Full Name: Lee Makel
Date of Birth: 11th January 1973, Sunderland
Nationality: English
Position: Centre Midfield
Internationals: None
Signed: 1992 (from Newcastle)
Left: 1995 (to Huddersfield Town)
Clubs (Prior to Rovers): Newcastle United
Lee Makel signed for Blackburn Rovers in 1992 and was one of ‘King’ Kenny Dalglish’s first signings.
Touted as the next Paul Gascoigne, Rovers paid Newcastle a fee of £160,000 for Makel’s services after only recently breaking into their first team, making 12 appearances and scoring 1 goal.
During the course of Makel’s career at Blackburn, he made only 6 appearances for the senior team before leaving the club in 1995.
A move to Huddersfield Town, where Make would play over 60 games for the Terriers before SPL team, Hearts came knocking in 1998. A fee of £75,000 was agreed and Makel was on his way to the Scottish Premier League.
Makel played 50 games for the ‘Jambos’ which included helping them win the Scottish cup in 1998. During his time there Makel was loaned to Portsmouth but never made an appearance in their first team.
In 2001, former Hearts manager Jim Jefferies, by now manager of Bradford City, signed Makel, although he only made 13 appearances. This return to English football was a brief one however, before moving back to Scotland in the December, this time with Livingston.
Makel played over 80 matches for Livingston and was involved in their promotion into the SPL, a place in the UEFA Cup the following season and the 2003/2004 Scottish League Cup.
2004 saw Plymouth acquire his services although Makel was not a regular in the side and only remained at Home Park for the 1 season before returning to Scotland and Dunfermline Athletic before returning to Livingston in 2006.
The above information is as accurate to my knowledge as possible, up to and including 19th June 2007.
