Mark Lever
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Mark Lever (born 29 March 1970) 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 ...
and coach who played as a defender from 1988 until 2005. Lever came through the youth ranks at
Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...
in 1988. He became a first team regular in the early nineties and was part of the team that won promotion via the
Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...
play-off final and the
Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...
during the 1997–98 season. Lever spent the first twelve years of his career with Grimsby and departed the club in 2000 when he joined
Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...
. Injuries prevented him from making a real impact at Ashton Gate and after two years he moved on again to
Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...
. In 2003, he dropped out of professional football and joined Non-league Ilkeston Town before finishing his career in 2004 whilst on loan with Ossett Albion. In 2008, he was appointed to the coaching staff of
Bridlington Town Bridlington Town Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They were founded in 1918 and currently play in the . History The club was founded in 1918 as Bridlington Centr ...
, briefly making the step up to manager in 2009.


Career


Grimsby Town

Lever came through the youth ranks at
Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...
and was promoted to the club's first team squad by
Alan Buckley Alan Peter Buckley (born 20 April 1951) is an English former professional footballer and football manager who now works as a sports co-commentator for BBC Humberside. As a player, he was a forward from 1967 to 1987 for Nottingham Forest, ...
at the beginning of the 1987–1988 season. He naturally soon became one of the club's regular centre backs, and found himself slotting in at the side of veteran centre half Paul Futcher. Lever received the club's "Supporters Young Player of The Season" awards in both 1989 and 1991. He went on to be an integral part of the Town side that earned two back to back promotions in 1990 and 1991. When Futcher moved on, Grimsby nurtured in
Peter Handyside Peter David Handyside (31 July 1974 – 9 February 2024) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a centre-back from 1992 until 2007. Despite being Scottish, Handyside played his entire career in England, having initially came thr ...
as his long-term replacement, and both players were part of an iconic Mariners defensive line up in the nineties that included the likes of
Gary Croft Gary Croft (born 17 February 1974) is an English former professional footballer and co-commentator for BBC Radio Humberside. As a player he was a left back from 1992 until 2008, as well as briefly coming out of retirement in 2015. He notably ...
,
Graham Rodger Graham Rodger (born 1 April 1967) is an English football coach, former professional footballer and scout. As a player, he was a defender from 1984 until 1998 for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Coventry City and Luton Town before finishing his care ...
, John McDermott and Tony Gallimore. Arguably Lever's most successful season was the 1997–1998 campaign, in which Grimsby bounced back from relegation the previous season, to clinch promotion back to the
First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...
via a 1–0 victory over
Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...
at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
in the
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
play-off final. Also before the final victory, Grimsby, aided by Lever defeated
AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...
at Wembley in the
Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...
final with a 2–1 scoreline. Lever continued to play for The Mariners in the 1998–1999, and 1999–2000 campaigns, and was also used as a makeshift captain in the absence of Paul Groves on several occasions. Lever's contract expired with The Mariners in the summer of 2000, and he opted to leave
Blundell Park Blundell Park is a football ground in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England and home to Grimsby Town Football Club. The stadium was built in 1899, but only one of the original stands remains. The current capacity of the ground is 9,05 ...
. In his time at Grimsby, he made over 400 appearances in all competitions, scoring a total of 8 goals, he made his final appearance against
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...
in the final league game of the season, a few weeks after this match, Lever received the "Supporters Player of The Season" for the 1999–2000 campaign. Lever is considered to this day to be a cult hero by Grimsby Town supporters, and is one of the most successful players in the club's history.


Bristol City

After 12 years at Grimsby, Lever dropped down a division and signed for
Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...
in July 2000 on a free transfer, and naturally became the main candidate to be the club captain. However his first season, was ruined by injury, after making his debut on the opening day of the season in a 2–0 defeat against
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 ...
, Lever went on to feature in two more games, before injury ruled him out for the rest of the 2000–2001 campaign. The following season was more successful for Lever, as he completed 34 games in all competitions, coupled with a single goal in a 3–0 victory over
Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...
on 2 February 2002. At the end of the 2001–2002 campaign, City decided not to renew Lever's two-year contract and he was released.


Mansfield Town

In August 2002, Lever signed for newly promoted Second Division side
Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...
. He made his debut for The Stags in the 2–0 derby defeat against local rivals Chesterfield on 28 August 2002. Lever would only go on to make 15 league appearances for Town in the 2002–2003 season, while also playing in the 3–0
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
defeat against
Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...
on 7 December. Lever was released by the club at the end of the season, thus bringing to end his career playing in the professional leagues. The FA Cup defeat with Crewe, turned out to be his final game for the club, and in professional football.


Ilkeston Town

Lever signed a one-year deal with
Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...
outfit Ilkeston Town at the start of the 2003–2004 season. This would be his first taste of the Non League football circuit, and he notably formed a defensive partnership with former
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...
stalwart
Steve Chettle Stephen John Chettle (born 27 September 1968) is an English football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a defender from 1986 to 2005 and was best known for his time as a player at Nottingham Forest where he made 41 ...
. Lever signed a one-year contract extension for the 2004–2005 season, and during this season he had fallen out of favour within the Ilkeston playing squads, thus opening up a loan move too lowly
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
amateur side Ossett Albion. He remained with Albion for two months before returning too Ilkeston. Lever was released by Town in May 2005, and subsequently retired from playing competitive football aged 35.


Style of play

Lever, was described as "A big, old-fashioned centre-half that bullies strikers."


Coaching career

In 2009 Lever briefly managed
Bridlington Town Bridlington Town Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They were founded in 1918 and currently play in the . History The club was founded in 1918 as Bridlington Centr ...
.


Honours


Grimsby Town

*
Division Four The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Following the creation of the Premier L ...
runners up, Promoted: 1990 *
Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the Third Division become the fourth tier of English football. In 2 ...
3rd place, Promoted: 1991 *
Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...
winner: 1998 * Division Two Play-off winner: 1998 *Supporters Player of the Year: 2000 *Supporters Young Player of the Year: 1989, 1991


References


External links

*
Electronic Fishcake
Player Profile
Bristol City Net
Player Profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Lever, Mark 1970 births Living people Footballers from Beverley English men's footballers Grimsby Town F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Ilkeston Town F.C. (1945) players English Football League players Men's association football defenders