Sammy Lee (footballer)

Infobox Football biography
playername = Sammy Lee


fullname = Samuel Lee
height = height|ft=5|in=2
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1959|2|7|df=y
cityofbirth = Liverpool
countryofbirth = England
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
position = Midfielder
currentclub = Liverpool ("assistant manager")
youthyears = 1975–1976
youthclubs = Liverpool
years = 1976–1986 1986–1987 1987–1990 1990 1990–1991
clubs = Liverpool Queens Park Rangers Osasuna Southampton Bolton Wanderers Total
caps(goals) = 197 (13) 030 0(0) 028 0(0) 002 0(0) 004 0(0) 261 (13)
nationalyears = 1981–1983 1983–1984
nationalteam = England U21 England
nationalcaps(goals) = 006 014 0(2)
managerclubs = Bolton Wanderers
manageryears = 2007

Samuel "Sammy" Lee (born 7 February 1959 in Liverpool) is an English football coach and former player. He played most notably for hometown club fc|Liverpool during the 1970s and 1980s as a midfielder, also being an English international.

Playing career

Lee rose through the ranks at Liverpool after joining on an apprenticeship in September 1975, making his first team debut on 8 April 1978, as a 6th minute substitute for David Johnson. Leicester City at Anfield were the opponents, as Lee managed to find the net in the 56th minute of the 3–2 victory. A year earlier, he had been put in the squad for a huge European Cup semi-final against FC Zürich and, although he didn't play, manager Bob Paisley said he would have had no qualms about using him if required.

Lee became a regular from 1980 onwards and, although small in stature, he established a reputation as a sharp-passing and strong-running midfield player who could also hit a decent shot. In the 1981 League Cup final, Lee was at the centre of a controversial incident which left opponents West Ham United feeling slightly cheated. Lee had ventured forwards in an attack and ended up flat out on the turf following a challenge. The West Ham defence pushed out of their area to leave Lee in an obvious offside position but when Liverpool full back Alan Kennedy scored with a follow-up shot, the goal stood. The rules about "interfering with play" were still vague back then, and there is no doubt that a similar goal in the future would also be allowed to stand without complaint. West Ham did equalise but Liverpool won the replay with Lee in the side.

In that year's European Cup semi-final against Bayern Munich, Lee was unusually asked to do a man-marking job on Paul Breitner, the strong and skilful West German international. It was the first instance Liverpool players recall of worrying at all about an opponent, normally preferring to let the opposition do the worrying, but Lee did the marking job to perfection and Liverpool went through to the final against Real Madrid, which they won 1-0 with Lee again in the side.

Lee got this first League title medal in 1982 and also helped Liverpool retain the League Cup; the same applied in 1983 and 1984, the latter of which was also the year of their fourth European Cup triumph – Lee played in every game en route to the final and scored a clinching goal of the first leg at Anfield against Dinamo Bucharest, in the semi-final.

Bobby Robson gave Lee the first of his 14 England caps during this period, where he again scored on his debut in the 3–0 1984 UEFA European Championship qualifier victory over Greece, on 17 November 1982.

Injuries took their toll in 1985 and Lee struggled to regain his previous form. With Jan Mølby in the side, there was no longer a place for him at Liverpool. He left during August 1986, joining Queens Park Rangers. Spells at CA Osasuna (where he reunited with former Liverpool teammate Michael Robinson), Southampton and Bolton Wanderers followed before he retired from playing.

Coaching career

Lee's former Liverpool captain, Graeme Souness, invited Lee to join his Anfield coaching staff in 1993. He did so with relish and gained respect to the extent that both Roy Evans and Gérard Houllier kept him on the payroll after Souness left, gaining promotion from reserve team coach to the first team, under Houllier.

Lee became a part-time coach under Sven-Göran Eriksson with England in 2001, [cite news
title = Lee steps up to England role
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/1337853.stm
publisher = BBC News
date = 2001-05-18
accessdate = 2007-04-30] eventually leaving Liverpool to go full-time with the national set-up in July 2004. [cite news
title = Lee takes full-time FA role
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/england/3877267.stm
publisher = BBC News
date = 2004-07-08
accessdate = 2007-04-30]

He returned to club football with fc|Bolton Wanderers in June 2005, as assistant to Sam Allardyce. Lee was offered the role of manager of the England U-21s in August 2006, but turned the move down and also left the senior England set-up. [cite news |title = Lee leaves England coaching team|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/5255978.stm|publisher = BBC News|date=2006-08-08|accessdate=2007-04-30]

Allardyce left Bolton in April 2007 and Lee was confirmed as his replacement shortly afterwards.cite web|title=Club statement|url=http://www.bwfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/General/0,,1004~1145252,00.html|publisher=Bolton Wanderers F.C. official website|date=2007-10-17|accessdate=2007-10-17] [cite news|title=Lee appointed manager of Bolton|url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/bolton_wanderers/6606553.stm|publisher=BBC News|date=2007-04-30|accessdate=2007-04-30] After only winning one league game from eleven matches, he was sacked in October 2007, becoming the second premier league manager to be sacked in that season.He was linked with a return to Liverpool by becoming Rafael Benitez's assistant after the pair watched a Liverpool reserve match together. [cite news|title=Rafa Benitez and Sammy Lee's old pals' act|url=http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0500liverpoolfc/0100news/tm_headline=rafa-benitez-and-sammy-lee-s-old-pals-act&method=full&objectid=20106790&siteid=50061-name_page.html| publisher=icLiverpool|date=2007-11-14|accessdate=2008-01-08] He was also linked to the assistant manager position at afc|Leeds United under Gary McAllister. [cite news|title=Leeds United number two: decision due|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/leedsunited/Leeds-United-number-two-decision.3734782.jp|publisher=Yorkshire Evening Post|date=2008-02-01| accessdate=2008-02-22] He became the firm favourite to become assistant coach to Rafa Benitez following Alex Miller's departure from Liverpool and officially returned to the club when appointed on 16 May 2008.cite web|url=http://www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,1776_3542158,00.html|title=Lee lined up as Rafa's assistant|publisher=Teamtalk|date=2008-05-09|accessdate=2008-05-09]

He returned to former club Liverpool on 16 May 2008, taking up the role of assistant manager to Rafael Benítez after signing a 2-year contract.cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/7401046.stm|title=Lee clinches return to Liverpool|publisher=BBC|date=2008-05-16|accessdate=2008-05-16] cite web|url=http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N159939080516-1155.htm|title=Benítez welcomes Lee addition|publisher=Liverpoolfc.tv|date=2008-05-16|accessdate=2008-05-16]

Honours

;Liverpool
*English League: 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84
*European Cup: 1981, 1984; runner-up 1985
*European Super Cup: Runner-up 1978, 1984
*Football League Cup: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984
*Charity Shield: 1979, 1980, 1982; runner-up 1983, 1984

Trivia

Lee used to be a member of the Scout Association.

In the early 1980s, he appeared in an episode of Boys from the Blackstuff, alongside his Liverpool teammate Graeme Souness.

Lee was known as "Little Sam" during his time at Bolton with Sam Allardyce, in reference to the height difference between the two.

Managerial stats

References

External links

*soccerbase (manager)|id=2079|name=Sammy Lee
* [http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/team/past_players/players/lee/ Liverpool player profile]
* [http://www.lfchistory.net/player_profile.asp?player_id=355 LFCHistory.net profile]
* [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=1319 Liverpool appearances (1975-81) at Sporting-heroes.net]
* [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=1320 Liverpool appearances (1981-86) at Sporting-heroes.net]
* [http://www.thisisanfield.com/features/2007/09/exclusive-interview-sammy-lee/ Thisisanfield.com exclusive interview]