Lee Richard Samuel Mansell (born 23 September 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played for Luton Town, Nuneaton Borough, Oxford United, Torquay United and Bristol Rovers. He is currently a Players Services Executive at the Professional Footballers' Association.

Lee Mansell
Mansell playing for Bristol Rovers in 2016
Personal information
Full name Lee Richard Samuel Mansell
Date of birth (1982-09-23) 23 September 1982 (age 42)
Place of birth Gloucester, England
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
0000–2000 Luton Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2005 Luton Town 47 (8)
2003Nuneaton Borough (loan) 5 (2)
2005–2006 Oxford United 44 (1)
2006–2014 Torquay United 339 (23)
2014–2017 Bristol Rovers 81 (7)
Total 516 (41)
Managerial career
2021–2022 Gloucester City
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Mansell was born in Gloucester and began his career as a trainee with Luton Town, turning professional with the Hatters in August 2000. He made his first-team debut on 17 January 2001 in a 2–1 defeat away to Queens Park Rangers in an FA Cup 3rd Round Replay, with his league debut coming 6 days later in a 2–0 defeat away to Oldham Athletic.

He had a spell on loan with Nuneaton Borough in March 2003,[1] scoring twice in five games. He returned to Luton, but was released at the end of the 2004–05 season, having scored 8 times in 47 league games. He moved to Oxford United in June 2005,[2] and played 44 times the following season as Oxford were relegated to the Conference.

Torquay United

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He was transferred to Torquay United, one of the sides to survive at Oxford's expense on the last day of the previous season, on 5 July 2006 for an undisclosed fee.[3] He was a regular in Torquay's side in the 2006–07 season but, for a second season in a row, the side he played for was relegated to the Conference National.

Mansell was Torquay's captain, and most-capped player ahead of defender Chris Robertson. He was awarded the captaincy in 2010, after Nicky Wroe was dropped for inconsistency and subsequently moved to Shrewsbury Town on 31 January 2011.

He made an excellent start to the 2011–12 season, scoring on the opening day at Plainmoor to rescue a point against Burton Albion on 6 August 2011[4] before scoring again in a midweek League Cup tie against Southampton, netting Torquay's consolation in a 4–1 loss.

Upon his departure from the club in 2014, Mansell had made 381 appearances in all competitions for Torquay United, placing him sixth on Torquay United all-time appearance list.[5]

Bristol Rovers

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On 26 June 2014 Lee signed a two-year deal at Bristol Rovers, turning down a one-year deal with Torquay United.[5]

Mansell made his competitive debut for Bristol Rovers in a goalless draw against Grimsby Town on 9 August 2014, Rovers' first game in the Conference Premier.[6] He scored his first goal for the club on 16 August 2014, in a 2–1 defeat away against Altrincham.[7] Despite a difficult start to the season, in which the club picked up just eight points from the first seven games, Rovers finished second behind Barnet by one point.[8] After beating Forest Green Rovers in the semi-final,[9] Rovers faced a repeat of their opening day fixture with Grimsby Town. Mansell scored the winning penalty in a 5–3 shootout victory at Wembley Stadium on 17 May 2015 as Bristol Rovers returned to the Football League after a one-season absence.[10]

After scoring the winning penalty, the following season Lee went onto score 2 goals in 29 appearances as Bristol Rovers achieved a second successive promotion with a 92nd-minute winner scored by Lee Brown against Dagenham & Redbridge.[11] On 14 June 2016 Lee signed a new deal to remain with the club.[12]

Mansell's third season at the club saw him limited to just 10 appearances in all competitions. Manager Darrell Clarke revealed that Mansell would not be offered a new contract at the end of the season but would be offered the new role of Professional Development Phase Coach working within the club's academy,[13] an offer Mansell indicated he would accept and confirmed his retirement from the professional game in an interview BBC Radio Bristol.[14][15] After 4 seasons in this role, Mansell left Bristol Rovers at the end of the 2020–21 season.[16]

Career statistics

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Source:[17]

Club Season Division League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Luton Town 2000–01 Division Two 18 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 19 6
Luton Town 2001–02 Division Three 11 1 0 0 1 0 1[a] 0 13 1
Luton Town 2002–03 Division Two 1 0 0 0 0 0 2[a] 0 3 0
Luton Town 2003–04 Division Two 16 2 5 1 0 0 3[a] 0 24 3
Luton Town 2004–05 League One 1 0 0 0 1 0 1[a] 0 3 0
Total 47 8 6 2 2 0 7 0 62 10
Nuneaton Borough (loan) 2002–03 Conference 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2
Total 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2
Oxford United 2005–06 League Two 44 1 4 0 1 0 2[a] 1 51 2
Total 44 1 4 0 1 0 2 1 51 2
Torquay United 2006–07 League Two 45 4 4 0 1 0 1[a] 0 51 4
Torquay United 2007–08 Conference Premier 36 1 2 0 0 0 3[b] 0 41 1
Torquay United 2008–09 Conference Premier 44 0 4 0 0 0 1[b] 0 49 0
Torquay United 2009–10 League Two 39 2 3 0 0 0 1[a] 0 43 2
Torquay United 2010–11 League Two 45 0 4 0 1 0 5[c][d] 0 55 0
Torquay United 2011–12 League Two 45 12 2 0 1 1 3[e][f] 0 51 13
Torquay United 2012–13 League Two 42 2 1 0 1 0 1[a] 0 45 2
Torquay United 2013–14 League Two 43 2 1 0 1 0 1[a] 0 46 2
Total 339 23 21 0 5 1 16 0 381 24
Bristol Rovers 2014–15 Conference Premier 44 5 1 0 0 0 3[g] 0 48 5
Bristol Rovers 2015–16 League Two 28 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 29 2
Bristol Rovers 2016–17 League Two 9 0 0 0 0 0 1[a] 0 10 0
Total 81 7 2 0 0 0 4 0 87 7
Career total 516 41 33 2 8 1 29 1 586 45
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
  3. ^ 2 appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  4. ^ 3 appearance(s) in League Two play-offs
  5. ^ 1 appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  6. ^ 2 appearance(s) in League Two play-offs
  7. ^ Appearance(s) in Conference play-offs

Coaching career

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On 25 September 2021, Mansell was appointed interim manager of National League North club Gloucester City following the sacking of Paul Groves.[18] On 13 November, Mansell picked up his first win as manager as Bristol Rovers loanee Ollie Hulbert, whom had worked closely with Mansell in the Development Squad at Rovers, scored a double as Gloucester defeated Farsley Celtic 2–0.[19] After the match, Mansell was given the job until the end of the 2021–22 season.[20] Mansell was sacked by the club on 29 September 2022 with Gloucester sitting in 15th position after ten matches.[21]

Post-Playing Career

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In February 2023, Mansell was appointed as a Players Services Executive at the Professional Footballers' Association.[22]

Honours

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Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Busy Boro". NonLeagueDaily. 28 March 2003. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ "Mansell leaves Luton for Oxford". BBC News. 7 June 2005. Retrieved 2 December 2008.
  3. ^ "Torquay sign Mansell from Oxford". BBC Sport. 5 July 2006. Retrieved 2 December 2008.
  4. ^ "Torquay 2-2 Burton Albion". BBC Sport. 6 August 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  5. ^ a b "Lee Mansell: Bristol Rovers sign Torquay United captain". BBC Sport. 26 June 2014.
  6. ^ "Bristol Rovers 0-0 Grimsby Town". BBC Sport. 9 August 2014.
  7. ^ "Altrincham 2-1 Grimsby Town". BBC Sport. 16 August 2014.
  8. ^ "ROVERS THRASH ALFRETON BUT MISS OUT ON TOP SPOT". Bristol Rovers FC. 25 April 2015.
  9. ^ "Bristol Rovers 2-0 Forest Green Rovers". BBC Sport. 3 May 2015.
  10. ^ "Bristol Rovers 1-1 Grimsby Town". BBC Sport. 17 May 2015.
  11. ^ "Bristol Rovers 2-1 Dagenham & Redbridge". BBC Sport. 7 May 2016.
  12. ^ "Lee Mansell: Bristol Rovers midfielder signs new deal". BBC Sport. 14 June 2016.
  13. ^ "RETAINED LIST". Bristol Rovers F.C. 28 April 2017.
  14. ^ "INTERVIEW: Lee Mansell". Bristol Rovers F.C. YouTube. 1 May 2017. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Lee Mansell to Manage Development Squad". Bristol Rovers F.C. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  16. ^ "First Team Staff Changes". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 12 May 2021.
  17. ^ "Lee Mansell | Football Stats | No Club | Age 41 | 2000-2017 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com.
  18. ^ "Club Statement from Alex Peteram". www.gloucestercityafc.com. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  19. ^ "Report: Gloucester City 2–0 Farsley Celtic". www.farsleyceltic.com. 14 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  20. ^ Barnett, Charlie (15 November 2021). "Ollie Hulbert earns Gloucester City first win under Lee Mansell as interim boss stays on for rest of season". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  21. ^ "Club Statement : Lee Mansell". www.gloucestercityafc.com. 29 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  22. ^ "Mansell transfers 17 years of playing experience to new role supporting players". www.thepfa.com. 9 February 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  23. ^ "Arsenal striker Robin van Persie named PFA Player of the Year". BBC Sport. 22 April 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  24. ^ "Rovers players in team of the season". Bristol Rovers. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
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