 It seemed that the move would be made permanent but the clubs were unable to agree a fee, so Bowen returned to Birmingham.He then moved to Reading in December 1997 for a fee of £200,000, but he and four other players, including Welsh international teammate Andy Legg, fell out with manager Tommy Burns.The group were dubbed the "gang of five" and were forced to train away from the rest of the first team with the youth side.