Sammy Lee

Bolton Wanderers Lee went to Bolton Wanderers in September 2005, as assistant to Sam Allardyce. He was offered the role of manager of the England U21s in July 2006, but turned the move down and also left the senior England set-up. He was given the affectionate nickname of "Little Sam" in contrast to Allardyce who was known as "Big Sam" by the Bolton Fans.

Allardyce left Bolton in April 2007 and Lee was confirmed as his replacement shortly afterwards. After only winning one league game from eleven matches, he was sacked in October 2007, becoming the second Premier League manager to be sacked in that season. He was also linked to the assistant manager position at Leeds United under Gary McAllister. He became the firm favourite to become assistant coach to Rafa Benitez following Alex Miller's departure from Liverpool and officially returned to the club when appointed on 16 May 2008.

In November 2008, upon his return to the Reebok Stadium for the first time since his departure, Lee stated that he bore no animosity towards the hierarchy at Bolton or their supporters, the Wanderers crowd responded by giving him a round of applause in appreciation of his spells as player and assistant manager.

Liverpool On 16 May 2008, Lee took up the role of assistant manager to Rafael Benítez after signing a two-year contract. On 21 December 2008, he took charge of Liverpool for the first time in a 1–1 draw with Arsenal due to Rafael Benítez being ill with kidney stones.

On 26 August 2009, Lee was sent off by referee Phil Dowd in a 2–1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur, and was charged with improper conduct by the Football Association on 19 August 2009. He left Liverpool in June 2011 by mutual consent having remained at the club for the duration of Roy Hodgson’s tenure and the return of Kenny Dalglish.

Return to Bolton On 14 February 2012, Lee returned to Bolton for a third time, being appointed as the Head of Academy Coaching. His new role saw him take a senior role working alongside fellow ex-Wanderers players and Academy coaches Jimmy Phillips, Tony Kelly, David Lee, Nicky Spooner and Gavin McCann.

On 9 October 2012, after Owen Coyle's sacking, Lee and Jimmy Phillips were named joint-caretaker managers. However, Phillips took charge of first team affairs, with Lee joining up with Julian Darby to assist him.

Southampton On 27 June 2014, Lee agreed to leave Bolton to join Brighton & Hove Albion as assistant manager to Sami Hyypia, with both knowing each other from their time together at Liverpool. However, on 29 June it was announced that he would instead take a coaching position with Southampton, alongside newly appointed manager Ronald Koeman. Lee left Southampton at the end of June 2016, following Koeman's departure and the appointment of Claude Puel as manager.

England On 25 July 2016, it was announced that Lee had rejoined Sam Allardyce as a member of England's coaching staff. He left the role in December 2016, following the appointment of Gareth Southgate as manager.

Crystal Palace After Sam Allardyce was appointed Crystal Palace manager, Lee was appointed his assistant on 10 January 2017.

After the departure of Allardyce from Selhurst Park at the end of the 2016–17 season, Lee continued as assistant manager under the club's new manager, Frank de Boer. In September 2017, after de Boer's departure, Lee also left the club.

Everton On 1 December 2017, Lee was appointed assistant manager at Everton following the appointment of Sam Allardyce as manager the previous day. He departed Everton on 16 May 2018 following the sacking of Allardyce.

West Bromwich Albion On 16 December 2020, Lee was appointed assistant head coach to Sam Allardyce after his appointment as manager at West Bromwich Albion.

Career statistics

Club

Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lee goal.

Managerial statistics

Honours Liverpool Football League First Division: 1979-80, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86 League Cup: 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84 FA Charity Shield: 1979, 1980, 1982, 1986 (shared) European Cup: 1980–81, 1983–84

England Under 21 UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 1982