| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stanley Bowles | ||
| Date of birth | 24 December 1948 | ||
| Place of birth | Collyhurst, Manchester, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position | Forward/Midfield | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1967–1970 | Manchester City | 17 | (2) |
| 1970 | Bury | 5 | (0) |
| 1970–1971 | Crewe Alexandra | 51 | (18) |
| 1971–1972 | Carlisle United | 33 | (12) |
| 1972–1979 | Queens Park Rangers | 315 | (97) |
| 1979–1980 | Nottingham Forest | 19 | (2) |
| 1980–1981 | Leyton Orient | 44 | (7) |
| 1981–1984 | Brentford | 81 | (16) |
| – | Total | 565 | (154 ) |
| National team | |||
| 1974–1977 | England | 5 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Stanley Bowles (born 24 December 1948 in Collyhurst, Manchester, England) was a leading English footballer who gained a reputation as one of the game's greatest mavericks. He was a cousin of Paul Bowles.[1]
Bowles began his career at Manchester City, although his fiery temper resulted in him being released after a series of off-field incidents. After a brief and unsuccessful stay at Bury, he was signed by Ernie Tagg, manager of Crewe Alexandra, then in the Fourth Division, where his skill caught the eye of a number of bigger clubs. In October 1971 he was signed by Carlisle United, at the time a Second Division club, scoring 13 goals in 36 appearances for the Cumbrians. After a managerial change at the club, he joined Queens Park Rangers (QPR) for £112,000 in September 1972.
He replaced in the team another QPR folk-hero, Rodney Marsh, who had been transferred to Bowles' first club Manchester City six months before. Bowles took over Marsh's number 10 shirt, which other players had been reluctant to wear in fear of being compared to Marsh. Bowles had no qualms about taking the shirt, primarily because he said that, coming from the North, he had never heard of Marsh. Bowles is also the life chairman of the Queens Park Rangers supporters group L.S.A (Loyal Supporters Association).
Bowles was often regarded as something of a character both on and off the pitch. Bowles has been known to cite a notable incident in his playing days involving the famous FA Cup trophy. Having won the FA Cup competition four days prior, Sunderland were parading the trophy at Roker Park on 9 May 1973 when they met QPR in the old Division 2. The trophy had been placed on a table at the side of the pitch when Bowles tore straight across the park and claims to have kicked the ball at it full speed, sending the Cup flying through the air.[2] According to Stan, the crowd predictably went ballistic, but he had the last laugh by scoring two goals in the match which ended in a pitch invasion. Some reports suggest that some of the QPR players had laid bets as to who could hit the trophy first. However this version of events has been disputed and, according to Gordon Jago (QPR's manager at the time), it was Bowles's teammate, defender Tony Hazell, who struck the cup with an accidental clearance.[3]
However with his playing flair and undoubted natural ability it was inevitable that international recognition would soon come. He made his international debut against Portugal in April 1974 in Sir Alf Ramsey's last match in charge. Overall he won only five caps for England, all while playing for QPR (playing for three different managers: Sir Alf Ramsey, Joe Mercer and Don Revie) and scored his only international goal in a 2-0 win over Wales at Ninian Park in 1974.
Bowles spent just over seven years at QPR, playing a central role in arguably the club's greatest ever team, that which finished as league runners-up in 1975–76 under Dave Sexton. A 2004 fans poll saw him voted the club's all-time greatest player. In 1979, Bowles fell out with QPR's new manager, Tommy Docherty. Bowles responded to Docherty's plea of "You can trust me, Stan" with "I'd rather trust my chickens with Colonel Sanders". Docherty made Bowles train with the reserves for nearly 6 months, before selling Bowles to Nottingham Forest in December 1979. Despite the fallout between Docherty and Bowles, Docherty continued to play Bowles for QPR right up until he was sold to Forest.
At Nottingham Forest, Bowles failed to settle under the management of Brian Clough and he ruled himself out of the 1980 European Cup Final after Clough refused to allow Bowles to play in John Robertson's testimonial. Bowles was then sold to Leyton Orient for £100,000. He joined Brentford the following year and remained at the club until his retirement in 1984. Post-retirement, he continued to play at non-league level for Epping Town.
His 1996 autobiography revealed the extent of his drinking, womanizing and gambling during his playing days, and also helped to secure a role as a pundit on Sky Sports, where he again replaced Rodney Marsh.[4]
Something of a cult icon because of his chaotic personal life,[5] he is amongst the few footballers to have 2 singles released bearing his name, in the first case the 2004 release by The Others.Then Cornish band The Surgeons sang about him claiming they "Saw Stan Bowles in B & Q" But he was not a "Ginger Tosser" He has also written betting columns in the national press and a column in 'lads' mag' Loaded and also appears on the after dinner speaker circuit.
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