Lee Shearer

*Indicates unconfirmed information. Figures in brackets after English team names indicate all appearances made and goals scored in competitive matches for Football League clubs from 1888 onwards. For Scottish League clubs the figures show details of all competitive appearances and goals scored from 1946/47 onwards.

Lee Shearer

Appearances: 23+8 Goals: 1

Date / Year of birth: 23rd October 1977

Position: Centre-back

Season of first appearance: 2002/03

Season of last appearance: 2002/03

Also played for: Leyton Orient (15+5,1), Hastings Town, Sligo Rovers (Ireland), Jaro FC (Finland), Dover Athletic, Gravesend & Northfleet, RKSV Leonidas (Holland), Welling United, Folkestone Invicta, Maidstone United, Faversham Town, Hythe Town, Ashford United and Whitstable Town

6' 3" tall Southend-born defender who started his career as a junior at Leyton Orient and won caps for England's schoolboy and Under-18 sides during his early days with the O's. Lee played as a striker in the England teams.

Having progressed through Orient's youth ranks he made his first team debut in a game against Brentford on 17.4.95 aged 17. Earlier in the 1994/95 season Lee had been present for some of joint manager John Sitton's infamous rants that were memorably captured in the 'Club for a Fiver' documentary about the O's. At one point in the film Sitton mentioned that Lee would do better than some of his senior professionals and there was footage of him sitting on the subs bench along with his manager.

Lee made further senior appearances during the 1995/96 campaign and in May 1996 he scored the only goal as Orient beat the Welsh national team in a friendly. He also featured in the O's first team during the first half of the 1996/97 season before being loaned to Hastings Town for two months in January 1997.

Lee scored once in six appearances for Hastings before returning to Brisbane Road.

In the summer of 1997 he had a loan spell with Jaro FC of Finland but Lee never played for their first team.

During the 1997/98 campaign Orient loaned him to Irish club Sligo before sending Lee to Dover and at the end of the season he was released having scored once in 20 first team outings (five as sub) for the O's.

In July 1998 Lee signed for Dover and he went on to become a hugely popular player at Crabble, making almost 200 appearances over the next four years. On 30.1.01 he scored for an FA X1 in a 6-1 win over the Combined Services at Bishop's Stortford in what was effectively a trial for the England semi-pro team game and Margate's Leon Braithwaite and Phil Collins were also on the scoresheet. In its report on a 0-0 draw between Dover and Margate at Crabble on 25.3.02 the Thanet Extra newspaper said Lee turned in "one of his best performances in what has been an otherwise torrid season for the centre-half both on and off the field". He was sent off as Dover lost 2-0 at Yeovil in the Conference on 27.4.02 and it turned out to be Lee's last appearance for the club.

In June 2002 he signed for Margate after weeks of speculation and manager Chris Kinnear told the Thanet Times "He will be a powerful addition to the squad." Lee signed a one-year contract with the option of a second year if both parties wanted it.

After missing the first three games of the 2002/03 campaign due to suspension Lee made his debut as a substitute in a 3-0 win over Forest Green in the Conference on 26.8.02. Ironically the game was played at Dover as Margate were ground-sharing there for the season. He played as a striker after coming on and the Isle of Thanet Gazette said Lee's "height worried the visiting defence". He had another outing as a sub in a 2-0 defeat at Leigh on 31.8.02 and Lee once again played up front. Then on 3.9.02 he came on after 18 minutes of a 2-2 draw with Barnet at Dover as a replacement for Iain O'Connell who was carried off injured. It was Lee's first chance to play as a centre-back and the Gazette said he "slotted in well".

He made his first start in defence as Margate drew 1-1 with Stevenage at Dover on 7.9.02 and Lee then featured in each of the next 19 games. The Thanet Times said he had "probably his best game in a Margate shirt so far" in a 2-1 win over Doncaster at Dover on 21.9.02 and in the weeks that followed Lee sometimes featured as a right wing-back in the absence of Greg Oates.

On 16.11.02 Lee played as Margate drew 1-1 at Leyton Orient in the 1st Round Proper of the FA Cup and the Thanet Times said he "really rose to the occasion". He also appeared in the replay at Dover on 26.11.02 that Margate won 1-0. On 30.11.02 Lee scored his first goal for the club in a 2-1 defeat at Yeovil, rising well to head home a free-kick from Terry McFlynn. He then played as Margate lost 3-0 to Cardiff at Dover in the 2nd Round of the FA Cup on 7.12.02.

Lee's run in the side came to an end after a 1-1 draw with Nuneaton at Dover on 21.12.02. He then missed six games due to knee ligament damage before returning as Margate beat Sittingbourne 3-1 in a Kent Senior Cup tie at Hartsdown Park on 28.1.03. Lee only featured once as a sub in the five matches that followed before making his first start for over a month in a 2-1 win over Woking at Dover on 1.3.03. That was the start of a three game run in the team that ended after a 3-0 defeat at Morecambe on 11.3.03. On 25.3.03 he came off the bench in a 3-1 defeat at Doncaster and the Isle of Thanet Gazette said Lee "impressed". He also featured as a sub in a 3-2 win at Hereford on 29.3.03 before returning to the starting line-up for the Kent Senior Cup semi-final against Erith & Belvedere at Welling on 1.4.03. Margate won 3-0 but it turned out to be Lee's last outing for the club. He missed the last six games of the campaign due to glandular fever and in May 2003 Lee was released after Margate elected not to exercise their option to extend his contract. He'd made 31 appearances (eight as sub) and scored once during 2002/03.

Lee joined Gravesend & Northfleet in the summer of 2003 and went on to make 29 Conference appearances during the 2003/04 season. He then featured in five Conference matches at the start of 2004/05 before being loaned to his old club Dover in October 2004.

Lee was quoted as saying "It's like I've never been away. I am a Dover fan anyway and even when I was playing for Margate and Gravesend I'd be up here singing and cheering with the Dover fans if I didn't have a game." He was also rumoured to have joined in with a chant of "We hate Margate" at Dover when he was a Margate player and Lee said "I got a lot of stick when I signed for Margate. It was like signing for the enemy but I was always a Dover fan." He scored once in ten outings during his loan spell at Crabble to take his overall tally for the club to 210 appearances (11 as sub). Lee had scored 20 goals for Dover in that time.

In December 2004 he made the briefest of returns to Gravesend & Northfleet but Lee's contract was then cancelled and he went to Holland to play for RKSV Leonidas of Rotterdam.

After returning to England Lee signed a one-year contract with Welling in July 2005 but in February 2006 he joined Folkestone as part of a swap deal that took John Guest to Welling.

Lee was released by Folkestone in September 2006 after making a total of 15 appearances there and at that time he worked as an assistant manager at a British Heart Foundation charity shop in Dover.

He joined Maidstone after leaving Folkestone and had 22 Isthmian League outings (four as sub) for the Stones during 2006/07, scoring two goals in all competitions. Lee stayed with the club for 2007/08 too and on 11.12.07 he played the whole game in goal as Maidstone lost 2-1 at Heybridge after former Margate keeper Pat Mullin was injured in the pre-match warm-up. Lee scored twice in 32 Isthmian League appearances (two as sub) during 2007/08 but in June 2008 he moved on to Kent League outfit Faversham.

Lee managed over ten goals for Faversham during 2008/09, many from the penalty spot, and then top scored with a remarkable 22 goals during the 2009/10 campaign as the club won the Kent League title. He won Faversham's 'Players Player of the Year' and 'Supporters Player of the Year' awards for the season.

In May 2010 Lee joined Hythe, opting to stay in the Kent League, and played regularly in the first half of the 2010/11 campaign. He featured in Hythe's excellent FA Cup run that ended in the 1st Round Proper with a 5-1 defeat at Hereford on 6.11.10 and had scored once in 16 appearances (three as sub) before leaving the club early in 2011.

Lee didn't play anywhere for the remainder of 2010/11 and spent time with his family before linking up with the newly-formed Ashford United in June 2011 ahead of their first season in the new Kent Invicta League.

Former Margate player Paul O'Brien was also part of Ashford's squad and on 6.7.11 Lee played in the clubs first ever match - a 3-0 defeat against Gillingham at Homelands. After making a handful of competitive appearances he left the club.

Early in November 2011 Lee rejoined Isthmian League club Faversham and made his first appearance in a 4-2 home defeat against East Thurrock in the FA Trophy on 5.11.11. He left the club before the end of November and signed for Whitstable. Their manager at the time was Justin Lutchford who'd been Lee's manager during his successful first spell at Faversham.

Lee left Whitstable a few weeks later having only played once in the Isthmian League Division 1 South for them.

SEASON (CLUB)

FULL (MAX)

SUB

GLS

FAC

FAT

 

KSC

2002/03 (MFC)

23 (52)

8

1

CONFERENCE (10TH OF 22)

2R

5R

W

     Played in FA Cup 1st Round (16.11.02 - drew 1-1 at Leyton Orient).
     Played in FA Cup 1st Round replay (26.11.02 - beat Leyton Orient 1-0 at 'home' (Dover Athletic)). 
     Played in FA Cup 2nd Round (07.12.02 - lost 3-0 to Cardiff City at 'home' (Dover Athletic)).