| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mark Gower | ||
| Date of birth | 5 October 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Edmonton, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Swansea City | ||
| Number | 27 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1996–2001 | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | (0) |
| 1999 | → Motherwell (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2001–2003 | Barnet | 90 | (15) |
| 2003–2008 | Southend United | 203 | (35) |
| 2008– | Swansea City | 109 | (3) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 May 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Mark Gower (born 5 October 1978) is an English footballer who plays for Swansea City. He joined Swansea from Southend United in the summer of 2008. He also played for the England schoolboys team.
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Born in Edmonton, London, Gower began his career at Tottenham Hotspur where he was a member of the League Cup winning squad in the 1998–99 season. He had a spell on loan at Motherwell before joining Barnet in January 2001 for £32,500. He joined Swansea City after declining a new contract at Southend United. He has the ability to play across the midfield, and he signed for Swansea City on a free transfer.[1]
A midfielder, he is predominantly right-footed but can play on either flank. Gower played for England schoolboys through to the under 18 team from the age of 14.
Gower played for Southend for five seasons, scoring 39 goals in the process. He moved to Swansea City when his contract at Southend expired. Gower failed to score in his first season with Swansea. Before the start of the 2009–10 season, Gower revealed he would be ditching his number 11 shirt, when he chose that number all the squad told him it was 'cursed' and fail to find good form. Gower now wears the 27 shirt.[2] Since wearing this shirt instead of the other he has scored four goals in two pre-season friendlies. He finally scored his first league goal for Swansea in the 2–0 win over Queens Park Rangers. Since the start of the 2010-2011 season under new manager Brendan Rodgers, Mark has adapted a new role in the centre of midfield and has played with 8 different players this season in that very same position, Jordi Lopez, Andrea Orlandi, Kemy Agustien, Darren Pratley, Joe Allen, David Cotterill, Scott Donnelly and the returning Leon Britton. Gower signed a one year extension to his contract in November 2010, the extension proved Gower is viewed as integral to Brendan Rodgers plans.[3]
Gower has become something of a cult hero in South Wales after scoring two superb 25 yard goals in consecutive games against Norwich City and Hull City respectively. He is affectionately known by Swansea fans as Mark 'The Power' Gower.
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| England | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||||
| 2000–01 | Barnet | Division Three | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 2 | |
| 2001–02 | Conference National | 35 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 6 | ||
| 2002–03 | 41 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 53 | 1 | |||
| 2003–04 | Southend | Division Three | 40 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 52 | 9 | |
| 2004–05 | League Two | 41 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 48 | 7 | ||
| 2005–06 | League One | 40 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 0 | ||
| 2006–07 | Championship | 43 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 51 | 10 | ||
| 2007–08 | League One | 44 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 9 | ||
| 2008–09 | Swansea City | Championship | 36 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 0 | |||
| 2010-11 | 42 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 2 | |||
| 2011-12 | Premier League | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | England | 404 | 53 | 21 | 3 | 30 | 4 | 455 | 60 | ||
| Career total | 404 | 53 | 21 | 3 | 30 | 4 | 455 | 60 | |||
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