Lee Paul Roche (born 28 October 1980) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. He played as a right sided full-back but could also play on the right of midfield.

Club career

Manchester United

Roche started his career as a trainee at

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

but made only one substitute appearance in the league against Newcastle United. He also started a League Cup game against Arsenal and a Champions League tie against Deportivo la Coruna. During his time with the 'Red Devils' the young full-back was loaned out to

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

for the 2000–01 season, and was a key member of the team for the entire season, playing in 41 of the 46 league games.

Burnley

At the end of 2003 Roche was released on a free transfer from Manchester United.

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

were the team to take advantage of this situation with then manager

Stan Ternent Francis Stanley Ternent (born 16 June 1946) is an English former footballer and manager. He managed Blackpool, Hull City, Bury, Burnley, Gillingham and Huddersfield Town. He was a scout for Hull City until January 2017. As a manager, he won ...

using his connections to the

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

club to sign the promising youngster to a two-year deal. In his first season, Roche wasn't a first team regular, despite scoring an outstanding 25-yard volley against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

on his debut. Towards the end of the 2003–04 season though, he began to push the previous right back,

Dean West Dean West (born 5 December 1972) is an English former professional footballer. He is now a coach for Lincoln City youth team and centre of excellence. He is best known as a right sided full-back, but can also play in midfield if needed. Throug ...

out of the side. Unfortunately for Roche, Ternent's contract wasn't renewed and

Steve Cotterill Stephen John Cotterill (born 20 July 1964) is an English coach and former player who is currently the manager of National League side Forest Green Rovers. Cotterill, a striker, had a nine-year career as a footballer playing for Burton Albio ...

was appointed as the new manager at

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C., Burnley Football Club since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in Footbal ...

. Cotterill did not rate Roche as highly as Ternent had done, and brought in Mike Duff from

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

instead. Roche still featured in the team fairly regularly though, but out of position on the right side of midfield where he looked much less comfortable. Roche scored his only other Burnley goal in a famous 2–1 victory at

Elland Road Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...

against

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

Wrexham

After his two-year contract with Burnley expired, Roche returned to play for Wrexham in the summer of 2005. He scored on his second debut for the club against Boston United. At the end of the 2006–07 season Roche was released by Wrexham after a disappointing season in which they just avoided relegation to the

Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...

Later career

He joined

Droylsden Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester and west of Ashton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, in the mid-19th cen ...

in 2007, staying with the club until February 2011.

International career

Roche made one appearance for the England under-21s; he started the 2−2 draw with

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

during

qualifying Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

for the

2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2002 was the 13th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship. The final tournament was hosted by Switzerland between 16 and 28 May 2002. Czech Republic U-21s won the competition for the first time. Qu ...

Retirement

Following a sequence of injuries and falling out of love with the game, Roche retired from football at age 27. He now works as a plumber and cavity wall remover and also coaches the Bury under-11 side.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roche, Lee 1980 births Living people Footballers from Bolton English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Manchester United F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Droylsden F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players National League (English football) players 21st-century English sportsmen