‘There were times I was looking to pack it all in’
Jamal Lowe played for eight non-league clubs before his big break, writes Pippa Field
Jamal Lowe has not had the most straightforward career. So, when he says, “At the end of the day, you can have a lot of money and live a miserable life”, it carries more weight than it might from one of those young players suspected of being overpaid and overindulged.
The 24-year-old is in the goals and leading Portsmouth’s promotion charge as League One pacesetters. Yet the striker has not benefited from coming through an academy or being scouted as a youngster. Instead, his CV includes spells at eight nonleague clubs in five years before Portsmouth finally gave him a chance. He possesses an appreciation for the path trodden.
“I am a bit of a journeyman. I had so many clubs, I could never really hold one down for long enough to be able to establish myself until I went to Hampton & Richmond and steadied myself a little bit,” he said.
“From there, I came to Portsmouth and managed to do the same. There were definitely times where I was looking to pack it in and drop out of the game. It was getting harder and teams were just sacking you off after a couple of months. You’re thinking ‘Where is my team going to be?’”
Starting at Barnet, Lowe actually paid to play for the youth team before making his first-team debut in August 2012, aged 18.
Then the loan moves started: Hayes & Yeading United, Boreham Wood, Hitchin Town, St Albans City, Farnborough and Hemel Hempstead Town before permanent moves back to St Albans and Hemel.
None managed to earn him a breakthrough, instead he turned to teaching to ensure he was not plain broke. “When you haven’t got a football team, you’re not getting paid. I had to make sure I had constant pay while I was jumping from club to club,” he said.
“Some clubs will drop your wages because you’ve moved around from club to club a bit and they don’t want to waste money.
“I was a PE teacher with Coombe Hill infant and junior school in Kingston. I just started off doing an after-school club and they invited me to be their full-time teacher.”
Lowe combined football and teaching for three years, but finally, under former Football League defender Alan Dowson, he caught a break at Hampton & Richmond and 29 goals in 48 appearances led to his move to Portsmouth in January last year.
Two goals against Notts County in April helped the club seal promotion to League One, coming 11 months after he finished the previous season in the seventh tier of English football.
This campaign has also given reason for optimism. Managed by Kenny Jackett, Portsmouth’s tally of 20 points – ahead of today’s game with Wycombe Wanderers – is their best after eight matches to a season since the 2002-03 campaign when they were promoted to the Premier League under Harry Redknapp.
Not that Lowe, whose Twitter bio reads “Love Over Money”, is getting carried away. This is an individual who claims his parents left it until the last moment to register his birth as they could not decide on a name. Instead, they called him Bend Down: “I think they just played around with my surname until they figured out what they were going to call me.”
Now it is head down, focusing on helping Portsmouth into the Championship.
“We’ve got the strength in depth that we were perhaps lacking last year,” he said.
“When I moved to Portsmouth it was a step in the right direction. I want to play at the highest level and they gave me a chance.
“There will always be teams that will pay more money and a job that will pay more money. When I was playing for Hampton and also working full-time, the pay was not that bad. But it’s just whether you will be happy.”