Lee David Cowling (born 22 September 1977, in Doncaster, England) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

as a defender for

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

and

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

Playing career

Born in

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

, Cowling started his career as a trainee at

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, after they spotted him playing junior league football in Doncaster for Bessacarr Green, beating

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

to his signature. After a backroom shuffle, Lee left and joined

. Lee was considered a highly rated prospect, playing for Nottingham Forest under Brian Clough, Frank Clark, Stuart Pearce, and Ron Atkinson. He was a regular in their youth team as well as the England schoolboy setup alongside players such as Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville and David Beckham. He also represented England in the Under-18 squad alongside Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Frank Lampard and Emile Heskey. After a brief stint at

, the club at which his father Dave Cowling started his career, a reoccurring knee injury forced him to retire in his early twenties. He later signed for non-league

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of Ket ...

in 2000, where he made 63 appearances in two seasons with the club.

Coaching career

Lee is a UEFA A qualified coach who also holds The FA Youth Coaches Award and the Futsal Coaching qualification. Lee worked as an Academy coach at Middlesbrough FC, and helped to develop two leading College football development centres, winning championships and cups consistently. He is responsible for helping a large number of college football players to move back into the professional game. In 2011, Lee along with his father founded the Esprit Football Academy based at Doncaster Rovers Keepmoat training facilities, and High Melton College, providing formal education and footballing education to teenagers and young adults. In September 2015, Lee joined Doncaster Rovers as an academy coach, and as of 2019, he also works in association with Fulham FC delivering a youth development scheme which as seen Fulham expand into countries such as Spain, South Africa, the United States, and Japan. with his company ProcampsUK.

Private life

His father is ex-football player Dave Cowling

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowling, Lee Living people Footballers from Doncaster English footballers Nottingham Forest F.C. players Burton Albion F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Kettering Town F.C. players King's Lynn F.C. players 1977 births Association football fullbacks