Gary Rowell

Gary Rowell, (born June 6 1957), is a former footballer - most notably with Sunderland A.F.C - and now a football commentator for a North East radio station.

After school in Seaham, he joined Sunderland A.F.C as an apprentice in 1972. His career was split (1972–84) between playing as a striker (albeit often coming from deep) and in midfield for Sunderland, his local team.

He scored 102 goals for The Black Cats, surpassing the previous record post-war goalscorer, Len Shackleton, who had scored 101 goals. Rowell's record stood until it in turn was beaten by Kevin Phillips in the early 21st century.

Gary was a talented player who many Sunderland supporters felt could have, in time, been 'fully' capped by England but for the disruption caused to his career by a serious knee injury sustained in March 1979. After a lengthy recovery from his injury, Rowell continued to score goals in the First Division at a healthy strike-rate, but he always looked likely to struggle to maintain full fitness for the whole of any season.

Sunderland manager Len Ashurst forced Rowell out of Roker Park as part of a huge rebuilding plan in 1984, part of the slide which would ultimately take them to the third tier of English football for the only time in the club's history. Rowell moved to Norwich City, but never recreated his goalscoring exploits because of a knee injury he picked up on his first pre season tour with the Canaries. The injury would ultimately blight the rest of his career, although he did go on to play for Middlesbrough, Brighton and Carlisle, before finishing his career with Burnley.

Gary is best loved for scoring a hat-trick for Sunderland in a 4-1 win away at local rivals Newcastle United on 24 February 1979. Describing the match later, he said "When we hit the 4th I had a chat with Kevin Arnott about whether to try for a fifth or just to take the piss. We decided to take the piss."

He now works as a radio summariser on Century, commentating on all Sunderland games. Prior to moving there, he spent 7 years covering Sunderland's games on Metro Radio and Magic 1152.

In 2005 he was voted Sunderland's all-time cult hero on the television programme Football Focus, whilst in 2006, Sunderland fanzine A Love Supreme voted him their Best Player of the 1980s. Such accolades reflect his almost 'iconic' status on Wearside.

Career

Sunderland: 1972–1984, 293 appearances, 102 goals
Norwich City: 1984–1985, 6 appearances, 1 goal
Middlesbrough: 1985–1986, 27 appearances, 10 goals

Brighton: 1986–1987, 12 appearances
Carlisle United: 1988, 7 appearances
Burnley: 1988–1989, 19 appearances, 1 goal

External links

* [http://www.sunderlandecho.com/sectionhome.aspx?sectionID=5849 Gary Rowell Column - Sunderland Echo]
* [http://www.sportingheroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=21716 Gary Rowell featured at sporting-heroes.net - Sunderland AFC]
* [http://www.safc.com/history/?page_id=6575 Career information at safc.com]
* [http://www.ex-canaries.co.uk/players/rowell.htm Career information at ex-canaries.co.uk]