Lee Bradbury

Portsmouth

Bradbury started his professional career following a successful trial at Portsmouth after his army coach recommended him to the club. 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 scored his first goal for the club on 1 October 1996, in a 2–2 draw with Crystal Palace at Fratton Park. 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 scored 17 goals in 49 games in the 1996–97 season, winning the club's Player of the Season award. He was also capped by England at under-21 level.

Manchester City

On 30 July 1997, he was purchased by Manchester City manager Frank Clark for a club record £3 million. Despite being the club's record transfer signing, chairman Francis Lee later claimed to have been on holiday in Portugal at the time and said that "we would definitely not have signed him if I had seen him play". He failed to score in his first six games for the club. He suffered a hairline fracture on his back, which caused him to be out of action from early October until early…

Bradbury was a hard-working forward with pace and strength.

AFC Bournemouth

On 15 January 2011, Bradbury was appointed as caretaker manager at AFC Bournemouth after the departure of Eddie Howe to Burnley. The next day, he announced his retirement from playing, and on 28 January, was given a two-and-a-half-year deal as permanent manager of the club. Bournemouth finished the 2010–11 season in sixth-place, going on to lose to Huddersfield Town in the play-off semi-finals after losing a penalty shoot-out. In January 2012, Bradbury signed an improved three-and-a-half-year contract to keep him at Bournemouth until the summer of 2015. However, he was given a vote of confidence by chairman Eddie Mitchell two months later after his side lost five successive league games. On 25 March, Bradbury was dismissed from Bournemouth following a run of poor form that left the club 13th in the table. The club won two of their remaining eight games under the stewardship of caretaker manager Paul Groves, who became the club's permanent manager at the end of the 2011–12 season.

Havant & Waterlooville

Bradbury was appointed manager of Conference South club Havant & Waterlooville on 9 October 2012. He was named as Conference South Manager of the Month for March 2013. Striker Ollie Palmer finished as the division's joint-top scorer as the club posted a tenth-place finish at the end of the 2012–13 season. Bradbury completed his UEFA A License in 2013. The Hawks finished sixth in 2013–14, missing out on a play-off place on goal difference. A…

Lee Michael Bradbury was born in Cowes, on the Isle of Wight on 3 July 1975. At 15, he wrote to all 92 clubs in the English Football League to request a trial. 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 Millie. Harvey became a professional footballer with numerous clubs, including Oxford United, leaving them as the first father and son to play for the club. Bradbury stood trial for assault in 2001 following an alleged fracas outside a nightclub. 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…