Richard Lee

Watford

2002–2004

Born in Oxford, Lee joined the academy at Watford at the age of 11 from Bedgrove Dynamos and progressed through the ranks to become a reserve team regular during the 2001–02 season, learning from player-goalkeeping coach Kevin Hitchcock. Lee received his maiden first team call up for a First Division match versus Barnsley on 23 March 2002 and he remained an unused substitute during the 2–0 defeat. Incoming manager Ray Lewington promoted Lee to second-choice goalkeeper ahead of Espen Baardsen for the 2002–03 season and he made his senior debut in a 1–0 defeat to Preston North End on 4 March 2003. He made three further appearances (keeping a clean sheet in each match) before the Hornets closed out a mid-table season. Lee began the 2003–04 season as second-choice behind Alec Chamberlain, but a broken arm and the form of loanee Lenny Pidgeley saw Lee fail to make a single appearance during the season.

2004–2007

Lee went on to establish himself as Watford's first choice goalkeeper during the 2004–05 Championship season, making 38 appearances and signing a new 3+1⁄2-year contract, before a ruptured biceps and a torn cartilage prematurely ended his season. He played in every match of the Hornets' run to the League Cup semi-finals, but he missed the two-legged tie against Liverpool due to a broken cheekbone suffered in a defeat to Coventry City a month previously. Out of favour with Watford manager Aidy Boothroyd, Lee joined Premier…

Lee was capped by England at U18 and U20 level and made two substitute appearances for the latter team. He was called up to the U21 squad, but did not make an appearance.

Since June 2009, Lee has been a director of GK Icon, a goalkeeper training franchise. In 2012, Lee gained part one of his UEFA 'B' coaching license. Together with amateur footballer Rob Lovesey, in April 2011 Lee co-founded Sporting Connect, a football social network. Through the network, Lee is involved in youth coaching. He also mentors and acts as an agent for goalkeepers through sports management company Refuel Performance Management, in which he is a partner with former Brentford teammate Scott Barron.

Lee grew up in Aylesbury and is a Manchester United supporter. In January 2012, Lee published Graduation: Life Lessons of a Professional Footballer, a book detailing his experiences with Brentford during the 2010–11 season. The same year, Lee enrolled on a two-year PFA degree in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting at Staffordshire University, from which he graduated with honours in July 2014. Throughout 2013, Lee contributed to the Footballers' Football Column in the Daily Mail. He appeared on Channel 4's Couples Come Dine With Me with his then fiancée Marina Nigrelli on 7 May 2015. After retiring from professional football in May 2015, Lee began contributing to Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday as a pundit and reporter and working as a motivational speaker.

Business interests

On 31 August 2006, Lee appeared on the BBC programme Dragons' Den, where he and a partner managed to sell 50% of the equity in their company Dr. Cap to the entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne for an investment of £150,000. The investment deal later collapsed. Lee resigned as a director of the company in September 2015. In 2012, Lee set up the social media platform The Goalkeeper's Union (GKU), which features goalkeeping-related news, interviews, podcasts and blogs. In December 2014, Lee set up dickieleecoffee.com, through which he initially distributed Organo Gold coffee products. He co-founded the Bean Team (a multi-level marketing product distribution group) with former Brentford teammate…