{"id":192,"date":"2019-05-06T12:35:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-06T11:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/heathermckinlay.com\/?p=192"},"modified":"2021-01-26T13:34:33","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T13:34:33","slug":"lee-bowyer-interview-born-to-win-charlton-athletic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heathermckinlay.com\/lee-bowyer-interview-born-to-win-charlton-athletic\/","title":{"rendered":"Bowyer Is Born To Win"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Interview with Lee Bowyer by Heather McKinlay in May 2019 as Charlton prepared for the play-offs. Conducted on behalf of, and first published by, Charlton Athletic Supporters’ Trust.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bowyer stepped out of Karl Robinson\u2019s shadow to take over as caretaker manager ten games from the end of the last regular season when the Addicks were in very poor form. \u201cWe were not in a good place as a football club \u2013 there was a lot of negativity, we\u2019d only won one in eight or nine.\u201d Yet now he has just won League One Manager of the Month, beaten that curse with a 4-0 win to guide the team to third place and holds the accolade as our most successful ever manager judged on win ratio \u2013 at 57% after 56 games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of this makes him proud, very proud. \u201cEveryone had written us off for the play-offs [last season] but we turned it round. Since then it\u2019s got better and better. We brought in our own squad \u2013 players who would get us promotion. It was slow in the beginning but the football has been good all season. The home form is really good \u2013 you can see why we got those points.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is quick to rationalise the only two losing blots on the 2018\/19 home record \u2013 a late and unjust penalty versus Peterborough and a final-ten-minute turnaround by Coventry after 80 minutes of unrewarded Addicks\u2019 dominance. \u201cThe players\u2019 work-rate has been exceptional and the fans home and away have driven us across the line. At Portsmouth \u2013 constant singing. At Burton on a Tuesday night the fans helped us through \u2013 Burton are a good team \u2013 we scored in injury time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has a clear grasp of how he brought about such a quick turnaround in form after taking charge. \u201cThe professionalism wasn\u2019t there \u2013 small details \u2013 like coming out to the training pitch late \u2013 you can\u2019t let things like that creep in. And they needed to play as a team, not for themselves. Those were things I had to correct.\u201d He also wishes to stress the different atmosphere around the club. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe players and fans have come together. When I left as a kid, the fans and players were together \u2013 it was a good club, a nice family club, with mutual respect. When I came back that wasn\u2019t there no more. Yet it\u2019s so big. Fans help the players more than they realise.\u201d<\/p>Lee Bowyer<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

He cites his first game as the most memorable of his tenure so far: \u201cWe had been on a bad run, my first time in charge, at home against a Plymouth side who had lost 1 in 19 or something crazy. We won 2-0 with a formation no-one expected us to play. Seeing The Valley bouncing the way it was that day, that was memorable\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has surprised many that Bowyer has such natural talent as a manager. He slipped without fanfare into the Charlton hotseat more by circumstance than design. He has no hesitation in explaining why the role suits: \u201cI was very fortunate as player \u2013 I had a long career and played under five or six international managers and the level of player I played with \u2013 I learnt a lot of things. I\u2019ve taken bits and pieces from all of them and try to pass on that knowledge to improve the players as individuals and to improve our team.\u201d For me it is telling that Bowyer can coach across all positions – yes, our midfield is especially strong, but so is the Charlton defence, pipped only by Barnsley by one goal to the title of the best in the whole of the EFL. Then in Lyle Taylor we have a 29 year old centre-forward who looks more and more accomplished every time he steps on the turf, a far cry from the journeyman who toured from Falkirk to AFC Wimbledon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is obvious to anyone watching Charlton over the last couple of seasons that Bowyer has a knack for bringing out the best in players. He is a coach beyond the footballing sense, not only able to hone the ball skills of his squad but also to instil the right mentality. How does he do this?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is going to sound crazy. I said to the players, \u2018You play as a team or you don\u2019t play – it\u2019s that simple. You can be the best player but if you aren\u2019t going to run around for the team and make the right decisions then you\u2019re not playing for the team.\u2019\u201d <\/p>Lee Bowyer<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The example he gives is of a player not squaring the ball to a team-mate for a tap-in but taking a difficult shot on themselves. \u201cIt\u2019s quite simple. If you don\u2019t play for the team and work hard for the team, then you won\u2019t play.\u201d No need for the manager to name names, but fans reading this may jump to their own conclusions about Fosu\u2019s conspicuous absence from the squad.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMan management is the most important thing in football,\u201d he continues. Bowyer strives to ensure the players know he believes in them not just as individuals but as a whole team. He sees it as the manager\u2019s role to comfort or cajole. \u201cOff field stuff can affect them. They are not invincible \u2013 they\u2019re human beings. You want to make them feel good \u2013 put your arm round them and keep telling them. All of a sudden they become different people and confident.\u201d He is not adverse to a metaphoric \u201ckick up the backside\u201d if they are slacking off at all, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I enquire specifically about our latest cult hero, the initially much-maligned number 23. \u201cWe put our arms round him and told him he\u2019s good but it\u2019s the fans that have changed Naby Sarr \u2013 that\u2019s what I meant earlier. We can only do so much. The first time the fans started singing his name, his confidence grew from 1 to 10. He was a young player when he first came, change of scenery, country, culture. It was difficult for him in the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having broken into the Charlton first team as a youth player himself, Bowyer is particularly sensitive to the needs of the Academy graduates. \u201cYou need to put your arm round them and blend them in. Young players like Albie [Morgan] and George [Lapslie]. You can\u2019t just chuck them in to play ten in a row. They need to get used to it and their confidence grows.\u201d This is another perfect example of him drawing on his own learning, in this case from Alan Curbishley: \u201cIf you\u2019re good enough, you\u2019re old enough,\u201d he happily quotes the clich\u00e9, the pride ringing through in his voice. \u201cAlbie Morgan was fantastic on Saturday. He deserved a goal. I\u2019m learning what Alan Curbishley did with me – play you a few then bring you out. You can get through a few on adrenalin but physically it can catch up with you \u2013 Albie is an 18-year-old kid, playing against men. Curbishley gave me my chance. I\u2019m grateful for that. Then later in my career he had me at West Ham \u2013 I was still the same, just a bit older!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s still in touch with his first gaffer: \u201cYeah, I\u2019m playing golf with him on Thursday \u2013 it\u2019s his charity golf day. He drops me the odd text here and there \u2013 he brought me through as a kid \u2013 it must be strange for him\u2026\u201d Bowyer trails off, not needing to complete the sentence. There is almost twenty years in age between the original mentor and his prot\u00e9g\u00e9.  I wonder if Bowyer is picturing a track-suited George Lapslie commanding the troops at Sparrows Lane a couple of decades in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He reflects on the change in football since his own playing days. \u201cIt\u2019s more and more a non-contact sport. It\u2019s difficult, especially for players who are competitive like Josh Cullen running around tackling.\u201d In the calm environment of an interview, he expresses genuine sympathy for the officials. \u201cI\u2019m disappointed by the way the players all dive and win fouls. The ref has the hardest job. I don\u2019t understand why anyone would be a ref \u2013 the way the players just fall over now and cheat, it disappoints me.\u201d I ask if he\u2019s had to pull any of our squad up for simulation. \u201cOur players? Yes, Jonny Williams at Peterborough away \u2013 not the right thing to do. He told me he was running at 100 miles an hour and thought the fella was going to take him out. Jonny, he\u2019s the nicest man in football, so\u2026\u201d Again, there\u2019s no need for him to complete the sentence. Williams now understands in no uncertain terms that behaviour which might have been acceptable at Palace most certainly is not at Bowyer\u2019s Charlton. The boss sticks up for Taylor, though: \u201cLyle makes them aware he\u2019s been fouled but he\u2019s constantly being pushed and tugged etc.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a fairer wind behind us, Charlton might have made the top two. Bowyer knows this better than anyone but is not going to dwell on it. He explains that it was a calculated decision to hold out for Josh Cullen which is why we started the season a bit slowly, even with only five on the bench at Sunderland away. \u201cWe decided we\u2019d rather take that chance that he wouldn\u2019t go and play in the Championship than bring someone in who wasn\u2019t as good. We had to accept being not so strong in the first couple of games but it would be better for the season.\u201d He accepts injuries as part and parcel of the sport. \u201cThe long-term injuries \u2013 you can\u2019t control that. Two dislocated shoulders in one game is unheard of, but with the squad we\u2019d put together, when one goes out, the one coming in is just as good. My hardest job is when they are all fit, deciding who to pick.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bowyer pinpoints the dip in form at the turn of the year as the reason for missing out on automatic promotion. \u201cWe had Karlan going, Igor injured, Taylor suspended. We went a couple of games with no forwards. Josh Parker was learning the way we play \u2013 not right to chuck him straight in. Karlan going that was hard to take. Knew if we\u2019d kept hold of him we\u2019d have finished top two \u2013 we drew games after he left that we would have won\u2026but I also understand that\u2019s how football works. He\u2019s a young player who has done well, scored goals, went and played in the Premier League and the club got good money for him. Unfortunately, it\u2019s the way the cookie crumbles as they say.\u201d The manager moves swiftly on, \u201cBut I think since then we\u2019ve been strong. Managed to get Igor firing again, got his fitness up, been on a good run.\u201d As an aside, I enquire after Igor\u2019s current injury concerning the play-offs. Bowyer reports that he had a tight thigh a couple of weeks ago and then felt it again in training last Thursday. The boss is \u201chopeful he is going to be OK\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Midway through this interview I thought I\u2019d try a different angle. I ask the gaffer if he could share a funny moment from his time as Charlton manager. \u201cUmm, no, not really – I\u2019m a serious person,\u201d is the initial response. Then he goes on: \u201cThe only thing I can think of \u2013 and it\u2019s not funny – we made a sub at half-time, but then he didn\u2019t get ready in time \u2013 Ben Reeves. He was out warming up, then by the time he\u2019d put his shin pads on, we had to start the second half with ten men. These players nowadays they get mollycoddled, wrapped up in cotton wool, they can\u2019t do anything for themselves. Me and Jacko were wondering what the hell happened there \u2013 why wasn\u2019t he ready? Not funny, but it\u2019s one of the strangest!\u201d Fortunately for Ben Reeves, Charlton won said match v Portsmouth in style, batting away the hoodoo of rarely winning on TV. It is certainly not the kind of anecdote to have fans laughing out loud but is nevertheless an insight into the kind of detail that sticks in Bowyer\u2019s mind. While he makes light of it now, I am certain we will not see a repeat under his dugout watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The burning question for supporters, of course, remains Bowyer\u2019s contract situation. I share with him that we had fans queuing at the CAST stall behind the Covered End on Saturday to write messages to the owner on the subject. Can he offer us any hope that this will soon be resolved? \u201cYeah, it seems to bother everyone else more than me \u2013 I\u2019m a laid back person \u2013 I don\u2019t get flustered too much. I\u2019m not really fussed about it – I\u2019m focussed on getting promotion, in that zone. I understand everyone wants me to sign and I have no doubt, none, that it will get sorted \u2013 we\u2019re not far apart. It\u2019s not just mine, there are others as well. For me, it\u2019s not a worry \u2013 I\u2019m 99.9% sure it will happen. My focus is on the playoffs and getting up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are no plans for contract talks this week and the ball is in Duch\u00e2telet\u2019s court. Bowyer is not keen to chase, even quipping that he might get disappointed, though asserts that would not change anything. He has one focus right now and that is the play-offs. \u201cIt will happen \u2013 there are three weeks left \u2013 it might as well just wait. Hopefully we\u2019ll get to Wembley, then it might be announced before that \u2013 that would be good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I enquire whether he has had discussions yet about next season\u2019s budget. \u201cNo,\u201d he replies, \u201cit\u2019s difficult for us trying to plan for both leagues. Depending on what league we are in and what players are at our club next season from our remaining ones, we have players that are our targets for League One or the Championship. We are planning already for this.\u201d Bowyer keenly wishes to reassure fans. \u201cThe owner has spoken to Steve Gallen and we\u2019re on this. Everything is positive. For me there is no negative – that\u2019s the truth. We have had discussions about recruitment for next season. The owner has been good. To be fair to him he has backed us this season on the ones we wanted to bring in. I have no doubt that whatever league we are in, we will bring in the right players to suit the way we want to play.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equally the lack of senior management at the club on the non-footballing side is not an issue, he says: \u201cI\u2019m OK. Richard Murray is always around \u2013 he pops in most Thursdays \u2013 and Keith Peacock most Thursdays and Fridays. I have a chat with them most weeks \u2013 just general chit chat. I don\u2019t get phased \u2013 I\u2019ve been in the game so long. Steve Gallen deals with the owner regarding players etc. Apart from that \u2013 I\u2019m on the training pitch each day. It\u2019s all good, there\u2019s nothing to worry about. We all know our roles and jobs and we just get on with it. Anything that\u2019s going on that we can\u2019t control \u2013 there\u2019s no point worrying about. We know what our jobs are and we keep working hard on it every day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bowyer, quite rightly, refuses to be side-tracked from the immediate challenge of the play-offs. His desire to win and to succeed is blatantly obvious. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom a kid I\u2019ve always been like that. You have to win. No-one remembers second. There\u2019s never a quiz question, \u2018Who came second?\u2019 It is always, \u2018Who won?\u2019 It\u2019s the way I am \u2013 I\u2019ll do anything to win. I just want to win \u2013 at tennis, at golf, it\u2019s the way I am. <\/p>

I like to think I have that effect on players. Winning is everything. We\u2019re in that mentality now. The players are in a good place \u2013 they\u2019ve got a bad habit of winning games. It\u2019s the best habit to get \u2013 you think you are invincible and never going to lose. We had that at Leeds. <\/p>

Any game against anybody, when you have that, losing doesn\u2019t even become an option.\u201d<\/p>Lee Bowyer<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I do not get any inkling that Lee is looking beyond Doncaster, with all efforts focussed on those two legs right now. But he mentioned Wembley earlier, so I have to ask how he would feel being the first Charlton manager to lead the team out there since Curbs. Suddenly he is brimming with childish enthusiasm. \u201cThat would be amazing! This is where I started as a kid, playing football, to then be leading them out at Wembley would be some achievement – quite emotional. I\u2019m not really an emotional person \u2013 but that occasion would probably get me. Let\u2019s just hope I get to experience it. If we get there I honestly believe we could beat anyone on the day. For the club as a whole \u2013 because there has been negativity \u2013 there were some tough times before I came \u2013 now we have this good feeling around the place again.\u201d He admits he\u2019s not had the squad practising penalties yet. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019ll come down to that if I\u2019m honest. But what a job Curbs done back then!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bowyer\u2019s winning mentality has passed on to the next generation. He has ten-year-old twins, Amelie and Charlie. Does he think either of them might make it in professional sport? \u201cNot football!\u201d he quickly asserts. \u201cMy girl is the competitive one. She\u2019s a machine, same as me \u2013 she has to win everything.\u201d He describes how a very young Amelie would race to eat her dinner so she could be the winner and earn Dad\u2019s approval. \u201cShe will go on and do something \u2013 she\u2019s in the swimming team at moment \u2013 a very good swimmer.\u201d In contrast, maybe it is Bowyer\u2019s son who has helped his dad handle the contract uncertainty: \u201cHe is just so laid back, he\u2019s not really fussed about anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In every interview I\u2019ve ever heard or read with Lee Bowyer, he emphasises the positive. As a Charlton fan, I\u2019m as concerned as many others about the future of our club under an absentee owner who claims to be desperate to sell yet seems unable to progress a deal. And it seems I\u2019m much more worried about the contract situation than the gaffer himself. Being directly on the receiving end of Bowyer\u2019s straight-talking, even with his naturally deadpan delivery, is highly motivating. For the next two – hopefully three – weeks, I\u2019m just going to let myself get swept up in the Bowyer bubble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I ask him for a few parting words for the fans: \u201cCome and support us like they have all season. Bring a friend, family, get the numbers up, make it louder and more intimidating for the last home game \u2013experience something special. I want to thank everyone \u2013 they have been so kind with their words and their support. I\u2019m loving every second and hopefully we can deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Interview with Lee Bowyer by Heather McKinlay in May 2019 as Charlton prepared for the play-offs. Conducted on behalf of, and first published by, Charlton Athletic Supporters’ Trust. Bowyer stepped out of Karl Robinson\u2019s shadow to take over as caretaker manager ten games from the end of the last regular season when the Addicks were … Continue reading “Bowyer Is Born To Win”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":193,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sbb_scratchpad_field":""},"categories":[1,4],"tags":[10],"yoast_head":"\nBowyer Is Born To Win - Heather McKinlay<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Interview with Charlton Athletic manager Lee Bowyer on the eve of the 2019 play-offs which led to Charlton's promotion to the Championship.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/heathermckinlay.com\/lee-bowyer-interview-born-to-win-charlton-athletic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bowyer Is Born To Win - 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