Gary Bowyer

Gary David Bowyer (born 22 June 1971) is an English professional football coach and former professional player. As a player, he made 52 league appearances in a professional career that lasted eight years, before retiring due to injury in 1997, aged 25. He went on to coach at a number of clubs, and has managed Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, and Bradford City.

Gary Bowyer
Personal information
Full name Gary David Bowyer[1]
Date of birth (1971-06-22) 22 June 1971[1]
Place of birth Manchester, England
Position(s) Full-back
Youth career
Westfields
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1990 Hereford United 14 (2)
1990–1995 Nottingham Forest 0 (0)
1995–1997 Rotherham United 38 (2)
Total 52 (4)
Teams managed
2012–2013 Blackburn Rovers (caretaker)
2013 Blackburn Rovers (caretaker)
2013–2015 Blackburn Rovers
2016–2018 Blackpool
2019–2020 Bradford City
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Early and personal life

Bowyer was born on 22 June 1971 in Manchester, Lancashire, England.[1] His father, Ian, was also a professional footballer;[2][3] the two played together at Hereford United.[4]

Playing career

After playing in non-League football for Westfields, Bowyer, a full-back, signed for Football League team Hereford United on non-contract terms, making 14 appearances in the 1989–90 season.[5] After the season ended, Bowyer moved to Nottingham Forest, but he did not make a senior Football League appearance for club.[5] Bowyer later signed for Rotherham United, making 38 appearances in the League over the next two seasons, before retiring due to injury at the age of 25.[5][6] Whilst at Rotherham he was a part of the team that won the 1996 Football League Trophy Final.[7]

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Bowyer began his coaching career working part-time at Ilkeston,[8] before being appointed as under-17s coach at Derby County, where he spent six years as an academy coach. He then became under-18s coach for Blackburn Rovers in 2004.[9] He became their reserve-team manager in 2008, and in December 2012 he was appointed as caretaker manager following the dismissal of Henning Berg, steering them to a 3–1 victory over Barnsley in his first game in charge.[10] It was later announced that Bowyer would remain in charge until the end of January.[11]

Bowyer was re-appointed caretaker manager on 19 March 2013, following the sacking of Michael Appleton,[12] until the end of the season;[13] however, on 26 March Bowyer said he was unsure how long he would remain in the position, in case the club hired a new permanent manager,[14] and on 8 April 2013 Bowyer was summoned to India for a meeting with the club's owners.[15]

Bowyer was appointed the permanent manager of Blackburn on 24 May 2013, on a 12-month rolling contract.[16]

In September 2015, he called for goal-line technology to be implemented.[17] On 10 November 2015 Bowyer was sacked as manager of Blackburn Rovers.[18]

On 1 June 2016, Bowyer was appointed as manager of Blackpool on a one-year rolling contract, following the club's relegation to EFL League Two.[19] On 28 May, Bowyer guided Blackpool to an immediate return to EFL League One in his first season in charge. His side also beat Exeter City 2–1 in the League Two play-off final.[20]

He resigned as Blackpool manager on 6 August 2018.[21][22] In February 2019 he was linked with the vacant managerial position at Bradford City.[23] On 4 March, Bowyer replaced David Hopkin as Bantams manager, signing a contract until the end of the season,[24] with Andy Todd as his assistant.[25] Bowyer retained the club's other coaching staff—including Martin Drury, who had been caretaker manager prior to his appointment—[26] and said that all of City's squad players would have a chance to fight for a first-team place.[27]

In April 2019 he signed a new contract with Bradford City until 2021.[28] He was nominated for the League Two Manager of the Month award for October 2019,[29] but later said he was not a "fan" of such awards.[30]

Bowyer was sacked by Bradford City on 3 February 2020.[31]

He joined Derby County, as coach of their under-23s side, in September 2020.[32]

Managerial statistics
As of match played 1 February 2020[33]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
PWDLWin %
Blackburn Rovers (caretaker) 27 December 2012 11 January 2013 4 3 1 0 075.0
Blackburn Rovers (caretaker) 19 March 2013 24 May 2013 9 3 3 3 033.3
Blackburn Rovers 24 May 2013 10 November 2015 118 41 43 34 034.7
Blackpool 1 June 2016 6 August 2018 115 42 40 33 036.5
Bradford City 4 March 2019 3 February 2020 48 14 15 19 029.2
Total 294 103 102 89 035.0

References
  1. "Gary Bowyer". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  2. "Bowyer recalls childhood cup memories, including dad's trip to church". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
  3. "Sons and Daughters". Bob Dunning. Archived from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  4. "BBC Sport - Rivaldo: World Cup winner and son score in same Brazilian match". BBC Sport.
  5. "Profile". Post War English & Scottish Football League A – Z Player's Database. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  6. "Unlikely saviour Gary Bowyer plots Indian summer for Blackburn, and receives assurances over Jordan Rhodes" - The Independent, 20 November 2013
  7. "Rotherham's 1996 Auto Windscreens Shield winning side: Where are they now?". itsmillerstime.co.uk. 14 April 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  8. "Blackburn's stand-in boss Bowyer returns to Derby with Cup success in mind". Derby Telegraph. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  9. "Where Are They Now?". Nottingham Forest F.C. official website. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  10. "Bowyer's praise after team display". Blackburn Rovers F.C.
  11. "Blackburn: Gary Bowyer & Terry McPhillips in charge for January". BBC Sport. 3 January 2013.
  12. "Michael Appleton: Blackburn Rovers sack manager". BBC Sport. 19 March 2013.
  13. "Blackburn Rovers: Gary Bowyer confirmed as caretaker manager". BBC Sport. 22 March 2013.
  14. "Blackburn Rovers: Gary Bowyer managing 'game by game'". BBC Sport. 26 March 2013.
  15. Ben Smith and Andy Cryer (8 April 2013). "Blackburn: Gary Bowyer called to India for meeting with Venky's". BBC Sport.
  16. "Gary Bowyer: Blackburn Rovers caretaker manager appointed boss". BBC Sport. 24 May 2013.
  17. "Gary Bowyer: Blackburn Rovers boss calls for goal-line technology". BBC Sport.
  18. "Gary Bowyer: Blackburn Rovers sack manager after poor start". BBC Sport.
  19. "Bowyer Named New Blackpool Manager". Blackpool F.C. 1 June 2016.
  20. Smyth, Rob (28 May 2017). "Blackpool 2-1 Exeter City: League Two play-off final – as it happened". theguardian.com.
  21. "Gary Bowyer: Blackpool manager leaves after one game of the season". BBC Sport. 6 August 2018.
  22. "Club Statement: Gary Bowyer" - Blackpool F.C.'s official website, 6 August 2018
  23. "Bowyer on Bantams link: "I'm waiting for an opportunity to arise"". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
  24. "Gary Bowyer: Bradford City appoint former Blackburn and Blackpool boss as manager". BBC Sport. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  25. "BOWYER TAKES BANTAMS REINS". www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk.
  26. Simon Parker (9 March 2019). "Bradford City boss won't make coaching changes". Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  27. "Bowyer's clean slate to Bantams squad". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
  28. "Gary Bowyer: Bradford City manager signs new deal until 2021". BBC Sport. 2 April 2019.
  29. "Bradford City boss nominated for manager of the month". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
  30. "Bowyer reveals he's not fan of awards after being nominated". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
  31. "Bradford City sack manager Gary Bowyer" - Telegraph & Argus, 3 February 2020
  32. "Bowyer: To be part of this academy is something I couldn't turn down". Derby County Official Website.
  33. Gary Bowyer management career statistics at Soccerbase
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