Ben Mee

Ben Mee

Personal information
Full name	Benjamin Thomas Mee[1]
Date of birth	21 September 1989[2]
Place of birth	Sale, England
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2]
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current team	Burnley
Number	6
Youth career
2006–2008	Manchester City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2008–2012	Manchester City	0	(0)
2011	→ Leicester City (loan)	15	(0)
2011–2012	→ Burnley (loan)	19	(0)
2012–	Burnley	147	(5)
National team^‡
2007–2008	England U19	3	(1)
2009	England U20	5	(0)
2010–2011	England U21	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:44, 4 May 2016 (UTC). † Appearances (goals) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:14, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Benjamin Thomas "Ben" Mee (born 21 September 1989 in Sale, Greater Manchester) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Burnley.

Club career

Manchester City

Mee first came to prominence for Manchester City as the captain of the City Academy squad which won the 2008 FA Youth Cup.^{[3] [4]} He signed a two-year contract that will keep him until 2011.^[5]

Mee was given his first real test of first-team experience when he was taken on City's US tour in the summer of 2010, with club manager Roberto Mancini expressing that he wanted to blood his youth players and have a chance to see what they could do at a higher level than reserve fixtures. Mee made up two appearances, against Portland Timbers and New York Red Bulls.^[6]

After being given number 41 shirt,^[7] Mee followed up his tour appearances with a starting line-up appearance in the Carling Cup against West Bromwich Albion on 22 September 2010 in a 2–1 away loss.^[8] Alongside Mee making his debut, Javan Vidal and John Guidetti were given their first competitive appearances for the club in a game where three of the four players in the defensive line were young Elite Development Squad players and a full six of the starting line-up were aged 21 or younger and had come through the club's academy system.

Leicester City (loan)

On New Years Day 2011, Mee joined former Manchester City manager Sven-Göran Eriksson's Leicester City side on loan for the rest of the 2010–11 season.^[9] After signing for the club, Mee would join his Manchester City's team-mate Greg Cunningham at Leicester City.^[10] After two weeks yet playing them, Mee finally made his debut for Leicester City in a 4–2 win over Millwall.^[11] On 12 March 2011, Mee provided his first professional assist for Miguel Vítor to score his first goal in the match against Scunthorpe United which he scored twice later in the game which Leicester City won 3–0.^[12] On 25 April 2011, Mee provided another his second assist for Jeffrey Bruma to score against Watford in a 4–2 win.^[13]

After the end of 2010/11 season, Mee returned to Manchester City after 6 months at Leicester City.^[14] Following the sacking of Sven Göran Eriksson, Mee commented that he was sad to hear of the news.^[15]

Burnley

Mee playing against Arsenal

On 14 July 2011 it was confirmed that Mee had joined Burnley on a season long loan.^[16][17] Following his move to Burnley on loan, Mee hints that his good performance at Burnley could earn him a chance back at parent club Manchester City next year.^[18]

On 19 July 2011, Mee made his debut for Burnley in a pre-season friendly match against before coming off for David Edgar on a 67th minutes in a 2–0 loss against League Two side Bristol Rovers.^[19] On 6 August 2011, Mee made his league debut for Burnley in a 2–2 draw against Watford and played 90th minutes until the end of the game.^[20] On 29 November 2011, Mee got his first clean sheet for Burnley without letting an opponent score, capping a perfect birthday for Burnley manager Eddie Howe in a 4–0 win over Ipswich Town.^[21]

On 10 January 2012, Burnley boss Eddie Howe expressed interest in signing Mee on a permanent basis with Manchester City sanctioning a sale just days after signing former Manchester City team mate Kieran Trippier who was also on loan at the club. Mee joined on a permanent 3 ¹⁄₂-year deal on 17 January for an undisclosed fee.^[22] His move to Burnley has comes as no surprise to find that the club have moved to bring him on board full-time.^[23] During a match against Reading in a 1–0 loss on 27 February 2012, Mee made an impressive tremendous clearance by using his head to block a Noel Hunt shot to prevent Reading scoring for a second time.^[24] However, his season ended after suffering a slight back fracture which he sustained during a 5–1 win over Portsmouth.^[25] In combination of his loan spell and permanent spell at Burnley, Mee finished his season, making thirty-one appearance.

In the 2012–13 season, Mee started his season when he appeared sporadic at the start until he scored his first goal for the club, in a 2–2 draw against Millwall on 28 September 2012.^[26] However soon after, Mee suffered a knee injury during the Lancashire derby, which kept him out for several weeks.^[27] Mee made his return from injury, on 11 March 2013, as Burnley and Hull City both drew 1–1.^[28] In the next match, on 17 March 2013, Mee was sent-off after a second bookable offense when Burnley meet Blackburn Rovers meet again, as they both drew 1–1.^[29] Soon after that, Mee continued to be sidelined with injuries, including missing out for the rest of the season.^[30][31]

In the 2013–14 season, Mee sustained a knee injury in the pre-season friendly and made a return, though he missed the first four matches, due to being on the bench.^[32][33] From late-December to January, Mee had been absent twice in weeks. Despite the absent, Mee played a vital role as a left-back position, where he helped the club get promoted to Premier League and made thirty-eight appearance.

In the 2014–15 Burnley season, Mee started his season well when he signed a three-year contract that will keep him until 2017.^[34] Mee made his Premier League in the opening game of the season as a left-back position, as Burnley lost 3–1 to Chelsea.^[35] Mee scored the late equaliser for Burnley in Stamford Bridge against Chelsea to keep the final score 1-1 and his goal was the second goal of the season Chelsea conceded from a corner kick.^[36]

International career

At international level, Mee has represented England at under-21 level, making his debut as a substitute in a friendly against Germany.^[37]

Career statistics

As of match played 2 May 2016.

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Manchester City	2010–11[38]	Premier League	0	0	—		1	0	0	0	1	0
Leicester City (loan)	2010–11[39]	Championship	15	0	0	0	—		—		15	0
Burnley (loan)	2011–12[40]	Championship	19	0	—		3	0	—		22	0
Burnley	2011–12[40]	Championship	12	0	1	0	—		—		13	0
	2012–13[41]	Championship	19	1	0	0	2	0	—		21	1
	2013–14[42]	Championship	38	0	0	0	3	0	—		41	0
	2014–15[43]	Premier League	33	2	2	0	0	0	—		35	2
	2015–16[44]	Championship	45	2	2	0	1	0	—		48	2
	Total		166	5	5	0	9	0	0	0	180	5
Career totals			181	5	5	0	10	0	0	0	196	5

Honours

Burnley

• Football League Championship runners-up: 2013–14^[45]

References

1. "Professional Retain List & Free Transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
2. Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2012). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2012–2013 (43rd ed.). London: Headline. p. 444. ISBN 978-0-7553-6356-8.
3. "FA Youth Cup: Manchester City crush Chelsea". telegraph.co.uk (Telegraph Media Group Limited). 17 April 2008. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
4. "Mee recalls Youth Cup win". Manchester City F.C. 6 March 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
5. "Mee signs new City contract". Manchester City F.C. 3 March 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
6. "US Tour: Red Bulls 2–1 City". Manchester City F.C. 25 July 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
7. "City squad numbers revealed". Manchester City F.C. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
8. "West Brom – Manchester City". BBC Sport. 22 September 2010. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
9. "Mee joins Foxes on loan". mcfc.co.uk. (Manchester City Football Club). 1 January 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
10. "Foxes land City youngster". Sky Sports. 1 January 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
11. "Leicester City 4 – 2 Millwall". LCFC.com. 22 January 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
12. "Scunthorpe United 0 – 3 Leicester City". LCFC.com. 12 March 2011. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
13. "Leicester City 4 – 2 Watford". LCFC.com. 25 April 2011. Archived from the original on 4 September 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
14. "eicester City’s season finishing far too early for Ben Mee". Leicester City Football Club.com. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
15. "Ben Mee sad to see Sven-Goran Eriksson go". This is Leicestershire. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
16. "Burnley get Mee". clarets-mad.co.uk. (Supporters of Burnley Football Club). 14 July 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
17. "City Starlet Mee is First Summer Signing". burnleyfootballclub.com. (Burnley Football Club). 3 August 2011. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
18. "Mee keen to impress". Sky Sports. 3 October 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
19. "BRISTOL ROVERS 2 BURNLEY 0". Burnley F.C. 29 July 2011. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
20. "Burnley 2 – 2 Watford". Burnley F.C. 6 August 2011. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
21. "Burnley 4 – 0 Ipswich Town". Burnley Football Club.com. 29 November 2011. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
22. "Burnley sign Ben Mee from Manchester City permanently". BBC Sport. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
23. "Mee makes permanent move". Sky Sports. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
24. "Burnley defender Mee blocks shot with his head". BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). 27 February 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
25. "Clarets defender Mee could miss rest of season". Lancashire Telegraph. 5 April 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
26. "Burnley 2–2 Millwall". BBC Sport. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
27. "Mee In Injury Setback". Burnley F.C. 4 December 2012. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
28. "Burnley 0 – 1 Hull City". Burnley F.C. 11 March 2013. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
29. "Blackburn Rovers 1–1 Burnley". BBC Sport. 17 March 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
30. "Defensive Duo Still Sidelined". Burnley F.C. 4 April 2013. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
31. "Dyche: Opportunity Knocks". Burnley F.C. 18 April 2013. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
32. "Mee A Doubt For Season Opener". Burnley F.C. 23 July 2013. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
33. "Mee Returns To Action". Burnley F.C. 7 August 2013. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
34. "Turf Moor Is The Place For Mee". Burnley F.C. 30 July 2014. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
35. "Burnley 1–3 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
36. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/31466726
37. "Germany v England". the FA. 16 November 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
38. "Man City 2010/2011 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
39. "Leicester 2010/2011 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
40. "Ben Mee Football Stats Season 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
41. "Burnley 2012/2013 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
42. "Burnley 2013/2014 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
43. "Burnley 2014/2015 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
44. "Burnley 2015/2016 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
45. "B. Mee". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 April 2015.

External links

• Ben Mee career statistics at Soccerbase