Mark Bowen

Where is Mark Bowen now?

A Norwich City legend who will always be remembered by Canaries fans for his headed goal against Bayern Munich to put them 2-0 up in their famous UEFA Cup victory in 1993 retired from playing in 1999 after brief spells with Wigan Athletic and Reading.

Starting his professional career in 1981 with Tottenham Hotspur where he won the UEFA Cup, he went onto make over 500 first-team appearances for seven teams including a brief spell in Japan with Shimizu S-Pulse.

On the international stage he represented the Wales national side winning 41 caps between 1986 and 1997.

Embed from Getty Images

Upon retiring from playing Bowen started a career in coaching with Reading before going on to form a successful partnership with former Norwich City team-mate Steve Bruce at  Crystal Palace and then Birmingham City.

He also assisted Mark Hughes during his tenure as boss of the Welsh national side which was the start of a long relationship between the two.

Bowen left Birmingham in 2004 to join up with Hughes at Blackburn Rovers as his assistant manager and also followed him to Manchester City in 2008, Fulham in 2010 and also Queens Park Rangers in 2012.

He linked up with Hughes once again in June 2013 after he was appointed as the new manager at Stoke City where they enjoyed a very successful first season finishing ninth which was the club’s highest league position since the 1974-75 season.

Two more ninth-placed finishes preceded a 13th place finish in 2016/17 but after an underwhelming second-half to the season which continued into the 2017/18 season the pair were sacked in January 2018.

He made a return to coaching just two months after leaving Stoke when he followed Mark Hughes to struggling Southampton as his assistant for the sixth time at club level.

Despite securing Premier League status in 2018, the following season proved to be a struggle again for The Saints winning just one game and drawing six before the board relinquished Hughes and Bowen of their duties in December 2018.

Three months after leaving Southampton, Bowen returned to Reading as a technical consultant before stepping up to a sporting director role in August 2019.

Two months later he was appointed as Reading’s manager, which was ironic as he was tasked with drawing up a list of suitable candidates for the job. Arguably one of the most unpopular appointments in the club history at the time, Bowen managed to turn the fan’s opinion of him around over the course of the season with some impressive team displays.

Unfortunately he was replaced at the end of the 2019/20 season and was offered the chance to return to his director of football role but declined and subsequently left the club.

He returned to the club in May 2022 when he was appointed in his current role as head of football operations.

Back to Norwich City



Mark Bowen: Premier League Statistics

NationalityWelsh
PositionDefender
Appearances142
Goals9
Yellow Cards9
Red Cards0
Premier League Teams Played forCharlton, Norwich City, West Ham United

Statistics courtesy of www.premierleague.com

Last Updated on 20 May 2022 by Admin