Lee Bradbury

Lee Michael Bradbury (born 3 July 1975) is an English football manager and former player who is a coach at club Port Vale.

A versatile player, he primarily played as a striker and scored 105 goals in 572 league and cup games in a 16-year professional career.

His son, Harvey, also plays professional football.

Bradbury joined the British Army upon leaving school at the age of 16 and served the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment in Northern Ireland.

Lee Michael Bradbury was born in Cowes, on the Isle of Wight on 3 July 1975.

At the age of 15, he wrote to all 92 clubs in the English Football League to request a trial.

He was discharged from military service to sign with Portsmouth in 1995.

He moved out on loan to Exeter City of the Third Division to play first-team football in December 1995.

He scored a brace against Leyton Orient in his home debut at St James Park.

He scored five goals in 14 league starts for Exeter.

He was recalled to Portsmouth to cover for Paul Walsh, who had picked up an injury.

He featured in 12 First Division games for Pompey in the 1995–96 season without scoring a goal.

He played on loan at Exeter City, before he was named Portsmouth's Player of the Season after scoring 17 goals in the 1996–97 campaign.

He scored his first goal for the club on 1 October 1996, in a 2–2 draw with Crystal Palace at Fratton Park.

He scored 17 goals in 49 games in the 1996–97 season, winning the club's Player of the Season award.

He was purchased by Manchester City for a club record £3 million in July 1997, though did not enjoy a successful time at City and was sold on to Crystal Palace for £1.5 million in October 1998.

He scored his first career hat-trick in a 4–2 home win over Barnsley on 22 April 1997 and was hailed as the discovery of the season by manager Terry Fenwick.

He ended the 1998–99 season on loan at Birmingham City and returned to Portsmouth for a £300,000 fee in October 1999.

He played 106 games in just over four seasons in his second spell at the club.

He also spent time on loan at Sheffield Wednesday and Derby County.

He joined Walsall on a free transfer in March 1999 and then moved on to Oxford United three months later.

Bradbury stood trial for assault in 2001 following an alleged fracas outside a nightclub.

He spent almost two seasons with Oxford and then ended the 2005–06 season helping Southend United to win the League One title.

He joined his final club, AFC Bournemouth, in August 2007, where he would be promoted out of League Two in 2009–10.

Bradbury retired as a player after being appointed manager of AFC Bournemouth, where he worked from January 2011 to March 2012.

Bradbury began suffering anxiety attacks and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after witnessing the death of his friend Ryan McKinlay in a boating accident in June 2015.

He launched a clothing brand, Bridge, to raise money for PTSD charities.

Bradbury started his professional career following a successful trial at Portsmouth after his army coach recommended him to the club.

He then spent seven years as manager of Havant & Waterlooville, winning the Isthmian League Premier Division in 2016–17 and the National League South title in 2017–18.

He left Cowes High School two days before his 16th birthday and joined the British Army the day after his birthday.

He became a frontline rifleman and toured Northern Ireland for two years.

He was a key player for the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment and Warrant Officier Bob Jeffrey quipped that "his accuracy with a football is better than with a rifle".

He played for Cowes Sports whilst on leave.

He also played B division football for Ballinamallard United and turned out for Halstead Town and Fivemiletown United.

He patrolled Omagh for two years after turning 18, performing searches for terrorist activity.

Contrary to reports that he bought himself out of the army, he was in fact given an honourable discharge after four-and-a-half years of service to pursue his professional football career.

He married Hayley, from Newport, Isle of Wight, and had two children: Harvey and Nellie.

Harvey became a professional footballer with numerous clubs, including Oxford United, leaving them as the first father and son to play for the club.

He took charge of Eastbourne Borough in May 2019 but left in October 2019 and became assistant head coach at Crawley Town.

He made a return to management at Eastleigh in February 2022, though was sacked in August 2023.