Birmingham City's Lee Bowyer slams West Brom fanatic Adrian Chiles

Dec 4 2009 By Andy Walker

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“I’m sitting there watching it and I thought - ‘well, that’s a bit strong. I’ve done something good, why can’t you just say something positive?’

“If I’d done something bad then he would have said something negative, so why not say something positive when I do something good?

“I don’t know whether he was trying to make a joke of it but I didn’t like it. It was uncalled for.”

And Bowyer also insisted that the reality was actually the opposite to Chiles’ view.

“To be honest I’ve never had anything negative said to me from a fan. Whenever I’ve met a fan they’ve said something positive, like they’re glad I’m here and that they wished I’d come years ago.

“I’ve always had positive vibes from the fans, so I don’t really believe what he said.

“That’s why I think that he thought he was trying to be funny because he sees himself as a bit of a comedian but I didn’t find it funny. All I care about is what the fans think.”

Bowyer was speaking to the Birmingham Mail after refereeing a small-sided game between pupils at Wyndcliffe Primary School in Bordesley Green as part of the Premier League ‘Places For Players’ initiative.

Despite the positive nature of the event, Bowyer was still expecting some people to question his motives for attending.

“If I do something good then something negative still comes out it and I don’t know why. People have made mistakes in the past but my mistakes were made eight or so years ago.

“Yeah, I’ve made mistakes. Everybody in the entire world has made mistakes but I don’t know why people seem to always mention my name. It’s as if when I do well, people think - ‘well he isn’t allowed to do well’.

“I’ve tried to do stuff like this (the school initiative) in the past and people are like - ‘why’s he trying to do that? He’s only trying to get people back on his side’. Whatever I do, it’s like a no-win situation.

“I’d prefer people to think ‘Oh, he’s not a bad fella’. Nobody likes to be disliked, hopefully people are starting to realise that I’m not this animal that some have made me out to be.”