Gordon Lee (footballer)

Hednesford Town Lee captained Littleworth School in both football and cricket, beginning his playing career at Girton Road Gasworks. He made his first-team debut on 10 January 1953, in a 1–0 win over Sutton. Aston Villa Lee turned professional at Aston Villa upon his demobilization from National service in the Royal Air Force in October 1955, having been recommended to the club by former player Jackie Martin; Villa would pay a total of £250 to Hednesford after targets were met. Villa won the FA Cup in 1957, though Lee did not feature in the final. He instead had to wait until September 1958 before making his First Division debut in a 3–2 defeat to Nottingham Forest. The club were bottom of the league by December of the 1958–59 season. The new boss Joe Mercer could not steer them away from relegation. In 1959–60, the "Villans" were crowned Second Division champions, finishing one point above runners-up Cardiff City – However, Lee did not feature in the campaign. They posted a ninth-place finish in the 1960–61 season and won the League Cup, by which time Lee had re-established himself in the first-team. Lee played in both legs of the 1961 final, which saw Villa defeat Rotherham United 3–2 on aggregate to become the inaugural winners of the competition. Villa finished seventh in 1961–62, before dropping to 15th in 1962–63. They again reached the League Cup final in 1963. Lee played in both legs of the 3–1 aggregate defeat to rival's Birmingham City. They dropped to 19th in 1963–64, though still managed to finish ahead of Birmingham and to avoid relegation by a six points margin. They then finished 16th in both the 1964–65 and 1965–66 campaigns under new manager Dick Taylor. Lee made 142 appearances in all competitions, playing his final game for the club against West Ham United in March 1965, before he left Villa Park. Shrewsbury Town Lee joined Shrewsbury Town in July 1966 and featured in two Third Division games for the "Shrews" in the 1966–67 season. He later became a trainer-coach at the Gay Meadow, later serving as Arthur Rowley's assistant manager. He also did some scouting for former club Aston Villa. ==Managerial career==

Port Vale Lee started his managerial career with Port Vale in May 1968. Succeeding Stanley Matthews, he was an archetypal modern manager; track-suited and with a focus on coaching. Veteran defender Roy Sproson later said that "Lee was a great person to work for. He was as straight as a die but, if anything, rather cautious and predictable. If he took over a team in North Vietnam, I would know the way they play." His first task as manager was to persuade Sproson to continue playing. The club were a poor outfit Fourth Division when he took charge, and to boost the squad he signed 'tenacious' wing-half John King and Wales international winger Graham Williams from Tranmere Rovers, as well as Walsall's teenage Bobby Gough. Despite this, the club's dire finances meant that he was only able to bring in three new attackers on free transfers: Ken Wookey (Newport County); Stuart Shaw (Southport); and Eric Magee (Oldham Athletic). Vale's financial situation was highlighted by the fact that they could not afford the £500 registration fee for Ian Buxton following the player's departure from Notts County. He signed a two-year contract on a salary of around £8,000 a year. They finished the 1973–74 campaign 13th in the Third Division. He signed Graham Hawkins from Preston North End for £18,000 and also brought in Ken Beamish, Pat Hilton, Don Hutchins, Jimmy Mullen and Graham Oates. He then led Rovers to the league title in 1974–75, one point above runners-up Plymouth Argyle. He led the "Magpies" to a 15th-place finish in the First Division in 1975–76. He also led Newcastle to the final of the League Cup in 1976, where they were defeated 2–1 by Manchester City. His team started the 1976–77 campaign positively, but Lee switched clubs in January 1977. United went on to finish the season in fifth place under the stewardship of Richard Dinnis. During his time at St James' Park, Lee signed Burnley apprentice Kevin Carr and striker Alan Gowling from Huddersfield Town. Though he maintained a respectable record on Tyneside, his functional, workmanlike approach to the game and his "no stars" policy, particularly his decision to sell "Supermac" Macdonald, made him unpopular with many supporters. Everton Lee switched to Everton in January 1977 to replace sacked manager Billy Bingham. He also later signed Arsenal midfielder Trevor Ross and gave centre-half Billy Wright his debut. Everton finished third in the table, two points behind Liverpool, and nine points behind champions Nottingham Forest. Lee swapped Mickey Walsh to Queens Park Rangers for Peter Eastoe, and also bought midfielder Asa Hartford for £400,000. However, Everton dropped down to 19th in 1979–80, just one place and four points above relegated Bristol City. He did, though lead the club to the FA Cup semi-finals, where they were beaten at Elland Road 2–1 by West Ham United in a replay, Frank Lampard scoring the winning goal in extra time. Lee handed débuts to midfielders Steve McMahon and Kevin Richardson, and defender Kevin Ratcliffe. Well respected by the players, Lee was sacked by chairman Philip Carter on 6 May 1981, having led the team to a 15th-place finish in 1980–81, five places but only three points above relegated Norwich City. Preston North End Lee was appointed manager at Preston North End on 9 December 1981, taking the post vacated by Tommy Docherty. He led the "Lilywhites" to a 14th-place finish in the Third Division in 1981–82, with the club losing only once in their last 13 games. ==Personal life==

Gordon Francis Lee was born in the village of Pye Green – in Cannock Chase District – on 13 July 1934; he grew up in the village of Heath Hayes. ==Career statistics==

Playing statistics Managerial statistics ==Honours==

As a player Aston Villa • Football League Cup: 1960–61; runner-up 1962–63 ==References==