Birmingham City head coach Lee Bowyer: “I played my youth”

Birmingham City head coach Lee Bowyer:



“I played my youth and am very proud of them .”


"They didn't crumble, they didn't hide. They kept trying to do the right thing. I've learned a lot.

"All those players can hold their heads high because they haven't let anyone down. They didn't let me down.

"I'm learning about the other players that have been on the fringe.

"They won't play against the power and the physicality of that team every week, but I'm learning about whether players can play from the start."

Fair play to Lee Bowyer for giving his young players first team experience.

Fair play to Lee Bowyer for giving his young players first team experience.

Totally agree Tony,

Very disappointed in Big Mick not playing ours and seeing how good they really are.

Or maybe Big Mick does not rate them as much as the media and committee are saying?

They are 19 and 20 year olds now they need to be playing .

I think Bowyer is just trying to cover his own arse. The only thing he learned from his youngsters is that they are just that, youngsters.The same fans clamoring for loads of youngsters to be played will be the same ones whining for him to be sacked should he lose a couple of games in a row.

Fair play to Lee Bowyer for giving his young players first team experience.

Totally agree Tony,

Very disappointed in Big Mick not playing ours and seeing how good they really are.

Or maybe Big Mick does not rate them as much as the media and committee are saying?

They are 19 and 20 year olds now they need to be playing .

First and foremost Annis MM wanted to win a game of football and at 4-0 he wanted to keep a clean sheet.

Being a very demanding manager he was never going to experiment that much or throw caution to the wind.

The Birmingham fans were none too happy with Bowyer for playing that many youngsters so it appears you're damned if you do and damned it you don't.

Fair play to Lee Bowyer for giving his young players first team experience.

Totally agree Tony,

Very disappointed in Big Mick not playing ours and seeing how good they really are.

Or maybe Big Mick does not rate them as much as the media and committee are saying?

They are 19 and 20 year olds now they need to be playing .

Their time will come. What would you be saying if he had played a batch of kids and got beaten?
McCarthy is the manager and he made the right call yesterday.
He has stated players publicly he rates some of the kids; putting them in the match day squad is a step up and I reiterate their time will come.
Except no need to bring on Williams at 4-0 in 88th minute.

Fair play to Lee Bowyer for giving his young players first team experience.

first team ? looked an awful lot like their reserves ....


find it really odd tbh.... Bowyer is getting all this credit for under estimating us...over estimating his reserves losing 4 nil... and learning nothing by playing reserves in a team of reserves while Mick is getting pelters for giving 2 boys genuine experience playing with our better players and winning 4-0....

well done Lee..i hope all 23 championship managers do exactly the same against us next season...

Fair play to Lee Bowyer for giving his young players first team experience.

Totally agree Tony,

Very disappointed in Big Mick not playing ours and seeing how good they really are.

Or maybe Big Mick does not rate them as much as the media and committee are saying?

They are 19 and 20 year olds now they need to be playing .

Their time will come. What would you be saying if he had played a batch of kids and got beaten?
McCarthy is the manager and he made the right call yesterday.
He has stated players publicly he rates some of the kids; putting them in the match day squad is a step up and I reiterate their time will come.
Except no need to bring on Williams at 4-0 in 88th minute.

If we had say played maybe 3 of them at 19 & 20 years old they are not that young and for me we could of seen how good they really are suppose to be, we are hearing so much that at that age I don’t see them real kids.

We are supposed to be planning for next season and seeing if they are all good enough to be in the first team next season, they will 20 &21 years old then.

Williams total waste of time .

I think Lee Bowyer went to far yesterday and but for 3 good saves by their keeper that would have been 7-0 and I don't think that would be a good experience for those young players.

In fairness to MM he has not hesitated since he came into the club to give younger players their chance. Sang and Brown are good examples both sent out on loan by the previous manager but have been given their chance and have not let themselves or the manager down. Joel Bagan another given the chance after Joe Bennett got injured and but for injury himself would have played yesterday. Add to that Ruben Colwill probably the standout u23 player started again yesterday and looks a real prospect. In Bagan and Colwill we have 2 players just 19 years of age and I think in MM at last we have a manager who won't hesitate to give youth a chance but still his driving force is to win football matches.

I have no doubt that more young players will be given a chance but unlike Lee Bowyer MM will get the timing right.

I think Bowyer is just trying to cover his own arse. The only thing he learned from his youngsters is that they are just that, youngsters.The same fans clamoring for loads of youngsters to be played will be the same ones whining for him to be sacked should he lose a couple of games in a row.

Sorry but this is just nonsense. Can you point me to a post where someone is "clamouring for a load of youngsters to be played" I have seen a load of posts suggesting that we play one or two youngsters to bring them on as subsistutes with 20 minutes to play but not one advocating playing five or six at the same time. Many people are just using Bowyers frankly quite stupid idea of playing six academy players at the same time to justify McCarthys stubborn refusal to play none other then Cowill.

I think Bowyer is just trying to cover his own arse. The only thing he learned from his youngsters is that they are just that, youngsters.The same fans clamoring for loads of youngsters to be played will be the same ones whining for him to be sacked should he lose a couple of games in a row.

Sorry but this is just nonsense. Can you point me to a post where someone is "clamouring for a load of youngsters to be played" I have seen a load of posts suggesting that we play one or two youngsters to bring them on as subsistutes with 20 minutes to play but not one advocating playing five or six at the same time. Many people are just using Bowyers frankly quite stupid idea of playing six academy players at the same time to justify McCarthys stubborn refusal to play none other then Cowill.

Even though I have posted a few times regards MM not playing some players he had said he wouldn't hesitate to play, this post is spot on, nobody wants 5/6 youngsters starting a game, as a damp good hammering, would do them no good at all in their progression, a couple starting yeah, but large numbers like bowyer? Foolish imho. Pre season is going to be very different this year, with us "staying local" so would imagine ALL the youngsters who are rated, will be given their head then? And for me, that's good enough.

I think Bowyer is just trying to cover his own arse. The only thing he learned from his youngsters is that they are just that, youngsters.The same fans clamoring for loads of youngsters to be played will be the same ones whining for him to be sacked should he lose a couple of games in a row.

Sorry but this is just nonsense. Can you point me to a post where someone is "clamouring for a load of youngsters to be played" I have seen a load of posts suggesting that we play one or two youngsters to bring them on as subsistutes with 20 minutes to play but not one advocating playing five or six at the same time. Many people are just using Bowyers frankly quite stupid idea of playing six academy players at the same time to justify McCarthys stubborn refusal to play none other then Cowill.

Even though I have posted a few times regards MM not playing some players he had said he wouldn't hesitate to play, this post is spot on, nobody wants 5/6 youngsters starting a game, as a damp good hammering, would do them no good at all in their progression, a couple starting yeah, but large numbers like bowyer? Foolish imho. Pre season is going to be very different this year, with us "staying local" so would imagine ALL the youngsters who are rated, will be given their head then? And for me, that's good enough.

Not sure anyone is saying put 6 kids in a team but take yesterday 3 nil up now in all my years of watching football being 3 nil up is a great time to put on a youngster especially in a meaningless game you see it all time but what does MM do put on that youngster Williams... as for next season does he rate only 2 youngsters enough to play them because that appears to be the case since hes come in... youngsters benefit from 2 things being in 1st team squad and getting some game time... they got bench time but he obviously doesnt rate them enough to put on pitch even when 3 up and 10mins left! It doesn't bode well for them next season but time will tell.

I think Bowyer is just trying to cover his own arse. The only thing he learned from his youngsters is that they are just that, youngsters.The same fans clamoring for loads of youngsters to be played will be the same ones whining for him to be sacked should he lose a couple of games in a row.

Sorry but this is just nonsense. Can you point me to a post where someone is "clamouring for a load of youngsters to be played" I have seen a load of posts suggesting that we play one or two youngsters to bring them on as subsistutes with 20 minutes to play but not one advocating playing five or six at the same time. Many people are just using Bowyers frankly quite stupid idea of playing six academy players at the same time to justify McCarthys stubborn refusal to play none other then Cowill.

Even though I have posted a few times regards MM not playing some players he had said he wouldn't hesitate to play, this post is spot on, nobody wants 5/6 youngsters starting a game, as a damp good hammering, would do them no good at all in their progression, a couple starting yeah, but large numbers like bowyer? Foolish imho. Pre season is going to be very different this year, with us "staying local" so would imagine ALL the youngsters who are rated, will be given their head then? And for me, that's good enough.

Not sure anyone is saying put 6 kids in a team but take yesterday 3 nil up now in all my years of watching football being 3 nil up is a great time to put on a youngster especially in a meaningless game you see it all time but what does MM do put on that youngster Williams... as for next season does he rate only 2 youngsters enough to play them because that appears to be the case since hes come in... youngsters benefit from 2 things being in 1st team squad and getting some game time... they got bench time but he obviously doesnt rate them enough to put on pitch even when 3 up and 10mins left! It doesn't bode well for them next season but time will tell.

People are saying bowyer was right, some agree some don't allan, but if you check my past posts, you will see I have had a pop AT MM for not "sticking" to his word, when Glatzel was a low we'd to leave, where he said he wouldn't hesitate to play Cowill waters etc, and didn't, but in truth, we were still in with a chance of the play offs until very recently, and you have to play your "best " side, in order to maintain that push.

However I don't get this meaningless game tbf, if we win against Rotherham, we will equal last year's points tally which was enough to secure 5th Place, this year, we find ourselves 10 points outside the last play off place!! This and next year I believe, are going to be vastly different to what we are used to, we were "big spenders " last year, but in truth spent "peanuts" these are tough times, and from the prem down, bar a rich owner, I think clubs are going to struggle to keep going, so will aim for survival, and safety first, players/agents demands will have to drop, even more so with limited/no fan attendance imho.

So I agree in the most allan, just see every game as a must win game, rather than a meaningless one, let's hope that in pre season, a few if deemed good enough, will make their breakthrough I'm of the opinion( and I've said it in the past) that if you are good enough, then you are old enough! Australia has never hesitated in sport to play/ pick teenagers for national level and elite sports, and they haven't fared too shabbily over the years

Playing 6 young players in the starting XI was always going to be difficult for Birmingham and they duly got beat 4-0.

However, I am a great believer in you learn far more from mistakes and failure than success especially at a young age.

Those 6 lads would have learnt loads from the experience and I still believe Lee Bowyer made a good call.