title: CMYK color model

text: The "black" generated by mixing commercially practical cyan, magenta, and yellow inks is unsatisfactory, so four-color printing uses black ink in addition to the subtractive primaries. Common reasons for using black ink include:


title: CMYK color model

text: When a very dark area is wanted, a colored or gray CMY "bedding" is applied first, then a full black layer is applied on top, making a rich, deep black; this is called "rich black".


title: CMYK color model

text: The amount of black to use to replace amounts of the other inks is variable, and the choice depends on the technology, paper and ink in use. Processes called under color removal, under color addition, and gray component replacement are used to decide on the final mix; different CMYK recipes will be used depending on the printing task.


title: CMYK color model

text: CMYK or process color printing is contrasted with spot color printing, in which specific colored inks are used to generate the colors appearing on paper. Some printing presses are capable of printing with both four-color process inks and additional spot color inks at the same time. High-quality printed materials, such as marketing brochures and books, often include photographs requiring process-color printing, other graphic effects requiring spot colors (such as metallic inks), and finishes such as varnish, which enhances the glossy appearance of the printed piece.


title: CMYK color model

text: CMYK are the process printers which often have a relatively small color gamut. Processes such as Pantone's proprietary six-color (CMYKOG) Hexachrome considerably expand the gamut. Light, saturated colors often cannot be created with CMYK, and light colors in general may make visible the halftone pattern. Using a CcMmYK process, with the addition of light cyan and magenta inks to CMYK, can solve these problems, and such a process is used by many inkjet printers, including desktop models.


title: CMYK color model

text: Comparisons between RGB displays and CMYK prints can be difficult, since the color reproduction technologies and properties are very different. A computer monitor mixes shades of red, green, and blue light to create color pictures. A CMYK printer instead uses light-absorbing cyan, magenta, and yellow inks, whose colors are mixed using dithering, halftoning, or some other optical technique.


title: CMYK color model

text: Similar to monitors, the inks used in printing produce a color gamut that is "only a subset of the visible spectrum" although both color modes have their own specific ranges. As a result of this, items which are displayed on a computer monitor may not completely match the look of items which are printed if opposite color modes are being combined in both mediums. When designing items to be printed, designers view the colors which they are choosing on an RGB color mode (their computer screen), and it is often difficult to visualize the way in which the color will turn out post-printing because of this.


title: CMYK color model

text: To reproduce color, the CMYK color model codes for absorbing light rather than emitting it (as is assumed by RGB). The "K" component absorbs all wavelengths and is therefore achromatic. The cyan, magenta, and yellow components are used for color reproduction and they may be viewed as the inverse of RGB. Cyan absorbs red, magenta absorbs green, and yellow absorbs blue (-R,-G,-B).


title: CMYK color model

text: Since RGB and CMYK spaces are both device-dependent spaces, there is no simple or general conversion formula that converts between them. Conversions are generally done through color management systems, using color profiles that describe the spaces being converted. An ICC profile defines the bidirectional conversion between a neutral "profile connection" color space (CIE XYZ or Lab) and a colorspace we are interested in, in this case both RGB and CMYK. The precision of the conversion depends on the profile itself, the exact methodology, and because the gamuts do not generally match, the rendering intent and constraints such as ink limit.


title: CMYK color model

text: ICC profiles, internally built out of lookup tables and other transformation functions, are capable of handling many effects of ink blending. One example is the dot gain, which show up as non-linear components in the color-to-density mapping. More complex interactions such as "Neugebauer" blending can be modelled in higher-dimension lookup tables.


title: CMYK color model

text: The problem of computing a colorimetric estimate of the color that results from printing various combinations of ink has been addressed by many scientists. A general method that has emerged for the case of halftone printing is to treat each tiny overlap of color dots as one of 8 (combinations of CMY) or of 16 (combinations of CMYK) colors, which in this context are known as "Neugebauer primaries". The resultant color would be an area-weighted colorimetric combination of these primary colors, except that the "Yule–Nielsen" effect of scattered light between and within the areas complicates the physics and the analysis; empirical formulas for such analysis have been developed, in terms of detailed dye combination absorption spectra and empirical parameters.


title: CMYK color model

text: Standardization of printing practices allow for some profiles to be predefined. One of them is the US Specifications for Web Offset Publications (SWOP), which has its ICC color profile built into many software including Microsoft Office (as Agfa RSWOP.icm).


title: Lead–acid battery

text: The lead–acid battery is a type of rechargeable battery first invented in 1859 by French physicist Gaston Planté. It is the first type of rechargeable battery ever created. Compared to modern rechargeable batteries, lead–acid batteries have relatively low energy density. Despite this, their ability to supply high surge currents means that the cells have a relatively large power-to-weight ratio. These features, along with their low cost, make them attractive for use in motor vehicles to provide the high current required by starter motors. Lead-acid batteries suffer from relatively short cycle lifespan (usually less than 500 deep cycles) and overall lifespan (due to the "double sulfation" in the discharged state).


title: Lead–acid battery

text: As they are inexpensive compared to newer technologies, lead–acid batteries are widely used even when surge current is not important and other designs could provide higher energy densities. In 1999, lead–acid battery sales accounted for 40–50% of the value from batteries sold worldwide (excluding China and Russia), equivalent to a manufacturing market value of about US$15 billion. Large-format lead–acid designs are widely used for storage in backup power supplies in cell phone towers, high-availability emergency power systems like hospitals, and stand-alone power systems. For these roles, modified versions of the standard cell may be used to improve storage times and reduce maintenance requirements. "Gel-cells" and "absorbed glass-mat" batteries are common in these roles, collectively known as VRLA (valve-regulated lead–acid) batteries.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: In the charged state, the chemical energy of the battery is stored in the potential difference between metallic lead at the negative side and PbO on the positive side.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: The French scientist Nicolas Gautherot observed in 1801 that wires that had been used for electrolysis experiments would themselves provide a small amount of "secondary" current after the main battery had been disconnected. In 1859, Gaston Planté's lead–acid battery was the first battery that could be recharged by passing a reverse current through it. Planté's first model consisted of two lead sheets separated by rubber strips and rolled into a spiral. His batteries were first used to power the lights in train carriages while stopped at a station. In 1881, Camille Alphonse Faure invented an improved version that consisted of a lead grid lattice, into which a lead oxide paste was pressed, forming a plate. This design was easier to mass-produce. An early manufacturer (from 1886) of lead–acid batteries was Henri Tudor.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Using a gel electrolyte instead of a liquid allows the battery to be used in different positions without leaking. Gel electrolyte batteries for any position were first used in the 1930s, and in the late 1920s, portable suitcase radio sets allowed the cell to be mounted vertically or horizontally (but not inverted) due to valve design. In the 1970s, the valve-regulated lead–acid battery (VRLA, or "sealed") was developed, including modern absorbed glass mat (AGM) types, allowing operation in any position.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: It was discovered early in 2011 that lead–acid batteries did in fact use some aspects of relativity to function, and to a lesser degree liquid metal and molten-salt batteries such as the Ca–Sb and Sn–Bi also use this effect.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: In the discharged state both the positive and negative plates become lead(II) sulfate (), and the electrolyte loses much of its dissolved sulfuric acid and becomes primarily water.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: As electrons accumulate they create an electric field which attracts hydrogen ions and repels sulfate ions, leading to a double-layer near the surface. The hydrogen ions screen the charged electrode from the solution which limits further reaction unless charge is allowed to flow out of the electrode.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: The net energy released per mole (207 g) of Pb(s) converted to (s), is ca. 400 kJ, corresponding to the formation of 36 g of water. The sum of the molecular masses of the reactants is 642.6 g/mole, so theoretically a cell can produce two faradays of charge (192,971 coulombs) from 642.6 g of reactants, or 83.4 ampere hours per kilogram (or 13.9-ampere hours per kilogram for a 12-volt battery) for a 2-volt cell. This comes to 167 watt-hours per kilogram of reactants, but in practice, a lead–acid cell gives only 30–40 watt-hours per kilogram of battery, due to the mass of the water and other constituent parts.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: In the fully charged state, the negative plate consists of lead, and the positive plate is lead dioxide. The electrolyte solution has a higher concentration of aqueous sulfuric acid, which stores most of the chemical energy.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Overcharging with high charging voltages generates oxygen and hydrogen gas by electrolysis of water, which bubbles out and is lost. The design of some types of lead–acid battery allows the electrolyte level to be inspected and topped up with pure water to replace any that has been lost


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Because of freezing-point depression, the electrolyte is more likely to freeze in a cold environment when the battery has a low charge and a correspondingly low sulfuric acid concentration.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: During discharge, produced at the negative plates moves into the electrolyte solution and is then consumed at the positive plates, while is consumed at both plates. The reverse occurs during the charge. This motion can be electrically driven proton flow or Grotthuss mechanism, or by diffusion through the medium, or by the flow of a liquid electrolyte medium. Since the electrolyte density is greater when the sulfuric acid concentration is higher, the liquid will tend to circulate by convection. Therefore, a liquid-medium cell tends to rapidly discharge and rapidly charge more efficiently than an otherwise similar gel cell.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Because the electrolyte takes part in the charge-discharge reaction, this battery has one major advantage over other chemistries: It is relatively simple to determine the state of charge by merely measuring the specific gravity of the electrolyte; the specific gravity falls as the battery discharges. Some battery designs include a simple hydrometer using colored floating balls of differing density. When used in diesel-electric submarines, the specific gravity was regularly measured and written on a blackboard in the control room to indicate how much longer the boat could remain submerged.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: The battery's open-circuit voltage can also be used to gauge the state of charge. If the connections to the individual cells are accessible, then the state of charge of each cell can be determined which can provide a guide as to the state of health of the battery as a whole, otherwise the overall battery voltage may be assessed.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: IUoU battery charging is a three-stage charging procedure for lead–acid batteries. A lead–acid battery's nominal voltage is 2.2 V for each cell. For a single cell, the voltage can range from 1.8  V loaded at full discharge, to 2.10  V in an open circuit at full charge.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Float voltage varies depending on battery type (i.e. flooded cells, gelled electrolyte, absorbed glass mat), and ranges from 1.8 V to 2.27 V. Equalization voltage, and charging voltage for sulfated cells, can range from 2.67 V to almost 3 V. (only until a charge current is flowing) Specific values for a given battery depend on the design and manufacturer recommendations, and are usually given at a baseline temperature of , requiring adjustment for ambient conditions. IEEE Standard 485-2020 (first published in 1997) is the industry's recommended practice for sizing Lead-Acid batteries in stationary applications.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: The lead–acid cell can be demonstrated using sheet lead plates for the two electrodes. However, such a construction produces only around one ampere for roughly postcard-sized plates, and for only a few minutes.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Gaston Planté found a way to provide a much larger effective surface area. In Planté's design, the positive and negative plates were formed of two spirals of lead foil, separated with a sheet of cloth and coiled up. The cells initially had low capacity, so a slow process of "forming" was required to corrode the lead foils, creating lead dioxide on the plates and roughening them to increase surface area. Initially, this process used electricity from primary batteries; when generators became available after 1870, the cost of producing batteries greatly declined. Planté plates are still used in some stationary applications, where the plates are mechanically grooved to increase their surface area.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: In 1880, Camille Alphonse Faure patented a method of coating a lead grid (which serves as the current conductor) with a paste of lead oxides, sulfuric acid, and water, followed by curing phase in which the plates were exposed to gentle heat in a high-humidity environment. The curing process changed the paste into a mixture of lead sulfates which adhered to the lead plate. Then, during the battery's initial charge (called "formation") the cured paste on the plates was converted into electrochemically active material (the "active mass"). Faure's process significantly reduced the time and cost to manufacture lead–acid batteries, and gave a substantial increase in capacity compared with Planté's battery. Faure's method is still in use today, with only incremental improvements to paste composition, curing (which is still done with steam, but is now a very tightly controlled process), and structure and composition of the grid to which the paste is applied.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: The grid developed by Faure was of pure lead with connecting rods of lead at right angles. In contrast, present-day grids are structured for improved mechanical strength and improved current flow. In addition to different grid patterns (ideally, all points on the plate are equidistant from the power conductor), modern-day processes also apply one or two thin fiber-glass mats over the grid to distribute the weight more evenly. And while Faure had used pure lead for his grids, within a year (1881) these had been superseded by lead–antimony (8–12%) alloys to give the structures additional rigidity. However, high-antimony grids have higher hydrogen evolution (which also accelerates as the battery ages), and thus greater outgassing and higher maintenance costs. These issues were identified by U. B. Thomas and W. E. Haring at Bell Labs in the 1930s and eventually led to the development of lead–calcium grid alloys in 1935 for standby power batteries on the U.S. telephone network. Related research led to the development of lead–selenium grid alloys in Europe a few years later. Both lead–calcium and lead–selenium grid alloys still add antimony, albeit in much smaller quantities than the older high-antimony grids: lead–calcium grids have 4–6% antimony while lead–selenium grids have 1–2%. These metallurgical improvements give the grid more strength, which allows it to carry more weight, i.e. more active material, and so the plates can be thicker, which in turn contributes to battery lifespan since there is more material available to shed before the battery becomes unusable. High-antimony alloy grids are still used in batteries intended for frequent cycling, e.g. in motor-starting applications where frequent expansion/contraction of the plates need to be compensated for, but where outgassing is not significant since charge currents remain low. Since the 1950s, batteries designed for infrequent cycling applications (e.g., standby power batteries) increasingly have lead–calcium or lead–selenium alloy grids since these have less hydrogen evolution and thus lower maintenance overhead. Lead–calcium alloy grids are cheaper to manufacture (the cells thus have lower up-front costs), and have a lower self-discharge rate, and lower watering requirements, but have slightly poorer conductivity, are mechanically weaker (and thus require more antimony to compensate), and are more strongly subject to corrosion (and thus a shorter lifespan) than cells with lead–selenium alloy grids.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: The open-circuit effect is a dramatic loss of battery cycle life which was observed when calcium was substituted for antimony. It is also known as the antimony free effect.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Modern-day paste contains carbon black, "blanc fixe" (barium sulfate) and lignosulfonate. The blanc fixe acts as a seed crystal for the lead–to–lead sulfate reaction. The blanc fixe must be fully dispersed in the paste in order for it to be effective. The lignosulfonate prevents the negative plate from forming a solid mass during the discharge cycle, instead enabling the formation of long needle–like dendrites. The long crystals have more surface area and are easily converted back to the original state on charging. Carbon black counteracts the effect of inhibiting formation caused by the lignosulfonates. Sulfonated naphthalene condensate dispersant is a more effective expander than lignosulfonate and speeds up formation. This dispersant improves the dispersion of barium sulfate in the paste, reduces hydroset time, produces a more breakage-resistant plate, reduces fine lead particles, and thereby improves handling and pasting characteristics. It extends battery life by increasing end-of-charge voltage. Sulfonated naphthalene requires about one-third to one-half the amount of lignosulfonate and is stable to higher temperatures.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Once dry, the plates are stacked with suitable separators and inserted in a cell container. The alternate plates then constitute alternating positive and negative electrodes, and within the cell are later connected to one another (negative to negative, positive to positive) in parallel. The separators inhibit the plates from touching each other, which would otherwise constitute a short circuit. In flooded and gel cells, the separators are insulating rails or studs, formerly of glass or ceramic, and now of plastic. In AGM cells, the separator is the glass mat itself, and the rack of plates with separators are squeezed together before insertion into the cell; once in the cell, the glass mats expand slightly, effectively locking the plates in place. In multi-cell batteries, the cells are then connected to one another in series, either through connectors through the cell walls, or by a bridge over the cell walls. All intra-cell and inter-cell connections are of the same lead alloy as that used in the grids. This is necessary to prevent galvanic corrosion.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Deep-cycle batteries have a different geometry for their positive electrodes. The positive electrode is not a flat plate but a row of lead–oxide cylinders or tubes strung side by side, so their geometry is called tubular or cylindrical. The advantage of this is an increased surface area in contact with the electrolyte, with higher discharge and charge currents than a flat-plate cell of the same volume and depth-of-charge. Tubular-electrode cells have a higher power density than flat-plate cells. This makes tubular/cylindrical geometry plates especially suitable for high-current applications with weight or space limitations, such as for forklifts or for starting marine diesel engines. However, because tubes/cylinders have less active material in the same volume, they also have a lower energy density than flat-plate cells. And, less active material at the electrode also means they have less material available to shed before the cell becomes unusable. Tubular/cylindrical electrodes are also more complicated to manufacture uniformly, which tends to make them more expensive than flat-plate cells. These trade-offs limit the range of applications in which tubular/cylindrical batteries are meaningful to situations where there is insufficient space to install higher capacity (and thus larger) flat-plate units.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: About 60% of the weight of an automotive-type lead–acid battery rated around 60 A·h is lead or internal parts made of lead; the balance is electrolyte, separators, and the case. For example, there are approximately 8.7 kg (19 lb) of lead in a typical 14.5-kg (32 lb) battery.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Separators between the positive and negative plates prevent short circuit through physical contact, mostly through dendrites ("treeing"), but also through shedding of the active material. Separators allow the flow of ions between the plates of an electrochemical cell to form a closed circuit. Wood, rubber, glass fiber mat, cellulose, and PVC or polyethylene plastic have been used to make separators. Wood was the original choice, but it deteriorates in the acid electrolyte.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: An effective separator must possess a number of mechanical properties; such as permeability, porosity, pore size distribution, specific surface area, mechanical design and strength, electrical resistance, ionic conductivity, and chemical compatibility with the electrolyte. In service, the separator must have good resistance to acid and oxidation. The area of the separator must be a little larger than the area of the plates to prevent material shorting between the plates. The separators must remain stable over the battery's operating temperature range.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: In the absorbent glass mat design, or AGM for short, the separators between the plates are replaced by a glass fibre mat soaked in electrolyte. There is only enough electrolyte in the mat to keep it wet, and if the battery is punctured the electrolyte will not flow out of the mats. Principally the purpose of replacing liquid electrolyte in a flooded battery with a semi-saturated fiberglass mat is to substantially increase the gas transport through the separator; hydrogen or oxygen gas produced during overcharge or charge (if the charge current is excessive) is able to freely pass through the glass mat and reduce or oxidize the opposing plate respectively. In a flooded cell the bubbles of gas float to the top of the battery and are lost to the atmosphere. This mechanism for the gas produced to recombine and the additional benefit of a semi-saturated cell providing no substantial leakage of electrolyte upon physical puncture of the battery case allows the battery to be completely sealed, which makes them useful in portable devices and similar roles. Additionally the battery can be installed in any orientation, though if it is installed upside down then acid may be blown out through the overpressure vent.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: To reduce the water loss rate calcium is alloyed with the plates; however, gas build-up remains a problem when the battery is deeply or rapidly charged or discharged. To prevent over-pressurization of the battery casing, AGM batteries include a one-way blow-off valve, and are often known as "valve-regulated lead–acid", or VRLA, designs.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Another advantage to the AGM design is that the electrolyte becomes the separator material, and mechanically strong. This allows the plate stack to be compressed together in the battery shell, slightly increasing energy density compared to liquid or gel versions. AGM batteries often show a characteristic "bulging" in their shells when built in common rectangular shapes, due to the expansion of the positive plates.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: The mat also prevents the vertical motion of the electrolyte within the battery. When a normal wet cell is stored in a discharged state, the heavier acid molecules tend to settle to the bottom of the battery, causing the electrolyte to stratify. When the battery is then used, the majority of the current flows only in this area, and the bottom of the plates tends to wear out rapidly. This is one of the reasons a conventional car battery can be ruined by leaving it stored for a long period and then used and recharged. The mat significantly prevents this stratification, eliminating the need to periodically shake the batteries, boil them, or run an "equalization charge" through them to mix the electrolyte. Stratification also causes the upper layers of the battery to become almost completely water, which can freeze in cold weather, AGMs are significantly less susceptible to damage due to low-temperature use.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: While AGM cells do not permit watering (typically it is impossible to add water without drilling a hole in the battery), their recombination process is fundamentally limited by the usual chemical processes. Hydrogen gas will even diffuse right through the plastic case itself. Some have found that it is profitable to add water to an AGM battery, but this must be done slowly to allow for the water to mix via diffusion throughout the battery. When a lead–acid battery loses water, its acid concentration increases, increasing the corrosion rate of the plates significantly. AGM cells already have a high acid content in an attempt to lower the water loss rate and increase standby voltage, and this brings about shorter life compared to a lead–antimony flooded battery. If the open circuit voltage of AGM cells is significantly higher than 2.093 volts, or 12.56 V for a 12 V battery, then it has a higher acid content than a flooded cell; while this is normal for an AGM battery, it is not desirable for long life.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: AGM cells that are intentionally or accidentally overcharged will show a higher open circuit voltage according to the water lost (and acid concentration increased). One amp-hour of overcharge will electrolyse 0.335 grams of water per cell; some of this liberated hydrogen and oxygen will recombine, but not all of it.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: During the 1970s, researchers developed the sealed version or gel battery, which mixes a silica gelling agent into the electrolyte (silica gel- based lead–acid batteries used in portable radios from the early 1930s were not fully sealed). This converts the formerly liquid interior of the cells into a semi-stiff paste, providing many of the same advantages of the AGM. Such designs are even less susceptible to evaporation and are often used in situations where little or no periodic maintenance is possible. Gel cells also have lower freezing and higher boiling points than the liquid electrolytes used in conventional wet cells and AGMs, which makes them suitable for use in extreme conditions.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: The only downside to the gel design is that the gel prevents rapid motion of the ions in the electrolyte, which reduces carrier mobility and thus surge current capability. For this reason, gel cells are most commonly found in energy storage applications like off-grid systems.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Both gel and AGM designs are sealed, do not require watering, can be used in any orientation, and use a valve for gas blowoff. For this reason, both designs can be called maintenance free, sealed and VRLA. However, it is quite common to find resources stating that these terms refer to one or another of these designs, specifically.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: In a valve regulated lead–acid (VRLA) battery, the hydrogen and oxygen produced in the cells largely recombine into water. Leakage is minimal, although some electrolyte still escapes if the recombination cannot keep up with gas evolution. Since VRLA batteries do not require (and make impossible) regular checking of the electrolyte level, they have been called "maintenance free batteries". However, this is somewhat of a misnomer. VRLA cells do require maintenance. As electrolyte is lost, VRLA cells "dry-out" and lose capacity. This can be detected by taking regular internal resistance, conductance, or impedance measurements. Regular testing reveals whether more involved testing and maintenance is required. Recent maintenance procedures have been developed allowing "rehydration", often restoring significant amounts of lost capacity.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: VRLA types became popular on motorcycles around 1983, because the acid electrolyte is absorbed into the separator, so it cannot spill. The separator also helps them better withstand vibration. They are also popular in stationary applications such as telecommunications sites, due to their small footprint and installation flexibility.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Most of the world's lead–acid batteries are automobile starting, lighting, and ignition (SLI) batteries, with an estimated 320 million units shipped in 1999. In 1992 about 3 million tons of lead were used in the manufacture of batteries.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Wet cell stand-by (stationary) batteries designed for deep discharge are commonly used in large backup power supplies for telephone and computer centres, grid energy storage, and off-grid household electric power systems. Lead–acid batteries are used in emergency lighting and to power sump pumps in case of power failure.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Traction (propulsion) batteries are used in golf carts and other battery electric vehicles. Large lead–acid batteries are also used to power the electric motors in diesel-electric (conventional) submarines when submerged, and are used as emergency power on nuclear submarines as well. Valve-regulated lead–acid batteries cannot spill their electrolyte. They are used in back-up power supplies for alarm and smaller computer systems (particularly in uninterruptible power supplies; UPS) and for electric scooters, electric wheelchairs, electrified bicycles, marine applications, battery electric vehicles or micro hybrid vehicles, and motorcycles. Many electric forklifts use lead–acid batteries, where the weight is used as part of a counterweight. Lead–acid batteries were used to supply the filament (heater) voltage, with 2 V common in early vacuum tube (valve) radio receivers.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Lead–acid batteries designed for starting automotive engines are not designed for deep discharge. They have a large number of thin plates designed for maximum surface area, and therefore maximum current output, which can easily be damaged by deep discharge. Repeated deep discharges will result in capacity loss and ultimately in premature failure, as the electrodes disintegrate due to mechanical stresses that arise from cycling. Starting batteries kept on a continuous float charge will suffer corrosion of the electrodes which will also result in premature failure. Starting batteries should therefore be kept open circuit but charged regularly (at least once every two weeks) to prevent sulfation.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Starting batteries are of lighter weight than deep-cycle batteries of the same size, because the thinner and lighter cell plates do not extend all the way to the bottom of the battery case. This allows loose disintegrated material to fall off the plates and collect at the bottom of the cell, prolonging the service life of the battery. If this loose debris rises enough it may touch the bottom of the plates and cause failure of a cell, resulting in loss of battery voltage and capacity.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Specially designed deep-cycle cells are much less susceptible to degradation due to cycling, and are required for applications where the batteries are regularly discharged, such as photovoltaic systems, electric vehicles (forklift, golf cart, electric cars, and others) and uninterruptible power supplies. These batteries have thicker plates that can deliver less "peak current", but can withstand frequent discharging.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Some batteries are designed as a compromise between starter (high-current) and deep cycle. They are able to be discharged to a greater degree than automotive batteries, but less so than deep-cycle batteries. They may be referred to as "marine/motorhome" batteries, or "leisure batteries".


title: Lead–acid battery

text: The capacity of a lead–acid battery is not a fixed quantity but varies according to how quickly it is discharged. The empirical relationship between discharge rate and capacity is known as Peukert's law.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: When a battery is charged or discharged, only the reacting chemicals, which are at the interface between the electrodes and the electrolyte, are initially affected. With time, the charge stored in the chemicals at the interface, often called "interface charge" or "surface charge", spreads by diffusion of these chemicals throughout the volume of the active material.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Consider a battery that has been completely discharged (such as occurs when leaving the car lights on overnight, a current draw of about 6 amps). If it then is given a fast charge for only a few minutes, the battery plates charge only near the interface between the plates and the electrolyte. In this case the battery voltage might rise to a value near that of the charger voltage; this causes the charging current to decrease significantly. After a few hours this interface charge will spread to the volume of the electrode and electrolyte; this leads to an interface charge so low that it may be insufficient to start the car. As long as the charging voltage stays below the gassing voltage (about 14.4 volts in a normal lead–acid battery), battery damage is unlikely, and in time the battery should return to a nominally charged state.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Lead–acid batteries lose the ability to accept a charge when discharged for too long due to "sulfation", the crystallization of lead sulfate. They generate electricity through a double sulfate chemical reaction. Lead and lead dioxide, the active materials on the battery's plates, react with sulfuric acid in the electrolyte to form lead sulfate. The lead sulfate first forms in a finely divided, amorphous state and easily reverts to lead, lead dioxide, and sulfuric acid when the battery recharges. As batteries cycle through numerous discharges and charges, some lead sulfate does not recombine into electrolyte and slowly converts into a stable crystalline form that no longer dissolves on recharging. Thus, not all the lead is returned to the battery plates, and the amount of usable active material necessary for electricity generation declines over time.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Sulfation occurs in lead–acid batteries when they are subjected to insufficient charging during normal operation. It impedes recharging; sulfate deposits ultimately expand, cracking the plates and destroying the battery. Eventually, so much of the battery plate area is unable to supply current that the battery capacity is greatly reduced. In addition, the sulfate portion (of the lead sulfate) is not returned to the electrolyte as sulfuric acid. It is believed that large crystals physically block the electrolyte from entering the pores of the plates. A white coating on the plates may be visible in batteries with clear cases or after dismantling the battery. Batteries that are sulfated show a high internal resistance and can deliver only a small fraction of normal discharge current. Sulfation also affects the charging cycle, resulting in longer charging times, less efficient and incomplete charging, and higher battery temperatures.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: SLI batteries (starting, lighting, ignition; e.g., car batteries) suffer the most deterioration because vehicles normally stand unused for relatively long periods of time. Deep-cycle and motive power batteries are subjected to regular controlled overcharging, eventually failing due to corrosion of the positive plate grids rather than sulfation.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Sulfation can be avoided if the battery is fully recharged immediately after a discharge cycle. There are no known independently verified ways to reverse sulfation. There are commercial products claiming to achieve desulfation through various techniques such as pulse charging, but there are no peer-reviewed publications verifying their claims. Sulfation prevention remains the best course of action, by periodically fully charging the lead–acid batteries.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: A typical lead–acid battery contains a mixture with varying concentrations of water and acid. Sulfuric acid has a higher density than water, which causes the acid formed at the plates during charging to flow downward and collect at the bottom of the battery. Eventually the mixture will again reach uniform composition by diffusion, but this is a very slow process. Repeated cycles of partial charging and discharging will increase stratification of the electrolyte, reducing the capacity and performance of the battery because the lack of acid on top limits plate activation. The stratification also promotes corrosion on the upper half of the plates and sulfation at the bottom.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Periodic overcharging creates gaseous reaction products at the plate, causing convection currents which mix the electrolyte and resolve the stratification. Mechanical stirring of the electrolyte would have the same effect. Batteries in moving vehicles are also subject to sloshing and splashing in the cells, as the vehicle accelerates, brakes, and turns.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Excessive charging causes electrolysis, emitting hydrogen and oxygen. This process is known as "gassing". Wet cells have open vents to release any gas produced, and VRLA batteries rely on valves fitted to each cell. Catalytic caps are available for flooded cells to recombine hydrogen and oxygen. A VRLA cell normally recombines any hydrogen and oxygen produced inside the cell, but malfunction or overheating may cause gas to build up. If this happens (for example, on overcharging) the valve vents the gas and normalizes the pressure, producing a characteristic acid smell. However, valves can fail, such as if dirt and debris accumulate, allowing pressure to build up.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Accumulated hydrogen and oxygen sometimes ignite in an internal explosion. The force of the explosion can cause the battery's casing to burst, or cause its top to fly off, spraying acid and casing fragments. An explosion in one cell may ignite any combustible gas mixture in the remaining cells. Similarly, in a poorly ventilated area, connecting or disconnecting a closed circuit (such as a load or a charger) to the battery terminals can also cause sparks and an explosion, if any gas was vented from the cells.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: The cells of VRLA batteries typically swell when the internal pressure rises, so giving a warning to users and mechanics. The deformation varies from cell to cell, and is greatest at the ends where the walls are unsupported by other cells. Such over-pressurized batteries should be carefully isolated and discarded. Personnel working near batteries at risk for explosion should protect their eyes and exposed skin from burns due to spraying acid and fire by wearing a face shield, overalls, and gloves. Using goggles instead of a face shield sacrifices safety by leaving the face exposed to possible flying acid, case or battery fragments, and heat from a potential explosion.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: According to a 2003 report entitled "Getting the Lead Out", by Environmental Defense and the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, Michigan, the batteries of vehicles on the road contained an estimated of lead. Some lead compounds are extremely toxic. Long-term exposure to even tiny amounts of these compounds can cause brain and kidney damage, hearing impairment, and learning problems in children. The auto industry uses over of lead every year, with 90% going to conventional lead–acid vehicle batteries. While lead recycling is a well-established industry, more than ends up in landfills every year. According to the federal Toxic Release Inventory, another are released in the lead mining and manufacturing process.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Attempts are being made to develop alternatives (particularly for automotive use) because of concerns about the environmental consequences of improper disposal and of lead smelting operations, among other reasons. Alternatives are unlikely to displace them for applications such as engine starting or backup power systems, since the batteries, although heavy, are low-cost.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: According to the Battery Council, an industry group, lead–acid battery recycling is one of the most successful recycling programs in the world. In the United States 99% of all battery lead was recycled between 2014 and 2018.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: However, documents of the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration, since 1982, have indicated rates varying between 60% and 95%.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Lead is highly toxic to humans, and recycling it can result in pollution and contamination of people resulting in numerous and lasting health problems. One ranking cites lead–acid battery recycling as the world's most deadly industrial process, in terms of Disability-adjusted life years lost—resulting in 2,000,000 to 4,800,000 estimated years of individual human life lost, globally.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Lead–acid battery-recycling sites, themselves, have become a source of lead pollution, and by 1992, the EPA had selected 29 such sites for its Superfund clean-up, with 22 on its National Priority List.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: An effective pollution control system is a necessity to prevent lead emission. Continuous improvement in battery recycling plants and furnace designs is required to keep pace with emission standards for lead smelters.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Chemical additives have been used ever since the lead–acid battery became a commercial item, to reduce lead sulfate build-up on plates and improve battery condition when added to the electrolyte of a vented lead–acid battery. Such treatments are rarely, if ever, effective.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Two compounds used for such purposes are Epsom salts and EDTA. Epsom salts reduce the internal resistance in a weak or damaged battery and may allow a small amount of extended life. EDTA can be used to dissolve the sulfate deposits of heavily discharged plates. However, the dissolved material is then no longer available to participate in the normal charge-discharge cycle, so a battery temporarily revived with EDTA will have a reduced life expectancy. Residual EDTA in the lead–acid cell forms organic acids which will accelerate corrosion of the lead plates and internal connectors.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: The active materials change physical form during charge/discharge, resulting in growth and distortion of the electrodes, and shedding of electrodes into the electrolyte. Once the active material has fallen out of the plates, it cannot be restored into position by any chemical treatment. Similarly, internal physical problems such as cracked plates, corroded connectors, or damaged separators cannot be restored chemically.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Corrosion of the external metal parts of the lead–acid battery results from a chemical reaction of the battery terminals, plugs, and connectors.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Corrosion on the positive terminal is caused by electrolysis, due to a mismatch of metal alloys used in the manufacture of the battery terminal and cable connector. White corrosion is usually lead or zinc sulfate crystals. Aluminum connectors corrode to aluminum sulfate. Copper connectors produce blue and white corrosion crystals. Corrosion of a battery's terminals can be reduced by coating the terminals with petroleum jelly or a commercially available product made for the purpose.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: If the battery is overfilled with water and electrolyte, thermal expansion can force some of the liquid out of the battery vents onto the top of the battery. This solution can then react with the lead and other metals in the battery connector and cause corrosion.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: The electrolyte can seep from the plastic-to-lead seal where the battery terminals penetrate the plastic case.


title: Lead–acid battery

text: Acid fumes that vaporize through the vent caps, often caused by overcharging, and insufficient battery box ventilation can allow the sulfuric acid fumes to build up and react with the exposed metals.


title: Goran Dragić

text: Goran Dragić (born 6 May 1986) is a Slovenian professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Dragon", he had played professional basketball in Slovenia and Spain before entering the NBA in 2008. Dragić has also played for the Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat, Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors, and the Brooklyn Nets. He was an All-NBA Third Team selection and the NBA Most Improved Player with the Suns in 2014. He was named an NBA All-Star for the first time in 2018 with Miami. He led the senior Slovenian national team to its first FIBA EuroBasket title in 2017, while being named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.


title: Goran Dragić

text: Dragić made his debut in 2003, at the age of 17, in the Slovenian minor league with KD Ilirija. After one year, Dragic transferred to the top-level Slovenian Basketball League and Adriatic League club Slovan in 2004.


title: Goran Dragić

text: After spending two years with Slovan, Dragic transferred to the Spanish ACB League club Saski Baskonia, who loaned him to the Spanish club Murcia, in 2006.


title: Goran Dragić

text: Dragić joined the Slovenian club Union Olimpija in 2007, and he played there during the 2007–08 season, winning the Slovenian League championship with the team.


title: Goran Dragić

text: Dragić entered the 2008 NBA draft, where he was selected in the second round, 45th overall, by the San Antonio Spurs. His draft rights were then traded to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for the draft rights to Malik Hairston, the 48th pick. After the Suns finished a deal with TAU Ceramica (now known as Caja Laboral), with whom he was under contract, they officially signed him on 22 September 2008. The Suns hoped that he would take over the starting point guard position after Steve Nash relinquished it. On 25 January 2010, Dragić scored a then career high 32 points, hitting 6 of 7 three-pointers in a losing effort against the Utah Jazz.


title: Goran Dragić

text: On 7 May 2010, during game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals, he led a Phoenix Suns comeback against the team that originally drafted him, the San Antonio Spurs, scoring 23 of his total 26 points in the fourth quarter. Dragić scored his points on 10/13 FG attempts including 5/5 three-pointers and a 4-point play, as the Suns overcame an early 18-point deficit to defeat the Spurs 110–96 and take a 3–0 lead in their best of seven series in the Western Conference Semifinals. "I think it's safe to say that may have been the best fourth-quarter performance I have ever seen in a playoff game", Suns forward Grant Hill said.


title: Goran Dragić

text: On 24 February 2011, Dragić was traded to the Houston Rockets along with a protected first-round pick in exchange for Aaron Brooks. On 13 April 2011, in the Rockets' season finale, Dragić recorded his first career triple-double with 11 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds in a 121–102 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.


title: Goran Dragić

text: During the 2011 NBA lockout, Dragić played for Saski Baskonia of Spain. He played for a brief period of time there until the lockout ended.


title: Goran Dragić

text: Dragić returned to the Rockets for the 2011–12 season. Throughout most of the season, Dragić continued to be used as a bench player as a means to help the Rockets out during the lockout shortened season. In March 2012, he filled in for Kyle Lowry, who was out with a bacterial infection. On 9 April 2012, Dragić won the Western Conference Player of the Week.


title: Goran Dragić

text: In 2012, Dragić became an unrestricted free agent. He agreed to sign a 4-year, $30 million deal with a player option on the final year with the Phoenix Suns and officially became a member of the team again on 19 July 2012. He was brought in to replace Steve Nash, whom he played behind during his first stint with the Suns, as starting point guard. On 19 February 2013, Dragić recorded a career-high 18 assists to go with 14 points as the Suns defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 102–98. Dragić nearly recorded a triple-double against the Brooklyn Nets with 31 points, 12 assists, and 9 rebounds on 24 March 2013. Despite suffering through a 25–57 season, Dragić ended up gaining some career high moments in the process.


title: Goran Dragić

text: After getting Eric Bledsoe from a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers, the Suns ultimately decided to move Dragić to the shooting guard position as a means of putting less pressure on Dragić to distribute the ball to his teammates. In his first game playing with Bledsoe as a teammate, Dragić led the team with 26 points and 9 assists in a 104–91 season opening victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Dragić had over 8 games with 30 points or more, including a double-double of 31 points and 10 assists in a victory against the Portland Trail Blazers on 27 November 2013. He also had what was, at the time, a career-high 33 points in a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on 2 January 2014. On 3 February 2014, Dragić won his second career Western Conference Player of the Week award and his first with the Suns for games played between 27 January – 2 February 2014. Three days later, he was paired with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Reggie Jackson in the revamped, team-based Skills Challenge at the All-Star weekend


title: Goran Dragić

text: On 8 February 2014, Dragić scored a career-high 34 points— while attempting only 13 field-goals— to go along with 10 assists in a 122–109 home victory over the Golden State Warriors. On 23 February 2014, Dragić scored a new career-high 35 points, along with 3 assists and 3 steals, in a 112–115 loss to the Houston Rockets. On 28 February 2014, he recorded a new career-high 40 points, along with 3 rebounds and 5 assists, in a 116–104 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. He became the first player, since Rod Strickland in 1985–86, to set career highs in points three times in a single month. Dragić also became the sixth player, after his head coach Jeff Hornacek, Dražen Petrović, Dirk Nowitzki, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant, to join the 20-50-40 Club — averaging 20 or more points per game while shooting 50%+ from the field and 40%+ on three-pointers. He also averaged over 5 assists per game throughout the season as well, leaving him joining the likes of Larry Bird, Jeff Hornacek and LeBron James.


title: Goran Dragić

text: On 23 April 2014, Dragić won the 2014 NBA Most Improved Player Award. One month later, he would end up being honored by his home nation with their national "Apple of Inspiration" award for being a role model and inspiring hope in Slovenia, as well as helping out the nation's community with humanitarian activities. Finally, on 4 June 2014, Dragić was named to the 2014 All-NBA Third Team alongside Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Al Jefferson and Paul George.


title: Goran Dragić

text: On 19 February 2015, Dragić and his brother Zoran Dragic, were traded to the Miami Heat in a three-team deal also involving the New Orleans Pelicans that sent John Salmons and Danny Granger to Phoenix. Two days later, he made his debut for the Heat, recording 12 points and 3 rebounds in a 105–91 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Dragić finished the season averaging 16.6 points and 5.3 assists per game in 26 starts for Miami, as the Heat missed the playoffs.


title: Goran Dragić

text: On 9 July 2015, Dragić re-signed with the Heat to a five-year, $90 million contract. In January 2016, he missed eight straight games because of a left calf injury. On 20 February 2016, he recorded a season-high 24 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in a 114–84 win over the Washington Wizards. He bested that season high on 11 March, recording 26 points and nine assists in a 118–96 win over the Chicago Bulls. On 7 April, he recorded 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in a 106–98 win over the Chicago Bulls, helping the Heat sweep the season series with the Bulls for the first time since the 2003–04 season. In the Heat's second-round playoff match-up with the Toronto Raptors, Dragić scored a postseason career-high 30 points to help the Heat to a 103–91 victory in Game 6, tying the series at 3–3. The Heat went on to lose Game 7, bowing out of the playoffs with a 4–3 defeat.


title: Goran Dragić

text: On 28 November 2016, Dragić recorded season highs of 27 points and 17 assists in a 112–104 loss to the Boston Celtics. He topped that mark on 6 December 2016, scoring 29 points (his highest-scoring total as a member of the Heat at the time) in a 114–103 loss to the New York Knicks. Dragić set a new season high six days later, scoring 34 points in a 112–101 win over the Washington Wizards. On 6 February 2017, he scored 33 points and hit a career-high seven three-pointers to lead the Heat to their 11th straight victory with a 115–113 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.


title: Goran Dragić

text: On 8 November 2017, Dragić scored a season-high 29 points in a 126–115 win over the Phoenix Suns. On 27 November 2017, he was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played 20 November through 26 November. On 15 January 2018, he was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played 8 January through 14 January. It was his fourth career Player of the Week honor. On 1 February, Dragić was named the replacement for Kevin Love on Team LeBron for the 2018 NBA All-Star Game, thus making him an All-Star for the first time in his career.


title: Goran Dragić

text: On 27 October 2018, Dragić scored 28 points in a 120–111 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, becoming the first Slovenian player to reach the 10,000-point mark in the NBA. In late November and early December, he missed eight games with a sore right knee. On 19 December, he underwent successful surgery to clean up his right knee. He returned to action on 23 February 2019 against the Detroit Pistons. On 28 March, he recorded his second career triple-double with 23 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in a 105–99 win over the Dallas Mavericks.


title: Goran Dragić

text: In the 2019–20 NBA season, Dragić helped the Heat reach the 2020 NBA Finals, but the Heat lost the series in 6 games to the Los Angeles Lakers. Dragić missed 4 games in the Finals due to a plantar fasciitis injury that he suffered in Game 1.


title: Goran Dragić

text: On 6 August 2021, the Toronto Raptors acquired Dragić and Precious Achiuwa from the Heat via a sign-and-trade in exchange for Kyle Lowry. On 28 November, Dragić announced he was stepping away from the Raptors for personal reasons. On 10 February 2022, Dragić and a 2022 first-round draft selection were traded to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Drew Eubanks, Thaddeus Young and a 2022 second round selection. He and the Spurs agreed to a contract buyout five days later.


title: Goran Dragić

text: Dragić won the gold medal at the 2004 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship with the Slovenian under-20 junior national team. He also played at the 2005 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.


title: Goran Dragić

text: Dragić competed with the senior men's Slovenian national basketball team at the 2006 FIBA World Championship and the 2007 EuroBasket, in limited roles. Dragić's role with the Slovenian national basketball team began to increase in the 2009 EuroBasket and the 2010 FIBA World Championship. He then played with his brother Zoran in the 2011 EuroBasket and the 2013 EuroBasket, the latter which was held in Slovenia. During the 2013 tournament, Goran and his brother helped lead Slovenia to a 5th-place finish and a spot in the 2014 FIBA World Cup. Dragić finished in the 2013 EuroBasket's top five in points and assists, which earned him a spot on the All-Tournament Team. In 2014, Dragić was named Slovenia's team captain after Jaka Lakovič retired from national team play. In the friendly games before the 2014 FIBA World Cup, Dragić was rested in 9 of their 14 games, before actually playing in the official tournament's matches. After finishing up their friendly games, Dragić played with no restrictions beyond the rest of the competition; he was the only All-NBA Team member to play in the 2014 FIBA World Cup, aside from the Team USA members.


title: Goran Dragić

text: Prior to the 2017 EuroBasket, Dragić announced that he would retire from playing with the Slovenian national team after the tournament. At the tournament, he helped Slovenia to win its first ever FIBA European championship. He scored 35 points, on 12-22 shooting in the final, which was the most points scored in a final, since Pau Gasol scored 36 points in the 2003 final. Following his performance, Dragić was given the Most Valuable Player award of the tournament, after averaging 22.6 points per game, in 9 games played. Following that performance, he was named the 2017 Slovenian Sportsman of the year.


title: Goran Dragić

text: Five years later, in June 2022, Dragić returned to the Slovenian team to play in the third window of the qualification for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. On June 30, he scored 19 points in his first game back, helping his country to a blowout win over Croatia.


title: Goran Dragić

text: Dragić also played at EuroBasket 2022, averaging 14.9 points on 49.4% shooting as the team's sixth man. Slovenia was surprisingly eliminated by Poland in the quarter-finals.


title: Goran Dragić

text: Dragić was born to a Slovenian mother and a Serbian father. He grew up in Slovenia playing football. However, an injury forced him to switch sports. As a child, he admired NBA players Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson and future teammate Steve Nash. He is fluent in Slovenian, Serbian, Spanish, and English. Dragić's younger brother, Zoran, was formerly his teammate on the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat, and currently plays in Ljubljana (Slovenia) for Cedevita Olimpija.


title: Goran Dragić

text: He and Zoran, alongside teammates Markieff and Marcus Morris, all briefly played together for the Suns during the fourth quarter of their 112–96 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on 2 January 2015. It marked the first time in the NBA's history that two different pairs of brothers played together for the same team at the same time.


title: Goran Dragić

text: President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik honored Dragić with an Order of Njegoš and a Medal of Merit for the People, in August 2018.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Robert Bernard Fowler (born 9 April 1975) is an English football manager and former player, who most recently managed East Bengal in the Indian Super League.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: As a player, he was a striker, and is the eighth-highest goalscorer in the history of the Premier League. He is best known for his time at Liverpool, initially from 1993 to 2001. He scored 183 goals in total for Liverpool, earning the nickname "God" from the Anfield fans, and he remains Liverpool's top scorer in the Premier League. He subsequently played for Leeds United and Manchester City, before returning to Liverpool in January 2006. He moved to Cardiff City eighteen months later. He played there for a year before transferring to Blackburn Rovers on a short-term deal. In December 2008, he departed Blackburn and played in Australia with North Queensland Fury and Perth Glory. In 2011, he joined Thai side Muangthong United as a player, but later was appointed player-manager, which he remained until his retirement in 2012.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: He was capped for England 26 times, scoring 7 goals. Fowler was included in England's squads for Euro 1996, Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup. Socially aware, Fowler showed support for the Liverpool dockers' strike during a goal celebration in 1997 where he unveiled a t-shirt which incorporated the Calvin Klein "CK" into the word doCKer.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler was born in Toxteth, Liverpool, and brought up in the inner city area of Liverpool. At this time he was known as Robert Ryder, his mother's surname. He lived in Toxteth at the time of the 1981 Toxteth riots, when he was six years old. As a youngster he supported Everton F.C. He played regularly for schoolboy team Thorvald, and once scored 16 times in a 26–0 rout.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Despite growing up as an Everton fan, Fowler's career began with Liverpool. He signed as a youth team player on leaving school in the summer of 1991, signing professional terms on his 17th birthday, 9 April 1992.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler's first involvement with the Liverpool first team came on 13 January 1993, when he was an unused substitute in an FA Cup third round tie against Bolton Wanderers. In the following close season, Fowler helped the England under-18 team win the 1993 European Championship, before making a scoring first-team debut in Liverpool's 3–1 win in a second round League Cup tie at Fulham on 22 September 1993. Fowler scored all five goals in the second leg at Anfield two weeks later, making him the fourth player in Liverpool's history to score five in a senior fixture. He scored his first league hat-trick against Southampton on 30 October 1993 in only his fifth league game. His very first league goal for the Reds had come on 16 October 1993, when an 87th-minute equaliser at home to struggling Oldham Athletic saved the Reds from what would have been one of the biggest Premier League shocks of the season, with a last gasp own goal giving Liverpool a 2–1 win. He scored twice in a thrilling 3–3 draw at Tottenham Hotspur on 18 December 1993.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: His first 13 games for the club yielded 12 goals, and he was rewarded with an England Under-21 debut against San Marino in November 1993, in which he scored England's opening goal in the third minute. Fowler was unable to sustain his goal-a-game ratio throughout the season, but finished his first season as the club's second top scorer with 18 goals in all competitions, Ian Rush had scored 19. It was, however, a disappointing season for Liverpool, as they finished eighth in the Premier League without making an impact in any of the major competitions, though the departure of Graeme Souness as manager and the appointment of Roy Evans as successor built up hope for a brighter future at Anfield after the disappointment of the first two FA Premier League seasons.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: During the 1994–95 season Fowler was a constant member of the Liverpool side, playing in all of their 57 competitive matches, including the victory in the 1995 League Cup final, and a match against Arsenal on 28 August 1994 in which he scored what was then the Premier League's second-fastest hat-trick ever, in four minutes and 33 seconds. His record stood for twenty years until broken by Sadio Mané on 16 May 2015 for Southampton against Aston Villa, who scored three goals in two minutes and 56 seconds. He scored braces against Aston Villa, Ipswich Town, Chelsea and Norwich City in the league that season. Fowler was voted the PFA Young Player of the Year in two consecutive years in 1995 and 1996, a feat also achieved only by Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney and Dele Alli.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Throughout the mid and late 1990s, Fowler was widely considered to be the most natural finisher playing in England. Fowler sealed this reputation as he scored more than 30 goals for three consecutive seasons, up to 1997. He remains the only player to have scored 30 plus goals in his first three full seasons in England scoring 98 goals with a total of 116 in just over three years. Fowler's partnership with Steve McManaman was largely described as the reason why Liverpool had become the club known for being the most potent attacking force in England at the time, and Fowler was renowned for scoring goals of all varieties, from every angle and distance, with McManaman describing him as the "greatest goalscorer of all time".


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Stan Collymore, Fowler's regular strike partner for two seasons from 1995, said in his autobiography that Fowler was the best player he has ever played alongside. Fowler and Collymore were among the most prolific goal-scoring strike partnerships in England during the 1995–96 season, with £8.4million signing Collymore replacing the veteran Ian Rush as Fowler's regular partner in attack after his arrival in June 1995. In the same season, he scored twice in a 4–3 victory over Newcastle United, a match voted the best of the decade in a Premier League poll. The match helped prevent Newcastle from winning the league, but it was not enough for Liverpool to clinch the title; they finished third while Manchester United were crowned champions. Fowler also played in his first FA Cup final that season, but was on the losing side as Manchester United won 1–0. He had scored four goals against United in the league that season, scoring twice in a 2–2 draw at Old Trafford on 1 October 1995, and twice in a 2–0 win at Anfield on 16 December.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler received a call-up to the full England squad and won his first cap on 27 March 1996 as a substitute in a friendly against Bulgaria. His first start at international level was against Croatia which was the England game following his substitute appearance. Fowler was part of the England squad for Euro 1996, making two appearances in the tournament. On 14 December 1996, he scored four against Middlesbrough, including his hundredth for Liverpool. This meant he reached a century of goals one game quicker than his first strike partner, Ian Rush, in just 165 games.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: That year, he also won a UEFA Fair Play award for denying that he had been fouled by Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman at Highbury after a penalty had been given. After unsuccessfully trying to persuade the referee to change his decision about the penalty, Fowler took it tamely and Seaman saved. However, Seaman failed to hold on to the ball and Jason McAteer scored from the rebound. Although many people believe that he deliberately took the penalty kick poorly for reasons of fair play, Fowler said at the time: "As a goalscorer it's part of my job to take it and I wanted to score it. I tried to score. I never missed on purpose. It just happened, it was a bad penalty."


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler was part of a group of Liverpool players from the mid-1990s who were dubbed "The Spice Boys" by the press following a series of off-field controversies. The term was coined by the "Daily Mail", and arose due to misplaced rumours that Fowler was dating Spice Girl Emma Bunton. The term was subsequently used in a derogatory manner, implying Fowler and colleagues such as Jamie Redknapp, Stan Collymore, David James and Steve McManaman were underachieving playboys. Still, Liverpool were top of the Premier League by Christmas 1996. By the end of January, however, they had been leapfrogged by Manchester United, who remained top for the rest of the season.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler's performance in the 1997–98 football season was marred by an anterior cruciate (knee) ligament injury that kept him out of action for half of the season and caused him to miss the 1998 World Cup. During this period of injury, fellow Liverpool striker, Michael Owen rose to prominence, making his debut in 1997. Owen established himself in the Liverpool team in Fowler's absence and played alongside him when Fowler regained his fitness.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: In 1999, Fowler was fined £60,000 by his club for bringing the game into disrepute. While celebrating his goal against Liverpool's Merseyside rivals, Everton, Fowler used the white line of the penalty area to simulate cocaine use. Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier stated that this was a Cameroonian grass-eating celebration, learnt from teammate Rigobert Song. Defending himself, Fowler later said this was a response to Everton fans who had insulted him with false accusations of drug abuse. Fowler received a four-match suspension from the FA for this incident.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: The 2000–01 season was Fowler's most successful season. He scored 17 goals, appeared in three finals, and lifted three trophies in a unique cup treble. In the absence of Jamie Redknapp, who was sidelined by injury, Fowler was named as Liverpool captain when he started. However he found himself the third-choice Liverpool striker, with Houllier favouring a forward partnership of Michael Owen and Emile Heskey.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: He took part in a fourth-round League Cup hammering of Stoke City, scoring a hat-trick in an 8–0 victory, which was second only to the club's biggest ever win in 1986 – a 10–0 defeat of Fulham. In the League Cup final against Birmingham City, the club's first cup final since 1996, he captained the side and scored in the 30th minute. Liverpool went on to win the trophy on penalties, with Fowler scoring Liverpool's fifth in the shootout. Fowler picked up the Alan Hardaker Man of the Match award and lifted the trophy.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler's season picked up from there as he scored several important goals including one against runaway champions Manchester United and a free kick in the FA Cup semi-final against Wycombe Wanderers. Fowler featured as a substitute in the 2001 FA Cup Final coming on as a 77th-minute replacement for Vladimír Šmicer. Liverpool, who were 1–0 down at that point, eventually won the game 2–1 with two goals from Owen. Fowler raised the trophy along with Sami Hyypiä and Jamie Redknapp.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Four days later he was a substitute again in Liverpool's third final, the 2001 UEFA Cup Final against Deportivo Alavés. He came on in the 64th minute for Heskey with the score at 3–3. He scored seven minutes later but Alavés equalised before full-time and Liverpool eventually won with a golden goal, an own goal, in the 116th minute. Fowler and Hyypiä then raised Liverpool's third trophy of the season together. Liverpool's next and final game of the season was against Charlton Athletic and Fowler scored twice in a 4–0 victory at The Valley that assured them UEFA Champions League qualification for the next season.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler began the 2001–02 season controversially, after being dropped by the then manager Gérard Houllier from the Liverpool squad for the 2001 Charity Shield match, following a training ground confrontation with assistant manager Phil Thompson. He made an appearance in Liverpool's 3–2 European Super Cup victory over Bayern Munich, but starts were intermittent. In October 2001, he scored his first league hat-trick for three years, helping Liverpool beat Leicester City 4–1, but was dropped for the following league match. Though Fowler had been on a contract extension from 1999 (unlike Steve McManaman – who exercised his Bosman entitlement the very same year), Fowler was linked to Lazio, Arsenal and Leeds United, and Liverpool's management as well as fans and the media constantly reported that what happened with McManaman (regarded as a huge financial loss) would never be repeated and thus the club never rejected those bids without consideration. This meant that coupled with Fowler's relationship with Houllier, speculation over Fowler's future persisted for most of Houllier's tenure and became an issue that divided Liverpool fans. His last appearance for Liverpool was against Sunderland, in which he was substituted at half-time.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Despite his popularity with Liverpool fans, who referred to Fowler as "God", Michael Owen and Emile Heskey had established themselves as Liverpool's regular strike partnership, leaving Fowler on the fringes of the first team. This, along with his difficult relationship with Houllier, made him seek regular first team football away from Anfield in the form of a £12 million move to Leeds United. Fowler maintains that Houllier forced him out of Liverpool, and accused Houllier of pressuring the "Liverpool Echo" newspaper to use its influence to turn opinion against him.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: The transfer went ahead just one month after his hat-trick at Leicester. He made his Leeds debut in an away game against Fulham in December 2001, the same ground where he had made his Liverpool debut eight years earlier. Fowler scored 12 goals in the remainder of the season, helping Leeds to a UEFA Cup qualifying place. Fowler was included in the England squad for the 2002 World Cup, but only made one appearance, coming on as a substitute in a second-round win over Denmark.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler suffered an aggravation of a pre-existing hip injury in the 2002–03 pre-season, and did not recover until December. Struggling to gain fitness, and seeing teammates sold off due to a financial crisis, Fowler's form and market value diminished. It was despite this decrease in form that he still, in total, scored 15 goals in 31 appearances for Leeds; achieving an impressive strike rate of just less than one goal every two games. In 2002–03, Leeds finished 15th in the Premier League and a severe financial crisis was developing.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: In the 2002–03 season, Fowler was transferred to Manchester City following a protracted transfer saga. Fowler initially turned down the move and a dispute between Manchester City manager Kevin Keegan and chairman David Bernstein over whether the transfer should take place due to medical concerns resulted in Bernstein leaving the club. Following encouragement from Keegan, Fowler finally signed for Manchester City on 16 January 2003 for an initial fee of £3 million and a further £3 million dependent upon appearances. Bizarre transfer conditions meant Leeds United still paid a significant proportion of Fowler's wages. Fowler made his Manchester City debut against West Bromwich Albion on 1 February 2003, but made a poor start to his Manchester City career, scoring just two goals in the remainder of the season.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler continued to struggle with fitness problems in the 2003–04 season, completing the full 90 minutes only nine times, however, he did score against his old club, Liverpool, in a 2–2 draw at home. The arrival of close friend Steve McManaman from Real Madrid gave Fowler hope, but the pair failed to rekindle their prolific partnership from their time at Liverpool, and received criticism from the fans and tabloids for their salaries and alleged excesses; they were named and shamed in a sex scandal covered by the "News of the World" that year.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Despite the slump, Fowler rallied for the following campaign, and showed a marked improvement in the second half of the 2004–05 season, scoring his 150th Premiership goal in the 3–2 win over Norwich City on 28 February 2005. However, his failure to convert a 90th-minute penalty kick against Middlesbrough's Mark Schwarzer in the final game of the season prevented Manchester City from gaining a place in the UEFA Cup. Despite this, Fowler ended the season as the club's joint top goal scorer and gained the approval of the fans, finishing in the top three in the fans' Player of the Year poll. Fowler later described this as "one of the proudest achievements of my career".


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler had injury problems at the start of the 2005–06 season and rarely featured when fit, making just two substitute appearances in the first four months of the season. His first start of the season came against Scunthorpe United in the FA Cup on 7 January 2006, in which he scored a hat-trick. The following week he scored Manchester City's third goal in their 3–1 win against local rivals Manchester United after coming on as a substitute. However, Fowler made only one more appearance for Manchester City before returning to Liverpool on a free transfer.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: On 27 January 2006, Fowler rejoined Liverpool from Manchester City on a free transfer, signing a contract until the end of the season. Fowler had remained a Liverpool fan after he left the club; he was in the Istanbul crowd when Liverpool won the Champions League in 2005.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Liverpool fans were delighted to learn that Fowler had returned; there were large banners in the game against Birmingham City which read 'God – number eleven, welcome back to heaven', with 'God' being Fowler's nickname while he was previously at Liverpool.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler's return against Birmingham City in February 2006 was labelled by the tabloid press as the stuff of fairytales, and he said he felt like "a kid waking up on Christmas morning every day". Fowler's first appearance back at Anfield was as a substitute against Birmingham, receiving a standing ovation upon his introduction. After his return, he had three goals ruled out for offside, before finally getting off the mark on 15 March 2006 in a home game against Fulham, the same opponents against which he scored his first-ever goal for Liverpool 13 years earlier.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler's next Liverpool goal, against West Bromwich Albion, meant he overtook Kenny Dalglish in the club's all-time top scorers. His resurgence continued as he marked his 31st birthday with a goal against Bolton Wanderers. He made it four goals in five games when he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Blackburn Rovers on 16 April 2006. However, Fowler's fitness remained a concern. In March 2006, manager Rafael Benítez commented on Fowler's work and progress by saying, "to buy a Robbie Fowler who is fit and scoring goals would cost a lot, maybe £10m or more". Despite concerns about his fitness, Fowler finished the 2005–06 season scoring on a more consistent basis than Liverpool's other strikers. In May 2006 he was offered a new one-year contract with the club, and celebrated by scoring the first goal in Liverpool's last league game of the season in a 3–1 away win at Portsmouth. It was his final game of the season as he was unable to take part in the club's FA Cup Final success due to being cup-tied.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler featured rarely in his final Liverpool season, making only six league starts. Bizarrely, all three of his League goals were penalties against Sheffield United. One of these was in the away game on the opening day of the season, and the other two in the reverse fixture at Anfield. Appearances in other competitions were more common due to Rafael Benítez's squad rotation policy. On 25 October 2006 Fowler was named as Liverpool's captain for the first time since his return in a League Cup tie against Reading, scoring just before half-time in a 4–3 win.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: On 5 December, Fowler scored his first two goals in the UEFA Champions League competition proper against Galatasaray (he had previously scored during a qualifying tie some six years prior against FC Haka), though Liverpool lost 3–2.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: On 1 May 2007, he was a substitute in the Champions League semi-final against Chelsea, brought on in the last few minutes of extra-time. He set up an attack for Dirk Kuyt but the shot went straight at the Chelsea goalkeeper. The match went into a penalty shoot-out that Liverpool won. Fowler was due to take the fifth and final spot-kick, but the game had already ended when Kuyt slotted home his winning penalty.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: In what transpired to be his last appearance for the club, against Charlton Athletic on 13 May, Fowler was given the captain's armband one final time. He was substituted two minutes from the final whistle and given a standing ovation. He finished his second run as a Liverpool player with a UEFA Champions League runners-up medal, although he was not named in either the starting eleven or the seven substitutes. He became a free agent on 1 July having scored 183 goals in 369 appearances during his two spells at the club.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: On 21 July 2007 Fowler signed a two-year contract to play for Cardiff City. He missed the season's opening fixtures due to a lack of fitness, making his debut in a League Cup tie on 28 August. He scored his first two Cardiff goals on 22 September against Preston North End, scoring with two headers. Fowler scored twice in his next game, a third round League Cup tie against West Brom, which Cardiff won 4–2. This led to a fourth round tie against Fowler's former club Liverpool, at Anfield, to which even the Liverpool faithful crowd urged Fowler to score seeing that it may be the last time he would play in Anfield but Cardiff were knocked out in a 2–1 defeat.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: In November, Fowler travelled to Frankfurt, Germany to see Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt, a specialist sports injuries doctor, to try and resolve a recurring hip problem that had left him lacking fitness in early season fixtures for the Bluebirds. The treatment involved taking around twenty-eight injections into his hip. He returned to full training in late November and made his comeback on 15 December as a late substitute in a 1–0 defeat against Bristol City. However he went on to suffer another injury blow just days later after a mistimed tackle in training from club captain Darren Purse left him with damaged ankle ligaments. Due to the new injury blow Cardiff and Fowler made plans for him to go to Colorado, United States to undergo keyhole surgery on the hip problem, which had plagued him in recent seasons, in the hope that it would finally resolve the problem.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: On 17 January 2008, it was announced that Fowler could miss the rest of the 2007–08 season for Cardiff after his hip operation revealed that the injury was worse than previously thought. Surgeons were forced to perform a micro-fracture for the hip to heal properly. Despite this, he attempted to make a comeback at the end of the season to play in the FA Cup final against Portsmouth and was included in the 18-man match squad. He did not feature in the game in and thus did not receive a runners-up medal having not made an appearance in the competition.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler was offered a new pay-as-you-play contract with Cardiff for the 2008–09 season in May 2008 and was expected to sign the contract. However, he pulled out of the deal, preferring to accept an offer of a trial at Blackburn Rovers from former Liverpool colleague Paul Ince. The move left Cardiff manager Dave Jones and chairman Peter Ridsdale furious after the club had assisted Fowler's rehabilitation throughout the summer. After training with Blackburn and appearing in a handful of friendlies he was offered a six-month deal by the club to last until January, but Fowler turned down the deal due to it being a shorter offer than the previous one he had rejected at Cardiff. After turning down the offer, Fowler made a shock enquiry about returning to Cardiff on the deal he had originally turned down, prompting anger from supporters and a swift "no thanks" from the club.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler concluded the trial period at Blackburn by agreeing to a three-month pay-as-you-play deal. He stated that he was eager to return to the Premier League and that his pre-existing relationship with Ince would not earn him any preferential treatment. He made his first appearance against Everton in a 1–0 win in the League Cup on 24 September. With a month left on his contract at Blackburn, Fowler received interest from League Two side Grimsby Town. Fowler, a friend of then Grimsby manager Mike Newell had held talks at Blundell Park over a possible Player/Coach role with the club.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: His three-month deal at Blackburn expired on 12 December 2008, and after not being offered a new contract was released by the club, he entered talks with new Australian A-League club North Queensland Fury.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler signed with the North Queensland Fury on 4 February 2009 and became their inaugural marquee player; with his family relocating to Townsville for the 2009–10 season of the Australian A-League. It was an important signing for the new franchise who struggled to sign a marquee player, while some questioned whether Fowler would be able to cope with the heat and humidity of North Queensland.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler made his debut in July 2009 in a 2–1 pre-season loss against Wolverhampton Wanderers in Perth after recovering from groin and hip complaints. Fowler was subsequently named North Queensland Fury's captain for the 2009–10 season and the first in the club's history. He scored his first A-League goal from a penalty kick in his club's first competitive match against Sydney FC on Saturday 8 August 2009. In rounds four, five, and six Fowler scored "Solo's Hyundai A-League Goal of the Week".


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Shortly after his arrival in Australia, it was reported in the British media that Fowler would be making a swift return to his homeland and sign for League One side Tranmere Rovers, who had just appointed Fowler's former Liverpool teammate John Barnes as manager. However, Fowler was quick to dismiss talk of a quick return to England. When Barnes was dismissed three months later, it was reported that Tranmere had approached Fowler about becoming player-manager, but these reports too were dismissed.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Controversy erupted around Fowler after he reportedly refused to play against the Brisbane Roar on 23 January after being named on the interchange bench for the clash. He, however, returned to the starting line up for two of the last three games of the season. Fowler ended the season collecting a hat-trick of awards at the club's end-of-season awards night, he was awarded the club's Player of the Year, Players' Player of the Year and the Golden Boot as top goal scorer. On 15 June 2010, Fowler confirmed that he was taking legal action over the ending of his playing contract with North Queensland Fury. He was suing the Fury and Football Federation Australia, which took over the running of the club.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: On 27 April 2010, it was announced that Fowler had agreed to become part of Glory's squad for the 2010–11 A-League season. Fowler reportedly ignored offers from Middle East clubs as well as Sydney FC to play in Perth. He joined the Glory for pre-season training in mid-June, following World Cup sponsorship commitments. Fowler scored his first goal for Perth on 29 August, a penalty against Melbourne Heart. He followed this up with a headed goal the following week against the Wellington Phoenix. In the following match, Fowler's hat-trick gave the Glory a 3–1 victory against Melbourne Victory at the Dairy Farmers Stadium in Townsville. Fowler ended the year as top scorer for the club.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: On returning to England, Fowler briefly worked with League One side Milton Keynes Dons on an ad hoc basis to assist the club's coaching staff. On 7 April 2011, Bury confirmed that Fowler would join their coaching staff for a week to assist Richie Barker. Fowler then briefly coached Liverpool's strikers in April 2011.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: On 7 July 2011, Fowler agreed to play with Muangthong United, signing a one-year contract. In a press conference he stated that the weather conditions of Nonthaburi should not be a problem as he had played in Townsville and Perth. He was quickly a hit with Muangthong fans and the Thai public in general; he attended Thailand's World Cup Qualifier against Oman wearing the national team's shirt. He has since played a handful of scoreless games, both at the Yamaha Stadium and on the road in the AFC Cup, until the Twin Qilins were eliminated from the competition by Al-Kuwait. After the sacking of Henrique Calisto as head coach, Fowler was made player/coach.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: On 16 October 2011, after 250 minutes of play, Fowler scored his first goal for MTU against Chiangrai. He scored his 250th club career goal on 21 December 2011 against TTM Phichit. On 28 February 2012, Fowler announced he had left the club following Slavisa Jokanovic's appointment as coach.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: On 1 March 2012, Blackpool manager Ian Holloway confirmed that Fowler was training with "the Seasiders" and that he could earn a deal until the end of the season. However, they could not agree a deal and Fowler decided against signing when Karl Oyston offered the striker £100 a week with £5,000 for every first-team appearance.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: On 22 September 2012, Fowler announced that he is "all but retired from professional football." He said this on the television show "Soccer AM". In an interview in March 2013, he said that he was "not officially retired" and would "jump at the opportunity to play again." Fowler has also stated in other interviews that he is currently completing his coaching licences. Fowler was on a six-man shortlist and interviewed for the vacant manager's job at Conference side Macclesfield Town in May 2013, but caretaker manager John Askey was eventually appointed on a full-time basis.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler featured in Steven Gerrard's testimonial match against Olympiacos F.C. on 3 August 2013. He came off the bench in the 73rd minute to a warm reception from Liverpool fans, but failed to score a goal. On 21 April 2014, Fowler also featured in a charity match to commemorate the lives of the 96 Liverpool fans who died in the Hillsborough Disaster. Fowler scored both goals for his team in a 2–2 draw. On 2 January 2015, Fowler tweeted "Gutted about Steven, but what an unbelievable player... I'm officially hanging my boots up as from now...A sad day for me" and so officially announced his retirement. In May 2016, it was revealed that Fowler would return to the pitch to play for England in Soccer Aid, a charity football match in aid of UNICEF, alongside Jamie Carragher.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler earned his first cap for England on 27 March 1996, coming on as a 76th-minute substitute in the 1–0 friendly win against Bulgaria at Wembley Stadium. On 24 April, he won his second cap and made his first start for England in the 0–0 draw with Croatia. Despite only having 3 caps to his name, England manager Terry Venables selected Fowler in his 22-man squad for Euro 1996. Fowler went on to make two substitute appearances in the tournament, featuring in the 4–1 win against the Netherlands in the final group game, and in the 0–0 draw against Spain in the quarter-finals, a game England won on penalties.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler did not feature during England's qualifying campaign for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, mainly due to a serious knee ligament injury late in the 1997–98 season, and thus missed out on Glenn Hoddle's 22-man squad for the tournament. He did, however, manage to score his first goal for his country on 29 March 1997, netting the second goal in a 2–0 friendly win against Mexico at Wembley Stadium. A second goal followed in his next cap on 15 November, netting just before half-time in the 2–0 friendly win against Cameroon.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: On 9 June 1999, Fowler played in his first competitive game for England in nearly three years, starting in the 1–1 draw with Bulgaria during Euro 2000 qualifying. Kevin Keegan named Fowler in the preliminary squad for Euro 2000, and after featuring in the three warm-up games against Brazil, Ukraine, and Malta, he was named in the final squad on 1 June 2000. Fowler did not play in the tournament as England were eliminated in the group stages.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler scored his fourth goal for England on 25 May 2001, netting the second goal in the 4–0 friendly win against Mexico at Pride Park, Derby. On 5 September, he scored his first competitive goal for England in the 2–0 win against Albania at St James' Park, Newcastle. This was during qualifying for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. England qualified for the World Cup, and after scoring in friendlies against Italy and Cameroon, Fowler was selected in Sven-Göran Eriksson's 23-man squad for the tournament in South Korea and Japan. He didn't appear in any of England's group matches, but on 15 June 2002, he came on as a second-half substitute in the 3–0 win against Denmark in the Round of 16. This turned out to be Fowler's last cap for his country. He won a total of 26 caps for England and scored 7 goals.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: On 1 October 2011, Fowler was appointed as the manager of Muangthong United, where he was already an existing player. Muangthong had taken action and sacked Henrique Calisto; a statement made by the club read, "The board have appointed Robbie Fowler as the acting head coach and have terminated the contract of Portuguese boss Henrique Calisto. The contract is until the end of the season and the team must adapt to long-term goals if it is to succeed in Asia", thus making Fowler player-manager.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: In October 2013, it was announced that Fowler would be taking up a coaching role with Liverpool's academy. On 9 September 2014, it was reported that Fowler had applied for the vacant managerial role at his former club Leeds United.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: On 23 April 2019, it was announced by Australian Hyundai A-League club Brisbane Roar that Fowler had signed a two-year contract to act as the club's new head coach ahead of the forthcoming 2019–20 season. Upon his appointment, it was also announced that Tony Grant and Darren Davies would be joining his coaching staff, with Davies having acted as caretaker manager prior to Fowler's arrival. To mark the managerial contrast, Brisbane announced a major clear-out during the off-season, where fourteen senior players were released, notably marquee player Eric Bautheac. Fowler then made his first signing as a manager in June, when Roy O'Donovan signed from Newcastle United Jets.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler's first competitive match in charge came in a 2–0 thriller, which ended in Brisbane's favour against reigning A-League champions Sydney on 7 August in the FFA Cup. Independently, Fowler won the league's Coach of the Month accolade for January and February 2020. With play halted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic for the past three months, Fowler announced his decision to leave the club, stating that he was unwilling to be apart from his family; he and Grant had returned to England in March.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: On 9 October 2020, Indian Super League side East Bengal announced the signing of Fowler as their new manager. Under him they collected seventeen points from first eighteen league fixtures and were placed ninth of eleven. All India Football Federation's (AIFF) disciplinary committee issued a four-match ban and a substantial fine of against Fowler during the 2020–21 season, for involvement in a verbal disagreement with the match officials and league organizers after their match with FC Goa.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: In August 2022, having left East Bengal, Fowler was coaching at Oxford United "on a casual basis", according to manager Karl Robinson.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: A prolific goal-scorer, Fowler was a quick and opportunistic striker, with good technical ability. Although naturally left-footed, he possessed an accurate, powerful shot from both inside and outside the area with both feet; he was also effective in the air. Despite his reputation as a "goal-poacher", he was also a creative forward, capable of linking up well with other players, and laying off the ball to other strikers. Despite his talent, he was also known to be injury-prone throughout his career.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: In his playing career, Fowler was sponsored by the sportswear company Nike, and appeared in Nike commercials. In 1997 he starred in Nike's "Park Life" commercial (set to the tune "Parklife" by Blur) where a group of amateur pub league players playing football at Hackney Marshes in east London are suddenly joined by top Premier League footballers, including Fowler, Eric Cantona and Ian Wright. In 2000, "Park Life" ranked number 15 in Channel 4's poll of the 100 Greatest TV Ads.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler married wife Kerrie on 9 June 2001 in the town of Duns, Scottish Borders in Scotland. Together they have three daughters and one son. Their son, Jacob, signed a scholarship with Oxford United in August 2022.


title: Robbie Fowler

text: Fowler is a supporter of Liverpool F.C. and regularly attends matches at Anfield. He does media work for Abu Dhabi Sports Channel, Sky Sports and ITV.