Brian Russell Lee

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(28 February 1936 – 12 February 2023) was a British football manager, coach, and administrator, most notable for his associations with

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...

and Bisham Abbey. He was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2016 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2016 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to football, and a Services to Football Award by the League Managers Association (LMA) in 2016.

Early life and education

Born in

Sale, Cheshire Sale is a town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, in the historic county of Cheshire on the south bank of the River Mersey, south of Stretford, northeast of Altrincham, and southwest of Manchester. In 2011, it had a population of 1 ...

, Brian Lee was a successful sportsman at

Sale Grammar School Sale Grammar School is a grammar school located in Sale to the south of Manchester, England. The school became an Academy Trust Grammar School in 2011. Admission to the school is through its own entrance examination. Trafford LA operates a full ...

, captaining the school rugby team and representing the county. After leaving school he joined

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

and later

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

, but decided not to pursue a career as a professional footballer following a serious toe injury.

Coaching and managerial career

Lee took up coaching instead, and at the age of 18 became the youngest

F.A FA, Fa or fa may refer to: People * Fa of Xia, King of China 1747–1728 BC * Fa Ngum (1316–1393), founder and ruler of the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang Places * Fa, Aude, a commune of the Aude ' in France * Falmouth Academy, a private colleg ...

. Staff Coach in England. At 24 he became Assistant Warden at Lilleshall, and was later involved with the England Youth Team. In 1967 he was appointed Director of Bisham Abbey and also coach to

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. In December 1968 he was appointed manager of

following the resignation of Barry Darvill, and remained there until 1976. During his tenure, Wycombe won the Isthmian League Championship four times, and were runners up twice. They were

Amateur Cup An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History Hi ...

semi-finalists in 1972, and won the Anglo-Italian Semi-Professional Trophy against

A.C. Monza Associazione Calcio Monza () is a professional football club that is based in Monza, Lombardy, Italy. The team plays in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football, following promotion in the 2021–22 Serie B season. The club was fou ...

. He also managed the first England semi-professional team against Italy.

Post-coaching career

After retiring from

in 1976, Lee worked on the development of Bisham Abbey as a Centre of Excellence. He was appointed Vice-Chairman of Wycombe Wanderers and then founder Chairman of the Company in 1980. He was instrumental in forming the club into a Limited Company by Guarantee and was overseer of the move from

Loakes Park Loakes Park was the home of Wycombe Wanderers Football Club from 1895 to 1990. It was located next to Wycombe General Hospital in the centre of High Wycombe, England. The ground was donated to the club by Frank Adams, a former Wanderers player ...

Adams Park Adams Park is an association football stadium in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Built in 1990, it is the home ground of the local Wycombe Wanderers in League One. It was also leased from 2002 to 2014 to the rugby union club London Was ...

. After the move he reverted to Board Director. Lee was also on the committees of the Norfolk F.A, Shropshire F.A, a founder member of the Isthmian League Management Committee, Vice-Chairman of the

GM Vauxhall Conference The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...

and a magistrate in High Wycombe.

Death

Lee died in hospital in the early hours of 12 February 2023, at the age of 86. His son, Bryn confirmed his death, saying that his father had suffered a heart attack whilst sleeping and doctors were unable to resuscitate him. Lee had been due to attend Wycombe Wanderers' home game versus Derby County the previous day, but was instead admitted to

Wexham Park Hospital Wexham Park Hospital is a large NHS hospital in Slough, Berkshire. It has been managed by Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust since 2014. Sir Andrew Morris is the chief executive of Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital was ...

, feeling unwell.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Brian 1936 births 2023 deaths English football managers People from Sale, Greater Manchester Wycombe Wanderers F.C. managers Members of the Order of the British Empire