Paul Bowles (footballer)

Paul Bowles

Personal information
Full name	Paul Michael Anthony Bowles
Date of birth	(1957-05-31) 31 May 1957
Place of birth	Crumpsall, England
Position(s)	Central Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1975–1979	Crewe Alexandra	178	(20)
1979–1982	Port Vale	98	(8)
1980	→ Southampton (loan)	0	(0)
1982–1984	Stockport County	70	(0)
	Barrow
Total		346+	(28+)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Paul Michael Anthony Bowles (born 31 May 1957) is an English former footballer. A central defender, he scored 26 goals in 346 league appearances in a nine-year career in the Fourth Division of the Football League. He is a cousin of Stan Bowles.

Playing career

Bowles started his career with Crewe Alexandra, and scored 20 goals in 178 Fourth Division appearances in four seasons at Gresty Road. He helped Harry Gregg's "Railwaymen" to finished 16th in 1975–76, 12th in 1976–77, and 15th in 1977–78, before Crewe fell to 24th (last place) in the 1978–79 campaign under the stewardship of Warwick Rimmer. He was signed by Alan Bloor at league rivals Port Vale for a £30,000 fee in October 1979. However two months later Bloor was replaced by John McGrath, who seemed to not to rate Bowles. He was sent out on loan to Southampton in January 1980, although he never played first-team football for the "Saints", and instead made three appearances for the reserves. Back at Vale Park, he featured just eleven times in the 1979–80 campaign. Despite struggling with his weight, he featured 49 times in the 1980–81 season, scoring four goals. He played 53 of the "Valiants" 55 games in the 1981–82 season, but was given a free transfer to league rivals Stockport County in May 1982. He played 70 league games for Eric Webster's "Hatters", helping the Edgeley Park outfit to post 16th and 12th places finishes in 1982–83 and 1983–84. He then moved on to Northern Premier League side Barrow.

Statistics

• Sourced from Paul Bowles profile at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Crewe Alexandra	1974–75	Fourth Division	8	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
	1975–76	Fourth Division	43	5	1	0	5	0	49	5
	1976–77	Fourth Division	33	2	3	0	2	0	38	2
	1977–78	Fourth Division	43	5	3	0	2	0	48	5
	1978–79	Fourth Division	45	8	2	1	4	2	51	11
	1979–80	Fourth Division	6	0	0	0	1	0	7	0
	Total		178	20	9	1	14	2	201	23
Port Vale	1979–80	Fourth Division	10	0	1	0	0	0	11	0
	1980–81	Fourth Division	44	6	5	0	0	0	49	6
	1981–82	Fourth Division	44	2	5	0	4	0	53	2
	Total		98	8	11	0	4	0	113	8
Stockport County	1982–83	Fourth Division	29	0	1	0	2	0	32	0
	1983–84	Fourth Division	38	0	1	0	4	0	43	0
	1984–85	Fourth Division	3	0	0	0	3	0	6	0
	Total		70	0	2	0	9	0	81	0
Career Total			346	28	22	1	27	2	395	31