Lee Makel

Lee Robert Makel (born 11 January 1973) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Lee Makel
Personal information
Full name Lee Robert Makel
Date of birth (1973-01-11) 11 January 1973
Place of birth Sunderland, England
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1992 Newcastle United 12 (1)
1992–1995 Blackburn Rovers 6 (0)
1995–1998 Huddersfield Town 66 (5)
1998–2001 Heart of Midlothian 50 (1)
1999 → Portsmouth (loan) 0 (0)
2001 Bradford City 13 (0)
2001–2004 Livingston 80 (10)
2004–2005 Plymouth Argyle 19 (0)
2005–2006 Dunfermline Athletic 31 (2)
2006–2008 Livingston 49 (0)
2008–2009 Östersund 22 (6)
2009 East Fife 8 (1)
2009–2010 Östersund 12 (5)
2011–2013 Cowdenbeath 12 (0)
Total 380 (31)
Managerial career
2009–2010 Östersund
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

Makel began his career with Newcastle United as a trainee in 1991 and made 14 appearances. He moved to Blackburn Rovers for £160,000 in 1992 but only played six league matches in three years for the club. He was at the club during their Premier League winning campaign, but did not make any appearances in the league, only appearing in the UEFA Cup in Rovers' 1994–95 season.

In 1995, he moved to Huddersfield Town where he spent two-and-a-half seasons before moving to Scottish Premier Division club Heart of Midlothian for £75,000 in March 1998. He remained at Hearts until 2001, helping them win the 1998 Scottish Cup before returning to England for a brief spell with Bradford City under his former Hearts manager Jim Jefferies.

He returned to Scotland in December 2001 with Livingston, helping them to a third-place finish in their first Scottish Premier League season and a place in the UEFA Cup. He was also part of the team which won the 2004 League Cup. In 2004, Bobby Williamson signed him for Plymouth Argyle where he remained for just one season.

He again returned to Scotland in 2005 with Dunfermline Athletic before returning to Livingston in 2006.

In 2009, Makel joined East Fife and scored his first and only goal for the club in a 4–0 win over Stranraer.[1]

Coaching career

Makel left Livingston to join Swedish Division 1 Norra side Östersund on 1 April 2008, taking up a player-coaching role with the club.[2] A club he re-joined in June 2009 as a player/joint-coach. In January 2011, Makel signed for Scottish First Division side Cowdenbeath until the end of the season. Makel was appointed assistant manager to Colin Cameron at Cowdenbeath six months later, following the resignation of Jimmy Nicholl.[3] As of October 2015, Makel was coaching Hibernian academy players.[4]

Personal life

Makel was born in Sunderland and brought up in Washington, Tyne and Wear. He was a fan of Sunderland A.F.C. as a boy. His younger brother, Gavin, was a child actor appearing as Rob in BBC series Byker Grove from 1996 to 1998.[5]

His wife Claire was caught having an affair with Chief Superintendent Gareth Blair of Police Scotland at an Edinburgh park-and-ride site in 2019. Blair was suspended and charged alongside Claire with public indecency. He eventually quit Police Scotland. Makel appeared in court in September 2022 for threatening text messages sent to his ex-wife when he suspected she was having an affair.[6][7]

Honours

Heart of Midlothian

Livingston

References
  1. "East Fife 4-0 Stranraer". BBC Sport. BBC. 21 March 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  2. "Makel quits Livingston for Sweden". BBC Sport. 1 April 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  3. "Colin Cameron replaces Jimmy Nicholl at Cowdenbeath". BBC Sport. BBC. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
  4. "East of Scotland Shield On Saturday". www.hibernianfc.co.uk. Hibernian FC. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  5. "Lee Makel interview". 22 March 2004. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  6. "Former footballer Lee Makel reveals impact of wife's 'humiliating' affair with top cop". Scottish Daily Express. 26 September 2022.
  7. "Police chief caught having sex in car gets off with fine". The Times. 11 August 2020.
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