John Payne: Why has Lee Bowyer left Charlton for Birmingham City?
Lee Bowyer must feel a huge emotional pull towards Birmingham because it would be hard otherwise to fathom his decision to swap Charlton for St Andrew’s.
He is the second manager in quick succession to trade a shot at League One promotion for a Championship dogfight – and Darren Moore has got one point from four games since leaving Doncaster for Sheffield Wednesday.
In contrast, Bowyer had hardly got to know the names of his players before they beat Reading 2-1 on Wednesday night, secured by Harlee Dean’s splendid header.
‘If I didn’t think we could stay up then I wouldn’t be here,’ Bowyer said after the game.
For a relative managerial novice, the 44-year-old’s career hasn’t been dull with a play-off semi-final defeat, a promotion and relegation with Charlton at a time when the south London club were chaotic off the pitch.
All that experience will be invaluable at a club where previous incumbent Aitor Karanka, knowing he was about to be sacked, reportedly had to sit through a lunch to belatedly mark the birthday of chief executive Xuandong Ren before packing his bags.
Far fewer tears have been shed for Karanka’s exit than at previous clubs Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest – perhaps the empty stadiums this season not helping to build a rapport with the fans.
Indeed Dean appeared to troll the Spaniard by celebrating his goal with a shrug, a gesture that had come to symbolise his reign among Blues fans.
Former midfielder Bowyer has no such issues, having starred in the most glorious moment of the club’s modern history, the 2011 League Cup triumph.
With Karanka’s popularity plummeting, selecting one of the heroes in the wake of the tenth anniversary of that 2-1 win over Arsenal appears to be one of the cuter decisions since Paul Suen Cho Hung became owner in the summer of 2016.
The manager’s door has not stopped revolving – since Gary Rowett was sacked with the club seventh they have taken in and spat out Gianfranco Zola, Harry Redknapp, Steve Cotterill, Garry Monk, Pep Clotet and now Karanka.
Bowyer’s appointment brings plenty of goodwill and he must feel the potential is far greater than at Charlton. But first, he needs to keep Blues up.
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