A Love Affair That Has Never Faded!

If you have read my tennis blog you will already know about my everlasting support of Serena Williams and Tim Henman! There is more to me than just tennis in the locker though, so I’m going to dedicate my first article on this site to a very special footballer who took the scene by storm back in 1993. This guy was absolutely incredible! He went by the nickname of ‘God’, known for being a natural born goalscorer, ‘a loveable rogue’ and one half of the Macca and Growler partnership! He scored 18 goals in his first season and over 30 goals in his first full three seasons! A hat-trick at 19 years of age in 4 mins 33 seconds against Arsenal. 100 goals were reached in 165 games (that is phenomenal by the way) and finally, number 6 on the all-time Premiership Goalscorer list! Robert Bernard Fowler!

What made Fowler so special? Was he quick? Not Particularly. Was he strong? Not massively. Was he built like an athlete? Not especially. He was instinctive, crafty, versatile and an intelligent player. I could watch clips of his goals all day and as a kid, I wanted to emulate his cheek and swagger on and off the pitch, he just made finishing look ridiculously easy! We all wanted that famous nose clip he donned for a few seasons too! People talk of David Beckham and Wayne Rooney as prodigies, let me tell you something for nothing, Robbie Fowler was a level above that when he burst on to our screens. He was at the top level from the word go, a goal on his debut and five in his second at Anfield! It didn’t matter whether it was with his left, right or with his head, he could score from 5 yards or 30 yards, from pretty much anywhere on the pitch, it didn’t matter what the keepers positioning was, ask Pete Schmeichel! Two efforts spring to mind when he didn’t score but the audacity was there, one was an attempted chip against Leeds where Danny Murphy scored off the rebound. The other was an effort against United in that infamous 1-2 F.A Cup loss back in 1999. If that curling right foot effort had gone in, it would have been goal of the season and probably rewritten United’s history books in the process! Fowler was a unique talent! In all the years I have supported the Redmen, I have never seen a striker who had a gift in front of goal like Robbie did. Suarez? Torres? Owen? Nope! Ian Rush was obviously the nearest comparison, another fantastic striker and perhaps not surprisingly, Fowler’s mentor as a young lad at Liverpool! Maybe I am just Old Skool but many my age would probably agree with me!

You don’t just get the nickname of ‘God’ at Anfield unless you have earned it, the truth is we all loved him! He was born in Toxteth and always had Liverpool Football Club’s best interests at heart (after switching from an Evertonian as a kid of course), a dying commodity in this day and age! Natural born goal scorer and kindred spirit have been used so many times, not because of it being a cliche, it’s just the truth! Simple! Every Liverpool fan could relate to him and we knew the love was reciprocated! Players aren’t made from the same mould today, they aren’t allowed to be, even if they wanted to! I remember being at the SK Brann Bergen match and him pulling out the t-shirt in support of the Liverpool Dockers. Apparently, both Fowler and McManaman were giving large donations to the families of people who had lost their jobs! The first four seasons were sensational, some say that was it, that’s not true either, there were at least 7 seasons where he was operating at a very high level. Injuries were the biggest factor as to why there weren’t many more! Houllier’s rotation didn’t help matters either, a striker like the Prowler needed to be plying his trade week in, week out. I actually got quite bitter over him leaving Liverpool for Leeds in 2001, it was so obvious Houllier wanted him out! I was livid! I wasn’t the only one from what I remember! His time away from Anfield was mixed, his Leeds record of a one in two ratio was decent as was his last full season at City, but he produced his best when putting the red shirt on!

It is difficult to pinpoint my favourite goal or moment, there were just too many of both and so many to enjoy. YouTube can’t always tell a full story and this is one of them! If I had to choose it would be the goals against Villa (where he ‘Cruyffed’ Stan Staunton and sweetly struck it past Bosnich from 25 yards. I also love the West Ham away goal on the volley. Again it doesn’t tell the full story though, some of the goals against the Mancs, Arsenal and Everton were absolutely different gear. The Prowler had a habit of scoring in the big games, another reason why he is idolised to this day! As far as moments go, he always came with the tag of being a bit of a lad and lads don’t always please the masses! There was sniffing the white line against Everton and several incidents with the F.A, but he was just one of the lads in that respect who wore his heart on his sleeve and perhaps didn’t always think (like most of us at times). People reacted as if he was condoning the use of cocaine in the celebration against Everton. REALLY! Personally, I was always going to be a big fan of him! The banter he gave the United fans at times was brilliant at Liverpool and Man City! He had taken enough off them over the years as he had off several other fans, some from across Stanley Park! That is how football was then and it was mostly all good banter! I remember a very cheeky goal celebration against Everton when playing for City, where he ran around Goodison smacking his head! Brilliant! That was one of the cleverest celebrations I have seen! Then there was always the smug look and clench of the fist after scoring against United in 2001 or the full-on hand in the air when scoring for Man City in the Derby, just to remind the red half of Manchester of the five European Cups Liverpool own!

His return in 2006 was special for everyone involved, that feeling of getting back with your missus when you should never have split up in the first place!! When Rafa Benitez brought him back to the club it was immense, I think we were all overcome by emotion and shed a tear, the main man himself was buzzing! We all were! The reception he received when coming on as a substitute for his first match back against Birmingham City was electric, it makes the hairs on your neck stand up! The adrenaline was pumping! Robbie says that he didn’t even check his salary when he re-signed for us and I think that sums it all up! He did a good job on returning and had a positive influence on the dressing room and that was vital at the time. He got a proper chance to say goodbye this time also, that was very important after he was subbed at half-time in his last match with Houllier in 2001.

I went to a 5Times event recently where I got to meet him and listen to a talk about his career. There were some great stories as you would expect and I wasn’t disappointed! Outsiders may say that for the trophies he won at Liverpool (including the treble), a league title wasn’t one of them, but he was certainly good enough, be absolutely under no illusions about that. In his pomp would Alex Ferguson have signed him given the chance? Ferguson would admit that much himself, the thing is Fowler would never have joined them as hard as that might be to believe in this day and age! He will forever go down as a legend at Liverpool and his 183 goals in 369 matches are only part of the reason!

Y.N.W.A!

Andy Del Potro