Mark Bower
Encyclopedia
Mark James Bower is an English professional footballer. He plays for Guiseley.
Born in Bradford
, he played for more than a decade with his hometown club Bradford City
as a central defender until his release in May 2009. He moved to Darlington
, where he spent just one season, then dropped into non-league with Halifax Town
. Bower has also had loan spells with York City
and Luton Town
.
and educated at St Bede's School, before he signed for Bradford City
in August 1997 as a trainee. He signed professional
forms in March 1998 and made his debut the following month against Norwich City
in a 3–2 victory at Carrow Road
on 4 April 1998 at the age of 18. He made two more appearances that season but none in the following season. After City won promotion
to the Premier League in May 1999, Bower's first team opportunities were restricted. Instead he spent a period on loan at
York City
in the 1999–2000
season, after he was signed by the club's new manager Terry Dolan, who had previously maanged Bradford City. Dolan made a number of other defensive signings including Alan Fettis, Peter Swan
and Peter Hawkins
, and with Bower they helped to reduce the number of goals York conceded to help them avoid relegation. Bower made 15 appearances, scoring his first senior goal against Lincoln City
during his spell.
Bradford had initially refused Bower to return to York for a second loan spell, but he moved back to Bootham Crescent in November 2000 following a series of injuries for the rest of the 2000–01
season. York again struggled at the bottom of the Third Division, but Bower was praised by Dolan following a long unbeaten run, as the team eventually avoided relegation
. Bower made just two cup appearances for Bradford City during that time and never appeared in the club's two year spell in the Premier League.
His career at Bradford seemed to be over. But he returned from York in 2001 and the following season, he earned a call-up due to injuries. He scored his first Bradford goal during a 4–1 First Division victory against Norwich City on 10 November 2001. Having forced his way into the team, Bower signed a new three-year contract in April 2002 to keep him with the club until the end of the 2004–05
season.
In September 2002, he received the first red card of his career in a league game against Burnley
. City striker Danny Cadamarteri
was also sent off as City fought back from 2–1 down to draw 2–2 despite playing with nine men for 35 minutes. He soon battled at the Bantams to become a first choice centre back alongside David Wetherall
. He was an ever-present during seasons 2004–05
and 2006–07
and now played more than 200 games at Valley Parade
.
On 13 February 2007, he was named as Bradford captain by Wetherall, while he was caretaker manager. Bower has regularly picked up gongs at City's annual awards and also writes a column in newspaper the Telegraph & Argus. The following season Bower lost his place to Matthew Clarke before being ruled out due to an injury he sustained in a pre-match warm-up at Accrington Stanley
on New Year's Day 2008. He returned to action on 8 March 2008, when he came on as a second-half substitute in City's 2–1 at Stockport County
. Later that season, he was once again handed the captain's armband in a home game against Morecambe
, ten years after he made his debut for the club.
However, Bower was kept out of the team at the start of the 2008–09 season by Graeme Lee
and Matthew Clarke. He missed the first four games before he came on as a substitute in a 3–2 defeat to Aldershot Town
after Clarke suffered a calf injury. He continued to struggle to break into the first team, and suffered another setback when he injured a thigh in a reserve match.
Having started only one game and restricted to one other league game during the first six months of the 2008–09
season, Bower moved to fellow League Two club Luton Town
on a one-month loan deal in January 2009 to cover injuries and suspensions. He made his Luton debut the following day as they drew 1–1 away at Bournemouth
, in a game between the league's two bottom sides, both of whom had been deducted points at the start of the season. He played in all six games during the first month of his loan spell which was extended for another month, during which he scored his first goal for Luton to help them defeat fellow relegation-threatened side Grimsby Town
2–1. His loan spell was extended for a second time after becoming a regular in the Luton side. Despite playing 16 games for Luton in central defence, Bower could not help prevent the inevitable as Luton's 30 point deduction proved too much to overcome, and they were relegated to the Football Conference
. As a result, Bower was recalled to Bradford, ending his loan spell, though he was released at the end of the season along with five other senior professionals.
side Chester City
and teamed up with his former manager Colin Todd
on trial at Darlington
. After playing in a pre-season friendly with Scottish-side Hamilton Academical
, which finished 0–0, Bower signed for Darlington along with fellow Bradford defender Paul Arnison
. He played one season with Darlington but the club released him following their relegation from League Two, along with 13 other players.
. He was ever present for the club during the season, playing 48 matches and scoring once.
Born in Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, he played for more than a decade with his hometown club Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....
as a central defender until his release in May 2009. He moved to Darlington
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...
, where he spent just one season, then dropped into non-league with Halifax Town
F.C. Halifax Town
Football Club Halifax Town, otherwise known as FC Halifax Town are an English football team who currently play in the Conference North. The club replaced Halifax Town A.F.C. who went into administration during the 2007–08 season.-Formation:...
. Bower has also had loan spells with York City
York City F.C.
York City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...
and Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
.
Bradford City
Bower was born in BradfordBradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
and educated at St Bede's School, before he signed for Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....
in August 1997 as a trainee. He signed professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
forms in March 1998 and made his debut the following month against Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
in a 3–2 victory at Carrow Road
Carrow Road
Carrow Road is a football stadium in Norwich, England, and is the home of Norwich City Football Club. The stadium is located toward the easterly end of the city, not far from Norwich railway station and the River Wensum....
on 4 April 1998 at the age of 18. He made two more appearances that season but none in the following season. After City won promotion
Promotion and relegation
In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...
to the Premier League in May 1999, Bower's first team opportunities were restricted. Instead he spent a period on loan at
Loan (football)
In sports, a loan involves a particular player being allowed to temporarily play for a club other than the one he is currently contracted to. Loan deals may last from a few weeks to all season-long....
York City
York City F.C.
York City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...
in the 1999–2000
1999-2000 in English football
-Premier League:Manchester United were crowned FA Premier League champions with an 18-point margin over runners-up Arsenal and with just 3 league defeats all season. This was despite their failure to retain the European Cup and withdrawal from the FA Cup in order to compete in the FIFA Club World...
season, after he was signed by the club's new manager Terry Dolan, who had previously maanged Bradford City. Dolan made a number of other defensive signings including Alan Fettis, Peter Swan
Peter Swan (footballer born 1966)
Peter Harold Swan is an English former footballer who played as a defender and centre forward. In a sixteen year professional career in the Football League he scored 62 goals in 445 games....
and Peter Hawkins
Peter Hawkins (footballer)
Peter Hawkins is an English footballer who plays for Whitstable Town as a defender. He has made over 275 senior appearances for Wimbledon, York, Rushden & Diamonds, Ebbsfleet, Maidstone and Tonbridge.-Career:...
, and with Bower they helped to reduce the number of goals York conceded to help them avoid relegation. Bower made 15 appearances, scoring his first senior goal against Lincoln City
Lincoln City F.C.
Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....
during his spell.
Bradford had initially refused Bower to return to York for a second loan spell, but he moved back to Bootham Crescent in November 2000 following a series of injuries for the rest of the 2000–01
2000-01 in English football
The 2000–01 season was the 121st season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Manchester United secured their 3rd Premiership title in succession and their 7th title in just nine seasons...
season. York again struggled at the bottom of the Third Division, but Bower was praised by Dolan following a long unbeaten run, as the team eventually avoided relegation
Promotion and relegation
In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...
. Bower made just two cup appearances for Bradford City during that time and never appeared in the club's two year spell in the Premier League.
His career at Bradford seemed to be over. But he returned from York in 2001 and the following season, he earned a call-up due to injuries. He scored his first Bradford goal during a 4–1 First Division victory against Norwich City on 10 November 2001. Having forced his way into the team, Bower signed a new three-year contract in April 2002 to keep him with the club until the end of the 2004–05
2004-05 in English football
The 2004–05 season was the 125th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*2004–05 was the first season to feature the rebranded Football League. The First Division, Second Division and Third Division were renamed the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League...
season.
In September 2002, he received the first red card of his career in a league game against Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
. City striker Danny Cadamarteri
Danny Cadamarteri
Daniel Leon "Danny" Cadamarteri is an English footballer who plays for Huddersfield Town in Football League One. Cadamarteri has played for a number of teams in England, in the Premier League, the Football League as well as a short period in non-League football, before joining Dundee United.Early...
was also sent off as City fought back from 2–1 down to draw 2–2 despite playing with nine men for 35 minutes. He soon battled at the Bantams to become a first choice centre back alongside David Wetherall
David Wetherall
David Wetherall is an English former footballer who played as a central defender, finishing his playing career with Bradford City at the end of the 2007–08 season. Born in Sheffield, he supported Sheffield Wednesday as a child, and started his playing career there...
. He was an ever-present during seasons 2004–05
2004-05 in English football
The 2004–05 season was the 125th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*2004–05 was the first season to feature the rebranded Football League. The First Division, Second Division and Third Division were renamed the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League...
and 2006–07
2006-07 in English football
The 2006–07 season was the 127th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* The number of divisions at Level 8 of the English football league system increased from four to five...
and now played more than 200 games at Valley Parade
Valley Parade
Valley Parade, also known as the Coral Windows Stadium through sponsorship rights, is an all-seater football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It was built in 1886, and was the home of Manningham Rugby Football Club until 1903, when they changed code from rugby football to association...
.
On 13 February 2007, he was named as Bradford captain by Wetherall, while he was caretaker manager. Bower has regularly picked up gongs at City's annual awards and also writes a column in newspaper the Telegraph & Argus. The following season Bower lost his place to Matthew Clarke before being ruled out due to an injury he sustained in a pre-match warm-up at Accrington Stanley
Accrington Stanley F.C.
Accrington Stanley is an English association football club from Accrington in Lancashire, in the North West of England, who play in Football League Two, the fourth-highest division in the English football league system....
on New Year's Day 2008. He returned to action on 8 March 2008, when he came on as a second-half substitute in City's 2–1 at Stockport County
Stockport County F.C.
Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...
. Later that season, he was once again handed the captain's armband in a home game against Morecambe
Morecambe F.C.
Morecambe Football Club is an English football club based in Morecambe, Lancashire. It plays its football in League Two, the fourth division of English football, having been promoted in 2007 for the first time in their history to the Football League. They played their home matches at Christie Park...
, ten years after he made his debut for the club.
However, Bower was kept out of the team at the start of the 2008–09 season by Graeme Lee
Graeme Lee
Graeme Ernest Lee, MZNM, JP is a former New Zealand politician. Originally a National Party MP, he broke away to found the Christian Democrat Party.-Member of Parliament:...
and Matthew Clarke. He missed the first four games before he came on as a substitute in a 3–2 defeat to Aldershot Town
Aldershot Town F.C.
Aldershot Town Football Club is an association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England, founded in the spring of 1992 just after the closure of debt-ridden Fourth Division club Aldershot Football Club...
after Clarke suffered a calf injury. He continued to struggle to break into the first team, and suffered another setback when he injured a thigh in a reserve match.
Having started only one game and restricted to one other league game during the first six months of the 2008–09
Bradford City A.F.C. season 2008–09
The 2008–09 season was the 106th season in Bradford City A.F.C.'s history, their 94th in The Football League and 96th in the league system of English football...
season, Bower moved to fellow League Two club Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
on a one-month loan deal in January 2009 to cover injuries and suspensions. He made his Luton debut the following day as they drew 1–1 away at Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....
, in a game between the league's two bottom sides, both of whom had been deducted points at the start of the season. He played in all six games during the first month of his loan spell which was extended for another month, during which he scored his first goal for Luton to help them defeat fellow relegation-threatened side Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town F.C.
Grimsby Town Football Club is an English football club based in the seaside town of Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire, England, who compete in the Conference National. They were formed in 1878 as Grimsby Pelham and later became Grimsby Town...
2–1. His loan spell was extended for a second time after becoming a regular in the Luton side. Despite playing 16 games for Luton in central defence, Bower could not help prevent the inevitable as Luton's 30 point deduction proved too much to overcome, and they were relegated to the Football Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
. As a result, Bower was recalled to Bradford, ending his loan spell, though he was released at the end of the season along with five other senior professionals.
Darlington
Bower trained with Conference NationalConference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
side Chester City
Chester City F.C.
Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...
and teamed up with his former manager Colin Todd
Colin Todd
Colin Todd is an English football manager and former player. As a player, he made more than 600 appearances in the Football League, playing for Sunderland, Derby County, Everton, Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest, Oxford United and Luton Town, and also played in the North American Soccer League...
on trial at Darlington
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...
. After playing in a pre-season friendly with Scottish-side Hamilton Academical
Hamilton Academical F.C.
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Academical, or Accies, are a Scottish football club from Hamilton in South Lanarkshire. They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilton Academy. They remain the only professional club in British football to have...
, which finished 0–0, Bower signed for Darlington along with fellow Bradford defender Paul Arnison
Paul Arnison
Paul Simon Arnison is an English footballer who plays as a defender and plays for Darlington. Born in Hartlepool, he is a former Newcastle United trainee, who has also played for his hometown club Hartlepool United, Carlisle United and Bradford City.-Club career:Born in Hartlepool, Arnison started...
. He played one season with Darlington but the club released him following their relegation from League Two, along with 13 other players.
Halifax Town
In June 2010, he returned to West Yorkshire, to sign for Halifax TownF.C. Halifax Town
Football Club Halifax Town, otherwise known as FC Halifax Town are an English football team who currently play in the Conference North. The club replaced Halifax Town A.F.C. who went into administration during the 2007–08 season.-Formation:...
. He was ever present for the club during the season, playing 48 matches and scoring once.
External links
- Mark Bower profile at the Bradford City website