Mike Stowell
Encyclopedia
Michael "Mike" Stowell is an English
former professional football goalkeeper, and now goalkeeping coach at Leicester City
. As a player, he spent twenty years as a professional, eleven of which were with Wolves
.
Getting his chance in the professional game at Preston North End
in 1985, he impressed enough to win a contract with top-flight Everton
later in the year. In his five years at the club he was loaned out to Chester City
, York City
, Manchester City
, Port Vale
, Wolverhampton Wanderers
, and Preston North End. He signed permanently with Wolves in 1990, and was their goalkeeper of choice throughout the decade, making 378 league appearances. In 2001 he signed with Bristol City
, before retiring in 2005. He had spells as caretaker manager
at Leicester City
in 2007, 2010 and 2011.
, where he played in their reserves and was offered a one year contract. He turned this down though as the club were then sat bottom of the Third Division
and he was entering his final year's apprenticeship with BT
in Preston
, the town in which he was raised.
While playing for non-league Leyland Motors, he was offered a trial at top flight
Everton
and subsequently offered a two and a half year contract at the club. He signed in December 1985 for what turned out to be a five year stay at Goodison Park
. However, he was unable to force his way past Neville Southall
into the first team and never made a league appearance for the team, instead playing in the Central Reserve league. His sole outing for the "Toffees" was in a Full Members Cup
tie against , in which he kept a clean sheet.
The lack of first-team opportunities at Everton
saw Stowell experiencing a string of loan moves to lower league sides. In September 1987 he was loaned to Chester City
, making his league
debut in a 4–1 win over Aldershot
on 5 September 1987. He made 15 further appearances for the Cheshire
club before joining their Third Division rivals York City
in December 1982. He played six league games for York.
In February 1988 he joined Second Division
Manchester City
on loan, playing 14 league and one FA Cup
game for the club during the latter half of the season. He joined Port Vale
in a two month loan deal in October 1988, keeping goal in one cup and seven league games. Wolverhampton Wanderers
required his services from March 1989 to the end of the season. His final loan spell was with Preston North End
in February 1990, playing just the two games.
His two month loan spell at Wolverhampton in the spring 1989 was to prove the most influential in terms of his career. Impressing during his seven games as Wolves won the Third Division championship, he was signed by manager Graham Turner
in July 1990 for £275,000. Stowell finally had the chance to gain regular first team games and became firmly established as Wolves' main goalkeeper throughout the 1990s, playing 448 times in total as the club tried to break back into the top flight. During this time he fought off competition from stoppers such as Matt Murray
, Steve Mautone
, and Hans Segers
. He eventually lost his first team place to Michael Oakes
, who was signed for £500,000 in October 1999.
Stowell was also named in the England B squad during his time at Molineux
for a friendly against Algeria in December 1990, but did not compete in the match.
He was given a testimonial match
against Aston Villa
in July 2000, and the following summer was released by the Midlanders and joined Bristol City
on a free transfer, having chosen them over Wrexham. Here, he was mostly a reserve, but managed 25 league appearances spread over his four seasons at Ashton Gate, and was an unused substitute in the 2003 Football League Trophy Final
. He retired in 2005, and turned down the offer of becoming an official goalkeeping coach at the club, having already found employment at Leicester City.
, before being sacked alongside manager Rob Kelly
on 11 April 2007.
In July 2007, he was re-appointed goalkeeping coach at Leicester City
by Kelly's replacement Martin Allen
.
In August 2007, he took over (joint) managerial responsibility at Leicester, following Allen's sacking. He returned to his goalkeeping coaching role alone when the club appointed Allen's successor, Gary Megson
, the following month.
He resumed joint managerial duties at Leicester in October 2010, after the sacking of manager Paulo Sousa
after less than three months in charge. He then resumed his role as goalkeeping coach. He was appointed caretaker-manager for a second time in twelve months, when Sven-Göran Eriksson
was sacked in October 2011. After a win and two defeats, Nigel Pearson
was re-appointed as Leicester manager.
with Bristol City
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
former professional football goalkeeper, and now goalkeeping coach at Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
. As a player, he spent twenty years as a professional, eleven of which were with Wolves
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
.
Getting his chance in the professional game at Preston North End
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
in 1985, he impressed enough to win a contract with top-flight Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
later in the year. In his five years at the club he was loaned out to Chester City
Chester City F.C.
Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...
, York City
York City F.C.
York City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...
, Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
, Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...
, Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
, and Preston North End. He signed permanently with Wolves in 1990, and was their goalkeeper of choice throughout the decade, making 378 league appearances. In 2001 he signed with Bristol City
Bristol City F.C.
Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...
, before retiring in 2005. He had spells as caretaker manager
Caretaker manager
In association football, a caretaker manager is someone who takes temporary charge of the management of a football club, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caretaker may also be appointed if the regular manager is ill or unable to attend to his...
at Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
in 2007, 2010 and 2011.
Playing career
Having played junior football for Kirkham Junior Football Club, Stowell got his first experience of professional football with a trial for Preston North EndPreston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
, where he played in their reserves and was offered a one year contract. He turned this down though as the club were then sat bottom of the Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
and he was entering his final year's apprenticeship with BT
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
in Preston
City of Preston, Lancashire
The City of Preston is a city and non-metropolitan district in Lancashire, England. It is located on the north bank of the River Ribble, and was granted city status in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Queen Elizabeth II's reign...
, the town in which he was raised.
While playing for non-league Leyland Motors, he was offered a trial at top flight
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
and subsequently offered a two and a half year contract at the club. He signed in December 1985 for what turned out to be a five year stay at Goodison Park
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...
. However, he was unable to force his way past Neville Southall
Neville Southall
Neville Southall MBE is a former Wales international footballer, best known for his time with Everton. He has been described as one of the best goalkeepers of his generation and won the FWA Footballer of the Year award in 1985...
into the first team and never made a league appearance for the team, instead playing in the Central Reserve league. His sole outing for the "Toffees" was in a Full Members Cup
Full Members Cup
The Full Members Cup was an association football cup competition held in English football from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992....
tie against , in which he kept a clean sheet.
The lack of first-team opportunities at Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
saw Stowell experiencing a string of loan moves to lower league sides. In September 1987 he was loaned to Chester City
Chester City F.C.
Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...
, making his league
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
debut in a 4–1 win over Aldershot
Aldershot F.C.
Aldershot Football Club was an English Football League club, which was wound up in the High Court in March 1992. They became the first Football League club since Accrington Stanley to resign from the League during the course of a season. The club was nicknamed the Shots for both the last syllable...
on 5 September 1987. He made 15 further appearances for the Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
club before joining their Third Division rivals York City
York City F.C.
York City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...
in December 1982. He played six league games for York.
In February 1988 he joined Second Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
on loan, playing 14 league and one FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
game for the club during the latter half of the season. He joined Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...
in a two month loan deal in October 1988, keeping goal in one cup and seven league games. Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
required his services from March 1989 to the end of the season. His final loan spell was with Preston North End
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
in February 1990, playing just the two games.
His two month loan spell at Wolverhampton in the spring 1989 was to prove the most influential in terms of his career. Impressing during his seven games as Wolves won the Third Division championship, he was signed by manager Graham Turner
Graham Turner
Graham John Turner is an English former footballer who became a manager. He is currently manager of League Two club Shrewsbury Town. His son Mark was also a professional footballer....
in July 1990 for £275,000. Stowell finally had the chance to gain regular first team games and became firmly established as Wolves' main goalkeeper throughout the 1990s, playing 448 times in total as the club tried to break back into the top flight. During this time he fought off competition from stoppers such as Matt Murray
Matt Murray
Matthew William "Matt" Murray is an English former football goalkeeper who spent his entire career at Wolverhampton Wanderers. His career was plagued by injuries which eventually forced him to retire aged 29.-Career:...
, Steve Mautone
Steve Mautone
Steve Mautone is an Australian football coach with Melbourne Victory in the A-League. Mautone was initially recruited by Melbourne Victory to assume responsibility for training their goalkeepers Michael Theoklitos and Eugene Galekovic...
, and Hans Segers
Hans Segers
Johannes Segers is a Dutch goalkeeper, who spent most of his playing career in England.-Career:Segers was born in Eindhoven, Noord-Brabant. His early career was with home-town club PSV Eindhoven, before being signed for Nottingham Forest by Brian Clough during the 1983-84 season...
. He eventually lost his first team place to Michael Oakes
Michael Oakes
Michael Christian Oakes is an English former professional football goalkeeper who is currently working with Wrexham as a goalkeeping coach and Assistant Manager Under Andy Morrell. He is the son of former Manchester City footballer Alan Oakes.- Aston Villa :Oakes began his career in Aston Villa's...
, who was signed for £500,000 in October 1999.
Stowell was also named in the England B squad during his time at Molineux
Molineux stadium
Molineux Stadium is a Premier League football stadium situated in Whitmore Reans, Wolverhampton, England. It has been the home ground of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club since 1889, and has a long and illustrious history as the first 'new build' stadium in Football League history, one of the...
for a friendly against Algeria in December 1990, but did not compete in the match.
He was given a testimonial match
Testimonial match
A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, notably football and especially in the United Kingdom, where a club puts on a match in honour of a player for service to the club....
against Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
in July 2000, and the following summer was released by the Midlanders and joined Bristol City
Bristol City F.C.
Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...
on a free transfer, having chosen them over Wrexham. Here, he was mostly a reserve, but managed 25 league appearances spread over his four seasons at Ashton Gate, and was an unused substitute in the 2003 Football League Trophy Final
2003 Football League Trophy Final
The 2003 Football League Trophy Final was the 20th final of the Football League Trophy - a domestic football cup competition for teams from the Football League Second and Third Division. The match was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, and was contested by Bristol City and Carlisle...
. He retired in 2005, and turned down the offer of becoming an official goalkeeping coach at the club, having already found employment at Leicester City.
Coaching career
Stowell spent the early part of his coaching career as, firstly, a goalkeeping coach, and then assistant manager at Leicester CityLeicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
, before being sacked alongside manager Rob Kelly
Rob Kelly
Robert Anthony "Rob" Kelly is an English former footballer and manager. Recently caretaker manager at Nottingham Forest, after Steve McClaren's departure and prior to the appointment of Steve Cotterill...
on 11 April 2007.
In July 2007, he was re-appointed goalkeeping coach at Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
by Kelly's replacement Martin Allen
Martin Allen
Martin James Allen is a former football player and current manager of Notts County. He played more than 100 games for each Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United before finishing his playing career with Portsmouth and Southend United. Five years later, he took his first job in management, at...
.
In August 2007, he took over (joint) managerial responsibility at Leicester, following Allen's sacking. He returned to his goalkeeping coaching role alone when the club appointed Allen's successor, Gary Megson
Gary Megson
Gary John Megson is an English former football player and is currently manager of Sheffield Wednesday.He has previously managed Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City and Bolton Wanderers...
, the following month.
He resumed joint managerial duties at Leicester in October 2010, after the sacking of manager Paulo Sousa
Paulo Sousa
Paulo Manuel Carvalho de Sousa, CavIH is a retired Portuguese footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, and a current manager.He was a member of the “Portuguese Golden Generation”...
after less than three months in charge. He then resumed his role as goalkeeping coach. He was appointed caretaker-manager for a second time in twelve months, when Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson , in Sweden commonly referred to just by his nickname Svennis, is a Swedish ex-football manager. From October 2010 to October 2011 he managed Football League Championship side Leicester City....
was sacked in October 2011. After a win and two defeats, Nigel Pearson
Nigel Pearson
Nigel Graham Pearson is an English football manager and former professional player. He is currently in his second spell as manager of Leicester City, having previously managed Hull City, Southampton and Carlisle United, and been assistant manager for England Under-21s and Newcastle United...
was re-appointed as Leicester manager.
Honours
with Wolverhampton Wanderers- Football League Third DivisionFootball League Third DivisionThe Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
champion: 1988–89
with Bristol City
- Football League TrophyFootball League TrophyThe Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
winner: 20032003 Football League Trophy FinalThe 2003 Football League Trophy Final was the 20th final of the Football League Trophy - a domestic football cup competition for teams from the Football League Second and Third Division. The match was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, and was contested by Bristol City and Carlisle...