Terry Lees

Terry Lees

Personal information
Full name	Terence Lees [1]
Date of birth	(1952-06-30) 30 June 1952 (age 71) [2]
Place of birth	Stoke-on-Trent, England [2]
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) [3]
Position(s)	Defender; midfielder
Youth career
1968–1969	Stoke City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1969–1975	Stoke City	24	(0)
1973	→ Cape Town City (loan)
1975	→ Crewe Alexandra (loan)	6	(0)
1975	San Jose Earthquakes	16	(1)
1975–1976	Port Vale	41	(2)
1976–1977	Sparta Rotterdam	33	(1)
1977–1979	Roda JC Kerkrade	59	(8)
1979–1981	Birmingham City	12	(0)
1981–1982	Newport County	25	(0)
1982	Morning Star
1982–1984	DS'79	50	(1)
1984	Stafford Rangers
1984	Altrincham
1984–1985	Scunthorpe United	31	(0)
1985–1986	Macclesfield Town	28	(0)
Managerial career
	Hanley Town
	Kidsgrove Athletic
	Ball Haye Green
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Terence Lees (born 30 June 1952) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Stoke City, Crewe Alexandra, Port Vale, Birmingham City, Newport County and Scunthorpe United, ^[4] in the North American Soccer League for San Jose Earthquakes, ^[5] and in the Eredivisie for Sparta Rotterdam, Roda JC Kerkrade and DS'79. ^[6] He also won the National Football League with South African club Cape Town City.

Personal and later life

Terence Lees was born in Stoke-on-Trent on 30 June 1952; his father was a bricklayer, and his mother left the family home when Lees was five. ^[2] He married Claire. ^[2] After retiring from football, Lees ran a burger van. ^[7]

Playing career

Lees joined local club Stoke City as an apprentice in 1968, turning professional in July 1969. ^[8] Coach Harry Gregg converted him from a striker into a more defensive player. ^[2] He made his debut as a substitute in a 2–1 defeat at Southampton on 30 January 1971 and made his full debut in a 2–0 win over Manchester City on 24 April. ^[2] He made five starts and four substitute appearances during the 1969–70 season. ^[2] He played infrequently throughout his six seasons with the "Potters" as manager Tony Waddington was able to rely on a trusted defence of Jackie Marsh, Denis Smith, Alan Bloor and Mike Pejic. ^{[9] [2]} He was an unused substitute in every game of Stoke's run to the 1972 League Cup final, but was not named in the squad for the final itself. ^[2] He also spent time on loan at South African Cape Town City in 1973, helping Roy Bailey's side to win the National Football League, where he played alongside Geoff Hurst. ^[2] He also spent time on loan at Crewe Alexandra. ^[10] In 1975, Lees played 16 games and scored one goal for the San Jose Earthquakes in the North American Soccer League. ^[5] His wages of £150-a-week in America were more than double his £60-a-week wages at Stoke. ^[2]

On his return to England, Port Vale paid local rivals Stoke City £3,000 for his services in August 1975. ^[11] He accepted the move over Peterborough United as he wanted to remain close by to his father, who was ill. ^[2] He played 47 games over all competitions for the "Valiants", which made him one of the few players to have played for all three local clubs (Stoke, Vale and Crewe); initially home supporters spat on him, though he would win them over with some good performances. ^[2] In August 1976, he was sold on to Dutch side Sparta Rotterdam for £25,000. ^[10] Lees played 30 games for Sparta Rotterdam in the Eredivisie. ^[6] He marked World Cup finalist Willem van Hanegem on his debut against AZ Alkmaar. ^[2] He rejected a move to Feyenoord over personal terms. ^[2] He considered a move to Brighton & Hove Albion, who instead signed Mark Lawrenson whilst Lees pondered the club's offer. ^[2] Lees spent two seasons with fellow top-flight club Roda JC Kerkrade following a club record £100,000 move. ^[2]

In July 1979, he returned to the Midlands and signed for Birmingham City. ^[8] He found himself behind Mark Dennis, Colin Todd and Kevan Broadhurst in contention for starting places, so played only ten games in the 1979–80 season, which nevertheless contributed to the club's promotion to the First Division. The following season, he understudied the ever-present Dave Langan at right back and played only twice. ^[12] After two years at Birmingham, in which he played 19 games in all competitions, Lees moved on to Newport County, ^[8] where he played 25 league games before falling out with assistant manager Bobby Smith. ^{[4] [2]}

After an interlude in Hong Kong playing for Morning Star, Lees resumed his career in Dutch football with DS'79 after being signed by former Sparta teammate Pim Verbeek. ^{[8] [2]} He made his debut in October 1982, playing on the left wing in a 5–0 win away at Heracles, ^[13] and in his first season helped the club win the Eerste Divisie title playing a midfield partnership with Gerrie Mühren. ^[2] His 1983–84 season was less successful: though Lees himself played in 29 of the 34 games, the club finished bottom of the table, and in their last match of the season were beaten 7–2 by Ajax, Marco van Basten scoring five of the seven. ^{[6] [14]} He chose to leave the club and return to England despite having a year left on his contract. ^[2]

After a trial with Blackpool, he later played for Stafford Rangers. He finished his Football League career with Scunthorpe United, ^[10] whom he joined from Altrincham in September 1984. ^[15] Frank Barlow persuaded him to join Scunthorpe ahead of Northampton Town. ^[2] He then played for Macclesfield Town. ^{[4] [16]}

Management career

Lees managed non-League clubs in the Staffordshire area after retiring as a player. He took charge at Hanley Town and Kidsgrove Athletic and was assistant manager of Meir K.A. before becoming manager of Ball Haye Green. ^[10]

Career statistics

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other [A]		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Stoke City	1970–71 [17]	First Division	7	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
	1971–72 [17]	First Division	5	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	6	0
	1972–73 [17]	First Division	8	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	9	0
	1973–74 [17]	First Division	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	1974–75 [17]	First Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		24	0	2	0	1	0	1	0	28	0
Crewe Alexandra (loan)	1974–75 [17]	Fourth Division	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
San Jose Earthquakes	1975 [5]	NASL	16	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	16	1
Port Vale	1975–76 [17]	Third Division	41	2	3	0	3	0	0	0	47	2
Sparta Rotterdam	1976–77 [18]	Eredivisie	33	1							33	1
Roda JC Kerkrade	1977–78 [18]	Eredivisie	28	3							28	3
	1978–79 [18]	Eredivisie	31	5							31	5
	Total		59	8							59	8
Birmingham City	1979–80 [17]	Second Division	10	0	1	0	1	0	2	0	14	0
	1980–81 [17]	First Division	2	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
	Total		12	0	4	0	1	0	2	0	19	0
Newport County	1981–82 [17]	Third Division	25	0	1	0	1	0	3	1	30	1
DS'79	1982–83	Eerste Divisie	21	1							21	1
	1983–84 [18]	Eredivisie	29	0							29	0
	Total		50	1							50	1
Scunthorpe United	1984–85 [17]	Fourth Division	31	0	3	0	1	0	1	0	36	0
Macclesfield Town	1985–86 [19]	Northern Premier League	28	0	1	0	0	0	9	0	38	0
Career total			325	13	14	0	7	0	16	1	362	14

A.  ^ The "Other" column includes appearances and goals in the Anglo-Scottish Cup, Football League Group Cup and Football League Trophy.

Honours

Cape Town City

• National Football League: 1973 ^[2]

DS'79

• Eerste Divisie: 1982–83 ^[2]

References

1. "Terry Lees". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
2. Shaw, Phil. "Globe Potter" (PDF). Backpass. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
3. Rollin, Jack (1980). Rothmans football yearbook. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 62. ISBN   0362020175 . Retrieved 14 April 2020.
4. "Terry Lees". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
5. "North American Soccer League Players: Terry Lees". NASL Jerseys. Dave Morrison. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
6. "Terry Lees". Voetbal International. Archived from the original on 17 August 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
7. "Ten minutes of mayhem saw Vale cap comeback". The Sentinel. Stoke-on-Trent. 20 February 2010. p. 24.
8. Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 106. ISBN   978-1-85983-010-9.
9. "Terry Lees". Sporting Heroes. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
10. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 171. ISBN   0-9529152-0-0.
11. Kent, Jeff (December 1991). Port Vale Tales: A Collection of Stories, Anecdotes And Memories. Witan Books. p. 47. ISBN   0-9508981-6-3.
12. Matthews, pp. 215–16.
13. "Heracles maakt het DS'79 niet moeilijk: 0–5" [Heracles don't make it hard for DS'79: 0–5] (in Dutch). FC Dordrecht. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
14. "Marco geeft Ajax nog troostprijs" [Marco gives Ajax a consolation prize] (in Dutch). FC Dordrecht. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
15. "The Iron alphabet". Scunthorpe United F.C. Archived from the original on 22 December 2007.
16. "Manager and Player Profiles: L". Silkmen Archives. Macclesfield Town Football Club and Geoffrey Knights. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
17. Terry Lees at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
18. "Terry Lees » Clubwedstrijden". voetbal.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 November 2022.
19. "Season statistics: Northern Premier League – 1985–86". Silkmen Archives. Macclesfield Town Football Club and Geoffrey Knights. Retrieved 3 November 2018.

External links

• Partial career details and photo at Sporting Heroes
• Terry Lees at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database