Premier Focus: Hammer Bow
It's the last act of a desperate club, one final throw of the dice to dodge the spectre of life in the Nationwide League.
In Lee Bowyer, West Ham United believe they have found the answer to their problems. Even if, by some miracle, they do avoid relegation, don't expect to see Bowyer in the claret and blue next term.
Bowyer finally admitted what we've always known - he would not sign a new contract with Leeds United. By getting out of Elland Road now he has the chance to put himself in the shop window by trying to revive the fortunes of an ailing club.
The Hammers could now suffer relegation with a midfield of current England internationals, as Bowyer could play alongside Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and Trevor Sinclair.
West Ham have paid an undisclosed fee, probably in the region of £500,000, to sign Bowyer until the end of the current campaign. Hammers boss Glenn Roeder is clearly delighted with the capture of Bowyer, and considers it as something of a coup. If he does help to keep them up it will prove to be a shrewd investment.
Roeder said: 'This a football opportunity for us to acquire a player who might, in different circumstances, have been beyond what we could afford, so this is a bit of a coup.
'What concerns me is Lee Bowyer as a player. Nothing else is a consideration, and what impresses me about him is that he is self-driven - and I admire self-motivated people who push themselves to the limit.
'He drives himself on and my hope is that he can pull other players along with him and, don't forget, Lee could have perhaps gone somewhere else and played relaxed football - but that isn't his style. He is a fantastic midfield player and has got the best years of his career in front of him.'
Self-driven? Make no mistake, Bowyer looks out for number one - and number one only.
| “ | Self-driven? Make no mistake, Bowyer looks out for number one - and number one only. ” |
Tottenham, strongly linked with a bid, were seemingly put off by the player's much-publicised off-field antics while he chose to snub Birmingham City.
The midlands outfit are in a much better position than the Hammers to stay in the Premiership next season - although they were under no illusions that Bowyer would entertain a long-term contract at St Andrews.
Blues boss Steve Bruce was prepared to go to alarming lengths to lure Bowyer - offering a chauffeur driven car which would be on call to drive him from London to training and back every day if he decided to move back to live in the capital.
Bowyer has, for some time, craved a move back to London after moving north to Leeds in the summer of 1996. That desire was no doubt fuelled by the way he was treated by chairman Peter Ridsdale and former boss David O'Leary after being cleared of all charges in relation to the attack on Sarfraz Najieb in December 2001.
The legal bills arising from the trial, that Bowyer was ordered to pay despite being found not guilty, have hampered his attempts to leave West Yorkshire. Leeds covered those costs at the time and it was not until the player agreed a repayment schedule that the club would agree to release him.
The player, who turned 26 last week, did not burn his bridges there and then. He had far too much to gain by sticking around at Elland Road, secure in the knowledge his contract had just 18 months to run. It just adds to the image of a player who has clocked up a string of unsavoury misdemeanours.
Bowyer has only just returned from injury and Venables has made it clear he would not walk straight back into a winning team.
Leeds took him from Charlton Athletic and made him a full England international. Only his own stupidity prevented him from playing international football on a more regular basis, the court case ruling him out of contention for his country for the entire World Cup campaign.
But the rebarbative Bowyer has taken from Leeds what he needed, and now he can pick up a nice little earner down in the capital, close to where he was born in Canning Town.
At least Bowyer actually supported West Ham as a boy, but anyone at Upton Park who truly expects him to stick around next term and miss out on a big Bosman pay-day is living in a dream world.
West Ham boss Glenn Roeder is desperate for a player to add a spark to the club's disastrous campaign. Bowyer will have to help make Premiership history with the Hammers - the club at the foot of the table on Christmas Day has never beaten the drop.
Bowyer may, however, regret the deplorable stamp on Malaga's Gerado last month in Leeds' UEFA Cup third round tie. The six-match European ban may have some bearing on which teams shows an interest and his financial bargaining power.
European football will, of course, be of no concern to those at Upton Park next season - but Bowyer will be long gone by then anyway.
Bowyer will no doubt be welcomed with open arms by the fans when he makes his debut at home to Newcastle United at the weekend. It's the final ray of hope for a side destined to be playing with the likes of Rotherham and Burnley next term.
