Rocket science, own goals and bouncebackability - The life and times of Iain Dowie

By Mirror Football in Football Banter

Published 16:24 17/03/10

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Following the dismissal of Phil Brown, Iain Dowie has been appointed Hull City manager.

Dowie: I'm relishing Hull challenge  

Dowie has been out of the managerial game for a while - despite having the perfect face for radio he has been most recently employed as a TV pundit for Sky - and now has nine games to save Hull from relegation. We wish him luck with that.

MirrorFootball 's Richard Arrowsmith looks at the life and times of one of the Premier League's most recognisable managers...

1) The one that got away?
Iain Dowie was actually born in Hertfordshire, England but played for Northern Ireland given his father's Belfast roots. England didn't necessarily mourn the loss since Dowie made 59 appearances for his adopted country scoring a grand total of 12 goals.

2) He shoots, he scores...sometimes
During his playing career, Dowie was seen as an old fashioned centre forward who wasn't afraid to put his face where it hurts - with obvious consequences.

Although his goal tally contradicts the fact, he played as a striker for a succession of clubs including Luton, Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Ham before finishing his career with Queens Park Rangers where he was moved into defence.

3) It's behind you!
Perhaps his most memorable goal came while playing for West Ham against Stockport County in the League Cup. Dowie towered above several players before delivering a bullet header into the top corner...unfortunately, it was into his own net.

4) Face ache
Iain Dowie's facially challenged appearance, which suggests he could have been conceived somewhere near Notre Damme, means he has been a regular favourite for cruel taunts of the lookalike variety.  Over the years he has been likened to everyone from Dr Who's Davros to Sloth from The Goonies.

5) Rocket science
Iain Dowie is considered one of football's most intelligent managers courtesy of a Masters degree in Engineering and time spent working for British Aerospace. Therefore, it's not entirely surprising that he found a career change into football management less challenging - well, it's not exactly rocket science is it?

However, his mental aptitude was put to the test with less than convincing results in a quiz conducted by Fanbanta:

6) Smack my pitch up
Dowie's management career has spanned over a decade with appointments at Oldham Athletic, Crystal Palace, Charlton, Coventry and Queens Park Rangers. And, as there's only one Alan Shearer, Dowie was brought in to assist the Geordie hero during Newcastle's ill-fated attempt to avoid relegation last season.

He was actually offered the Hull position back in 2006 but declined. At the time he said, "Taking the Hull City job would be a slap in the face for my family". We assume the reputed £1m bonus now being offered to save the club from relegations is a fair price to accept for domestic violence.

7) Another day at The Office
Dowie's management style is said to be based on a disciplinarian approach supported by motivational techniques that would make David Brent proud. These include reading passages from books like 'Chicken Soup For The Soul' and pinning notices around the training ground with inspirational messages such as 'How much do I want it?'

'Not that much' might have been the answer if some of Dowie's results are considered - although, he did take Crystal Palace to the Premier League against all expectations and kept them there...for a whole season.

8) 'Bouncebackability'
Iain Dowie is also credited with coining the phrase 'bouncebackability'. Originally used by the great wordsmith to describe Palace's ability to recover from losing early goals the phrase gained cult popularity with Sky's Soccer AM.

And, in a poor reflection of existing standards of literature, the word made it into the Collins Dictionary in 2005. If you look it up you will find a picture of Iain Dowie accepting the Hull City manager's job.

9) A way with words
Dowie's love for wordplay didn't stop there and he was always considered worth a quote at post match press conferences. Some favourites from the archives include:

“There were plenty of fireworks on the pitch, but the only flares on display were those on Nigel's suit.”

"I'm not jumping on the Andy Johnson for England bandwagon - I'm driving it!

“I'm in Miracle on 34th Street. If you've seen the film, that's me. I believe in Father Christmas.”

Eh?

9) Savaged by Jordan
Dowie's managerial career has been peppered with untimely departures - leaving Oldham when the club couldn't afford to pay him and lasting only 15 games apiece at both Coventry and QPR.

However, his most famous exit came when he crossed outspoken, Robbie Savage impersonator and Crystal Palace chairman, Simon Jordan. The pair parted by 'mutual consent' in 2006 but Jordan became incensed when Dowie signed as Charlton manager eight days later.

A writ, described by Charlton chairman, Richard Murray, as "a sad and pathetic publicity stunt" eventually made it to the High Court who ruled that Dowie was lying about his reasons for leaving Crystal Palace. He was ordered to pay Jordan a huge compensation fee, which should keep the former Palace chairman in sunbeds and hair highlights for at least a year.

10) Power to the point
During the entertaining court dispute with Jordan it was revealed that Dowie's portable PC carried a document titled 'Advancing the Addicks' created three days before he left Palace. It was then discovered that the document was a rewritten copy of a file called 'Soaring The Eagles' used for the Palace interview and another copy for a potential interview with Derby entitled 'Reinvigorating the Rams'.

Any thoughts on what his presentation for the Hull job was called?

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