Michael Robert Lea (born 4 November 1987) is an English

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 ...

. His regular position is at left-back, but he can also play at

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

when required.

Career

Early career

Born in Salford,

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

, Lea was brought up in

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

in the

Metropolitan Borough of Wigan The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after the main settlement of Wigan. It covers the towns of Atherton, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Golborne, Hindley, Ince-in-Mak ...

. His 2005–06 season was marred by injury, and he was restricted to 13 appearances for the Under-18 team. In the 2006–07 season, he became a regular for the Manchester United Reserve team, making 21 appearances. His consistent form in the 2006–07 season led to a nomination for the Manchester United Reserve Player of the Year award, but he was beaten to the award by Kieran Lee. Lea was sent out on loan to Belgian side Royal Antwerp for the first half of the 2007–08 season. He made his debut for the Belgians on 22 September 2007 against R.O.C. de Charleroi-Marchienne; the match finished as a 1–1 draw. He went on to make a further 14 appearances for "The Great Old" before returning to Manchester United at the end of 2007. Lea never played for the Manchester United first team, and on 27 June 2008, it was announced that he would be given a free transfer at the end of his contract on 30 June 2008.

Scunthorpe United

On 4 July 2008, Lea was given a trial at

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

, with a view to a permanent deal as a replacement for Marcus Williams, who was involved in a protracted contract negotiation. Despite Williams signing a new contract, Scunthorpe retained their interest in signing Lea, playing him in two pre-season friendlies. Lea signed a one-year contract with the Iron on 25 July 2008, with the option to extend it for an extra year.

Chester City

This option, however, was not taken up, he was subsequently released at the end of the season having only made three appearances for Scunthorpe. With Lea out of contract, he was free to sign for Chester City on 9 July 2009. Lea made 19 league appearances for Chester before they were wound up and their Conference record was expunged in March 2010.

Hyde United

This left Lea without a club, but a week later he signed for Conference North side Hyde United.

Rochdale

However, he left Hyde after a week in order to join

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

Return to Hyde

On 9 July 2010, Lea rejoined Hyde after leaving them just four months earlier to join

. He rejoined Hyde after he ran out of contract at Rochdale without making a single appearance.

Colwyn Bay

On 27 August 2010, it was announced that he had joined Colwyn Bay.

Witton Albion

In June 2014, he signed for Northern Premier League team

Witton Albion Witton may refer to one of several places in England: *Witton, historic name of an area of Northwich, Cheshire **Witton Albion F.C. *Witton Gilbert, County Durham *Witton-le-Wear, County Durham *Witton, an area of Blackburn, Lancashire * Witton, B ...

. He rejoined Colwyn Bay in January 2015 after a spell with

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lea, Michael 1987 births Living people Footballers from Salford English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Manchester United F.C. players Royal Antwerp F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Hyde United F.C. players English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium National League (English football) players Rochdale A.F.C. players Colwyn Bay F.C. players Witton Albion F.C. players Marine A.F.C. players Warrington Town F.C. players Atherton Collieries A.F.C. players