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It's not a job with great prospects, in all honesty. As the latest in a great, snaking line of keepers with designs on Alec Chamberlain's first team place, Richard Lee will, presumably, be aware of the fate of his predecessors....

At just twenty, he has time on his side, obviously. And he'll be pleased with his progress, having displaced Espen Baardsen as the club's second choice goalkeeper to secure regular reserve team football and a taste of the proper stuff on Saturdays. There, the pre-match warm-ups have offered the only clues for those of us who don't get to see the reserves...and, well, he's certainly capable of pulling off a save or two, judging by the weekly sessions with Kevin Hitchcock, dealing with a barrage of shots from the edge of the box.

Whether he gets further remains to be seen. Ray Lewington has expressed the desire to allow him to make his debut before the end of the season...but that will surely depend on how much is at stake. Otherwise, like those before him, Richard Lee will just have to bide his time....

Ian Grant
Last updated: February 2003