Date / Year of birth: 5th November 1975

Position: Right-back / Midfielder

Season of first appearance: 2005/06

Season of last appearance: 2006/07

Also played for: Walthamstow Pennant, St.Margaretsbury, Ruislip Manor, Yeading, Enfield, Aldershot Town, Canvey Island, Gravesend & Northfleet, Chelmsford City, St.Albans City, Welling United, Wealdstone, Harlow Town, Enfield Town, Uxbridge and Ware

Versatile dead-ball specialist who started his career in the Spartan League with Walthamstow Pennant and then St.Margaretsbury before moving into Isthmian League football with Ruislip Manor.

In June 1996 Lee was signed by Yeading and he played regularly for them in the Isthmian League Premier Division during the 1996/97 and 1997/98 seasons.

Lee's next move took him to Enfield in July 1998 and he went on to make 74 Isthmian League Premier Division appearances (four as sub) there before joining Aldershot in the summer of 2000.

During the 2000/01 campaign Lee scored nine goals from 38 outings (four as sub) for the Shots as they finished fourth in the Isthmian League Premier Division and during 2001/02 he played 56 times (five as sub) and scored four goals as Aldershot finished third in the league.

After turning down a new contract at Aldershot Lee signed for Canvey Island in August 2002 and he scored ten goals from 37 appearances (seven as sub) during 2002/03 as the club finished second in the Isthmian League Premier Division. Future Margate striker Bertie Brayley was also part of Canvey's squad at the time.

Lee started the 2003/04 season at Canvey too but after making 17 appearances (nine as sub) without scoring during the opening months of the campaign he was loaned to Gravesend & Northfleet at the end of 2003.

In its report on Margate's 2-1 defeat at Gravesend in a Conference game on 1.1.04 the Thanet Times said "Gate fans were enraged when Fleet's Lee Protheroe threw himself to the floor holding his face when no Margate player was near him" and Lee ended up joining the Fleet on a permanent basis in April 2004.

He made 50 appearances (five as sub) and scored three goals for Gravesend during 2004/05 as well as playing for an FA X1 in a representative match. Lee then made 21 appearances (four as sub) for the Fleet during 2005/06 before joining Margate on loan in March 2006.

He made his debut in midfield in an Isthmian League Premier Division game at Billericay on 25.3.06 and the Thanet Times said Lee was "easily Margate's best player" during a 4-1 defeat. The paper also added "his extra class showed and his distribution was excellent" and Lee was fixture in the side from then on. In its report on a 2-1 home defeat against Heybridge on 1.4.06 the Thanet Times described Lee as a "class act" and said "he's a good talker in the middle of the park, he passes the ball better than anybody else and he has an eye for goal".

Shortly after the Heybridge game Gravesend & Northfleet announced that they'd terminated Lee's contract due to what the club described as "gross misconduct" relating to a Conference game at Stevenage in March 2006. An official club statement read "On the morning of the match at Stevenage, Lee was in communication with a Stevenage player and informed him of how he thought Liam (Daish) would play that day. Lee has admitted this fact, and although the board accept that the Stevenage player was a friend of Lee's, after due consideration, the board decided that his actions amounted to gross misconduct and terminated his contract. Lee has appealed against this decision and the matter has now been passed to the FA and the Conference." A few days later the FA upheld Lee's appeal by ruling that he couldn't be sacked.

On 4.4.06 he was back in action for Margate and the Isle of Thanet Gazette said Lee "again impressed" in a 1-1 draw with Windsor & Eton at Hartsdown Park that turned out to be manager Chris Kinnear's last game in charge. Lee was then appointed as captain by new caretaker player-manager Robin Trott and his first game as skipper was a 1-0 win at Hampton & Richmond on 8.4.06. On the last day of the season - 29.4.06 - Lee scored his first goal for Margate in a 4-2 home win over Hendon and he ended the campaign having made eight appearances during his loan spell.

In May 2006 Lee was signed on a permanent basis and several of his former Gravesend colleagues joined him at Hartsdown Park. A few days before the start of the 2006/07 season Robin Trott spoke to the Isle of Thanet Gazette about Lee and said "Used to be a right-back but has a new position in centre-midfield. He's very good on the floor, good with a dead ball or a moving ball and can pick players out, especially passing side to side."

Lee started the first 15 matches of the new campaign, usually playing in midfield but sometimes wearing the number two shirt, and on 5.9.06 he got his first goal of the season with a 25-yard volley in a 2-0 win at Walton & Hersham. The Isle of Thanet Gazette's report said that Lee's "distribution was excellent". After a 2-1 home defeat against Potters Bar in the FA Cup on 14.10.06 he missed two games due to injury and Lee marked his return to action by scoring in a 4-0 win at Leyton on 28.10.06. The Thanet Times said it was "a quite superb goal" as he thumped home a shot from 25 yards and from then on Lee always played in midfield wearing the number four shirt.

On 11.11.06 he got his third goal of the campaign in a 2-0 win over Hampton & Richmond at Hartsdown Park and the Thanet Times described it as an "absolute beauty from 30 yards" as Lee "arrowed home a brilliant strike into the top corner". The paper said it was "a goal he's probably still talking about" but player-manager Robin Trott responded by saying "I didn't even talk to him about it, it's not worth it. It was a good goal and Proths is a great player on his day but that's it."

Lee was on target again in a 4-1 home win over Hendon on 16.12.06 but on 13.1.07 he was involved in a first half incident with team-mate Jay Saunders as Margate beat visitors Worthing 2-1. The Thanet Times said Saunders "appeared to take exception to a half-hearted Protheroe tackle and let his team-mate know what he thought" forcing the referee to intervene in the argument. Robin Trott told the paper that his assistant Mike Flanagan had dealt with the situation at the interval and said "Mick laid into Proths at half-time...I didn't have a problem with it at all, but it went on too long to be honest. When the referee calls over two of your players and warns them it's a bit embarrassing."

The Thanet Times said Lee "kept things ticking over with some quality passing" in a 0-0 draw at AFC Wimbledon on 3.3.07 but towards the end of the season he fell out favour and a 2-2 draw with Slough at Windsor & Eton on 7.4.07 turned out to be his last start for Margate. Lee then featured as a substitute in three of the last four games of the campaign and his last outing from the bench came in a 1-0 defeat at Hendon on 28.4.07. He'd scored four times in 43 appearances (six as sub) during the season.

In May 2007 Lee was released and Robin Trott told the Thanet Times "Proths had a decent season and was involved in many of our wins. He loves the club, brings so much to a game and is one of the best passers you'll ever see. But when Steve McKimm - who did a lot of his graft - got injured we didn't have the right type of player around him. He's a player you can have when the chips are up but not when the chips are down at this level."

Lee joined Chelmsford for the start of the 2007/08 campaign and scored six goals from 28 Isthmian League Premier Division appearances (one as sub) as the club won the title.

In August 2008 he moved on to Conference South outfit St.Albans but Lee only made five appearances there (one as sub) before being released in October 2008.

In November 2008 he linked up with Welling, also in the Conference South, and in May 2009 Lee became Andy Ford's assistant manager but carried on playing for the Wings during the early part of the 2009/10 season. When Ford resigned in October 2009 Lee became Welling's caretaker manager but when Jamie Day was chosen as the Wings' new permanent player-manager in November 2009 Lee left the club. Welling issued a statement which read "Any club offering Lee a playing position would be gaining an experienced defender who showed professionalism to each of his roles with the club."

In December 2009 Lee signed for Isthmian League Premier Division outfit Wealdstone but only made two league appearances there before moving on to Harlow of Division 1 North in February 2010. Former Margate player Spencer Knight was also part of Harlow's squad at the time.

Lee scored once from 14 league appearances for the Essex club before the end of the 2009/10 campaign.

In the summer of 2010 he signed for Enfield Town and in November 2010 they loaned Lee to Southern League Division 1 Central club Uxbridge.

After returning to Enfield Lee took his record for the club to one goal from 11 Isthmian League Division 1 North outings (one as sub) before joining Ware, also of Division 1 North, in February 2011.

Lee made seven league appearances (one as sub) for Ware without scoring before the end of the 2010/11 season and then retired from senior football aged 35.

During the 2012/13 campaign Lee made the briefest of comebacks when he played once for Ware.

During his time with Margate Lee worked as a plumber.