Lee Power
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lee Michael Power | ||
| Date of birth | 30 June 1972 | ||
| Place of birth | Lewisham, London, England | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1990 | Norwich City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1990–1994 | Norwich City | 44 | (10) |
| 1992 | → Charlton Athletic (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 1993 | → Sunderland (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 1993 | → Portsmouth (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 1994–1995 | Bradford City | 30 | (5) |
| 1995 | → Millwall (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 1995–1996 | Peterborough United | 38 | (6) |
| 1996–1997 | Dundee | 10 | (4) |
| 1997–1998 | Hibernian | 11 | (2) |
| 1998 | Ayr United | 4 | (0) |
| 1998 | Plymouth Argyle | 16 | (0) |
| 1998–1999 | Halifax Town | 25 | (5) |
| 1999–2001 | Boston United | 19 | (5) |
| Total | 163 | (27) | |
| International career | |||
| 1990–1993 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 13 | (2) |
| 1992 | Republic of Ireland B | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2006 | Cambridge United | ||
| 2015 | Swindon Town (caretaker) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Lee Michael Power (born 30 June 1972) is a former professional footballer and former chairman of Swindon Town. Born in England, his Irish ancestry allowed him to be capped by Republic of Ireland at youth, U21 and B levels. Power played in three qualifiers in the 1990 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship qualifying campaign and in the 1990 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship as well as the 1991 FIFA World Youth Championship.[1]
Power was born in Lewisham, London. He began his career as a trainee with Norwich City, making his first-team debut against Aston Villa in April 1990, before turning professional in June the same year. His initial form was good enough to earn a call-up to the Republic of Ireland Under-21 side and he went on to make a then record number of appearances (13) for them.
Despite a promising start to his Norwich career, Power struggled to maintain a regular place in the first team, particularly with competition from the likes of Chris Sutton and Efan Ekoku. He requested a transfer and moved to Charlton Athletic on loan in December 1992. Further loan spells with Sunderland (in August 1993) and Portsmouth (in October 1993) followed before a £200,000 move to Bradford City in March 1994.
He scored on his Bradford debut, a 2–1 win at home to Swansea City on 12 March 1994, but his progress was impeded by a virus that threatened his career.
In July 1995 he moved to Peterborough United for a fee of £80,000, subsequently moving to Scottish League side Dundee in December 1996. He scored twice on his Dundee debut, a 6–0 victory over East Fife, and his form soon attracted the attention of other clubs.
After Dundee's manager Jim Duffy moved to Hibernian he signed Power and his teammate Paul Tosh for a combined fee of £200,000 in March 1997.[2] Power was a Hibs regular for the remainder of the 1996–97 season, but lost his place when Alex McLeish took over as manager and was allowed to join Ayr United on a free transfer in March 1998 until the end of the season.
In July 1998, Power had a trial with Carlisle United, playing in a friendly against Rangers, but joined Plymouth Argyle later that month. He struggled to settle at Plymouth and in December 1998 joined Halifax Town on loan, the move becoming permanent in January 1999.
His final footballing move, on the playing side, came in November 1999 when he joined Southern League side Boston United for a fee of £25,000. He also coached Boston, but left in January 2001. His early retirement from football came at the relatively early age of 28, though was not entirely surprising after two broken legs.
