There is a fair and balanced feature article on Lee Bowyer in the Football League Paper this morning. They have given us some good coverage lately as has the Sub-Standard.
What I do think is that what happened in the past is water under the bridge. Everyone is entitled to redeem themselves from youthful mistakes, however serious.
Admittedly, Bowyer had a very direct way of expressing his customer dissatisfaction at McDonalds. However, now a fisheries entrepreneur in France, he is a changed character.
He is Charlton through and through and I am happy for the team to go forward under his leadership, hopefully at some point rid of Roland. One of my favourite Lee Bowyer memories is of him turning up in the row behind me at a midweek Charlton away match in Huddersfield after he had joined Leeds.
Bowyer's win rate after twenty matches is 45 per cent.
The article notes that when Bowyer was 32 and at Birmingham City, he said, 'I won't ever become a manager. No chance. I've seen their stress, and I've had enough stress in my career.'
The article lists Bowyer's various misdemeanours, including getting a record 105 Premier League cards. 'At his best, Bowyer was one of the Premier League's greatest goal scoring midfielders, a player of wiry stature and fierce determination who in 2002 hauled Leeds to the brink of the Champions League final. Briefly, he was courted by every club from Manchester to Milan.' Apparently he did all this while basing his diet on McDonalds.
The article notes, 'He grew up on the Teviot Estate, an isolated outpost on the Isle of Dogs that was defined by poverty, violence and racial tension.' The article doesn't mention this, but I bet it had its fair share of Spanners. However, it is emphasised that 'Bowyer himself has never used childhood influences to justify his actions, but does resent the fact that he isn't allowed to escape his past.'
The FLP article refers to an article in the Observer in 2003 which researched Bowyer's past and it can be found here: Background
It is noted that Bowyer now only drinks in moderation and works tirelessly on community projects and with charities like Shelter. Last year he coached Charlton Invicta, the club's LGBT team.
Bowyer has commented, 'Whenever I have made mistakes I have held my hands up … But I know that I am a good person and a loving person, so I don't have to prove myself to anybody.' Quite so: just do the job for us on the pitch, as I am confident you will.
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