Lee Bowyer

Lee David Bowyer (/ˈboʊjər/; born 3 January 1977) is an English football manager and former professional player.

As a player, he was a midfielder who featured for Charlton Athletic, Leeds United, West Ham United (two spells), Newcastle United, Birmingham City and Ipswich Town in over 18 years as a professional. He made 397 appearances in the Premier League, took part in semi-finals of the UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League with Leeds and won the Football League Cup with Birmingham in 2011. Bowyer was capped once by the England national team. His career was punctuated by various incidents both on and off the field.

Bowyer has managed two of the clubs for which he formerly played. After three years in charge of Charlton Athletic, he left to become Birmingham City's manager in March 2021 and was sacked at the end of the following season. In September 2023 he was appointed as the head coach of Montserrat.

Born in Canning Town, London, Bowyer played for youth team Senrab before joining Charlton Athletic as a schoolboy. He turned professional in April 1994. He first drew attention in 1995, when he and teammate Dean Chandler failed a drugs test for cannabis use. Bowyer was dropped from the England under-18 squad and suspended for eight weeks while he took part in a rehabilitation course organised by the Football Association (the FA). He went on to become a first-team regular, making 58 appearances for Charlton and scoring 14 goals. A particular highlight was Bowyer's hat-trick in a memorable 5–4 victory over Wimbledon FC in a League Cup second round first leg tie in September 1995.

In 1996, he was signed by Leeds United manager Howard Wilkinson for £2.8 million, which was a record for a British teenager. Later the same year, Bowyer was convicted of affray and fined £4,500 following an incident in a McDonald's restaurant in London in which CCTV footage showed Bowyer throwing chairs and racially abusing a staff member of Asian origin.

Initially, Bowyer was kept out of the Leeds first team by Alfie Haaland and David Hopkin; he eventually replaced Hopkin in the 1998–99 season, and from then on was a first-team regular. He was a key player in David O'Leary's Leeds side that qualified for the Champions League in 1999–2000, and which reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in 2000 and the Champions League in 2001. In the Champions League run he scored crucial goals against A.C. Milan, Barcelona and Anderlecht. He was voted the Leeds player of the year by supporters in both 1998–99 and 2000–01.

Following an incident near a Leeds nightclub in January 2000, in which an Asian student suffered severe injuries, Bowyer and teammate Jonathan Woodgate were charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent and affray. An initial trial at Kingston upon Hull Crown Court collapsed in April 2001 after an article in a Sunday newspaper, and following a second trial at the same venue which ended in December 2001, Bowyer was cleared of both charges while Woodgate was convicted of affray and sentenced to community service. Bowyer was generally recognised as playing some of the finest football of his career during this period and would often go straight from court to play for Leeds. In 2005, the player agreed a £170,000 out-of-court settlement of a civil action for damages brought by the victim and his brother, who had been less seriously hurt in the assault.

After Bowyer's acquittal, Leeds fined him four weeks' wages for a breach of the club's code of conduct. Despite having had the backing of the club during the trial and the club paying his extensive legal fees, Bowyer took exception to the fine and was placed on the transfer list. The dispute was later settled and Bowyer removed from the transfer list, though he returned to it at the end of the season after turning down a new five-year contract. A £9 million fee was agreed for a move to Liverpool, which fell through with manager Gérard Houllier not convinced the player had the "hunger or desire" to play for the club. In January 2003, Bowyer signed for West Ham United. He had made 265 appearances for Leeds in all competitions, scoring 55 goals.