Former Newcastle United and Everton manager passes away

Lee was born in Cannock, Staffordshire on July 13 1934 and went on to enjoy a respectable career as a right-back as he made over 100 appearances and won the League Cup with Aston Villa in 1961.

He also represented Hednesford Town and Shrewsbury Town before becoming a manager at Port Vale in 1968.

Lee achieved fourth division promotion with The Valiants in 1969-70 and repeated the feat in the third division with Blackburn Rovers five years later.

His success at Blackburn attracted the attention of Newcastle, who were looking to replace Fairs Cup winning manager Joe Harvey following his resignation in the summer of 1975.

Lee was appointed as Magpies boss and led the club to its first and only League Cup final in his first season in charge only to be beaten 2-1 by Manchester City at Wembley. He took charge of 74 games for the club, winning 28, drawing 20 and losing 26.

He then went on to manage over 200 games for Everton between 1977 and 1981, also leading them to a League Cup final in his first season. Spells at Preston North End, KR Reykjavík and Leicester City followed before his retirement from the game in 1991.

Lee spent his retirement years in Lytham St Annes on the Lancashire coast. He passed away on the morning of Tuesday, 8 March 2022, as confirmed by the club.

Our thoughts are with Gordon’s family and friends at this difficult time.

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