Lee Bowyer has been back in the news this week after being appointed as the new manager of Birmingham City.
Like a lot of Leeds fans, I’ve been following the progress of my old team-mate since he took his first steps in management at Charlton a few years back.
I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a surprise in some respects when Bow first moved into management, but even as a player you could you see certain things about him that suggested it might be a career he was well suited to.
I suspect if you’d have asked him all those years back when we were together at Leeds he would probably have dismissed it and said it was something he wasn’t interested in. Bow loved his football and he was a real winner, but he also loved switching off, going fishing, and generally staying out of the limelight.
As a player he was as committed as they come, and the season when we got to the Champions League semi-finals he was absolutely outstanding. He was at his peak that season and as a box-to-box midfielder, he was one of the best in Europe during that period.
Like all of us he had his flaws when he was younger, but it’s great to see him forging a career in management and he has a lot of experience to draw on and knowledge to pass on to his players.
He did well taking Charlton into the Championship then didn’t appear to get any help from up above in keeping them there – due to a takeover rumbling on behind him – but hopefully he’ll keep Birmingham up and get the backing he needs there because they are a club with huge potential.
Bow joins Jonathan Woodgate in managing in the Championship again now. Who’d have thought it? Who knows, maybe there’s still time for Matteo to don the old manager’s jacket somewhere yet. You can never say never!