Swindon Town Born in
Altrincham, he had trials at
Manchester United,
Leicester City, and
Norwich City, before joining
Swindon Town; where his father, former England international
Mike Summerbee, had connections. Summerbee played 112 games in seven years for the Robins, scoring six goals and helping them get promoted to the
Premier League in 1993 before
Manchester City paid £1.3million for his services a year later.
Manchester City Summerbee joined
Manchester City in 1994. His father Mike had become a household name at the club being part of the successful City team of the late 1960s and early 1970s and also being part of the star trio of
Mike Summerbee,
Francis Lee and
Colin Bell. Summerbee joined the team at a time when manager
Brian Horton also brought in
Peter Beagrie,
Uwe Rosler and
Paul Walsh. In his first season Manchester City finished towards the bottom end of the Premiership table. Then chairman
Francis Lee replaced manager
Brian Horton with
Alan Ball who failed to manage the team to increased success. The team were relegated to the first division. In the summer of 1997 he was offered a trial by the French club
Bordeaux. In November 1997, Summerbee joined
Sunderland in a £1million-rated swap deal involving
Craig Russell.
Sunderland Summerbee made his Sunderland debut on 15 November 1997, against
Portsmouth at
Fratton Park, as a second-half substitute for Martin Smith. With trademark un-tucked shirt and orange edged boots, Summerbee capped his debut by notching the final goal in a 4–1 victory, scoring with a satisfying low drive. He played out the rest of the season on the right hand side of midfield and enjoyed some of the finest moments of his career after Sunderland won promotion to the Premiership in 1999. During that season, an injured Summerbee enjoyed a well-publicised liaison with TV presenter,
Melanie Sykes. However, it came at a cost. He lost his place in the team following his capital night out with Mel and a 4–1 defeat at
Arsenal. Whilst he returned after one match, Summerbee was substituted in both of his next two games and was relegated to the bench for the next four. He returned triumphantly to the starting eleven by scoring his first goal of the season against
Everton. It turned out to be his last as a
Sunderland player. After this goal, Summerbee was in and out of the side. He finished the season on a high note though, starting in – and starring in – the final three games. Summerbee was left in the wilderness by boss
Peter Reid the following season. He sat on the sidelines for six months until he was given a game for the reserves against
Newcastle United. He was clearly unfit and unhappy, he lashed out at Newcastle United defender
Andy Griffin and was immediately substituted before he could be sent off.
Later career Free transfers and quick stays at the likes of
Bolton Wanderers (where he scored once against Crystal Palace),{{cite web Summerbee latterly played for
Conference National side
Tamworth, but was released at the end of the
2005–06 season. ==International career==