7:10am Wednesday 1st July 2009
Exclusive By Simon Parker
Graeme Lee admits he is still in shock at the way his City career came to a sudden halt.
The former skipper started pre-season with his new club Notts County today after signing a two-year deal.
But Lee, who only missed two games last term for the Bantams, revealed that he was still coming to terms over the dramatic turn of events at Valley Parade.
He said: “It’s been a long summer and certainly not what I expected.
“One week everything was up in the air about whether Stuart McCall was coming or going and I was phoning him up begging him to stay.
“The next the club were asking us to go and find somewhere else. Nobody saw it coming but these things do happen in football.
“If I was a young lad put in that situation, I would have been devastated but being a bit more experienced, I understood what was going on and thankfully we’ve got everything sorted.
“And by me doing this, I’d like to think it helps Bradford a bit.”
As City also returned for pre-season, Lee became the first of the higher earners to move on. Paul McLaren could well follow but Michael Boulding, who has offered to take a pay cut, and Chris Brandon are expected to stay.
Lee added: “It was never my choice to leave. Until all this happened, I was looking forward to coming back next season and playing my part in hopefully making up for the disappointment of missing promotion.
“But I’d like to thank everyone for their support and look forward to seeing them on the first game of the season.”
Lee’s departure will add spice to City’s league opener at Meadow Lane – and he has already warned Peter Thorne to expect some close attention.
“I’ve been on the phone telling him to get ready to be kicked! But it’s a good game for me to start off with and then we’ve got Doncaster in the cup.”
Ambitious County are in the process of being taken over by Middle East consortium Munto Finance, who have links with the Qatar royal family.
Lee, who also had interest from League One, said: “With the take-over going on, they have got that expectation and plans of where they want to be in three to five years.
“It reminds me of when I signed for Bradford. It’s just a shame that it didn’t work out.”
McCall was left with mixed feelings at losing his skipper.
The City boss said: “Spike was a great role model in the dressing room and captain but obviously it was something I was told I had to do at the end of last season.
“Notts County seem right for the lad because they are going to have a real go.
“From our club’s point of view, it’s good because of the budget but he will be a miss. He was very strong aerially with anything that came into the box.
“But Spike knew the circumstances and the job I had to do and there was no animosity between us.”
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