Lee Sidwell

Career

Crystal Palace Sidwell began his career with the youth academy of Colliers Wood United before he moved to Crystal Palace in 1991 at the age of fourteen; injuries forced him to leave the club in 1996.

First spell at Netherne/Netherne Village He then joined Combined Counties Football League club Netherne during the 1996–97 season, and he left the club when they were forced to drop out of the Combined Counties League in May 1999 as the Netherne C.A.S.C. did not have floodlights.

Chipstead Sidwell joined Combined Counties Football League club Chipstead ahead of the 1999–2000 season and he played alongside Netherne Village teammate Danny Oakins. He left in June 2001.

Second spell at Netherne Village He rejoined Netherne Village on a one-year deal during the 2001–02 Surrey County Senior League.

AFC Wimbledon

2002–03 He joined newly formed club AFC Wimbledon ahead of the 2002–03 Combined Counties League season alongside Danny Oakins. He debuted for AFC Wimbledon during their 3–2 win against Enfield Town in the inaugural Supporters Direct Cup on 12 August 2002 in which he also scored, and he also played during the 2–1 win against Sandhurst Town in their first ever league fixture on 17 August 2002. He then scored his first league goal for AFC Wimbledon during a 3–2 victory against Cove on 24 August 2002.

He scored all three goals during the 3–0 victory against Walton Casuals on 26 April 2003, and he won the 2002–03 AFC Wimbledon Player of the Year award as a result of scoring the hat-trick on the same day the voting forms were handed out to supporters.

2003–04 During 2003–04, Sidwell was often a substitute ahead of Andy Sullivan,

2004–05 He played two matches for AFC Wimbledon during the 2004–05 season.

After making 84 appearances and scoring 17 goals in all competitions, Sidwell left AFC Wimbledon in September 2004. where he won the Southern Combination Challenge Cup; he was back at Whyteleafe during the following season.

At the age of 32, he would end his footballing career at Whyteleafe during the 2009–10 season.

He played in a Whyteleafe Legends charity match on 18 January 2015.

Personal life Sidwell has a sister, Louise, and a brother, Steve. Steve was also a footballer between 2001 and 2018, and he spent most of his career playing for clubs in the Premier League.

Aside from being a footballer, he also worked as a scaffolder.

Career statistics

Honours Netherne Village

Surrey County Charity Cup: runner-up 2001–02

Chipstead Southern Combination Challenge Cup: 2007–08 AFC Wimbledon

Combined Counties Football League: 2003–04, third place 2002–03 Combined Counties League Premier Challenge Cup: 2003–04 Supporters Direct Cup: 2003

Individual AFC Wimbledon Player of the Year: 2002–03