David Lowe (footballer)

For other people named David Lowe, see David Lowe (disambiguation).

David Lowe

Personal information
Full name	David Anthony Lowe
Date of birth	(1965-08-30) 30 August 1965
Place of birth	Liverpool, England
Height
Position(s)	Right winger
Team information
Current team	Blackburn Rovers (Youth Coach)
Youth career
1982–1983	Wigan Athletic
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1983–1987	Wigan Athletic	188	(40)
1987–1992	Ipswich Town	134	(37)
1992	→ Port Vale (loan)	9	(2)
1992–1994	Leicester City	94	(22)
1994	→ Port Vale (loan)	19	(5)
1996–1999	Wigan Athletic	109	(26)
1999–2000	Wrexham	10	(1)
2000	→ Rushden & Diamonds (loan)	12	(4)
Total		575	(137)
International career
1988	England under-21	2	(0)
Managerial career
2009	Derby County (caretaker)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

David Anthony Lowe (born 30 August 1965) is an English former footballer who is now head of youth coaching at Blackburn Rovers. He made 563 league appearances in the Football League and Premier League, scoring 133 goals, in a career spanning 17 years. He played in the top five levels of English football, and also won two caps for the England under-21s.

He began his career at Wigan Athletic in 1983, and helped the club to lift the Football League Trophy in 1985. He won a £80,000 move to Ipswich Town two years later, and helped the club to the Second Division title in 1991–92, though he spent the end of the campaign on loan at Port Vale. He was sold on to Leicester City for £250,000 in July 1992, though he returned to Port Vale on loan in February 1994, helping the "Valiants" to win promotion out of the Second Division. On his return to Leicester he found the club in the Premier League. In March 1996, he returned to Wigan Athletic for a fee of £125,000, and helped the club to the Third Division in 1996–97. He joined Wrexham for the 1999–2000 campaign, though ended it on loan at high-flying Conference club Rushden & Diamonds. He then turned his hand to coaching, and took charge of the Derby County first team for one game in January 2009.

Playing career

Lowe began his career as an apprentice at Wigan Athletic on a recommendation by a teacher from his school league days to then Wigan manager Harry McNally. Lowe made his first-team début in October 1982 against Reading. At the end of the 1982–83 season, Wigan finished one point above the Third Division relegation zone. They then finished 15th in 1983–84 and 16th in 1984–85. At the end of the 1984–85 season, Lowe scored past Brentford in the Football League Trophy Final at Wembley with a spectacular overhead kick to help his team win the match 3–1. Bryan Hamilton then took charge at Springfield Park for the 1985–86 season, and led the club to within one place and one point of promotion. Ray Mathias then took the club to the newly created play-offs in 1986–87, where they were defeated by Swindon Town.

In June 1987, Lowe was transferred to Ipswich Town for £80,000. He hit 18 goals in 1987–88 to become the club's top scorer. Manager John Duncan took the "Blues" to within three points of the Second Division play-offs in 1988–89. He left the club after Ipswich finished five points outside the play-offs in 1989–90, with Lowe again finishing as the club's top scorer with 13 goals. New boss John Lyall then took over at Portman Road, and following a 14th-place finish in 1990–91, took the club to the Second Division title in 1991–92, four points ahead of Middlesbrough. Lowe missed the end-of-season run-in as he was loaned out to Port Vale in March 1992. He stayed at Vale Park for the rest of the season, and scored twice in nine games as the "Valiants" battled unsuccessfully to avoid exiting the Second Division at the opposite end to Ipswich.

In July 1992, Lowe signed for Leicester City, with manager Brian Little authorising a fee of £250,000. He had scored 42 goals in 169 appearances for the "Tractor boys" in all competitions. In a pre-season friendly against Borussia Mönchengladbach, one of his first games for the "Foxes", he broke his cheekbone. However he would become a regular first team player at Filbert Street in 1992–93, bagging 12 goals to help the club book a place in the First Division play-offs. However he did not find the net in 1993–94, and did not feature in the play-off Final victory over Derby County. In February 1994, Port Vale manager John Rudge managed to secure the out-of-favour Lowe on loan until the end of the season. This time he hit five goals in 19 appearances as he helped the "Valiants" to win promotion out of the Second Division in second place; this tally included a vital goal in a 2–1 win over eventual third-place club Plymouth Argyle. Back at Leicester, he found himself back in first team contention, though new boss Mark McGhee failed to keep the club in the Premier League following a poor start under Little. On 25 February 1995, Lowe scored against rivals Coventry City, in a 4–2 defeat at Highfield Road. The following month he also scored against Nottingham Forest, another of the club's major rivals, in another 4–2 defeat. He hit three goals in the 1995–96 campaign, but left the club before new boss Martin O'Neill could lead the club back to the top-flight via the play-offs.

In March 1996, he re-signed with Wigan Athletic, back in the Third Division (the old Fourth Division), who paid out a fee of £125,000. Under manager John Deehan, the "Latics" won the Third Division title in 1996–97, with Lowe scoring six goals in 40 games. His goal in the final game of the season secured the title, as they edged ahead of Fulham on goal difference. He then hit 16 league goals in 1997–98, to become both the club's top scorer and one of the highest scorers in the division. He was also voted the club's Player of the Season. In a surprise move, former boss Ray Mathias then returned to the club following a nine-year absence. Lowe hit three goals in 23 games in an injury-plagued 1998–99 campaign, as Wigan reached the play-offs, where they were defeated by Manchester City.

Released by Wigan in June 1999, Lowe made the move to Second Division rivals Wrexham, where he was offered a player-coach role. He started just five games in 1999–2000, before joining Rushden & Diamonds on loan in January. He helped Diamonds to a second-place finish in the Football Conference, nine points behind champions Kidderminster Harriers.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Lowe worked for the Professional Footballers' Association until June 2002, when he joined Wigan Athletic under former team-mate Paul Jewell. A fully qualified coach, Lowe fulfilled various roles at Wigan before following Jewell to Derby County and becoming Head of the Youth Academy at the club. Following the departure of Jewell and prior to the arrival of new manager Nigel Clough, Lowe was placed in temporary charge of solitary game in January 2009, where his Derby team beat Manchester United 1–0 in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final at Pride Park Stadium. He left the club in April 2009. He then did part-time work for Manchester United, in charge of the eldest participants in Manchester United Soccer Schools, before joining the back-room staff at Tranmere Rovers. In June 2011, Lowe joined Blackburn Rovers as head of youth coaching.

Honours

Individual

• Wigan Athletic F.C. Player of the Year: 1997–98

With Wigan Athletic

• Football League Trophy winner: 1985
• Football League Third Division champion: 1996–97

with Ipswich Town

• Football League Second Division champion: 1991–92

with Port Vale

• Football League Second Division runner-up: 1993–94

with Rushden & Diamonds

• Football Conference runner-up: 1999–2000

External links

• David Lowe career statistics at Soccerbase