Robbie Fowler

**Robert Bernard Fowler** is a footballer who played for **Hashtag United** (men).

## Career

### As a Player

#### Pre-HTU

Thorvald (youth)
Fowler played at a young age for local youth club Thorvald, notably once netting 16 goals in a match for them.

Liverpool
Fowler signed with Liverpool in 1984, spending nine years in their academy. He was first promoted into Graeme Souness's senior squad in January 1993, as he appeared on the bench for an FA Cup third round replay with Bolton Wanderers; though he wasn't substituted on in the home defeat on 13 January. His competitive first-team debut wouldn't arrived until the subsequent 1993–94 season, when the forward made his bow in a Coca-Cola Cup second round, first leg tie at home to Fulham - scoring in a 3–1 victory for *The Reds*. In the return leg just under a month later, Fowler scored five goals in a 5–0 win. He featured three more times in that competition as Liverpool were eliminated in round four.

Fowler had made his Premiership debut for Liverpool in between the Coca-Cola Cup ties with Fulham, playing the full duration of a loss at Stamford Bridge to Chelsea on 25 September 1993. His first league goal arrived on 16 October at home to Oldham Athletic, which preceded a hat-trick over Southampton two Premiership appearances later - both at Anfield. He scored further goals in his first season versus Aston Villa, Sheffield Wednesday, Tottenham Hotspur (2), Oldham Athletic, Everton (on his Merseyside derby debut), West Ham United and Aston Villa. In total, in 1993–94, Fowler netted 18 goals in 34 matches in all competitions as the club finished 8th in a season that saw Roy Evans replace Souness.

Fowler opened his 1994–95 account with 5 goals in his first 3 appearances in the league, as he scored a hat-trick versus Arsenal in between sole strikes against Crystal Palace and Southampton. The forward netted 20 more times, which included four braces, in the Premiership that campaign as they qualified for the UEFA Cup. He also twice in the FA Cup and 4 goals in the Coca-Cola Cup, with Liverpool winning that latter competition. Having already netted in the league in 1995–96 versus Tottenham Hotspur, Fowler made his European bow on 11 September 1995 in Russia against Spartak Vladikavkaz. He scored 36 times across 1995–96; notably netting 4 goals at home to Bolton Wanderers and another treble versus Arsenal.

31 goals arrived for Fowler in 1996–97, which preceded 13 in 1997–98, 18 in 1998–99 and 3 in 1999–2000. Those seasons saw Fowler win a UEFA Fair Play award for attempting to persuade referee Gerald Ashby to overturn an incorrect penalty award in his favour in 96–97, suffer a cruciate knee ligament injury in 97–98 and receive a short ban for a controversial celebration that simulated drug-use; the latter, according to himself, a response to taunts Everton fans. In 2000–01, Fowler scored in both the Worthington Cup and UEFA Cup finals versus Birmingham City and Alavés, whilst also appearing in the FA Cup final against Arsenal, as Liverpool won a cup treble. In league action Fowler notched 8 goals; notably netting doubles against West Ham United and Charlton Athletic.

2001–02 would be the final season of Fowler's first spell with Liverpool. He would leave in November 2001, having been part of the squad that won the UEFA Super Cup in August and appeared in the UEFA Champions League for the first time Fowler's time with *The Reds*. His final goals for Liverpool arrived in a 20 October win away to Leicester City, as the forward netted his seventh and final (sole) hat-trick for them. Upon leaving Liverpool, Fowler claims that manager Gérard Houllier forced him out of the club.

Leeds United
Fowler, midway through the 2001–02 season, sealed a transfer to fellow Premiership side Leeds United. He made his bow in a goalless draw at Craven Cottage against Fulham. Fowler's first goals for Leeds came in a home win against Everton on 19 December 2001, which came a week prior to a hat-trick over Bolton Wanderers. He concluded the campaign with further strikes against West Ham United, Arsenal, Middlesbrough, Ipswich Town, Blackburn Rovers (2) and Leicester City as they qualified for the UEFA Cup. Just 10 further appearances and 2 more goals came in the first part of 2002–03 for Fowler for *The Whites* before he departed in January 2003.

Manchester City
In January 2003, Fowler belatedly signed with Manchester City; the move had been mooted for some time, though due to disagreements between City manager Kevin Keegan and chairman David Bernstein (who would later leave) the move stalled due to injury concerns surrounding Fowler. He scored his first goal in his fourth appearance versus Birmingham City and his second goal in his tenth appearance against Sunderland. In his first full campaign, in 2003–04, Fowler notched goals in each of the club's four competitions that they entered, as he notably netted once at Old Trafford in the Carling Cup and one at the City of Manchester Stadium in the league in derbies with rivals Manchester United.

2004–05 would see Fowler notch his highest output in a City shirt as he scored 10 Premier League goals, with all of them being singular strikes aside from a brace over Norwich City on the road on 28 February 2005. In 2005–06, Fowler would appear just 5 times competitively due to injuries - though did still manage 4 goals, though three of which did come in an FA Cup third round home win over third tier Scunthorpe United; the other came against Manchester United. He left in January 2006.

Liverpool return
Fowler, in January 2006, rejoined Liverpool; a move he referred to as "I feel like a kid waking up on Christmas morning every day now". He scored his first goal back with Liverpool in his seventh appearance for them in 2005–06 versus Fulham on 15 March, which preceded April goals versus West Bromwich Albion, Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers. He ended the season with a goal on the final day as the club won away to Portsmouth. Fowler would then net a penalty on the opening day of the succeeding 2006–07 season away at Sheffield United. He scored 6 more times with two in the Carling Cup versus Reading and Arsenal, two in the UEFA Champions League versus Galatasaray and two in the league against Sheffield United (also penalties) before leaving.

Cardiff City
Ahead of 2007–08, Fowler dropped down to the Championship to play for Wales-based outfit Cardiff City. In September, Fowler scored 4 goals in 3 days across a league meeting with Preston North End and a Carling Cup match with West Bromwich Albion. He also netted against Sheffield United and Wolverhampton Wanderers in October, though his season on the pitch would end early in the subsequent December due to trouble caused by persistent injuries requiring surgery. He missed their FA Cup final defeat to Portsmouth in May 2008.

Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers of the Premier League became what would be Fowler's final professional club in English football in mid-2008, as they signed him on a three-month pay-as-you-play contract; following a trial period, having controversially rejected a similar but longer lengthed renewal offer from Championship team Cardiff City earlier in the off-season. He would leave the club in December upon his contract's expiry date, having amassed just 6 appearances; half of which came in the Premier League as the other half came in the Carling Cup.

North Queensland Fury
In early 2009, Fowler headed away from British football for the first time as he agreed a move to Australia with newly-formed A-League outfit North Queensland Fury. The forward scored on debut down under, netting in a home defeat to Sydney. Across late August and early September, Fowler netted in three straight appearances versus Adelaide United, Brisbane Roar and Sydney. He did likewise in October, initially notching versus Wellington Phoenix and Perth Glory before converting a brace over Gold Coast United. His ninth and last goal for them came on 28 November against Adelaide United, as the club missed the play-offs later in the season by two points.

Perth Glory
For the 2010–11 season, Fowler switched North Queensland Fury for Perth Glory. He would again notch 9 goals across the A-League campaign, notably netting a hat-trick over Melbourne Victory and a brace over Adelaide United; which fell either side of a goal against ex-club North Queensland Fury; who were later disbanded at season's end, having finished bottom below Fowler's Perth Glory.

Muangthong United
After leaving Perth Glory in early 2011 due to them missing the play-offs and returning to England for various coaching roles, Fowler became a player again in July 2011 by signing with Thai Premier League team Muangthong United. After the departure of boss Henrique Calisto, Fowler became player/manager. He departed in early 2012, having netted 4 goals in 20 appearances.

England
Fowler represented England at youth, B and senior level. He won his first cap for his country on 27 March 1996 as they defeat Bulgaria 1–0 at Wembley Stadium. He also won caps across the next two months against Croatia and China, prior to appearing twice at UEFA Euro 1996 as England reached the semi-finals. In Fowler's next two caps, in November 1996 and 1997, the forward scored sole goals in friendlies against Mexico and Cameroon. Ukraine, Mexico, Albania, Italy and Cameroon would later concede friendly goals to Fowler between 2000 and 2002. His last cap came in a FIFA World Cup knockout win over Denmark on 15 June 2002.

Retirement
Having failed to reach an agreement with Blackpool in early 2012 and featuring in a few charity matches across the next three years or so, Fowler officially retired from professional football on 2 January 2015. He appeared at Soccer Aid in 2016.

#### HTU

2016–18
Fowler became a HTU player for the 2017 Wembley Cup final with Tekkers Town in October 2017. He was substituted on by manager Martin Keown during a 6–1 victory at Wembley Stadium for *The Tags*.

#### Post-HTU

England Legends
Fowler took part in television show Harry's Heroes, predominantly featuring manager Harry Redknapp, as an England legends team prepared for a friendly match with their German counterparts; a game in which he scored twice in.

### As a Staff Member

Various
Towards the back end of his playing career, Fowler coached part-time with Milton Keynes Dons, Bury and Liverpool. He also had a stint as player/manager whilst with Thailand-based team Muangthong United. After his spell in Asia, Fowler returned to coach in the Liverpool youth ranks.

Brisbane Roar
In April 2019, Fowler was appointed as manager of A-League side Brisbane Roar. He remained for the entirety of 2019–20, though the season was ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In his absence, the club reached the play-offs but would be eliminated at the first knockout hurdle.

East Bengal
October 2020 saw Fowler return to Asian football to manage India's East Bengal. He failed to reach the Super League play-offs in his sole season at the club, as he placed third-bottom with them. After his departure, Fowler returned to England and coached Oxford United around August 2022.

## Personal Life

Fowler married Kerrie Hannon in June 2001. Their son, Jacob, plays in the youth ranks of Oxford United, while his cousin Anthony boxes professionally. He supported Everton early on in his life.

## HTU Statistics

Breakdown

'*Other Cups' includes competitions like the FA Trophy, the FA Vase and friendly tournaments. See also: HTUwiki:DataIssues.*

Appearance (1)
Hashtag United  v  Tekkers Town

## External Links

* Soccerway
* World Football
* National Football Teams

## References

1. ↑ "Profile" (archived) .
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Robbie Fowler, ο Θεός της Λίβερπουλ" , 9 April 2022.
3. ↑ "Matchdetails from Liverpool - Bolton Wanderers played on Wednesday 13 January 1993" .
4. ↑ "Robbie Fowler recalls day he refused a penalty at Arsenal on 18th birthday of famous 'fair play' incident" , 24 March 2015.
5. ↑ "Fowler searches in vain for fitting end" , 12 April 2007.
6. ↑ "Robbie Fowler explains why he’ll never regret THAT celebration against Everton" , 29 April 2020.
7. ↑ "Don't look back in anger" , 4 September 2005.
8. ↑ "Comment: The costly truth about Fowler" , 30 September 2004.
9. ↑ "Fowler: 'My prayers were answered'" , 30 January 2006.
10. ↑ "Robbie Fowler out for the season" , 17 January 2008.
11. ↑ "Portsmouth 1-0 Cardiff" , 17 May 2008.
12. ↑ "Cardiff City reject Fowler request for return" , 30 August 2008.
13. ↑ "Fowler makes Blackburn Rovers exit" (archived) , 13 December 2008.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Roar coach Robbie Fowler's career numbers" , 23 April 2009.
15. ↑ "Fowler in striking debut" , 18 November 1993.
16. ↑ "Hoddle brings back England B internationals" , 27 January 1998.
17. ↑ "Robbie Fowler decides against move to Blackpool" , 9 March 2012.
18. ↑ "Liverpool 2 Olympiacos 0 match report: Luis Suarez a second-half substitute in Steven Gerrard testimonial win" , 3 August 2013.
19. ↑ "Gutted about Steven, but what an unbelievable player... I'm officially hanging my boots up as from now...A sad day for me" (archived) , 2 January 2015.
20. ↑ "Soccer Aid 2016: Charity Match Score, Recap and Post-Match Reaction" , 5 June 2016.
21. ↑ "How ex-Leeds United stars Robbie Fowler and Lee Sharpe fared in Harry's Heroes: The Full English" , 20 March 2019.
22. ↑ "Hiring God for £90 a week" , 12 March 2012.
23. ↑ "Liverpool FC greats Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and Rob Jones return to club to mentor Academy youngsters" , 2 October 2013.
24. ↑ "How old is Robbie Fowler, who's his wife, and what does ex-Liverpool striker do now?" , 22 March 2019.
25. ↑ "Jacob Fowler Signs as a Scholar" , 23 August 2022.
26. ↑ "Anthony Fowler's Anfield dream and his Liverpool FC legend cousin Robbie Fowler's influence" , 7 October 2021.
27. ↑ "Did Steven Gerrard support Everton? Liverpool legend's Toffees link explained" , 19 November 2021.