in 2014 and left the club in 2015. He was a Scotland under-20 international.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keith Watson (footballer)</span> Scottish footballer

Keith Edward Watson is a Scottish footballer who plays as a defender for Scottish League One club Arbroath.

Dundee United finished the Scottish Premier League 2007–08 season in 5th place with 52 points. Noel Hunt was the top scorer with 18 goals.

Craig Forsyth is a Scottish professional footballer who captains and plays as a left-sided defender for EFL Championship club Derby County.

The 2008–09 season covers the period from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009 and is the club's one hundredth season, having been founded as Dundee Hibernian in 1909.

The 2010 Scottish Cup Final was the 125th final of the Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition, the Scottish Cup. The match took place on 15 May 2010, at Hampden Park, Glasgow and was contested by first time finalists Ross County and 1994 winners Dundee United. Craig Conway scored a brace as Dundee United ended a wait of 16 years to win the Scottish Cup for the second time in the club's history. The match was the first final since 1938 in which both teams came from outwith the Central Belt.

References

  1. ↑ "Lee Wilkie". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  2. ↑ "Surgery won't save Wilkie career". BBC Sport website. 3 April 2006.
  3. ↑ "United have first option – Wilkie". BBC Sport website. 8 September 2006.
  4. ↑ "Wilkie set to win Tannadice deal". BBC Sport website. 5 October 2006.
  5. ↑ "Wilkie set up for spell on loan". BBC Sport website. 2 November 2006.
  6. ↑ "Wilkie goes on loan to Dingwall". BBC Sport website. 15 December 2006.
  7. ↑ "Kilmarnock 1 Dundee United 0". The Scotsman. 21 January 2007.
  8. ↑ "Wilkie signs new Tannadice deal". BBC Sport website. 20 March 2007.
  9. ↑ McGuigan, Thomas (16 March 2008). "Dundee Utd 2–2 Rangers". BBC Sport website.
  10. ↑ "Wilkie pens new deal at Tannadice". BBC Sport. 8 January 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  11. ↑ "Knee injury forces Dundee United's Lee Wilkie to retire". BBC Sport. 3 April 2010.
  12. ↑ "Wilkie wants national recall". Evening Telegraph. DC Thomson. 6 June 2008. Archived from the original on 11 June 2008.
  13. ↑ The Scottish Football Association awarded caps for match against Hong Kong Select in 2002, which was not a FIFA-recognised international match.
  14. ↑ Spence, Jim (18 June 2010). "Lee Wilkie takes up new sports management role". BBC News. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  15. ↑ Robertson, Neil (21 May 2013). "Lee Wilkie stands down as Montrose assistant manager". Courier. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  16. ↑ Lee Wilkie at National-Football-Teams.com
  17. ↑ SFA profile
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.