Lee Bowyer on his call to quit Charlton Athletic to take boss job at Birmingham City
Lee Bowyer is confident he can revitalise Birmingham City’s fortunes – just like he did when he took charge of Charlton Athletic.
Bowyer quit as Addicks manager on Monday morning with confirmation coming on Tuesday evening – just before the South London club kicked off against Bristol Rovers – that he has signed a contract with the Blues until the summer of 2023.
Johnnie Jackson took caretaker charge for tonight’s 3-2 win which leaves Charlton still in the hunt for the League One play-offs.
But Bowyer still chose to move on after nearly three years of bossing the Addicks, who came under new ownership in late September when US-based Dane Thomas Sandgaard acquired the football club.
Bowyer told Blues TV: “It’s an honour. It’s a massive club and one I’ve got a previous relationship with.
“It was tough to leave Charlton. We’ve created a lot of good memories, and Charlton fans hadn’t had those memories for a long, long time. When I took over it was in a bad place. I was able to turn that around.
“I’ve done three years there and when I had the opportunity to come here, it was the right time for me to move on – a new challenge. I understand it is going to be a challenge. But that’s the person I am. I love a challenge and I have to keep pushing myself. I feel I can help the club. I did that at Charlton – improved the place – I believe I can do the same here. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be sitting here now.
“I believe I can get these players going again. When I first took over at Charlton the fans and the players had this distance – the staff and everyone was down. It’s the same here. I know we haven’t got the fans here and they’d play a massive part.
“We have to pull together now because the run-in is tough. We have to tick one box at a time. I sat down with the owner this afternoon, he said some kind words and I said: ‘I want to be here a long time and I want to try and help get this club back to where it belongs’. I signed the lengthy contract I did because I didn’t want to just be here for a little while – I want to be part of it. I know what the possibilities are here, and I want to be in charge of that.
“I’ve learned a lot in the three years – because I guarantee managers have not had to deal with what I have in 10 years. It’s made me stronger. I’ve learned a lot, and I will keep learning.
“From what I understand, the team has never been in the top-10 since I left – which is crazy.”
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Birmingham…. a “massive” club??????????? Lol – they’ve never been a massive club, always in the shadow of Aston Villa.
So, this is the same Birmingham City that has 2 sides of its ground condemned, a dodgy owner, has to ground-share with another club to bring in money and are likely relegation candidates this season.
Sorry Lee, if that’s a massive club it makes Charlton look a humungous club!
Why would you leap from the frying pan into the fire just when the sun is beginning to shine at the Valley? Oh well, at least you know division 1 well enough.