Page "Iain Dowie" Paragraph 3

On 22 March 1991, with Luton still in the First Division and Dowie still a first team regular with seven goals from 29 games that season, Dowie agreed to join Second Division promotion chasers West Ham United for a fee of £ 480, 000.

He proved himself to be a competent deputy for the injured Trevor Morley as his four goals in the final 12 league games of the season secured the team's promotion as Second Division runners-up.

But when the 1991 – 92 season began, Morley had returned to fitness and Dowie found himself on the sidelines until his £ 500, 000 move to Southampton on 3 September 1991 after less than six months at Upton Park.

He played alongside Alan Shearer and Matthew Le Tissier – two of the country's highest regarded strikers in the early 1990s – and scored nine goals in 30 league games to ensure that the team finished high enough for a place in the newly-formed FA Premier League.

His good form continued in the 1992 – 93 season, despite the loss of Shearer, as he scored 11 league goals.

His tally dropped to five goals in 39 games during the 1993 – 94 season, though the club avoided relegation again, and he managed another five goals from 17 league games in the 1994 – 95 season before manager Alan Ball decided that he wanted younger partners for Le Tissier in attack, signing Gordon Watson and Neil Shipperley while dropping Craig Maskell and selling Dowie to Crystal Palace for £ 400, 000 on 13 January 1995.