Fowler dismisses talk of return to England

July 8, 2009

MELBOURNE (AFP) – Former Liverpool and England striker Robbie Fowler on Wednesday dismissed reports he would leave Australia to play for ex-teammate John Barnes at English League One side Tranmere Rovers.

The 34-year-old signed a two-year contract with A-League debutants North Queensland Fury in February and said he had no intention of walking away from the deal.

“It looks like somebody’s put two and two together and come up with six,” Fowler said.

“I’ve got a two-year contract with North Queensland Fury and I’m a man of my word — I’ll play it out.”

Fowler, whose goal-scoring exploits once saw him idolised in the red half of Merseyside, said his family had recently arrived in Australia ahead of his A-League debut later this month.

“They wouldn’t have travelled all this way if I had any intention to leave,” he said.

Fury coach Ian Ferguson said he had not been contacted by Barnes and was confident his marquee signing was staying.

“When you’ve got a world-class player in your team there’s always going to be speculation about him going to other clubs,” he said.

Fowler scored 120 goals in 236 league appearances for Liverpool and also played for Leeds United, Manchester City, Cardiff City and Blackburn Rovers.

Tags: Australia, blackburn, blackburn rovers, cardiff city, debutants, England, English Premier League, exploits, Ferguson, Ian Ferguson, intention, john barnes, league appearances, league debut, LEEDS, leeds united, Liverpool, man of my word, manchester city, Melbourne, Merseyside, north queensland, robbie fowler, speculation, striker, teammate, tranmere rovers

Fowler is happy down under

July 8, 2009

Australian A-League side North Queensland Fury’s striker Robbie Fowler has denied reports that he is set to reunite with former Liverpool team-mate John Barnes at Tranmere, insisting his future remains in Australia.

The former Liverpool marksman, who signed a two-year contract with the new A-League franchise in February, but hasn’t made his debut or even taken part in full training session due to a string of groin and hip injuries.

With lack of match practice after his three-month contract with Blackburn expired in December, the 34-year-old has been linked with a move to Prenton Park where former Celtic and Jamaica manager Barnes, is now at the helm after taking over from Ronnie Moore last month.

Jason McAteer, a former Liverpool team-mate of Barnes and Fowler, who is also employed as Barnes’ assistant at Tranmere, just missed out on the League One play-offs last season on the final day.

The report suggested Fowler’s family has also failed to settle in Australia and that, coupled with his succession injuries, would force his return to England.

However, the former England and Manchester City striker has insisted that he is staying put ahead of North Queensland’s season opener against Sydney FC on August 8, with featuring of the player still in doubt after his latest injury setback Fowler.

“I don’t know where it’s come from,” said Fowler. “It looks like somebody’s put two and two together and come up with six.

“I’ve got a two-year contract with North Queensland Fury FC and I’m a man of my word – I’ll play it out.

“I wouldn’t want anyone to do that sort of thing to me and I certainly wouldn’t do it anyone.

“There’s nothing to this – my family has just arrived and they wouldn’t have travelled all this way if I had any intention to leave.”

Even Fury coach Ian Ferguson has also spoken to Fowler at length regarding the report.

“Robbie’s happy here and he want to play football for the Fury,” Ferguson said.

“There’s no doubt he’s the sort of player other clubs would be interested in, but John Barnes would have had to come through the Fury if he was interested in Robbie and that hasn’t happened.”

“Robbie is under contract to us for two years and it would be a breach of FIFA regulations for another club approached him.”

“There’s no one quoted in the story and it just isn’t right.”

“When you’ve got a world class player in your team there’s always going to be speculation about him going to other clubs.”

By: Abhimanyu Rajput