Alan Edwin Gowling (born 16 March 1949) is an English former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a forward for several clubs in the

north of England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire. Officially, it is a gr ...

Playing career

Club

Born in

Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, Gowling went to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

by way of county schools and Manchester University, where he studied for a degree in economics. He played for Manchester United juniors while at university, and once scored seven goals in a 'B' game. Due to his degree, he earned the nickname "Bamber", after

Bamber Gascoigne Arthur Bamber Gascoigne (, 24 January 1935 – 8 February 2022) was an English television presenter and author. He was the original quizmaster of '' University Challenge'', which initially ran from 1962 to 1987. Early life and education Gasc ...

, the host of ''

University Challenge ''University Challenge'' is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. ''University Challenge'' aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC ...

''. Gowling made a goalscoring league debut against Stoke City. Coincidentally, he also played his last game for Manchester United against Stoke City, coming on as a substitute for

Bobby Charlton Sir Robert Charlton (11 October 1937 – 21 October 2023) was an English professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, left winger or centre-forward. Widely considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member ...

. He played 87 times for Manchester United and scored four in a game against

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

on 20 February 1971. Nevertheless, Gowling was never really a first choice player at the club, and he enjoyed his longest run in the side when playing in midfield in his final season in 1971–72. He was sold to

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

for £65,000 in June 1972. After a disappointing period at Huddersfield that resulted in two relegations, he joined

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

as a strike partner for

Malcolm Macdonald Malcolm John MacDonald (17 August 1901 – 11 January 1981) was a British politician and diplomat. He was initially a Labour Party (UK), Labour Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP), but in 1931 followed his father ...

. At Newcastle, he scored their only goal in the 1976 League Cup Final defeat at the hands of Manchester City. Nicknamed the "Galloping Chip", the workmanlike Gowling was preferred by Gordon Lee to the stylish Macdonald, scoring 30 goals in 92 league appearances before moving to

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

in 1978. He retired from football in 1984, aged 36, after a period at Preston North End.

International

Gowling gained England caps at amateur, schoolboy and under-23 level. Gowling represented the British Olympic side in the qualifying tournament for the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

After football

After his retirement, Gowling worked as general manager of a chemicals company in

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Alston, Cumbria also claims this, but lacks a regu ...

, Derbyshire.

Career statistics

Honours

Individual *

Player of the Year: 1975–76

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gowling, Alan 1949 births Living people English men's footballers England men's under-23 international footballers English Football League players Men's association football forwards Footballers from Stockport Alumni of the University of Manchester Manchester United F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players