Soccer Thread : 2004-05 (4 Viewers)

[HeCtic]

we won 0...but that was Carrol's fault. No Carroll = lost of trophies next season

Lost you say? Bit hard when you have no trophies to defend.

 

[matt#1]

Lost you say? Bit hard when you have no trophies to defend.

Lol- I clearly meant to say lots of trophies. Arsenal won't have much to defend after next season either judging by that dismal performace in the FA Cup final...not to mention disruption cause to the team by the Van Persie rape allegations.

 

[Crazy Horse]

About the rape allegations - theres a few pic's of the lady accusing Van Persie..

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005280265,00.html

 

[matt#1]

About the rape allegations - theres a few pic's of the lady accusing Van Persie..

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005280265,00.html

Van Persie would'nt have gone anywhere near her...his girlfriend is much better looking

 

[HeCtic]

About the rape allegations - theres a few pic's of the lady accusing Van Persie..

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005280265,00.html

Beauty queen eh? Bollocks, you'd see hotter just walking down to the shops.


@matty. We actually have two trophies to defend next season. Incidentally, can you tell me who beat for both of them?

 

[Crazy Horse]

Beauty queen eh? Bollocks, you'd see hotter just walking down to the shops.

Maybe the photo's are just bad. I agree though - I think many of my friends could have easily won that title. I havn't seen Van Persie's wife but I gather she must be very pretty from what everyone's said about her.

 

[bazookajoe]

Manchester United have set up a call centre for worried fans..

The number is 2005101010 - Peak rates apply

That number again - 2005 won nothing won nothing won nothing.

 

[AcStyle*]

Manchester United have set up a call centre for worried fans..

The number is 2005101010 - Peak rates apply

That number again - 2005 won nothing won nothing won nothing.

ROFL!!!

 

[LMF^^]

Hahaha we all love a bit of friendly rivalry here. Meanwhile...

STAR:

# Steven Gerrard fears that Liverpool are trying to force him out of Anfield, with the Reds skipper believing there has been a reluctance to sort out his future as quickly as possible - Gerrard could move to Real Madrid, with Real midfielder Pablo Garcia as a possible makeweight in the deal

# Chelsea have been told they will have to pay around £25m to land Lyon midfielder Michael Essien

# William Gallas wants to stay with Chelsea after turning down a move to Barcelona

# Everton will now turn to Sheffield United defender Phil Jagielka once they have completed the signing of Udinese defender Per Kroldrup

# If Arsenal fail to sign Stuttgart midfielder Aleksander Hleb, the Gunners could make a £7m move for Real Madrid midfielder Guti

# Luis Figo will have to take a massive pay cut to join Newcastle, who admit that they have not had one firm offer for Craig Bellamy

# Middlesbrough are poised to swoop for Juventus midfielder Stephen Appiah

# Birmingham defender Alex Bruce - son of boss Steve - is set to return to Sheffield Wednesday on loan

# Ipswich are set to go head-to-head with Celtic to sign Hibernian striker Derek Riordan

# West Ham have lined up a £1m move for Portugal under-21 international Ze Castro

# Portsmouth are set to sign Colombia international midfielder John Viafara in a £1.5m deal

SUN:

# Real Madrid are ready to step up their efforts to sign Steven Gerrard from Liverpool

# Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has blamed England coach Sven Goran Eriksson for convincing Andy Johnson to hand in a transfer request

# Wigan are set to beat Sunderland, West Ham and Fulham to Watford striker Heidar Helguson's signature

# Manchester City have slapped an £8m price tag on the head of Sylvain Distin

# Aston Villa manager David O'Leary will make a move to link up again with Newcastle midfielder Lee Bowyer

# Middlesbrough boss Steve McClaren is to make a fresh bid for Juventus midfielder Stephen Appiah

# Olivier Dacourt wants to leave Roma and return to the Premiership with Bolton

# Steve Claridge is to be unveiled as the new Millwall manager today

# Southend striker Freddy Eastwood has snubbed a move to Nottingham Forest insisting it would not be a step up

MIRROR:

# Didier Drogba says a Chelsea team-mate trashed a hotel room after losing a fortune at poker the night before the Champions League semi-final second leg at Liverpool

# Arsenal and Juventus are battling it out to sign Guti from Real Madrid

# Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o reveals he turned down Chelsea because his wife did not want to leave Spain

# West Ham are lining up a £1m move for Portugal Under-21 international defender Ze Castro

# Norwich and Ipswich are fighting for Swindon striker Sam Parkin's signature

# Liverpool's Bruno Cheyrou is set to join French side Sochaux

# Ipswich striker Shefki Kuqi is in talks with Blackburn

# Lee Clark has until the end of the week to decide whether or not to accept a 75 per cent drop in wages to join Leeds

EXPRESS:

# Real Madrid star Luis Figo has been told he must take a 50 per cent pay cut to join Newcastle

# Ipswich are lining up a move for Hibs striker Derek Riordan as a replacement for Shefki Kuqi

# Bayer Leverkusen full-back Emanuel Pogatetz will arrive in Middlesbrough this week to discuss personal terms

MAIL:

# Real Madrid midfielder Guti has his heart set on a summer move to Arsenal

# Everton are set to bid £3m for Newcastle striker Craig Bellamy

# Juventus midfielder Stephen Appiah is set to join Middlesbrough

 

[blackfriday]

and how many of those things from the london tabloids would be solid fact?

http://www.football365.com/teams/newcastle_united/story_155296.shtml

read this for the figo news

 

[LMF^^]

Well I do see therez enough evidence to show that Real iz ready to swoop on Gerrard.

 

[HeCtic]

Well I do see therez enough evidence to show that Real iz ready to swoop on Gerrard.

First hand quotes from the relevant parties I presume?

 

[LMF^^]

Haha therez no need to become so touchy when we're in the silly season, I just think it would be a reasonable doubt to say that Real wantz Gerrard. Letz not foget thatz how the Beckham transfer waz like.

 

[copious]

What are peoples thoughts on the Owen rumour, his potential transfer to Man Utd. Hmm owen and rooney upfront? perhaps Saha is on the outer.

 

[HeCtic]

Haha therez no need to become so touchy when we're in the silly season, I just think it would be a reasonable doubt to say that Real wantz Gerrard. Letz not foget thatz how the Beckham transfer waz like.

I'm not getting touchy, I just wanted to know what the "evidence" you alluded to was.

There's a major difference between this and the Beckham case. Ferguson wanted Beckham out, Benitez doesn't want to sell Gerrard, it'll be far more difficult for them to buy him. They should just siugn Mascherano like they said they were last season. It'd save them a lot of money and trouble.

 

[Italian Hotshot]

Australia lost to Tunisia 2-0, and to make things even stranger Lee Bowyer is afraid of Asians! What is the world comming to? :uhhuh:

http://www.football365.com/news/story_155324.shtml

 

[LMF^^]

I'm not getting touchy, I just wanted to know what the "evidence" you alluded to was.

There's a major difference between this and the Beckham case. Ferguson wanted Beckham out, Benitez doesn't want to sell Gerrard, it'll be far more difficult for them to buy him. They should just siugn Mascherano like they said they were last season. It'd save them a lot of money and trouble.

I think Benitez iz in a sticky situation, sure he don't want Gerrard to go but the money involved would be enormously helpful in hiz team buildin.

30million it iz rumoured, thatz definitely up to standardz. Had Vieira left Arsenal wouldn't be gettin that price too would they...?

 

[bazookajoe]

What are peoples thoughts on the Owen rumour, his potential transfer to Man Utd. Hmm owen and rooney upfront? perhaps Saha is on the outer.

Err what about Van Nistelrooy?

 

[HeCtic]

I think Benitez iz in a sticky situation, sure he don't want Gerrard to go but the money involved would be enormously helpful in hiz team buildin.

30million it iz rumoured, thatz definitely up to standardz. Had Vieira left Arsenal wouldn't be gettin that price too would they...?

He already has a big kitty from the Champions League triumph. Selling Gerrard won't help his team building at all, selling your best players at their peak is ridiculous and does more harm than good.

30 mill is all media tosh anyway. They only payed 25m for Becks and 8m for Owen, they won't spend 30m on Gerrard, only Chelsea can.

Vieira would have gone for 25ish a couple of seasons back, and they even offered us 23m last season but he's going nowhere now. I don't see how Vieira was relevant to whether Gerrard is leaving anyway.


Also, Reuters seems to be suggesting that Bolo Zenden is signing for Liverpool on a free. That'll help em catch up to the big three

 

[HeCtic]

Australia lost to Tunisia 2-0, and to make things even stranger Lee Bowyer is afraid of Asians! What is the world comming to? :uhhuh:

http://www.football365.com/news/story_155324.shtml

Hardly strange mate

Give a dog a bad name
Sunday January 12, 2003

On match days at Elland Road the players' car-park is an
automobile anorak's dream. Like dogs, the vehicles reveal much
about their owners. Harry Kewell's sleek silver Porsche sits
beside Alan Smith's no-nonsense black BMW. Teddy Lucic, the
reliable Swedish full-back, drives an equally dependable Volvo.
'All of them have got very nice motors,' says the amiable,
brick-outhouse-sized sentry. 'Millsy has brought the 4X4 today
because he's got his girlfriend and young 'uns with him. El Tel
usually comes in a fancy Merc CLK soft-top, but you'll not see
that till after the final whistle. The Gaffer always has a chauffeur.'
He gives a wry smile. 'Times have certainly changed. I
remember when John Lukic was in goal a few years ago. He
used to be happy with a little Ford Fiesta.'

It is a typically cold, grey, late December day in west Yorkshire;
half-time at Leeds United's home game against Chelsea. Inside
the packed stadium, however, the home fans are all aglow,
warmed by a brilliant goal by the new local boy-wonder, James
Milner.

But where, one wonders, is the vehicle belonging to the more
familiar figure who ordinarily occupies young Milner's berth in the
midfield? Lee Bowyer is said to be recovering from a nagging
ankle injury, but surely he'll be here to lend moral support as his
team-mates struggle to recover from a disastrous start to the
season? Strangely not. The space usually occupied by
P11BOW - the registration combines his squad number and
nickname - stands vacant.

In fact, Bowyer's agent David Geiss tells me later, Bowyer was
visiting his family in London, having been given the weekend off
by Venables following intensive work on the ankle. 'He's actually
on crutches at the moment,' he told me defensively. 'The
treatment has not responded, so he had a local anaesthetic and
headed down to see his parents. What's wrong with that?'
Plenty, diehard Leeds fans would answer. The security guard
clearly believes his absence amounts to high treason. 'If I were
the boss I wouldn't even let him train with the first team,' he
snorts. 'I'd send him off to train with the kids so he can't even
show how good he is. The feeling here is that enough is enough.
Let's be rid of him.'

Talking to the Elland Road faithful, one finds this to be a
representative view. In the club shop, the clamour for replica
Bowyer shirts was once surpassed only by the demand for
those bearing the name of home-grown citizen Smith. At the
Chelsea game, though, of the 400 or so shirts sold, only a
handful were Bowyers. 'All the lads at school have gone right off
him. People think he's just playing for money, not for the club,'
said 16-year-old Skott Hudson, his gold and blue club scarf
fastened against the chill. 'I'm not that bothered about him
coming back into the side. I mean, he's a good player, but he's
not committed any more is he?'

A few yards away stood a bronze bust of a true Leeds legend:
the late Billy Bremner, who made 771 appearances for the club
and epitomised loyalty. Little more than a year ago, it seemed
plausible that, in the fullness of time, Bowyer's statue might be
mounted outside the ground, too, such was his enormous
popularity. Today the chances of that happening seem remote
indeed.

And it is not only here in Yorkshire that Lee Bowyer has
become a outcast. Until recently he was regarded as one of the
brightest English talents in the game, someone capable of
excelling at the highest level. As recently as last summer
several Premiership clubs were fighting to sign him, with
Liverpool leading the chase and prepared to pay the £9m asking
price.

Yet, as OSM went to press, Bowyer signed for West Ham
United and in doing so chose to dedicate the next five months to
helping the club that is bottom of the Premiership fight for
survival. The move may have shocked many in the football world,
but well-placed sources at Leeds maintained that none of the
game's biggest clubs had shown the remotest interest, despite
his availability at a bargain price. That Bowyer, who is more
used to playing in Champions League games than relegation
battles opted for a move back to London graphically
demonstrates the personal and professional limbo he found
himself in.

Bowyer may find himself in the same predicament in the
summer, when he will be a free agent. His contract with Leeds,
whom he joined from Charlton Athletic for £2.6m in 1996, will
have run its course in June, and he will be a free agent. Why,
though, wasn't one of the country's big clubs prepared to sign a
player who showed his quality just four months ago when
making an assured England debut against Portugal, and who,
having turned 26 three days into the new year, should be
approaching his peak?

No club would go on the record, but the proliferation of fan
websites offers some insight into what supporters think. When
Bowyer was briefly linked with Arsenal in the summer there was
a plea on the Arseweb site that the club shun him, while more
recently the reaction by Newcastle fans was equally negative.
All the same it was a bizarre situation, one quite unparalleled for
a leading young player at the top of the modern game and it
begs a simple question: why has Lee Bowyer become the most
demonised figure in British sport? And, more pertinently
perhaps, is his vilification really justified?

For more than a year now, since Bowyer stood trial at Hull
Crown Court accused of affray and causing grievous bodily harm
to the Asian student Sarfraz Najeib, I have been seeking the
answers to these questions. In so doing, I have visited the
tough, insular, and racially sensitive Teviot Estate in Poplar,
East London, where he was raised, talking to his old friends and
neighbours. I have sought the opinions of those who played with
him and coached him and spoken to those unfortunate enough
to have been on the receiving end when the ogre that lurks within
Bowyer suddenly rises up.

The character that emerges is certainly sometimes disturbing,
but he is also complicated and occasionally even confusing.
There are reasons to take seriously his caricature in the tabloids
as a racist thug, but there is undoubtedly another, altogether
more agreeable side to his character.

In one sense Bowyer's demise can be dated almost exactly - to
his belated 23rd birthday party on the night of January 12, 2000,
when he was among a group of Leeds players involved in the
vicious fracas which ended with an appalling assault on the
Asian student Sarfraz Najeib. The subsequent trials of Bowyer
and his team-mate Jonathan Woodgate provided graphic
testaments of Mr Najeib's terrifying ordeal. After an early
morning altercation outside the Majestyk night club, he was
chased through Leeds city centre, then kicked, punched and
bitten so savagely that he eventually lost consciousness. His
leg was fractured, his nose broken, and Paul Clifford - a friend of
Woodgate - sunk his teeth into his cheek and shook him around
like a mad dog, according to one eye witness.

The investigation and legal process dragged on for two years
and spanned three football seasons, and as the evidence of that
terrible night became clearer so Bowyer's reputation, which was
already tarnished, became hugely damaged. In one
unforgettable front-page, the Daily Mirror managed to dredge up
all the alleged misdemeanours and wrap them into a single
headline. Bowyer, they said, was a 'boozing, pot-smoking,
violent, racist, cowardly, unapologetic, odious, transfer-listed'
scumbag. One doubts whether his mother, who likes to keep a
record of her boy's exploits, pasted that one in her scrapbook.

All this overlooks one salient point, of course. After a twice-held
trial at Hull Crown Court, Lee Bowyer was found not guilty of
causing grievous bodily harm and making affray. There is a
principle of English justice that anyone who stands trial, and is
cleared, should walk free without a stain on his character. In this
case, it was turned on its head. Woodgate, who was convicted
of affray, was left to rebuild his career, and has done so quietly
and commendably, while the pursuit of Bowyer has continued
apace - though both may find themselves back in court with
Najeib suing Bowyer, Woodgate and the other defendants for
damages in the civil courts (the case is due to be heard later
this year, possibly just as the new season gets under way).

In many ways, Bowyer has hardly helped his own cause. Apart
from his intermittently violent behaviour on the field (he awaits
what is expected to be a lengthy Uefa ban for stamping on the
head of Malaga midfielder Gerardo), he refused to pay a
club-imposed fine of £88,000 (four weeks' wages) for cavorting
on that fateful January night, declined to re-sign a proposed
five-year extension to his contract after Leeds stood by him
through the legal wrangle, and then snubbed the move to
Liverpool in the summer - because, it was claimed, the Anfield
club would only pay him around £35,000 a week rather than the
£40,000 he was demanding. Most of all, though, Bowyer has not
helped his own cause because he has not shown much
contrition or humility for what happened in Leeds city centre
three years ago.

Certainly his attitude has alienated Bowyer from the Leeds fans.
Yet it is surely too simplistic to suggest that all his problems
stem from one night of drunken folly. We should remember that
his performances actually improved as the wheels of justice
slowly turned. During his first trial - abandoned after the Sunday
Mirror published a prejudicial interview with Mr Najeib's father -
he would dash from crown court dock, arriving at the ground
minutes before kick-off, then play like a man possessed. He
spearheaded Leeds' impressive march to the Champions League
semi-finals with a succession of superb performances and
timely goals.

His then manager David O'Leary describes him now as 'a freak',
and still believes him to be, naturally, the fittest player of his
generation. 'People said to me after the first court case, "Great
coaching, David, keeping him fit",' O'Leary told me, a year ago.
'Load of crap. I did nothing. He never did train. Lee is the sort
who just lives for football. If you had training till 6pm others
would moan, but so long as there was a ball he would be out
there.'

Asked to describe Bowyer's character, O'Leary depicts not a
monster but a puckish Cockney fourth-former. 'You know, he
has this dancey little way around the place - shrewdy,
streetwise type of fellow. Loves animals, absolutely loves them. I
remember him once, knocking on my door and saying, "Boss,
the dog's not well, it's having an operation at the vet." I thought
he was winding me up. He said, "I'd like to be there when it's
getting done. When will we be getting a day off, because I'd like
to arrange mine to take the dog to the vet."'

O'Leary believes Bowyer visibly grew in stature after he was
charged, and wouldn't hesitate to sign him if he takes another
managerial post. 'Lee never gave me an ounce of trouble, but
over the last 18 months he matured a great deal. Even the way
he talked seemed to change. I don't know if it comes with age,
but he speaks more eloquently. When he rang my home he was
always so polite on the phone. My wife, Joy, quite likes him.'

Leeds' director of corporate affairs, David Walker, agrees. 'I've
seen Lee Bowyer at a function for Shelter, the homeless charity
and he stood up without any prompting with 200 people there
and spoke eruditely,' he says. A concern those less fortunate
than himself may surprise some, but the Shelter event was not
unique. Bowyer regularly devotes spare time to working with the
underprivileged, and last summer spent an entire day
entertaining disabled children at an event organised by Frank
Bruno's charity, The President's Sporting Club.

Lee Bowyer is an East End boy, born and raised. Bowyer's
home was a three-storey, end-of-terrace council house, in Daniel
Bolt Close, and his father, David 'Benny' Bowyer was a
modestly-paid drayman fond of a drink and a bet. By all
accounts, Bowyer's formative years were relatively settled and
secure. Neighbours grew accustomed to the sight of him kicking
a ball around the grass patch at the centre of the cul-de-sac. He
was always neatly turned out, generally well-mannered, and,
while showing little academic ability, he was his school's star
athlete and captain of all the sports teams.

The Teviot estate was a harsh, parochial, and narrow-minded
environment in which to be raised, however. Effectively cut off
from the surrounding communities by a railway line and a busy
dual carriageway, it was then, a predominantly white,
working-class enclave where the British National Party thrived,
and immigrants - particularly the Bengalis - were regarded with
suspicion, at best.

As Bowyer's English and PE teacher, Gavin Beswick, says:
'There were moments in Lee's school career when there was
tension between different [ethnic] groups. There were a number
of fights where weapons were used. To my knowledge, Lee
would never be directly involved but he would have known
students who were. Some of his friends were certainly loose
cannons.'

Perhaps so, but his own circle was culturally diverse. His best
friend, John Nwikpo, to whom he remains close, was of Nigerian
origin, and another close pal is part-Turkish. John's mother,
Flora Nwikpo, dismisses the notion that Bowyer was racially
prejudiced. Bowyer grew up in an area that was racially divided
and according to one close associate, Benny Bowyer, an
18-stone, 6ft 2in bear of a man with a bushy moustache and
thick, tinted glasses, exercised overwhelming influence over
Lee, and continues to do so today.

Lee was always slightly small and scrawny, and, fearful that this
might hinder his chances of becoming a professional footballer,
his father told him to make sure that no-one 'took liberties' with
him on the field, no matter how much bigger they were.
Sometimes Lee carried these instructions to extremes. John
Cartwright, his coach in the Charlton youth team and now the
club's assistant manager, says he could be 'over aggressive',
even as a junior. He recalls having to withdraw Lee, then aged
16, from a supposedly friendly pre-season nine-a-side game
because of his excessive belligerence.

Lee's mother, Lorraine, whom he most resembles physically,
was also a strong, if altogether less volatile authority figure. 'She
is as hard as nails,' the insider said. 'His father is a big know-all.
He would play the expert, telling Lee how to play football and
where he went wrong. He thought he knew about the game but
he drove a beer lorry. When Lee was a teenager with Charlton
Athletic, Benny loved to be spoken to by the chairman and
directors.'

Attempting to gauge the influences on a young man is always
difficult, but there are some significant pointers. Bowyer's first
serious girlfriend was a local girl, Emma Keeney, whom he met
in Millwall Park, in 1995. At the time he was just breaking into
the Charlton team, and she was a 16-year-old schoolgirl. For the
first few months their relationship seemed set to last. He took
Emma to stay in a caravan on Canvey Island, where they made
love for the first time, drove her around in his zippy Escort
Cabriolet, and bought her jewellery inscribed with the pet-name
he gave to her: 'Babe'. As time went by she more or less moved
into the Bowyers' home, and got along famously with his
parents, with whom she would sometimes watch Charlton
matches.

Just occasionally, however, little things would happen to make
her worry about Bowyer's temperament. He was so obsessively
jealous, she says, that he bought her a mobile phone so he
could know her whereabouts every hour of the day.

According to Emma there was a pattern of self-destructive
behaviour, and she forgave him many times until, one night, he
said something she can never pardon. Though Emma has an
olive complexion, her mother is, half-Asian. Whether or not
Bowyer was aware of this, the matter was not mentioned until
they had been dating for 10 months, by which time he wanted
them to get engaged. One night, however, when they rowed
because she turned up late for a dinner date, she says he raised
the question of her ethnicity. 'I was in his bedroom getting ready
and he started ranting then stormed off downstairs,' she recalls.
'When he came back a few minutes later he looked at me sort of
strangely and said, 'Oh, my mum's just told me something
about you. He didn't use the word Paki, or Indian. He said - and
I'll never forget - "My mum says you've got something 'in' you." I
said, "Yes, I'm Indian", and Lee replied, "Yeah, that's what my
mum said", and he started pacing up and down the floor. He
went downstairs again, and when he returned he said we
couldn't have a baby because it might be a "throwback". I asked
what he meant, and he said, "You know, we could have a brown
baby. It could be the colour of your mum."'

Emma walked out, and never went back.

Her account would be sufficiently disturbing if it stood alone, but
in September, 1996, a few months after they parted, he returned
from his new home in Leeds for a night out with his boyhood
pals, John Nwikpo and Ben Bonnici. After drinking to excess,
the three teenagers bowled into McDonald's on the Isle of Dogs,
where Bowyer demanded a cheeseburger. When the young
counter assistant, Shamsul Mia, informed him that only the
breakfast menu was available, he flew into a rage. A court heard
later how he and his friends were caught on video, hurling chairs
and creating mayhem. Bowyer, who admitted affray, was fined
£4,500: then half a week's wages. The prosecution did not
suggest race was a factor. However, Mr Mia claims that a
snarling, red-faced Bowyer refused to be served by 'a fucking
Paki', and he told the Daily Mail: 'If Lee Bowyer is not a racist
thug then I don't know who is.'

This was not the first time that Bowyer had made headlines for
the wrong reasons. In March 1995 he was one of four Charlton
youth players to test positive for cannabis during random testing
by the FA.

Professional football is a fickle, cynical, results-oriented
business, and perhaps this explains why the men behind Leeds
United plc have - like the club's supporters - tended to forgive
him his indiscretions. As long as he was playing well, it seems,
they were prepared to tolerate him. The irony is that they have
finally lost patience with him just as his personal life appears to
be settling down. In truth, Bowyer was never a prolific boozer or
socialite. Much of his free time is spent watching football videos,
fishing, or playing computer games. Until last August, however,
he lived in a plush new cul-de-sac in the village of Linton, near
Wetherby, where three of the nine washed stone houses were
occupied by Leeds players. The temptation to go out with his
neighbours Harry Kewell and Michael Bridges was ever present.

But now he has sold the £600,000 bachelor house and moved to
an apartment in Harrogate, nine miles from his team-mates. He
has also invested recently in a Docklands flat. In Harrogate, he
is often seen in the Pitcher and Piano and Slug and Lettuce
bars, but he drinks nothing stronger than a bottle or two of beer,
and is usually accompanied by his girlfriend, Michelle Turner, an
attractive legal clerk. Sometimes they pick up a Chinese
takeaway in the four-wheel drive or the Porsche. He has not
ventured into Leeds for a lads' night out for more than two years.

'Lee is just not interested in that lifestyle any more,' a club
insider told me. 'He has mellowed in the past year. You rarely
ever see him, to be honest. He just comes in, does his training,
and then drives off alone. I don't think it's because he has fallen
out with any of the others. There was never a big social scene
among the players, anyway, no matter what people might say. I
think he doesn't trust anyone any more, and he just wants to
keep as low a profile as possible.'

All that is likely to change, of course, now that Bowyer is a
West Ham player; the outcast has found a home, back in the
city of his birth. With relegation a real threat, West Ham
manager Glenn Roeder clearly believes that signing Bowyer is a
justified gamble.

On the face of it the parting between Bowyer and Leeds has
been amicable. The club confirmed that it had settled its
differences with Bowyer over the repayment of his outstanding
legal fees for the Najeib case, estimated at almost £1m and
fronted by the club. But the Leeds chairman hasn't forgiven
Bowyer for refusing to pay the £88,000 fine, while the player is
still smarting over Ridsdale's comment that, knowing Bowyer as
he does now, he would never have brought him to Leeds in the
first place. Ridsdale, for one, will surely be glad to have seen
P11BOW roar away from the club car park for the last time.



There's plenty more stoires about Lee Bowyer, like how him and Woodgate turned up to a Leeds United end-of-season dinner dressed in Nazi paraphernalia etc. Birmingham has a huge Indian population so I think he should be scared. They hate him over there.