Rob Lee
{{short description|English footballer}}
{{about|the English international footballer|other people with similar names|Robert Lee (disambiguation){{!}}Robert Lee}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Rob Lee
| image = Rob Lee 26102024 (2).jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Lee in 2024
| fullname = Robert Martin Lee{{Hugman|11535|access-date=24 March 2020}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|2|1|df=y}}{{cite web |url=https://www.11v11.com/players/rob-lee-387/ |title=Rob Lee |website=11v11.com |publisher=AFS Enterprises |access-date=24 March 2020}}
| birth_place = West Ham, England
| height = {{convert|1.78|m|order=flip}}{{cite web |url=https://www.premierleague.com/players/721/Robert-Lee/overview |title=Robert Lee: Overview |publisher=Premier League |access-date=24 March 2020}}
| position = Midfielder
| currentclub =
| youthyears1 = {{0|0000}}–1981
| youthclubs1 = Hornchurch
| youthyears2 = 1981–1983
| youthclubs2 = Charlton Athletic
| years1 = 1983–1992
| clubs1 = Charlton Athletic
| caps1 = 298
| goals1 = 59
| years2 = 1992–2002
| clubs2 = Newcastle United
| caps2 = 303
| goals2 = 44
| years3 = 2002–2003
| clubs3 = Derby County
| caps3 = 48
| goals3 = 2
| years4 = 2003–2004
| clubs4 = West Ham United
| caps4 = 16
| goals4 = 0
| years5 = 2004
| clubs5 = Oldham Athletic
| caps5 = 0
| goals5 = 0
| years6 = 2005–2006
| clubs6 = Wycombe Wanderers
| caps6 = 38
| goals6 = 0
| totalcaps = 703
| totalgoals = 105
| nationalyears1 = 1986
| nationalteam1 = England U21
| nationalcaps1 = 2
| nationalgoals1 = 0
| nationalyears2 = 1994
| nationalteam2 = England B
| nationalcaps2 = 1
| nationalgoals2 = 0
| nationalyears3 = 1994–1998
| nationalteam3 = England
| nationalcaps3 = 21
| nationalgoals3 = 2
}}
Robert Martin Lee (born 1 February 1966) is an English former professional footballer and sports co-commentator.
As a player, he was a midfielder who notably played in the Premier League for Newcastle United and West Ham United. His time at St James Park saw him win the Football League First Division in 1993. He also played in the Football League for Charlton Athletic, Derby County, Oldham Athletic and Wycombe Wanderers. He was capped 21 times by England, scoring twice and was a member of the 1998 FIFA World Cup squad.
Following retirement, he harboured interests of becoming a manager and in 2006 he was interviewed for the vacant AFC Bournemouth job, but ultimately has worked away from the sport with a stint as co-commentator for TEN Sports. He was inducted into the Newcastle United Hall of Fame in 2019.
Club career
=Charlton Athletic=
Lee started his career in the youth team of Hornchurch and actually played for the first team at the age of 15 in a pre-season friendly under manager, Brian Kelly.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenonleaguefootballpaper.com/latest-news/non-league-paper/391181/former-newcastle-united-ace-rob-lee-is-backing-hornchurch-boss-mark-stimson-in-trophy-final/|title=Former Newcastle United Ace Rob Lee is backing Hornchurch boss Mark Stimson in Trophy Final|first=Matt|last=Badcock|date=9 May 2021|website=The Non League Paper}} Hornchurch wanted Lee to sign a contract with them but he was offered an academy place at Charlton Athletic and established himself in the first team by the 1984–85 season, when he scored 10 goals in the Second Division. He rapidly became the Addicks' star player playing as a winger and helping Charlton to promotion to the First Division at the end of the 1985–86 season and gained international recognition at under-21 level. He remained a regular in the top flight over the next four years until Charlton were relegated back to the Second Division at the end of the 1989–90 season.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}
Lee remained with Charlton for more than two years after relegation, but he was sold shortly after the start of 1992–93 season as the club needed money to finance its return to The Valley. At the time, Charlton were second in the table, and Lee moved to the league leaders, Newcastle United, for a fee of £700,000. He moved to Newcastle after their manager, Kevin Keegan, told him that Newcastle upon Tyne was closer to London than Middlesbrough, the other club interested in signing Lee,[http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/archive/Celebrate-Newcastle-s-return-to-the-Premier-League-by-reliving-their-last-promotion-under-Kevin-Keegan-in-1993-with-classic-images-plus-reports-and-features-from-our-archive-article381627.html King Kev reigns supreme, Newcastle 1992–93 promotion campaign] Mirror Football, April 2010 and who were already in the Premier League.
=Newcastle United=
File:RobLeeSJP (cropped-1).jpg
Lee who also has ancestral ties to the North East, having relatives who marched in the Jarrow March,{{sfnp|Bolam|2012|loc=Foreword By Rob Lee}} signed for Newcastle in 1992.{{sfnp|Bolam|2012|loc=Foreword By Rob Lee}} Despite his North East connections, Lee noted it was his childhood footballing hero Kevin Keegan who influenced him to move to Newcastle United.{{sfnp|Bolam|2012|loc=Foreword By Rob Lee}} Keegan also promised Lee that if he moved to Newcastle United he would play for England.{{sfnp|Bolam|2012|loc=Foreword By Rob Lee}} Newcastle player Gavin Peacock had first alerted Keegan to the ability of Lee. In passing a comment, Peacock stated to Keegan that there is a player from Charlton who could play at the highest level.{{sfnp|Keegan|2018|loc=Kindle location 2577}}
Lee made his Newcastle debut as a substitute in a 1–0 win over Peterborough United. Newcastle were promoted to the Premier League at the end of the season, with Lee scoring 10 goals from 36 matches. Newcastle's first season back in the top division for four years ended well, as they finished third and qualified for the UEFA Cup, although it was top scorer Andy Cole rather than Lee who made the most headlines at the club during this campaign. In the first round against Royal Antwerp Lee scored a hat-trick as Newcastle won 5–0 in Belgium in their first European game for 17 years.{{Cite web|url=http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ten-top-newcastle-united-hat-tricks-1404927|title=Ten top Newcastle United hat-tricks|first=Lee|last=Ryder|date=28 September 2011|website=nechronicle}}
Lee finished the 1994–95 season with nine goals from 35 matches as Newcastle finished sixth in the table, although they had topped the league early in the season after winning their first six games.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}
Manager Kevin Keegan refreshed the side over the summer of 1995, shelling out nearly £9million on David Ginola and Les Ferdinand, and allowing Lee a more attacking role. He won the Premier League player of the month for November 1995 as Newcastle built up a wide lead at the top of the league and looked increasingly capable of winning their first top division title since 1927. Newcastle finished the season in second place, after being 10 points ahead of Christmas and remaining top until March, but Lee was named in the PFA Team of the Year for the 1995–96 season.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}
After Keegan's shock resignation in January 1997, Kenny Dalglish was named manager, and he made Lee captain as Newcastle again finished runners-up to Manchester United in the Premier League. After Dalglish's sacking early in the 1998–99 season, Ruud Gullit was named Newcastle manager. After a good start, Gullit tried to quickly discard Lee, as well as Stuart Pearce and John Barnes, forcing them to train with the reserves.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}. For the start of the 1999–2000 season, Lee was not given a squad number by Gullit, and after Gullit had dropped Alan Shearer for the Tyne-Wear derby defeat against Sunderland, he resigned and was succeeded by the former England manager Bobby Robson.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}
Robson put Lee and fellow midfielder Gary Speed (signed in February 1998) back in the heart of Newcastle's midfield. Lee scored in the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea, but Newcastle lost 2–1. Lee was awarded a testimonial in 2001, nine years after joining the club, and a crowd of 18,189 turned out as Spanish side Athletic Bilbao won 1–0 at St James' Park. Lee's last goal for Newcastle came in a 4–3 win over Manchester United in 2001.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}
On 7 February 2002, with Newcastle outsiders in the title race for the first time in five seasons, Lee called time on almost 10 years on Tyneside to join struggling Derby County for a transfer fee of £250,000, signing for the club just eight days after John Gregory was appointed as manager.{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/1790833.stm|title=Gregory named Derby boss|date=30 January 2002|via=news.bbc.co.uk}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2430184/Carbone-and-Lee-lead-moves-for-strugglers.html|title=Carbone and Lee lead moves for strugglers|first=John|last=Ley|date=7 February 2002|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}
=Later career=
Following a short, unsuccessful spell with Derby, which saw them relegated from the Premier League, Lee was sold to West Ham United in 2003, after scoring twice in games against Reading{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/2181087.stm|title=Derby 3–0 Reading|publisher=BBC Sport|date=10 August 2002 |access-date=6 November 2009}} and Ipswich Town.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/2967949.stm|title=Derby 1–4 Ipswich|publisher=BBC Sport|date=4 May 2003 |access-date=6 November 2009}} However, he played only a handful of games for the Hammers during the 2003–04 season. Following this, he signed for Oldham Athletic on a free transfer, playing just the 1 game, leaving the club within a month. Following this he was signed by former Arsenal and England captain Tony Adams, to help Wycombe Wanderers climb out of the newly named League Two. He played two seasons in League Two with the Chairboys, before leaving in June 2006, following the dismissal of John Gorman as the club's manager. This took him past his 40th birthday, and he was among the oldest players still playing professional football in England by the time of his last game.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}
International career
Lee played for England between 1994 and 1998, scoring twice in 21 appearances. He was called up for the first time for a friendly against the USA in September 1994,{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-lee-at-the-centre-of-newcastles-intentions-for-one-player-this-weeks-england-callup-marked-the-end-of-a-long-wait-for-recognition-glenn-moore-reports-1447960.html|title=Lee at the centre of Newcastle's intentions: For one player this week's England call-up marked the end of a long wait for recognition|last=Moore|first=Glenn|work=The Independent|date=10 September 1994}} and scored on his début the following month against Romania.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football--european-championship-new-boy-lee-gets-england-tottenhams-dumitrescu-shows-how-to-breach-venables-defence-1442733.html|title=New boy Lee gets England: Tottenham's Dumitrescu shows how to breach Venables' defence|last=Moore|first=Glenn|work=The Independent|date=13 October 1994}} He was in the squad for the 1998 World Cup under Glenn Hoddle,[https://web.archive.org/web/20071016162544/http://fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=1013/teams/team=43942.html 1998 FIFA World Cup France ™ – England] FIFA.com and came on once as a substitute against Colombia.[https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=1013/results/matches/match=8770/report.html Match Report: Colombia – England 0:2 (0:2)]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204052922/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition%3D1013/results/matches/match%3D8770/report.html |date=4 December 2013 }} FIFA.com, 26 June 1998 He had been surprisingly omitted from the England squad for UEFA Euro 1996 under Terry Venables despite being in arguably better form in 1996 than two years later.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
Post-playing career
In October 2006, Lee was interviewed for the manager position at AFC Bournemouth,[https://www.theguardian.com/football/2006/oct/03/newsstory.sport1 Shepherd denies he wants to sell stake in Newcastle], The Guardian, 3 October 2006 but the job went to Kevin Bond. Lee was arrested in July 2007, alongside former teammate Warren Barton, for taking a limousine{{Cite news| title = Footballers in limo theft arrest| work = BBC News| access-date = 23 November 2007| date = 25 July 2007| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6915778.stm}} but was not charged.{{Cite news| title = No limo theft charges for players| work = BBC News| access-date = 23 November 2007| date = 21 September 2007| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7006115.stm}} He also appeared for Newcastle on the charity television show Premier League All Stars in September 2007.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}
In May 2008, he captained Legal & General to victory in a charity five-a-side tournament in St Albans, helping to raise £15,000 for the leukaemia charity the Anthony Nolan Trust.{{Cite news| title = Soccer stars help raise £15K| work = St Albans Observer| access-date = 12 May 2008| date = 9 July 2008| url = http://www.stalbansobserver.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.2260463.0.soccer_stars_help_raise_15k.php}}
In 2008, he worked as a regular pundit for Singapore's Football Channel.[https://archive.today/20120805221014/http://www.wycombewanderers.co.uk/page/Feature/0,,10430~1306808,00.html Where are they now?] Wycombe Wanderers FC, 7 May 2008 In 2010 he was also backup commentator alongside John Burridge for TEN Sports' UEFA Champions League fixtures.[http://www.thefreelibrary.com/WHAT+HAPPENED+TO+THE+CLASS+OF+1993%3F-a0223262125 WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CLASS OF 1993?] The Journal, 7 April 2010 (Archived)
On 5 November 2019, Lee was inducted into the Newcastle United Hall of Fame.{{cite tweet | last = Newcastle United | user = NUFC | number = 1191861729254350848 | date = 5 November 2019| title = Our second inductee of the evening into the #NUFC Hall of Fame is Rob Lee.| access-date = 6 November 2019 }}
In 2019 and 2020, Lee featured in both seasons of ITV show Harry's Heroes, which featured former football manager Harry Redknapp attempting to get a squad of former England international footballers back fit and healthy for a game against Germany legends.{{cite web | url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/harrys-heroes-the-full-english-itv-cast-former-england-players-joining-harry-redknapp-itv/ | title=Who is taking part in Harry's Heroes: Euro Having a Laugh? }}
Personal life
Lee is married to his wife, Anna.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/fa-league-cups/luton-v-newcastle-united-fa-cup-third-round-rob-lee-olly-elliott-a8144021.html|title=Newcastle legend Rob Lee opens up as his sons prepare to face club that made him|work=The Independent|first=Martin|last=Hardy|date=5 January 2018|access-date=11 February 2024}} The couple have three children, Olly and Elliot, both of whom are also footballers, and one daughter Megan. {{cite web|title=Player profiles – Olly Lee|url=http://www.whufc.com/articles/oliver-lee-west-ham_2228487_48816|publisher=West Ham United FC|access-date=20 November 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208232851/http://www.whufc.com/articles/oliver-lee-west-ham_2228487_48816|archive-date=8 February 2012}}
Career statistics
=Club=
{{notelist}}
Honours
Newcastle United
- Football League First Division: 1992–93{{cite book |editor-first=Jack |editor-last=Rollin |title=Rothmans Football Yearbook 1993–94 |year=1993 |publisher=Headline Publishing Group |location=London |isbn=978-0-7472-7895-5 |pages=346–347, 588}}
England{{cite web |last1=Campbell |first1=Paul |last2=Lacey |first2=David |name-list-style=amp |date=25 Jun 2013 |title=From the Vault: Recalling How England Won Le Tournoi de France in 1997 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/jun/25/vault-england-le-tournoi-france-1997 |website=The Guardian |location=London |access-date=3 December 2022}}
Individual
- Premier League Player of the Month: September 1994, November 1995
- PFA Team of the Year: 1995–96 Premier League{{cite book |editor-first=Barry J. |editor-last=Hugman |title=The 1996–97 Official PFA Footballers Factfile |year=1996 |publisher=Queen Anne Press |location=Harpenden |isbn=978-1-85291-571-1 |page=285}}
References
{{reflist}}
Sources
{{Commons category}}
- {{cite book | last = Bolam| first = Mike| title = The Newcastle Miscellany| publisher = Vision Sports Publishing|year=2012| location = United Kingdom | language = en| isbn = 978-1-907637-74-2 }}
- {{cite book | last = Keegan| first = Kevin | title = Keegan, Kevin. My Life in Football: The Autobiography | publisher = Pan Macmillan| date = 4 October 2018 | location = United Kingdom| language = en | isbn = 978-1509877201}}
{{England squad 1998 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Navboxes colour
| title = Awards
| bg = gold
| fg = navy
| list1 =
{{1995–96 Premier League Team of the Year}}
{{Charlton Athletic F.C. Player of the Year}}
{{Newcastle United F.C. Hall of Fame}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Rob}}
Category:Footballers from the London Borough of Newham
Category:English men's footballers
Category:England men's under-21 international footballers
Category:England men's B international footballers
Category:England men's international footballers
Category:Men's association football midfielders
Category:Television personalities from the London Borough of Newham
Category:Hornchurch F.C. players
Category:Charlton Athletic F.C. players
Category:Newcastle United F.C. players
Category:Derby County F.C. players
Category:West Ham United F.C. players
Category:Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players
Category:Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players
Category:Premier League players