Mark Bowen (footballer)

For other people named Mark Bowen, see Mark Bowen (disambiguation).

Mark Bowen

Personal information
Full name	Mark Rosslyn Bowen
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s)	Left back
Team information
Current team	Fulham (assistant manager)

Mark Rosslyn Bowen (born 7 December 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player.

He was a left-back who played for Tottenham Hotspur, Norwich City, West Ham United, Shimizu S-Pulse, Charlton Athletic, Wigan Athletic and Reading. He also played international football for Wales. Since retiring in 1999, he has worked as assistant to former international team-mate Mark Hughes with Wales, Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City before following Hughes to Fulham where he is currently assistant manager.

Playing career

Early career and Norwich City

Bowen joined Tottenham Hotspur as an apprentice in 1980, signing his first professional contract in December 1981. First-team opportunities were limited for him at White Hart Lane and he made only a handful of appearances for the club. In the summer of 1987, Norwich City manager Ken Brown paid Spurs £90,000 for Bowen, who was one of a number of players that Norwich signed from Tottenham during that period. He made his debut for the Canaries on 19 August 1987 in a league match against Southampton at Carrow Road.

Bowen spent much of his first season at Norwich playing on the left of midfield, but when Tony Spearing left the club to join Leicester City in July 1988, Bowen made the left-back spot his own for the next eight years. As well as carrying out his defensive duties in a consistent and dependable manner, Bowen was a threat going forward and in the 1989–90 season he finished as the team's joint-top league goalscorer. That season, he also collected the Barry Butler memorial trophy when the supporters voted him Norwich City player of the year.

On 9 April 1989, Bowen was involved in a highly unusual incident in a match against Coventry City at Highfield Road. Goalkeeper Bryan Gunn was sent off for arguing incessantly with the referee after he had awarded Coventry a penalty kick. Bowen went in goal to replace him, only for Coventry's specialist penalty taker Brian Kilcline to miss the spot-kick by putting it wide. Bowen was beaten late in the match, however, and Coventry won 2–1.

Bowen was a key member of the Norwich team that finished third in the inaugural season of the FA Premier League (1992–93) and qualified for the UEFA Cup as a result. In the second round of the UEFA Cup run, Bowen scored one of the most famous goals in Norwich City's history when his header put Norwich 2–0 up in the away leg against FC Bayern Munich. Norwich won the match 2–1 and remain to this day the only British club to beat FC Bayern at their own stadium.

At the end of the 1994–95 season, Norwich were relegated from the Premiership. The season that followed was one of the worst in the club's history and it was Bowen's last at Carrow Road. The club was in a desperate financial position and came within a whisker of going out of business. Gary Megson replaced Martin O'Neill as manager halfway through the season and he and Bowen did not enjoy a good relationship. Bowen criticised Megson's tactics in the local newspaper and was dropped from the team by Megson when he had played 399 matches for the club. He was not given the opportunity for a 400^th. At the end of the season, as the club began trying to pick up the pieces after chairman Robert Chase had left the club close to bankruptcy, Bowen was one of the players released in order to reduce the club's outgoings.

Bowen was highly regarded by the Canaries' fans. For example, in 2002, in a survey to mark the club's centenary, Norwich fans voted Bowen the club's best ever left-back and put him in the club's 'all-time XI'. He is also a member of the Norwich City F.C. Hall of Fame. He won 35 Welsh caps while at Norwich, meaning that he holds the record for being the club's most capped player. He was nicknamed 'Taff' because of his Welsh connections and also 'Albert Tatlock' because of his frequent complaining.

Late career

After leaving Carrow Road, Bowen signed on a free transfer for West Ham United making his debut appearance on 21 August 1996 in a 1-1 home draw against Coventry City. He made 20 appearances for The Hammers in all competitions scoring only one goal in a 2-0 away win against Nottingham Forest on 21 September 1996. In January 1997 he signed for Shimizu S-Pulse in Japan, again on a free transfer, before signing for Charlton Athletic shortly after the start of the 1997–98 season. He was a member of the Addicks side that won promotion to the Premiership at the end of that season after a memorable play-off final against Sunderland at Wembley ended 4–4. Charlton won the penalty shoot-out, with Bowen scoring one of the spot-kicks. For a while during his time at Norwich Bowen had been the team's penalty taker but had enjoyed little success. He scored just twice from the spot for Norwich, against Notts County and Queens Park Rangers respectively.

That 1998 play-off final proved to be the last high-point of Bowen's playing career. He left Charlton a year later having suffered a serious injury and after trials with Bristol City and Oxford United he played briefly for Wigan Athletic and Reading.

Coaching and management

Bowen began his coaching career while at Reading as Mark Hughes made him a member of his coaching staff for the Welsh national side. He then linked up with former Norwich team-mate Steve Bruce when he was manager first at Crystal Palace, then at Birmingham City. In 2002, under Bruce and Bowen's stewardship, Birmingham won promotion to the Premiership via the play-offs. Ironically, they won the final against Norwich City in a penalty shoot-out after the match had ended 1–1. Bowen remained at Birmingham for two more years before leaving in the summer of 2004.

Shortly afterwards in the autumn of 2004, Hughes made Bowen his assistant manager at Blackburn Rovers. After Nigel Worthington's sacking from Norwich City in October 2006, Bowen was the early favourite for the job, though Peter Grant was eventually appointed to the position. In June 2008 Bowen followed Hughes to Manchester City as assistant manager, and left the club with him in December 2009. In August 2010 he again followed Hughes, to become Fulham assistant manager.

Honours

As a player

Tottenham Hotspur

• UEFA Cup winner 1984
• Norwich City player of the year 1990
• Division One play-off final winner 1998

External links

• Mark Bowen at Soccerbase
• Career info at ex-canaries.co.uk
• Move To Man City