BBC SPORT | Football | Teams | Liverpool | Bowyer fails Houllier's character test



By David Walmsley BBC Sport Online

Gerard Houllier returned to Anfield this summer as a doctor and a knight.

But he was not prepared to add another title to the honours bestowed by the University of Liverpool and the president of France - that of a gambler prepared to stake �9m on the turbulent talent of Lee Bowyer.

Liverpool abandon Bowyer deal

In footballing terms, Houllier would have considered Bowyer a safe bet.

But character and attitude sit almost as highly as skill among the attributes the Frenchman looks for in a player.

Gerard Houllier was not convinced the player had either the hunger or desire to play for the club

Liverpool statement

And on this count, he has effectively declared Bowyer to be wanting.

"Gerard Houllier was not convinced the player had either the hunger or desire to play for the club," said the Liverpool statement killing the deal.

In playing terms, there is no question that Bowyer is exactly the sort of midfielder Liverpool need.

As well as the goalscoring return the Reds have been lacking, he can also offer tough tackling, a tireless work-rate and never-say-die competitiveness.

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Set against that, though, is his apparent inability to stay out of trouble, either on or off the pitch.

Liverpool fans will remember his elbow to the face of Gary McAllister in a match at Elland Road.

Spurs supporters will recall the tackle on Stephen Clemence that sparked a brawl between Leeds and Tottenham players.

And the public at large will recognise him as one of those in the dock over an attack on an Asian student in Leeds city centre two years ago.

Bowyer was cleared of assault by the court last December.

Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier
Houllier rates character almost as highly as skill
But his involvement in the incident and his subsequent refusal to pay a club fine over the late-night drinking session that preceded it have left him with a blackened name.

Houllier would have noted this and is as aware as anyone of the importance to Liverpool of the club's image and reputation.

He knew how much baggage Bowyer would have carried along the M62.

But he should have had one major advantage in his efforts to turn the 25-year-old's stock around.

Backing Bowyer with hard cash at a time when he had been widely villified and labelled by his own chairman as irreparably damaged goods would have bought the right to lay down the law to the new signing.

Have your say: Reds right to dump Bowyer?

Liverpool were offering a fresh start, with a vastly improved salary, Champions League football and arguably better prospects of trophy success.

Bowyer's end of the bargain was a recognition of the faith Houllier's commitment showed and an acceptance of a consequent debt of honour, repayable in character reformation and re-stocking of the Anfield trophy room.

But something Houllier saw during the prolonged negotiations over his personal terms told him the player either could not or would not grasp the realities of the situation.

And so, like Nicolas Anelka before him, Bowyer has been rudely awakened to the fact that he needed Liverpool more than Liverpool needed him.


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