The experienced midfielder has spent the last 16 years competing as a professional but has never graced the hallowed turf of the national stadium. Even his one outing for England in 2002 came at Villa Park, during the period when Wembley was being redeveloped. He is, however, close to achieving his goal this season, with Birmingham having made it through to the last four of the Carling Cup. Standing in the Blues' way in the semi-finals are Bowyer's former employers and childhood heroes West Ham but the 33-year-old accepts that he must dash their dreams in order to keep his own alive. "I was a ball boy there years and years ago but that is as close as I have ever been," he told Sky Sports News of his Wembley frustration. "Hopefully I can play there this time. It will be funny because West Ham are obviously my team. It would be hard but it's the job, it's the job that we do. I can't wait for the two legs and hopefully we can get to Wembley." Before Birmingham face the Hammers in the New Year they must first tackle a gruelling festive schedule which will see them take on Everton, Manchester United and Arsenal in the space of seven action-packed days, providing the weather holds up. "You get a backlog and you end up playing Saturday-Tuesday, Saturday-Tuesday," Bowyer said on the prospect of the Christmas fixture list being further disrupted by the freezing conditions. "It would be hard. We just want to play each game as you are meant to play it because I think they space them out as well as possible." Jokingly he added: "But saying that, I think we play Boxing Day, then the 28th and then the 1st. That's three games in quick succession so hopefully one of those might get called off. The one in between."
