22 Facts About Lee Bowyer

Lee David Bowyer is an English football manager and former professional player.

Lee Bowyer 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.

Lee Bowyer's career was punctuated by various incidents both on and off the field.

Lee 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.

Lee Bowyer first drew attention in 1995, when he and teammate Dean Chandler failed a drugs test for cannabis use.

Lee 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.

Lee Bowyer went on to become a first-team regular, making 58 appearances for Charlton and scoring 14 goals.

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, Lee Bowyer was cleared of both charges while Woodgate was convicted of affray and sentenced to community service.

The dispute was later settled and Lee 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.

Lee Bowyer had made 265 appearances for Leeds in all competitions, scoring 55 goals.

West Ham were relegated and Lee Bowyer was not offered another contract.

Lee Bowyer made 98 appearances for Newcastle in all competitions and scored 11 goals.

Lee Bowyer rejoined West Ham United, the club he supported as a boy, in June 2006 for an undisclosed fee, declaring that he had "unfinished business" with the club.

However, Lee Bowyer made a quick and sooner-than-expected recovery and played in five of West Ham's crucial games towards the end of the season.

In September 2010 Lee Bowyer was forced to apologise for verbally abusing a West Bromwich Albion supporter.

In January 2011, television replays highlighted incidents, unnoticed by the match referee, in which Lee Bowyer stamped on Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna and appeared to rake his studs down the same player's Achilles.

Suggestions in the media that Lee Bowyer could receive a six-match ban prompted Birmingham manager Alex McLeish to argue that the football authorities were not treating all clubs equally when using television evidence.

From 2010, Lee Bowyer held the record for most yellow cards received in the Premier League; by the end of that year, he had 98 yellow cards in the competition as well as five red.

On 10 July 2011, Lee Bowyer joined Ipswich Town on a free transfer.

On 22 March 2018, Lee Bowyer was named caretaker manager of Charlton Athletic after former manager Karl Robinson left by mutual consent.

On 17 June 2019, Lee Bowyer turned down the offer of a contract extension, with the club announcing that Lee Bowyer and the club were unable to reach an agreement.

On 16 March 2021, Lee Bowyer replaced Aitor Karanka as head coach of Birmingham City; he signed a two-and-a-half-year contract.