Gordon Lee, one of the most controversial managers in Newcastle United's history, has died aged 87. During his two-year reign in the mid seventies Lee hit the heights steering United to the 1976 League Cup final at Wembley and a top-five finish confirmed shortly after he left the club.
However he also rocked Tyneside by selling Newcastle's N .9 legend Malcolm Macdonald and his ace goalmaker Terry Hibbitt. It left the club and the fans bitterly divided and Lee's folly was compounded when shortly afterwards in February of 1977 he upped and left for Everton.
The feeling was that if you sold a club's two most influential players you must stay and see the job through to its conclusion. Gordon was always destined to be a figure of debate taking over as he did from the much loved Joe Harvey who had won a lot with the club as player and manager including the European Fairs Cup.
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Lee, once a defender with Aston Villa, had built up a reputation as a bright young manager down the divisions at Blackburn Rovers and his arrival inevitably saw the Harvey backbone of the team replaced. To be fair Lee produced a side well organised and hard working but it lacked the flair and artistry the fans craved.
The dressing-room was split too between the Harvey disciples led by SuperMac and Lee's men headed by the likes of Geoff Nulty, Alan Gowling, Micky Burns and Tommy Craig. The trouble was Lee was always suspicious of the star system which put him in direct conflict with SuperMac, a swashbuckling centre-forward and England international.
That suspicion resurfaced at Everton where he got rid of their star striker Duncan McKenzie. He much preferred to promote young players from the club's academy.
However United did well in reaching the League Cup final of 76 0 still their only Wembley appearance in that particular competition - defeating Spurs over two legs in the semi-final. They were riddled by injury and a flu bug in the build-up to the showpiece match against Manchester City but performed superbly over the 90 minutes losing 2-1 only to the world class finish by Geordie Dennis Tueart.
Lee left suddenly with United poised for European qualification, something they achieved under the caretaker guidance of his No 2 Richard Dinnis. However the wheels came off the following season and Dinnis was sacked to bring an explosive short period in United's history to an end.
Gordon initially did extremely well at Everton but he was eventually sacked and his period in football's big time was at an end. Lee spent four years at Goodison Park between 1977 and 1981 and reached the League Cup final again during his first half-season.
The Blues took Villa to two replays before succumbing 3-2 at a third time of asking at Old Trafford. They also reached two FA Cup semi-finals and successive top-four finishes before his time was up.
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