It is surprising how many footballers choose to return to their first club when starting their managerial career, even those who have played at the highest level of the game. Charlton Athletic academy graduate Lee Bowyer went on to make 397 appearances in the Premier League during an eighteen-year career that saw him capped by England at all levels. Controversy was never far away, with a regular sprinkling of club suspensions, brawls, FA charges, criminal prosecutions, allegations of racist abuse and a Premier League record for yellow cards along the way. This season’s meeting with Joey Barton’s Fleetwood Town could be interesting for the wrong reasons.
Growing up on the rough Teviot Estate in Poplar, Lee David Bowyer started his playing career with legendary youth team Senrab, which is also where current Lincoln assistant manager David Kerslake began. Considering Senrab’s policy of only selecting those with representational honours, Bowyer was obviously a very promising young player. Others to come through the club since its formation in 1961 include internationals Sol Campbell, Alan Curbishley, Jermaine Defoe, Ugo Ehiogu, Vince Hilaire, Ledley King, Paul Konchesky, John Terry and Ray Wilkins. With that record of player development, it is not surprising that Bowyer was in demand. After a three-year spell with Arsenal, he joined the youth system at First Division Charlton Athletic, going on to sign his first professional contract on 13 April 1994 at the age of 17. Interestingly, his youth coach at Charlton John Cartwright later said that Bowyer could be overly aggressive, even as a teenager. It was a comment that would be borne out several times during his professional career.
That first season of 1994-95 was to prove eventful in a number of ways. Bowyer did well enough to earn his debut as a substitute in a 4-1 Coca Cola Cup defeat to Swindon Town on 27 September 1994. He made his Football League debut a week later against Watford, and a fine career seemed to be under way. Then came the first of a number of unfortunate incidents when he and three team mates (including Dean Chandler, later to join Lincoln) were suspended by the club in March 1995 for testing positive for cannabis following a routine training ground test. Bowyer was dropped from the England U18 squad until he had completed a rehabilitation course at the behest of the FA.
Having made 6 appearances in that first season of 1994-95, Bowyer became almost ever-present the following season as Charlton qualified for the play-offs in sixth place. A 3-1 aggregate defeat to neighbours Crystal Palace in the semi-final consigned Charlton to another season in the second tier, but Bowyer’s 14 goals from midfield had made him a marked man. A hat-trick against Wimbledon in the League Cup in September 1995 alerted England U21 manager Dave Sexton, and he made his debut in a 2-2 draw in Norway on 10 October 1995. He became a regular from the Toulon Tournament in summer 1996, and England manager Terry Venables was impressed enough to invite Bowyer to train with the full squad.
With such an impressive season, it was inevitable that bigger clubs would come calling. In July 1996, Premier League Leeds United paid £2.8m for Bowyer, which at the time made him the most expensive teenager in the history of English football. Bowyer undoubtedly played his best football at Leeds despite the number of off-field distractions that were to occur. Championship-winning Leeds manager Howard Wilkinson compared him with Dennis Law, although Wilkinson would not be there for much longer. Bowyer scored on his debut in a 3-3 draw with Derby at the Baseball Ground on the opening day, but Leeds had an inconsistent start. Wilkinson was sacked on 9 September following a 4-0 home defeat by Manchester United, and was replaced by Arsenal legend George Graham the following day. Form never really improved, and Leeds finished in eleventh place. Surprisingly, Bowyer’s five goals saw him finish just one goal behind joint top scorers Brian Deane and Lee Sharpe.
Shortly after moving to Leeds, Bowyer hit the headlines for the wrong reasons. During a visit back home to London in September 1996, Bowyer and two of his friends were arrested for an alleged racist assault and affray in a McDonald’s on the Isle of Dogs. In December 1996 he was found guilty of affray and fined £4,500, although the court cleared him of any racist element. On the positive side, Bowyer achieved another milestone on 1 April 1997 when he captained the England U21 side in a 0-0 friendly draw with Switzerland at Swindon. Of interest to Lincoln fans is that the England team featured former Imps Matt Carbon and Darren Huckerby.
After an inconsistent start to 1997-98, Leeds recovered well to finish fifth and qualify for the UEFA Cup. His involvement with England U21 came to a temporary halt when Bowyer refused to play in the end of season Toulon tournament in the summer of 1998. Manager Peter Taylor did not pick him again for eight months. He was an almost ever-present in 1998-99 as Leeds finished the season strongly to finish fourth. Bowyer made his European debut on 15 September 1988 in a 1-0 win over Portuguese side Maritimo, although the UEFA Cup campaign was to end with a 1-0 aggregate defeat to Roma in the second round. George Graham was replaced in October by David O’Leary, a manager who would have a significant effect on both Lee Bowyer and Leeds United. On 9 February 1999 he was recalled to the England U21 side, and scored his first goal in a 2-1 win over France at Pride Park. He scored two more in the next match against Poland in March. To cap a very good season on the pitch, he was voted Player of the Season by the Leeds fans, and was also nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award. There had to be a negative, though: in April 1999 he was fined by the FA for collecting eleven yellow cards.
The 1999-2000 season saw Leeds consistently in the top three, and a 0-0 draw with West Ham on the final day was enough to secure a Champions League spot when Liverpool were surprisingly beaten by Bradford. Bowyer scored his first European goals with two against Partizan Belgrade in the UEFA Cup, and Leeds were to go all the way to the semi-final where they went down 4-2 on aggregate to Galatasaray. However, a successful season on the pitch was marred by yet another unsavoury incident off it. On 12 January 2000, Bowyer and team mate Jonathan Woodgate were accused of being in a group of five men who seriously assaulted an Asian student in Leeds city centre. The incident led to accusations of a cover-up by Leeds United, and the case was to hang over Bowyer for two years. The season also marked his thirteenth and final appearance for the England U21 side when he appeared in the 1-0 win over Argentina at Fulham on 22 February 2000. His final run in the side came courtesy of his former manager Howard Wilkinson, who had taken over from Peter Reid in October 1999. However, those off-field events ensured it would be more than two years before he would be involved with England again: Bowyer and Woodgate were suspended from all involvement with England pending the outcome of their trial. In the interim, his behaviour on the pitch continued to attract criticism for a number of unfortunate incidents. In March 2000 he was fined and suspended yet again after collecting 14 yellow cards (an incredible 19 in all competitions), the most of any player that season.
The 2000-01 season was memorable for the side’s exploits in the Champions League. Bowyer scored his first goal in the competition in a 1-0 win over AC Milan in the first group stage, and the run carried Leeds all the way to the semi-final. A 0-0 draw in the first leg against Valencia left Leeds within 90 minutes of the final, but Bowyer would not play in the second leg: he was suspended after stamping on Valencia striker Juan Sanchez in the first leg, and Leeds lost 3-0. Leeds started the Premier League season in mixed form due to a series of injuries, and sat 12th at the end of January. Leeds then won twelve of their last sixteen games to finish fourth, just a point behind the Champions League spots. Bowyer’s season was also notable for his trial for affray and causing grievous bodily harm, and its dramatic revelations. Beginning in February 2001, the trial collapsed in April following a prejudicial article in the Sunday Mirror featuring an interview with the victim’s father. Ironically, observers believe that Bowyer played the best football of his career during this period. Despite the influence of the trial, he was voted Player of the Season for the second time.
Leeds got away to a great start to 2001-02, and a 3-0 win over West Ham on New Year’s Day left them top of the Premier League. However, a shock 2-1 defeat to third-tier Cardiff in the FA Cup five days later sparked a dismal run of form. Leeds failed to win any of their next seven league games, and were also knocked out of the UEFA Cup by PSV Eindhoven in the fourth round. The usual onfield disciplinary problems reared their head again in August when Bowyer was sent off at Arsenal and was subsequently charged by the FA for using foul and abusive language towards referee Jeff Winter. In February 2002, Bowyer was fined and banned for six matches for that incident, and also for elbowing Liverpool’s Gary McAllister during an FA Cup tie in January 2001. The ban effectively ended the season for both Bowyer and Leeds.
But the dominant feature of the 2001-02 season was Bowyer’s retrial, which got under way on 3 October 2001. Amid a flurry of sensational tabloid headlines, on 14 December Bowyer was cleared of all charges while Woodgate was found guilty of affray only. A friend of Woodgate’s was found guilty of grievous bodily harm and was jailed for six years. The verdict received much criticism from the media, and was followed almost immediately by a civil prosecution brought by the victim. Bowyer was also fined £88,000 (four weeks’ wages) by Leeds for breaking drinking regulations that night, which Bowyer initially refused to pay.
Perhaps the lowest point in his career was reached shortly afterwards on 19 December 2001 when the front page of the Daily Mirror read, “I’m the victim… wails boozing, pot-smoking, violent, racist, cowardly, unapologetic, lying, odious, transfer-listed Lee Bowyer (NOW TRY TO SUE US YOU LITTLE SCUMBAG)”. Whilst providing an insight into the limited intellect of the average tabloid headline writer of the time, it was also symptomatic of the opinion many had now formed of him.
Although cleared of the criminal charges, many at Leeds felt Bowyer’s time at the club had run its course. David O’Leary was sacked in June after ruinously spending £100m on players, and Bowyer refused to agree a new contract as his relationship with the club and also many of its fans continued to deteriorate. An offer of £9m from Liverpool in July 2002 was accepted, but manager Gerard Houllier ultimately decided Bowyer did not demonstrate the necessary desire to play for the club.
Bowyer started the 2002-03 season under new manager Terry Venables, and the side sat top of the Premier League after six games. But the team was being broken up as the club desperately tried to reduce its debts, and Leeds slipped down the table. A high point for Bowyer came on 7 September 2002 when he made his full England debut in a 1-1 friendly draw against Portugal at Villa Park. Although having a reasonable game and setting up the goal for Leeds team mate Alan Smith, he was substituted on 62 minutes and never appeared for England again. On 12 December, Leeds were knocked out of the UEFA Cup with a 2-1 home defeat by Málaga, and that proved to be Lee Bowyer’s final game for Leeds. After scoring an impressive 55 goals in 265 appearances at Elland Road including 13 goals in 38 European matches, Bowyer was transferred to fellow Premier League side West Ham on a six-month contract. The fee of £100,000 was drastically lower than the fee agreed with Liverpool six months earlier, and was indicative of both the player’s and the club’s desire to part company. The last act of his Leeds career was sadly symptomatic of his career as a whole, receiving a six-match ban from UEFA for stamping on Málaga midfielder Gerardo during Leeds’ UEFA Cup defeat.
Some time after leaving Leeds, he was voted No.25 in the 100 Greatest Leeds United Players poll, which is some accolade.
Supporters of clubs Bowyer had been linked with previously had almost universally rejected his proposed arrival, a sad testament to his growing reputation as a thug on and off the field. Even West Ham, the club he had supported from childhood, proved no different when a protest against his signing took place outside the ground. West Ham were having a terrible season, stuck at the bottom of the Premier League without a home win all season. Form slowly improved, although Bowyer missed the last five games with a persistent ankle injury. Their task was made much harder when manager Glenn Roeder was diagnosed with a brain tumour in April. West Ham went into their final game at Birmingham needing at least a point to stand any chance of survival. On a dramatic day, an 89-th minute equaliser from Paulo Di Canio snatched a point for the Hammers, but Bolton’s 2-1 win over Middlesbrough sent them down.
Bowyer was one of a number of senior players released by West Ham at the end of the season, and on 1 July 2003, he signed a four-year deal for Sir Bobby Robson’s Newcastle. Robson defended Bowyer’s disciplinary record, preferring to highlight his ability as a player and that £9m bid from Liverpool as justification for the move. Newcastle had qualified for the Champions League by finishing third in the Premier League, and a good 2003-04 season was anticipated by all. However, it was to be a disappointing season all round, with the side missing out on a third successive Champions League place by finishing fifth. Bowyer was in and out of the side, unable to appear in the run to the semi-final of the UEFA Cup because of that six-game ban received at Leeds. He appeared for just 25 minutes of the semi-final second leg, lost 2-0 in Marseille.
If that was disappointing, then 2004-05 was to be even worse. Bobby Robson was sacked at the end of August after a poor start, but his replacement Graeme Souness fared little better. Newcastle eventually finished fourteenth, closer to relegation than to a European spot, although the cups did offer some consolation. Newcastle reached the quarter-final of the UEFA Cup where they were beaten 4-2 on aggregate by Sporting Lisbon, and the semi-final of the FA Cup where they were hammered 4-1 by Manchester United. However, Bowyer’s season will again be remembered for the wrong reasons. During a Premier League match at home to Aston Villa on 3 April 2005, Bowyer threw a punch at team mate Kieron Dyer because he felt Dyer would not pass the ball to him. Dyer retaliated, sparking a mass brawl. Both players were sent off, and Newcastle finished the game with eight men. It was Bowyer’s third red card of the season. After an investigation, the FA fined Bowyer £30,000 and banned him for six matches. The club fined him six weeks’ wages, but the worst was yet to come: he was charged with a public order offence by Northumbria Police.
The 2005-06 season was no better for Newcastle, and Souness was sacked in February with the side only six points clear of relegation. His replacement was Glenn Roeder, Bowyer’s manager from West Ham, and Newcastle ended the season with ten wins from fifteen games to finish seventh. There was also a run to the FA Cup quarter-final, where they were beaten 1-0 by Chelsea. They also reached the semi-final of the pre-season Intertoto Cup, where they went down 4-2 on aggregate to Deportivo La Coruña. There were still off-field matters to attend to. In November 2005, Bowyer agreed an out of court settlement with the victim of the alleged assault in January 2000, of which he had been cleared by a criminal court in December 2001. Whilst still denying any involvement in the incident, Bowyer claimed that the £170,000 settlement was cheaper than continuing to defend the case legally: the original trial had cost him £1m in legal fees alone, and the civil prosecution had dragged on for almost four years.
And that signalled the end of an inconsistent three years on Tyneside. On 18 June 2006, Bowyer returned to West Ham, almost three years to the day after leaving. Shortly after signing, Bowyer was back in court to face charges relating to his red card against Aston Villa in April 2005. In July 2006 he was found guilty at Newcastle Magistrates Court of using threatening behaviour and fined £600, another criminal conviction to add to an already poor record.
West Ham started 2006-07 with a 3-1 win over Charlton on the opening day, with Bowyer celebrating his second debut for the club with all three assists. It was all downhill after that, with his season hampered by more injuries. By the time he dislocated a shoulder in a 6-0 defeat at Reading on New Year’s Day, the Hammers were in the bottom three. He returned for a few games in March and April, which saw a revival. Against all the odds, West Ham won seven of their last nine games to stay up by three points. Notably, it was the only season during his eighteen-year playing career in which he failed to score. The 2007-08 season started well, with West Ham sitting fifth after five games. They eventually finished a creditable tenth, and Bowyer featured regularly until a red card against strugglers Birmingham in February saw him lose his place in the side. A groin injury ensured that he never regained a regular place, and would only make a further six appearances the following season before joining by then Championship side Birmingham on loan in January 2009.
Birmingham were challenging strongly for promotion straight back to the Premier League, having been in the top three for the majority of the season. Bowyer scored a 94th-minute equaliser on his debut against Cardiff at St Andrew’s, and remained in the side. His season ended in the penultimate game when he was sent off after an hour of the 2-1 home defeat by Preston. Birmingham were leading at the time, and went into the final game of the season needing to win at Reading to ensure promotion. They won 2-1, and Bowyer signed a permanent deal on 8 July 2009. Birmingham started 2009-10 season poorly, and were hovering just above the bottom three in October. An excellent run of seven wins and five draws then carried the side into the European places, although they soon fell away to finish tenth. There was also an FA Cup quarter-final defeat to eventual finalists Portsmouth to cap a good first season back in the top flight.
The 2010-11 season delivered mixed emotions. Birmingham struggled for much of the season, although they were still five points clear of danger with six games to play. However, four defeats and one draw from the next five games left them needing a win on the final day to stay up; they lost 2-1, and were relegated by Wigan’s 1-0 win at Stoke. One of the possible reasons for relegation was a run to the final of the League Cup where Birmingham beat favourites Arsenal 2-1 with an 89th-minute winner from Obafemi Martins. Surprisingly, it was Bowyer’s first appearance in a major final. They also reached the quarter-final of the FA Cup, where they were narrowly beaten by Bolton. As for Bowyer, there was more controversy in September 2010 when he was forced to apologise following a verbal altercation with a West Brom supporter. He was then charged by the FA in January 2011 after television pictures showed him stamping on Arsenal’s Bacary Sagna. He was suspended for three games, and was also confirmed as the holder of the Premier League record for yellow cards (he finished with 99, and held the record until overtaken by Gareth Barry).
With his contract with Birmingham expiring at the end of the season, Bowyer stepped down to the Championship with Ipswich Town on a one-year deal. A poor season ensued, with Ipswich battling relegation for much of it. The final position of fifteenth was the lowest league placing in Bowyer’s playing career, equal to Charlton’s final placing at the end of his first season in 1994-95. Perhaps the wheel had turned full circle, and Bowyer retired from playing in the summer of 2012 at the age of 35. His career record of 99 goals from 604 appearances – plus that England cap – would be very impressive, were it not for those disciplinary problems.
Upon retirement, Bowyer took an unusual course. Despite holding the UEFA B Licence, he did not feel ready to enter coaching at that point. Always a keen angler, he bought a carp fishing lake in north-eastern France that he used to visit every year on holiday during the close season and ran it as a very successful business. His first taste of coaching came alongside his former Leeds team mate Harry Kewell at Watford’s academy in October 2015, on an informal basis. In 2016 he is believed to have applied for the vacant manager’s job at his first club Charlton, losing out to Karl Robinson. He was asked to join the club with a specific remit to work with the club’s midfielders, and in February 2017 he was formally appointed assistant first team coach under Robinson. In July 2017 he stepped up to assistant manager, and was appointed caretaker manager with player-coach Johnnie Jackson when Robinson left by mutual consent on 22 March 2018. Ironically, Robinson had become frustrated by delays with a takeover, a problem that still afflicts the club to this day.
Bowyer took over a side in ninth place in League One, five points off the play-offs and faltering after one win in eight games. There was an immediate improvement, as three successive wins took them back up to sixth where they remained. A 2-0 aggregate defeat to Shrewsbury in the play-off semi-final ended the promotion bid, but Bowyer had done enough to remain caretaker for the start of 2018-19. Despite an inconsistent first month, on 6 September his appointment was made permanent to the end of the season. Form improved steadily, and a great run of just two defeats in twenty-one games saw them finish third. A 4-3 win on penalties over Doncaster in the play-off semi-final took Charlton to Wembley where a 94th-minute winner by Patrick Bauer gave Charlton a 2-1 win over Sunderland. Along the way, Bowyer picked up two divisional Manager of the Month awards.
Bowyer had his first promotion in his first full season as a manager, and hopes were high for 2019-20 despite continuing problems with that takeover. Indeed, events off the field meant that it took some time to agree a contract extension, which was finally agreed in mid-June. Charlton started the season with four wins and two draws to sit second in the Championship table at the end of August. In October, he received his first ban as a manager, a three-match touchline ban for improper conduct (towards the referee) during a 2-1 home defeat by Swansea. A run of one win in seventeen games dropped the side into the bottom third of the division, although Charlton should have been good enough to escape relegation. Charlton were supposedly taken over in January 2020, but failure by the new owners to satisfy the EFL’s ownership requirements led to the takeover not being ratified and a transfer embargo from January. With continuous problems in the boardroom between members of the club’s new ownership, it was almost inevitable that the season would end badly. Striker and top scorer Lyle Taylor refused to return after the coronavirus shutdown, and Charlton slipped into danger. A win at champions Leeds was required on the final day to stay up, but a somewhat predictable 4-0 defeat saw them relegated. Lee Bowyer, therefore, will enter his third full season in management with a promotion and a relegation on his record to date.
So how do we sum up Lee Bowyer? As a man of great contradictions, certainly. This is a man frequently accused of racist behaviour, yet whose best childhood friend was a Nigerian; an undeniably talented footballer whose career was fatally blighted by a Jekyll and Hyde character; a man vilified by both press and public alike, yet whose work for charitable causes has always gone unnoticed. Some observers have questioned how Bowyer can perform such an important managerial and leadership role effectively with such a poor personal record, and that is undoubtedly a valid concern. However, he has already shown that he can organise and motivate a side, and perhaps a more mature style will emerge as his managerial career progresses.
Key:
P = Promoted; R = Relegated; SF = Lost in play-off semi-final; F = Lost in play-off final; PO = Won play-off final; D = Demoted.
Figures are league games only; cup matches and play-offs are not included.
League position shown is either the position at the end of the season or the position at the time of departure
Writer: Scotimp
If you haven’t already had a go at our quizzes, this is a great way to learn some random information about the Football Club, as well as helping us generate much-needed page views: Quiz No.1, Quiz No.2, Quiz No.3, Quiz No.4, Quiz No.5, Quiz No.6, Quiz No.7, Quiz No.8, Quiz No.9, Quiz No.10, Quiz No.11, Quiz No.12, Quiz No.13, Quiz No.14, Quiz No.15, Quiz No.16, Quiz No.17, Quiz No.18, Quiz No.19, Quiz No.20, Quiz No.21, Quiz No.22, Quiz No.23, Quiz No.24, Quiz No.25, Quiz No.26, Quiz No.27, Quiz No.28, Quiz No.29 and Quiz No.30.
Who Are The League One Managers?
No.6: Lee Bowyer (@CAFCofficial):https://t.co/PXD06UKotZ#CAFC #SaveCAFC pic.twitter.com/ySQkb3OLwx
— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) August 27, 2020
https://www.facebook.com/VitalLincolnCity/posts/3219916271377929
