Lee Bullen

Lee Bullen
Personal information
Full name Lee Bullen
Date of birth 29 March 1971 (1971-03-29) (age 40)
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Centre back, striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988-1989 Dunfermline Athletic 0 (0)
1989-1990 Penicuik Athletic 17 (12)
1990 Meadowbank Thistle 12 (0)
1990-1991 Stenhousemuir 22 (4)
1991-1993 Whitburn 36 (25)
1993 CYC Stanmore 8 (2)
1993 Wollongong Wolves 0 (0)
1993-1994 Kui Tan ? (?)
1994-1997 Golden ? (30)
1997 South China ? (0)
1997-1998 Instant-Dict ? (0)
1998-2000 Kalamata 50 (11)
2000-2004 Dunfermline Athletic 130 (22)
2004-2008 Sheffield Wednesday 134 (8)
2008-2011 Falkirk 41 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:56, 25 January 2010 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Lee Bullen (Chinese: 李 布倫, born 29 March 1971 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish football player and coach. In a career that has spanned more than 20 years, Bullen has played football professionally in Scotland, England, Australia, Greece and Hong Kong. Having started his career as a striker, Bullen converted to defence midway through his career, and has also been used in various other positions.

Contents

Career

Bullen started his career in Scotland with Dunfermline Athletic, but failed to make an appearance before moving to Penicuik Athletic, a Junior Football team. Bullen then spent time at Meadowbank Thistle, Stenhousemuir and Whitburn. After failing to become an established player at a professional club in Scotland, Bullen moved to Australia to pursue his footballing career, playing for CYC Stanmore and Wollongong Wolves.

During his time in Australia, Bullen was scouted by Chinese club Kui Tan, and he made the switch to China. Once playing in China, he played for Golden for 3 years followed by a year at South China in the Hong Kong Football League. On 26 May 1996, Bullen played for a Hong Kong XI side in an unofficial friendly against England in their build up to Euro 96.[1] Bullen played for Instant-Dict during the 1997-98 season during which the team were champions of the Hong Kong First Division.

In 1998 Bullen moved to Greece and spent 2 years at Kalamata in the Greek Football League.

In 2000 at the age of 29, Bullen returned to Scotland, signing for Dunfermline Athletic. Bullen spent five years at the Scottish club.

After leading Dunfermline to the Scottish Cup Final, Bullen moved to English club Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer in the summer of 2004. He immediately became an integral part of their Play-Off push after making his debut on 7 August in a 3–0 defeat on the opening day of the season at Hillsborough against Colchester United and scoring his first goal the next game on 10 August, away at Blackpool to lead the team to a 2–1 victory. In November 2005 the Captain's armband was passed onto him by Chris Marsden who was forced into retirement by injury. Bullen finished his first season in Sheffield with seven league goals.

During his time at Sheffield Wednesday he played in all eleven positions for the Owls,[2] including memorably in goal away at Millwall,[3] and received The Wash & Go good sport award for his efforts.[4]

In January 2008 Bullen was informed by Sheffield Wednesday manager Brian Laws that he would not have his contract renewed upon its expiry at the end of the 2007–08 season.[5]

Bullen's final appearance for Sheffield Wednesday came in a crucial relegation battle against Leicester City on the penultimate game of the season which the Owls won 3–1, sadly an injury sustained in this game denied him an appearance for the last match of the season versus Norwich City on 4 May 2008 and a chance to play at Hillsborough for the last time. He did however appear in the end of season lap-of-honour and received a spectacular reception from the fans. Bullen was given a Guard of honour by his Wednesday team mates as he left the pitch for the final time.

In May 2008, Bullen joined Scottish Premier League side Falkirk on a two-year deal.[6] Bullen later became an assistant coach at Falkirk. He left Falkirk in October 2011 to move to Sheffield, where his wife runs an estate agency business.[7]

Career statistics

(Correct as of 22 November 2009)
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Dunfermline 1999–00 13 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 7
2000–01 24 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 28 4
2001–02 27 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 30 4
2002–03 35 5 6 1 0 0 0 0 41 6
2003–04 27 2 8 1 0 0 0 0 35 3
Total 126 22 21 2 0 0 0 0 147 24
Sheffield Wednesday 2004–05 46 7 2 0 0 0 4 0 52 7
2005–06 28 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 30 0
2006–07 38 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 41 1
2007–08 22 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 23 1
Total 134 8 10 1 0 0 4 0 148 9
Falkirk 2008–09 32 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2009-10 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Recent career totals 260 30 31 3 0 0 4 0 295 33

Honours

Instant-Dict
Sheffield Wednesday
Individual

References

External links