PILGRIMS IN PROFILE: Greg Fee

Fee enjoyed success as a player and manager at York Street, as Christian James explains...
Greg Fee in action against Altrincham. Photo: Ken FoxGreg Fee in action against Altrincham. Photo: Ken Fox
Greg Fee in action against Altrincham. Photo: Ken Fox

Fourteenth on the all-time Boston United appearance list, this week’s Pilgrim in Profile played exactly 300 times, and almost reached 50 goals.

His managerial stint was one of only two since the 1980s in which Boston have won more than 50 per cent of their games and, as player-manager, he had topped his appearances up with 114 self-awarded starts in a little over two seasons.

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Originally sold for £20,000 - this week’s Pilgrim in Profile is Greg Fee.

Arriving with 10 Football League appearances to his name with Bradford City, Fee had more recently been playing for Conference rivals Kettering Town before joining Boston in September 1986. His first two games both ended in 5-1 victories, the latter an away victory at Nuneaton in which Fee scored his maiden Boston goal.

Missing just four games through the remainder of the 1986-87 season, Fee established himself as a first-team regular and added nine goals including back-to-back home braces against Gainsborough and Runcorn. The Pilgrims finished sixth, recovering their league standards after low-to-mid-table finishes the three seasons prior.

Fee’s first spell with Boston ended there, as Sheffield Wednesday came calling with £20,000 and First Division football to offer. Four years with the Owls saw Fee play 26 times, spending 1990 on loan at Preston North End, Northampton Town and Leyton Orient before a summer move to Mansfield Town.

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During his time at Wednesday he played under former Pilgrims manager Howard Wilkinson and alongside Mel Sterland, who Fee replaced in the York Street dug-out.

Fee returned to York Street in 1993 as Boston prepared for life outside the Conference, having lost their ever-present status in the league by finishing bottom the season prior.

Heady optimism ushered in the new campaign as United saw the positive side of a ‘change of scenery’ and the opportunity to enjoy a successful promotion campaign before returning to Non-League’s elite level.

But the Northern Premier League had other ideas and United ultimately spent five seasons there before a transfer to the Southern side of Step Two brought about promotion in 2000.

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Boston, with Fee ever-present in the League, started slowly but by the end of September had recovered to sit second. Despite never falling below fourth, United never reached the top spot and ended the season in third, 12 points off the pace set by champions Marine.

Ground issues had prevented the Merseysiders from joining the Conference, and 1993-94 saw them win the league again (with 98 points this time), but Morecambe earn promotion.

With the top three all into 90-plus points tallies, the Pilgrims’ fifth place finish with 71 suggests United were never looking likely. On a personal front 1994-95 had seen Fee reach 100 club appearances and he squeezed in a 26th goal in late April.

The 1995-96 season was Fee’s most prolific in amber and black as he struck 14 times in 56 appearances. United finished second, a point behind Bamber Bridge, who weren’t promoted due to ground issues. Despite the precedent set by Marine and Morecambe two years prior, Boston remained in the Northern Premier League for 1996-97.

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Fee took over from Sterland in the Summer of 1996 to become player-manager. His United record now stood at 186 appearances, 40 goals as he’d helped United to third, fifth and second place since returning from his Football League years.

Having finished sixth in his debut Boston season (1986-87), Fee was yet to endure an unsuccessful league campaign with United- and that was not going to change. Naming himself for all-bar-four of the 64 games crammed in to a hectic 1996-97 season, Fee guided United to sixth place in the league, and more memorably an FA Cup second round tie with Chester City after a five-game run during which United scored 25 times. United also reached the Unibond Challenge Cup final against Gainsborough. His debut season in charge saw Boston score 125 goals.

Fee’s personal goalscoring efforts had taken a blow however, and his six during 1996-97 proved to be his last strikes for United- his goalscoring rate having halved after becoming player-manager.

The 1997-98 campaign would be Fee’s second and final full season in charge, and United’s last in the Northern Premier League ahead of a move to the Southern side the following campaign. Again missing just four games (from a reduced calendar of 54 fixtures this time), Fee-led Boston finished second, this time five points behind Barrow. Two own goals made up Fee’s scoreboard involvement, both in 2-2 home draws (with Radcliffe and Blyth).

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Boston were moved out of the Northern Premier League in 1998 and, under Fee’s management, the side started reasonably, winning two of the first five but losing just once. Fee added five appearances to his tally to reach 300 in United colours but an offer to play for Telford proved too good to turn down and he left at the end of August, United 13th. He would later play for Emley and Gainsborough Trinity.

Fee’s Boston career saw the Pilgrims finish in the top six in each of his six full season as the defender chipped in with 46 goals at a rate of almost one in six. His playing career eclipsed the likes of Howard Wilkinson, Gerry Stewart and Paul Ellender as Fee is one of just 14 to play three-hundred times for the club.

His management statistics are equally impressive- 612 wins in 123 games ranks him 10th of 35 managers in the club’s history on win percentage (50.4%); ahead of all beside Paul Hurst & Rob Scott since the late 1970s. A staple of the club’s 1990s Northern Premier League years, statistically Fee is one of the most successful managers Boston United have had in the last 40 years.

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