WE knew our move for Lee Bowyer would cause some controversy amongst our fans because of the off-field headlines he had been involved in. We knew our bid would cause a stir, but we thought it was a risk worth taking for the team.
"Gerard offered Leeds £8m which was a lot of money and Bowyer came over to talk to us. He arrived with a mate and his agent. I had to take care of him in the players' lounge at Melwood where Bowyer and his pal played umpteen games of pool while the agent discussed terms with Gerard and Rick Parry.
"When that meeting broke up I asked how things had gone. The response surprised me. 'We are still far apart,' said Gerard. We thought Lee Bowyer would be keen to move on his career with a club like Liverpool and I thought a deal would be struck quickly.
"Rick said: 'We are still miles apart on the salary.' Bowyer left and a series of phone calls followed between the club and his agent. It finally appeared that we were close to agreeing a deal. We went as far as having his new kit numbered up in anticipation as we prepared to leave for our pre-season training camp in Switzerland.
"As things moved on I rang the player and said: 'Get yourself ready. Once the deal is done and dusted we will fly you out to Switzerland.'
"He was saying 'Yeah, okay.' But there was no emotion from him to suggest that a deal was imminent. Rick and Gerard had another meeting with the agent, but they still failed to agree terms.
"I spoke to Bowyer again, once again asking him to be ready to travel should everything be sorted. His response was: 'I don't know where my passport is,' and added: 'I'm not in Leeds, I'm in London.' He was with Rio Ferdinand.
"I said: 'This is all wrong. It's clear he is not committed to us and this must be getting through to our fans. To me, we need to pull it before Lee Bowyer and his agent come back and say the move is not right for them.'
"Rick and Gerard decided that we would tell the Press that night. I couldn't believe Lee Bowyer had not jumped at the chance to play for Liverpool FC. Better players than him would have walked all the way to Anfield. We had made a big commitment on our side, but it had been all one way.
"His career went down the pan after that. In the end it was the right decision for us."
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