Forest Green's style convinces Fowler

9:12am Thursday 26th June 2008

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LEE FOWLER insists the lure of Forest Green's renowned free-flowing football convinced him to return to the professional ranks.

Forest Green boss Jim Harvey swooped for the former Coventry City midfielder on Thursday and quickly tied the Wales Under-21 star down to a one-year deal Fowler said: "Forest Green play the type of football I like to play. I remember playing against Jim Harvey's Morecambe for Huddersfield - Jim's side passed us off the park that day."

Fowler began his career with Cardiff City but joined Coventry City at the age of 14. He made the first team bench against Newcastle at the tender age of 16 and subsequently played 14 games for the Sky Blues in four years under Roland Nilsson, Trevor Peake, Gordon Strachan and Gary McAllister.

He subsequently played for Huddersfield Town where he scored the winning penalty in the shootout against Mansfield Town in the Division three Play-Off Final four years ago at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

The Cardiff-based midfielder, who has 12 Wales Under-21 caps to his name, also had a short spell with Scarborough.

He joined Newport County in March 2007 from Burton Albion after a falling out with Burton manager Nigel Clough.

"I was playing well and then was left out," he revealed. "I told Nigel (Clough) that I didn't want to be sat on the bench, so we both decided to move on," revealed Fowler.

The 25-year-old admitted the decision to part with County was a tough one.

"It was a difficult decision because I enjoyed my time at Newport and I know Dean Holdsworth (Newport manager) from playing with him at Coventry but in the end the chance to play full-time football again was too good to turn down," said the 25-year-old.

He added: "I still have the ambition to get back into league football and I don't want to have any regrets when I retire. It certainly wasn't about money - I would have been better off staying at Newport and working as a painter and decorator but I want to get back to where I was.

"Stuart Fleetwood is the template and this gives me the opportunity to kick on again."

His older brother, Mike, now plays for Blue Square Premier rivals Salisbury City.