From training on his own in a local park at 22 to making his Premier League debut against Manchester City and coming up against Lionel Messi. What a journey.
In January 2015, Jamal Lowe had just finished his sixth loan spell in three years when he decided enough was enough.
A spell at St Albans, who were playing in the Conference South at the time, followed. But to pay the bills, he needed a full-time job. “At the start, speaking to 30 kids that may or may not want to listen was quite daunting but as you gained more experience in the job, it became really rewarding," he smiles.
Hampton & Richmond, who had Sky Sports commentator Martin Tyler as their assistant manager at the time, gave Lowe the regular first-team football he craved. They brought him in and he soon repaid manager Alan Dowson's faith with 29 goals in 48 games. "I would take all of my coaching equipment. Two bags of balls, cones, poles... the lot. I used to dribble through cones on my own. If I spotted someone with all that equipment at the park now..." he laughs.
After becoming a key player during his debut season at Hampton & Richmond, where he was scoring every other game under the management team of Dowson and Tyler, who managed to unlock the potential many knew he possessed, Lowe continued to impress in the Conference South. "I remember the conversation clearly," Lowe recalls."He said, ‘I'm going to tell them that they should take you' and I replied, ‘Please tell them to sign me!'
After spending two-and-a-half seasons with Pompey, he scored 30 goals in 119 games for the club before earning a move to Championship side Wigan, who were managed by Paul Cook; the manager that gave the forward his chance to shine at Portsmouth. Still, his individual efforts certainly didn't go unnoticed and on transfer deadline day, another soon-to-be promoted side, Bournemouth, made their move.
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