Welcome back to Last Word On Football’s look at some of Liverpool’s most iconic figures. From players to managers, we look at who has an impact during their time at the club that no Liverpool fan will ever forget. Next up the man known simply as God: Robbie Fowler.
Fowler is one of the greatest finishers to ever play for Liverpool. He scored a total of 183 in 369 appearances over two spells. A star and one of the infamous Spice Boys, Fowler was a goal machine in the 1990s before leaving in 2001 after a falling out with manager Gerard Houllier. He returned in 2006 for one last season with the Reds. The Toxteth native won two League Cups, an FA Cup, a UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup.
Icon of Liverpool: Robbie Fowler
Boy Wonder
While Fowler made his debut in 1992, he really broke through in the 1994/1995 season. The young Englishman was incredible as he played in all 57 competitive games that season and scored 31 goals. He won the League Cup and also made history as he netted the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history when he scored a treble against Arsenal in four minutes and 33 seconds. A record that stood until 2015 when it was broken by Sadio Mane.
Fowler won the PFA Young Player of the Year – a feat that he repeated in 1996 because once the now-45-year-old got going he never stopped. He scored 30 or more goals for three consecutive seasons and there was more than one iconic moment.
He ruined Eric Cantona‘s comeback in 1995 when he scored twice as the Reds held Manchester United. The second goal was an incredible chip over United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel. In addition, he scored twice over Newcastle United in 1995-1996 as the Reds won 4-3. This game is widely considered the greatest Premier League contest of all time.
But Fowler’s on the pitch brilliance isn’t the only reason why Liverpool fans adore him.
A Local Lad Through and Through
While Fowler may have never reached Michael Owen‘s level of brilliance, Liverpool fans always loved him more.
First, there’s the moment after his first hat-trick. Playing the second leg of a League Cup game vs Fulham, Fowler scored five goals as Liverpool ran out comfortable winners. How did the he celebrate? By bagging himself a curry and fried rice at a local shop. Just like one of the fans.
There is the moment in 1997 when Liverpool was awarded a penalty for what looked like a clear foul on Fowler. But the striker dusted himself off and told the referee that no infraction had been committed. He would go on to miss the ensuing penalty, but teammate Jason McAteer put away the rebound. Fowler has always denied that he missed it on purpose, but he did win a UEFA Fair Play award for his actions.
Also in 1997, Fowler was fined by UEFA for a celebration that won the hearts of local fans. He lifted his shirt to show a message of support for local dockers who had refused to cross a picket line and had been fired.
When Fowler played, fans saw themselves. He really was a red through and through. But, there was an aspect of his personality that held him back.
A Spice Boy
Robbie Fowler was a member of the infamous Liverpool group of players that made up the “Spice Boys.” His on the pitch heroics were often overshadowed by his partying and ending up on the front pages of the tabloids.
Unfortunately, his bad-boy ways negatively influenced his play. There was the time when after scoring a goal against Everton in 1999, Fowler got on his knees and pretended to snort the white line. He was fined by the FA and suspended for six games, even though manager Gerard Houllier had a creative defence.
The manager claimed that Fowler was eating grass and imitating a Cameroonian tradition that he had learned from teammate Rigobert Song.
In addition, there was the white suit incident. In 1996, Liverpool showed up to the FA Cup final wearing cream suits. Suffice to say, they looked ridiculous and this also gave their opponents some extra motivation.
“I said to [assistant] Brian Kidd ‘1-0’. Because of that [white suits],” Ferguson said in the one-off BBC programme Sir Alex Ferguson: Secrets of Success.
United would go on to prove their manager right, won 1-0 and dominated that era. Liverpool fans often wonder why their talented group of youngsters in the 90s never produced when compared to United’s great Class of 92.
The Spice Boys and their hard-partying ways surely didn’t help.
The End
2000/01 was Robbie Fowler’s most successful season as a Liverpool player. New manager Gerard Houllier had imposed a regime that modernised the club by introducing new tactics and nutritional regimes. And it worked.
The Reds would seal a historic treble by winning a League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Europa League. Fowler would play in all three finals and scored in two of them. In addition, he netted two goals against Charlton Athletic to seal UEFA Champions League qualification. One of them was a brilliant bicycle kick from a corner.
But, there were disagreements with Houllier. Fowler claimed that the Frenchman pushed him out of the club by constantly embarrassing him in front of his teammates and by planting false stories to turn fans against him in the local paper.
“Houllier couldn’t deal with players expressing any anger or questioning any of his decisions,” said the Scouser.
In the end, the Frenchman got his way and Fowler was sold to Leeds United. But that wasn’t the end of his Liverpool story.
God Returns
In January 2006, Liverpool fans were treated to the return of an icon – Robbie Fowler was back.
And it’s easy to see that the man was delighted.
On his return, he declared that he was “like a kid waking up on Christmas morning every day.”
While his return was emotional, he was no longer the same player and scored only three goals in the Premier League that season.
But he got a deserved send-off. In his last game for the club, Fowler was substituted to a standing ovation by the Anfield crowd. A fitting finale for a man who meant so much for Liverpool.
Main Photo
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