Lee Bowyer
Encyclopedia
Lee David Bowyer is an English professional footballer born in Canning Town
, London
, who plays as a midfielder
for Ipswich Town
of the Football League Championship
.
He spent much of his career at Leeds United and also played for Charlton Athletic, West Ham United and Newcastle United. Bowyer has been capped once by England
. Since 2010, Bowyer has held the record for most yellow cards received in the Premier League.
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.
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 chairs being thrown and a staff member of Asian origin was racially abused.
Initially, Bowyer was kept out of the Leeds first team by Alf-Inge 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 collapsed in April 2001 after an article in a Sunday newspaper, and following a second trial, 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.
Bowyer signed for West Ham United
on an initial six-month contract for a nominal transfer fee, which meant that should West Ham be relegated at the end of the 2002–03 season, the club would not be burdened with a large Premiership salary. The transfer was not popular with a section of West Ham supporters who questioned Bowyer's attitude towards racism. A protest against his signing was held outside Upton Park
before Bowyer's introduction to the crowd. Claims that Bowyer would have received a £1 million bonus had West Ham stayed up were denied by the club's then manager Glenn Roeder
. In the event, Bowyer was hampered by ankle injuries and made only eleven appearances for West Ham. West Ham were relegated and Bowyer was not offered another contract.
on a free transfer in July 2003.
In April 2005, Bowyer was in the media spotlight again after an on-pitch brawl with teammate Kieron Dyer
in Newcastle United's Premiership match with Aston Villa
. This resulted in a red card, plus an automatic three-game ban, for each player. The Football Association
fined Bowyer £30,000 and imposed an additional three-game ban, and the club fined him six weeks' wages; Dyer was not fined as Bowyer was perceived to have thrown the first punch. In addition, Bowyer was charged by Northumbria Police
in connection with the brawl with offences under section four of the Public Order Act
. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of using threatening behaviour and was fined £600 and ordered to pay £1000 costs.
Bowyer made 98 appearances for Newcastle in all competitions, scoring eleven goals.
in January 2007. However, 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.
He regained a regular place in the Hammers first team at the beginning of the 2007–08 season, scoring his first goals for West Ham against Wigan Athletic
and Middlesbrough
, and then two more in the 5–0 victory over Derby County
.
on loan until the end of the 2008–09 season. He made his debut on 17 January at home to Cardiff City
in the Championship, scoring an equalising goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time to make the score 1–1. Following the expiry of his contract with West Ham United, Bowyer signed a two-year contract with Birmingham in July 2009. He scored winning goals in consecutive Premier League matches, against Fulham
and Wolverhampton Wanderers
, to take Birmingham into a mid-table position at the end of November, and was part of the team that went on a run of 15 games unbeaten in all competitions, including a club record 12 unbeaten in the top flight, as they finished in ninth place, the club's best for more than 50 years.
In September 2010 Bowyer was forced to apologise for verbally abusing a West Bromwich Albion supporter. The incident occurred following Bowyer's substitution after he had committed a rash challenge on Gabriel Tamas
. In the absence through injury of Craig Gardner
, Bowyer returned to the starting eleven for the match against champions Chelsea
in November 2010 and scored the only goal of the game to give his club a surprise victory, following this with a late equaliser against Manchester United. In January 2011, television replays highlighted incidents, unnoticed by the match referee, in which Bowyer stamped on Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna
and appeared to rake his studs down the same player's Achilles
. Suggestions in the media that 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. Bowyer received the standard three-match ban for violent conduct.
From 2010, Bowyer held the record for most yellow cards received in the Premier League; as of the end of that year, he had 98 yellow cards in the competition as well as five red.
He made his first appearance in a major final in February 2011, in the starting eleven as Birmingham defeated favourites Arsenal 2–1 in the League Cup Final
at Wembley Stadium
. At that time, it was reported that he was not to be offered a contract extension, in May, McLeish indicated an offer would be made, but after Birmingham's relegation to the Championship, Bowyer left the club when his contract expired at the end of the 2010–11 season.
signed Bowyer as a free agent. He scored his first goal for Ipswich with a late winner against former club West Ham United on 27 September.
team, making 13 appearances for the national side.
Bowyer's form during the 2000–01 season led to calls for inclusion in the England
squad; however, the Football Association
ruled that he could not be selected until the court case in relation to an assault on an Asian student was completed. The FA eventually cleared Bowyer for selection following the conclusion of the court case and England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson
called him into the squad for an international friendly against Portugal
in September 2002. Bowyer made his England debut in the game, setting up a goal for Leeds team-mate Alan Smith. It was his only appearance for England.
|1993–94||rowspan="3"|Charlton Athletic
||rowspan="3"|Division One
||||||||||||||0||0||||
|-
|1994–95||5||0||||||||||0||0||||
|-
|1995–96||41||8||||||||||0||0||||
|-
!colspan="3"|Charlton Athletic total
!46!!8!!3!!1!!7!!5!!0!!0!!58a!!14
|-
|1996–97||rowspan="7"|Leeds United||rowspan="7"|Premier League||32||4||4||2||0||0||0||0||36||6
|-
|1997–98||25||3||3||0||3||1||0||0||31||4
|-
|1998–99||35||9||4||0||2||0||4||0||45||9
|-
|1999–2000||33||5||3||1||1||0||11||5||48||11
|-
|2000–01||38||9||1||0||0||0||15||6||54||15
|-
|2001–02||25||5||1||0||1||0||3||2||30||7
|-
|2002–03||15||3||0||0||1||0||5||0||21||3
|-
!colspan="3"|Leeds United total
!203!!38!!16!!3!!8!!1!!38!!13!!265!!55
|-
|2002–03||West Ham United
||Premier League||10||0||1||0||0||0||0||0||11||0
|-
!colspan="3"|West Ham United total
!10!!0!!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!11!!0
|-
|2003–04||rowspan="3"|Newcastle United
||rowspan="3"|Premier League||24||2||0||0||0||0||1||0||25||2
|-
|2004–05||27||3||2||1||1||0||9||3||39||7
|-
|2005–06||28||1||2||0||1||0||3||1||34||2
|-
!colspan="3"|Newcastle United total
!79!!6!!4!!1!!2!!0!!13!!4!!98!!11
|-
|2006–07||rowspan="3"|West Ham United
||rowspan="3"|Premier League||20||0||0||0||0||0||2||0||22||0
|-
|2007–08||15||4||2||0||3||0||0||0||20||4
|-
|2008–09||6||0||0||0||1||1||0||0||7||1
|-
!colspan="3"|West Ham United total
!41!!4!!2!!0!!4!!1!!2!!0!!49!!5
|-
!colspan="3"|West Ham United overall total
!51!!4!!3!!0!!4!!1!!2!!0!!60!!5
|-
|2008–09||Birmingham City
(loan)||Championship
||17||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||17||1
|-
|2009–10||rowspan="2"|Birmingham City
||rowspan="2"|Premier League||35||5||5||0||2||1||0||0||42||6
|-
|2010–11
||29||4||1||0||5||1||0||0||35||5
|-
!colspan="3"|Birmingham City total
!81!!10!!6!!0!!7!!2!!0!!0!!94!!12
|-
|2011–12||Ipswich Town
||Championship
||8||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||8||1
|-
!colspan="3"|Ipswich Town total
!8!!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!8!!1
468||67||32||5||28||9||53||17||583a||98
.
Canning Town
Canning Town is an area of east London, England. It is part of the London Borough of Newham and is situated in the area of the former London docks on the north side of the River Thames. It is the location of Rathbone Market...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, who plays as a midfielder
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
for Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
of the Football League Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
.
He spent much of his career at Leeds United and also played for Charlton Athletic, West Ham United and Newcastle United. Bowyer has been capped once by England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
. Since 2010, Bowyer has held the record for most yellow cards received in the Premier League.
Charlton Athletic
Bowyer played for youth team SenrabSenrab F.C.
Senrab F.C. is a Sunday League football team, based at Wanstead Flats in the Forest Gate district of London, England.- Operation :Senrab operates fifteen teams for age groups ranging from 5 to 17 years old, and the club has produced a great number of players who have gone on to have successful...
before joining Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
as a schoolboy. He turned professional in April 1994. He first drew attention in 1995, when he and teammate Dean Chandler
Dean Chandler
Dean Andrew Robert Chandler is an English former professional footballer. He currently plays for Redbridge and has represented England's Learning Disability team....
failed a drugs test for cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
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 Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
(the FA). He went on to become a first-team regular, making 58 appearances for Charlton and scoring 14 goals.
Leeds United
In 1996, he was signed by Leeds UnitedLeeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
manager Howard Wilkinson
Howard Wilkinson
Howard Wilkinson is a former English football player and manager, and has recently stepped down as a Non-Executive Director at Sheffield Wednesday after formerly relinquishing the chairman role to Milan Mandaric...
for £2.8 million, which was a record for a British teenager. Later the same year, Bowyer was convicted of affray
Affray
In many legal jurisdictions related to English common law, affray is a public order offence consisting of the fighting of two or more persons in a public place to the terror of ordinary people...
and fined £4,500 following an incident in a McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
restaurant in London in which CCTV footage
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
showed chairs being thrown and a staff member of Asian origin was racially abused.
Initially, Bowyer was kept out of the Leeds first team by Alf-Inge Haaland
Alf-Inge Haaland
Alf-Inge Rasdal "Alfie" Håland , anglicised to Haaland, is a retired Norwegian football defender. He grew up at Bryne and played his club football for Bryne FK, and later played for Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Manchester City...
and David Hopkin
David Hopkin
David Hopkin is a Scottish former professional football player who is assistant manager at .-Club career:Hopkin started his career at Morton before earning a move to Premier League side Chelsea in 1992...
; 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
David O'Leary
David Anthony O'Leary is an Irish football manager and former player. His managerial career began at Leeds United and later he managed Aston Villa. He most recently worked as the manager of Al-Ahli Dubai...
's Leeds side that qualified for the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
in 1999–2000, and which reached the semi finals of the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
in 2000 and the Champions League in 2001. In the Champions League run he scored crucial goals against A.C. Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
, Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
and Anderlecht
R.S.C. Anderlecht
Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht, usually known as Anderlecht or RSCA , is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht in the Brussels Capital Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian Pro League and is the most successful Belgian football team in European competitions as well as in the...
. 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
Jonathan Woodgate
Jonathan Simon Woodgate is an English footballer who plays for Stoke City in the Premier League.Woodgate started his football career at Leeds United where he established himself in the starting eleven. However, Woodgate was sold to Newcastle United for £9 million in January 2003. He impressed...
were charged with causing grievous bodily harm
Grievous bodily harm
Grievous bodily harm is a term of art used in English criminal law which has become synonymous with the offences that are created by sections 18 and 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861....
with intent and affray.
An initial trial collapsed in April 2001 after an article in a Sunday newspaper, and following a second trial, 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
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
, which fell through with manager Gérard Houllier
Gérard Houllier
Gérard Houllier, OBE , is a French football manager, who was last manager of Premier League club Aston Villa. He stepped down on 1 June 2011, following hospitalisation over heart problems towards the end of the 2010-2011 season....
not convinced the player had the "hunger or desire" to play for the club. In January 2003, Bowyer signed for West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
. He had made 265 appearances for Leeds in all competitions, scoring 55 goals.
West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
on an initial six-month contract for a nominal transfer fee, which meant that should West Ham be relegated at the end of the 2002–03 season, the club would not be burdened with a large Premiership salary. The transfer was not popular with a section of West Ham supporters who questioned Bowyer's attitude towards racism. A protest against his signing was held outside Upton Park
Boleyn Ground
The Boleyn Ground, more commonly referred to as Upton Park due to its location in Upton Park, London is the football stadium of West Ham United.-History:...
before Bowyer's introduction to the crowd. Claims that Bowyer would have received a £1 million bonus had West Ham stayed up were denied by the club's then manager Glenn Roeder
Glenn Roeder
Glenn Victor Roeder is an English football manager and former player, most recently in charge at Norwich City. As a player, Roeder represented England B on 7 occasions...
. In the event, Bowyer was hampered by ankle injuries and made only eleven appearances for West Ham. West Ham were relegated and Bowyer was not offered another contract.
Newcastle United
After West Ham were relegated at the end of the 2002–03 season, Bowyer joined Newcastle UnitedNewcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
on a free transfer in July 2003.
In April 2005, Bowyer was in the media spotlight again after an on-pitch brawl with teammate Kieron Dyer
Kieron Dyer
Kieron Courtney Dyer is an English footballer who plays for Queens Park Rangers. Born in Ipswich, he is an attacking midfielder who played youth football for his home club before going on to make nearly 100 league appearances for the club's first team...
in Newcastle United's Premiership match with Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
. This resulted in a red card, plus an automatic three-game ban, for each player. The Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
fined Bowyer £30,000 and imposed an additional three-game ban, and the club fined him six weeks' wages; Dyer was not fined as Bowyer was perceived to have thrown the first punch. In addition, Bowyer was charged by Northumbria Police
Northumbria Police
Northumbria Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the areas of Northumberland and Tyne and Wear in North East England. The service is the sixth largest police force in England and Wales. The current Chief Constable is Sue Sim who was appointed by Northumbria Police...
in connection with the brawl with offences under section four of the Public Order Act
Public Order Act 1986
The Public Order Act 1986 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates a number of public order offences. They replace similar common law offences and parts of the Public Order Act 1936...
. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of using threatening behaviour and was fined £600 and ordered to pay £1000 costs.
Bowyer made 98 appearances for Newcastle in all competitions, scoring eleven goals.
West Ham United
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. He made 22 appearances in the 2006–07 season, which was disrupted by a dislocated shoulder suffered in West Ham United's 6–0 loss to ReadingReading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
in January 2007. However, 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.
He regained a regular place in the Hammers first team at the beginning of the 2007–08 season, scoring his first goals for West Ham against Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic F.C.
Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...
and Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
, and then two more in the 5–0 victory over Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
.
Birmingham City
In January 2009, Bowyer signed for Birmingham CityBirmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
on loan until the end of the 2008–09 season. He made his debut on 17 January at home to Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
in the Championship, scoring an equalising goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time to make the score 1–1. Following the expiry of his contract with West Ham United, Bowyer signed a two-year contract with Birmingham in July 2009. He scored winning goals in consecutive Premier League matches, against Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
and Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
, to take Birmingham into a mid-table position at the end of November, and was part of the team that went on a run of 15 games unbeaten in all competitions, including a club record 12 unbeaten in the top flight, as they finished in ninth place, the club's best for more than 50 years.
In September 2010 Bowyer was forced to apologise for verbally abusing a West Bromwich Albion supporter. The incident occurred following Bowyer's substitution after he had committed a rash challenge on Gabriel Tamas
Gabriel Tamas
Gabriel Sebastian Tamaș is a Romanian footballer who currently plays for Premier League club West Bromwich Albion.-Club career:Tamaș started his career at Romanian clubs in lower divisions...
. In the absence through injury of Craig Gardner
Craig Gardner
Craig Gardner is an English footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Sunderland. A versatile midfielder, Gardner can play in many different positions, although central midfield is his preferred position...
, Bowyer returned to the starting eleven for the match against champions Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
in November 2010 and scored the only goal of the game to give his club a surprise victory, following this with a late equaliser against Manchester United. In January 2011, television replays highlighted incidents, unnoticed by the match referee, in which Bowyer stamped on Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna
Bacary Sagna
Bacary Sagna is a French footballer who plays for Arsenal and the France national football team. His cousin Ibrahima Sonko also plays in England, for Ipswich Town. Sagna is called Bac by the majority of his teammates...
and appeared to rake his studs down the same player's Achilles
Achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon , also known as the calcaneal tendon or the tendo calcaneus, is a tendon of the posterior leg. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius and soleus muscles to the calcaneus bone.- Anatomy :The Achilles is the tendonous extension of 3 muscles in the lower leg:...
. Suggestions in the media that 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. Bowyer received the standard three-match ban for violent conduct.
From 2010, Bowyer held the record for most yellow cards received in the Premier League; as of the end of that year, he had 98 yellow cards in the competition as well as five red.
He made his first appearance in a major final in February 2011, in the starting eleven as Birmingham defeated favourites Arsenal 2–1 in the League Cup Final
2011 Football League Cup Final
The 2011 Football League Cup Final was the final match of the 2010–11 Football League Cup, the 51st season of the Football League Cup, a football competition for the 92 teams in the Premier League and the Football League. The match was contested by Arsenal and Birmingham City, at Wembley Stadium in...
at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
. At that time, it was reported that he was not to be offered a contract extension, in May, McLeish indicated an offer would be made, but after Birmingham's relegation to the Championship, Bowyer left the club when his contract expired at the end of the 2010–11 season.
Ipswich Town
On 10 July 2011, Ipswich TownIpswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
signed Bowyer as a free agent. He scored his first goal for Ipswich with a late winner against former club West Ham United on 27 September.
International career
During his early career at Leeds, Bowyer was a regular in the England under-21England national under-21 football team
England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team....
team, making 13 appearances for the national side.
Bowyer's form during the 2000–01 season led to calls for inclusion in the England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
squad; however, the Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
ruled that he could not be selected until the court case in relation to an assault on an Asian student was completed. The FA eventually cleared Bowyer for selection following the conclusion of the court case and England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson , in Sweden commonly referred to just by his nickname Svennis, is a Swedish ex-football manager. From October 2010 to October 2011 he managed Football League Championship side Leicester City....
called him into the squad for an international friendly against Portugal
Portugal national football team
The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...
in September 2002. Bowyer made his England debut in the game, setting up a goal for Leeds team-mate Alan Smith. It was his only appearance for England.
Club
|-|1993–94||rowspan="3"|Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
||rowspan="3"|Division One
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
||||||||||||||0||0||||
|-
|1994–95||5||0||||||||||0||0||||
|-
|1995–96||41||8||||||||||0||0||||
|-
!colspan="3"|Charlton Athletic total
!46!!8!!3!!1!!7!!5!!0!!0!!58a!!14
|-
|1996–97||rowspan="7"|Leeds United||rowspan="7"|Premier League||32||4||4||2||0||0||0||0||36||6
|-
|1997–98||25||3||3||0||3||1||0||0||31||4
|-
|1998–99||35||9||4||0||2||0||4||0||45||9
|-
|1999–2000||33||5||3||1||1||0||11||5||48||11
|-
|2000–01||38||9||1||0||0||0||15||6||54||15
|-
|2001–02||25||5||1||0||1||0||3||2||30||7
|-
|2002–03||15||3||0||0||1||0||5||0||21||3
|-
!colspan="3"|Leeds United total
!203!!38!!16!!3!!8!!1!!38!!13!!265!!55
|-
|2002–03||West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
||Premier League||10||0||1||0||0||0||0||0||11||0
|-
!colspan="3"|West Ham United total
!10!!0!!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!11!!0
|-
|2003–04||rowspan="3"|Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
||rowspan="3"|Premier League||24||2||0||0||0||0||1||0||25||2
|-
|2004–05||27||3||2||1||1||0||9||3||39||7
|-
|2005–06||28||1||2||0||1||0||3||1||34||2
|-
!colspan="3"|Newcastle United total
!79!!6!!4!!1!!2!!0!!13!!4!!98!!11
|-
|2006–07||rowspan="3"|West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
||rowspan="3"|Premier League||20||0||0||0||0||0||2||0||22||0
|-
|2007–08||15||4||2||0||3||0||0||0||20||4
|-
|2008–09||6||0||0||0||1||1||0||0||7||1
|-
!colspan="3"|West Ham United total
!41!!4!!2!!0!!4!!1!!2!!0!!49!!5
|-
!colspan="3"|West Ham United overall total
!51!!4!!3!!0!!4!!1!!2!!0!!60!!5
|-
|2008–09||Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
(loan)||Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
||17||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||17||1
|-
|2009–10||rowspan="2"|Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
||rowspan="2"|Premier League||35||5||5||0||2||1||0||0||42||6
|-
|2010–11
2010–11 Premier League
The 2010–11 Premier League was the 19th season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The 2010–11 fixtures were released on 17 June 2010 at 09:00 BST. The season began on 14 August 2010, and ended on 22 May 2011...
||29||4||1||0||5||1||0||0||35||5
|-
!colspan="3"|Birmingham City total
!81!!10!!6!!0!!7!!2!!0!!0!!94!!12
|-
|2011–12||Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
||Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
||8||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||8||1
|-
!colspan="3"|Ipswich Town total
!8!!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!8!!1
468||67||32||5||28||9||53||17||583a||98
- a. Total includes two appearances in the Football League play-offs.
.