Lee Sawyer
From TheChels.info - The Chelsea Football Club Wiki
| Lee Sawyer | |
| |
| Full Name | Lee Sawyer |
| Date of Birth | 10 September 1989 |
| Place of Birth | Leyton, London, England |
| Position | Central Midfielder |
| Chelsea career | 1998 - 2010 |
| Debut | n/a |
| Games (goals) | 0/0 |
| Other clubs | West Ham United |
Lee Sawyer (born 10 September 1989 in Leyton, London, England) is a midfielder who formerly played for Chelsea's Academy team.
Contents |
Pre-Chelsea career
Lee joined Chelsea at the age of nine.
Chelsea career
Unfortunately for Lee, a rather large portion of his time at Chelsea was blighted by injury. From the same area of London as David Beckham, he had good roots, but that and their shared midfield roles are the only real comparisons. Lee is a combative and edgy central midfielder who never shies away from incident, and loves to burst forward to have an impact in the final third.
Before he became a scholar, he suffered a serious back injury as well as a knee injury ruling him out for a nine-month spell. Nonetheless, he was given the chance to develop, and became something of a fixture in the Under-18 team when he was fit.
Unfortunately, he kept getting himself in trouble. Rash by nature, he can occasionally get into hot water with officials, although that seems to be disappearing from his game as he gets older. He can still react in an over the top fashion and is occasionally prone to launching a reckless tackle. He did so in the late stages of the FA Youth Cup Semi Final win at Villa Park in 2008, earning him a suspension from the Final.
The club did believe that Lee had a future at Stamford Bridge. As one of few academy players who was eligible for Chelsea’s Champions League B List, he was been a part of that squad for two seasons, and was named as an unused sub on the last day of the 2006/07 league season at home to Everton. After a shoulder injury curtailed his 07/08 season, he began to make a name for himself. A loan spell at Southend at the end of 2008 was wildly successful, to the tune of 6000 Shrimpers singing his name when they visited the Bridge in the FA Cup, where Lee was a Chelsea sub. An experimental loan at Coventry then failed, but he got back to himself at Wycombe, finishing the season having played in all three football league divisions.
He joined Southend again for 2009/10, but having struggled with personal problems and failing to break into the side, things came to a head with manager Steve Tilson in early 2010. His loan spell was terminated, which was followed the same week by Chelsea releasing him from his contract early.
International
Lee has represented England at both Under-18 and Under-19 levels.
Career statistics
Youth Team Football
| Season | Club | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | ||
| 2005-06 | Chelsea | 3 | 0 |
| 2006-07 | Chelsea | 14 | 1 |
| 2007-08 | Chelsea | 14 | 1 |
Reserve Team Football
| Season | Club | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | ||
| 2007-08 | Chelsea | 7 | 0 |
| 2008-09 | Chelsea | 4 | 1 |
Career honours
None
Post Chelsea Career
Lee joined Barnet on a short-term contract shortly after departing Chelsea but was unable to turn it into a long-term deal. He re-joined Southend on a short-term deal during the 2010-11 season and earned a season-long deal for 2011-12 before later playing for Woking, Dover, Sutton and Chelmsford City.
