Houllier: Taking a gamble? (ShaunBotterill/Allsport)

Now he believes he has spotted another chance and, true to form, he has seized on it with all his customary voracity.

When the troubled Leeds midfielder finally completes a move to Liverpool that has been mooted for months, it will be more than just a case of breaking free from the anxiety and uncertainty of his recent court ordeal.

There is always the danger that such a belligerent character will upset the delicate balance at a club like Liverpool, which has always prided itself on its teamwork and esprit de corps.

But Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier believes the Anfield stage - and the chance to restate his England credentials - will bring out the best in Bowyer on and off the field.

As Bowyer heaved a sigh of relief at being cleared of all charges at Hull Crown Court in December, it was the international consideration which overrode all others and persuaded him to decline the offer of a new contract at Leeds and ask to leave.

Bowyer and England have been uttered in the same breath countless times since he broke into the Charlton side as a 17-year-old and quickly caught the eye of, among others, Liverpool. Eight years on, his claims are still a matter of conjecture rather than fact.

The Leeds firebrand turned 25 in January and is still waiting for the call. Waiting, it must be said, with rapidly diminishing patience.

Though off-field events may have played a hand in extending his exclusion from the international fold last season, the die was already cast in Bowyer's mind.

At Leeds, he could see only further frustration of his England ambitions, while Liverpool will present him with a golden opportunity to fulfil them in the midst of international regulars like Michael Owen, Emile Heskey and Steven Gerrard. It was too good a chance to miss.

He will travel across the Pennines later this week, convinced that any misgivings in Sven Goran Eriksson's mind are about to be banished by irrefutable evidence that he can flourish in the company of Owen, Heskey, Gerrard and England squad man Danny Murphy.

The impending challenge of a Champions League campaign just happens to be a bonus.

Other questions will accompany him on the road to Anfield, not least the reflex reaction of most football followers on hearing the identity of Houllier's latest acquisition.

Why, for all Bowyer's obvious attributes, would a player who revels in being a handful off the pitch as well as on it be welcomed aboard by one of the game's strictest disciplinarians?

	Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate (StuForster/Allsport)

Bowyer's last club fine at Leeds was for being much the worse for drink on the night of the incident that led to his court appearance. His next could be for the relatively trivial offence of allowing his mobile phone to ring within the confines of Liverpool's Melwood training complex.

Houllier will not tolerate rebels and demonstrated as much by offloading Robbie Fowler to Leeds following several late-night skirmishes, not all the England striker's fault, and a training-ground slanging match with assistant manager Phil Thompson.

Alcohol is another Houllier taboo, as illustrated by the way he dealt with reported sightings of Gerrard in various Liverpool nightclubs. Keep out of them for now, he reasoned, and you can buy your own in another 10 years.

He allows no departure from his interpretation of the player/manager relationship, his word is sacrosanct and he will expect Bowyer to heed the unwritten laws, as have most Liverpool players before him.

No-one crosses Houllier and survives with his Anfield career intact. But there is a clear belief at Liverpool that Bowyer's craving for England honours will make him toe the line without recourse to disciplinary measures.

If Bowyer, as new Leeds manager Terry Venables said, is indeed stepping into the Last Chance Saloon, he will surely pause to reflect on the stakes and make sure he sticks to soft drinks.

Houllier is counting on it. Gambling may be another vice that has been struck off the Houllier list of pastimes, but there can be little doubt he is taking a risk with his latest investment.

The manager is preparing to bolster a squad which finished second to Arsenal with the arrivals of Senegal World Cup pair Salif Diao and El-Hadji Diouf, as well as French duo Alou Diarra, signed yesterday on a free transfer from Bayern Munich, and Bruno Cheyrou, who should follow in the next few days from Lille.

The recruitment drive represents a huge financial commitment and throwing the combustible Bowyer into the mix may risk turning an impressive statement of intent into an expensive disaster.

But Liverpool's wily boss, as ever, did not hesitate in backing his judgment and may even have another surprise in store as he contemplates launching Bowyer's Anfield career in an unfamiliar role on the left of midfield.

It is a position that has troubled Houllier throughout his time on Merseyside but he believes he may have found an answer in the form of Bowyer's drive and energy. It is a view shared by Bowyer himself, and not just because he would not dare argue.