Englishmen Abroad: Gordon Cowans

Born in Durham, Cowans went to Aston Villa as an apprentice in 1974 aged 15 and was part of the Villa side that won the FA Youth Cup. That platform enabled him to make his first team debut whilst still an apprentice - in 1975 and still only 17-years-old. It was only a matter of time before he established himself in the side on a regular basis, which he did during the 1976/77 season, which saw Villa win the League Cup.

Cowans' wonderful control in midfield led a gradually-improving Villa side to seventh place in 1979/80 and the two-footed midfielder was rewarded when he was named as the PFA Young Player of the Year for that season.

By 1980/81, Ron Saunders had moulded a side in his own image, with Cowans an integral part in midfield - passing the ball wide or on to Shaw or Peter Withe up front. In what was a thrilling championship, the Villians saw off second-placed Ipswich Town and Arsenal to win the League for the first time since 1910.

After Ron Saunders' departure, Tony Barton was thrust into the limelight as manager of the champions and though they finished a disappointing 11th in the championship, Barton and Cowans won the European Cup by beating Bayern Munich with a solitary strike from Withe.

The following season, 1982/83, Villa made a brave defence of their European title, reaching the quarter-finals where they were knocked out by Juventus after two great matches, Cowans having scored in the first game.

Glory came by way of the European Super Cup where, after Villa had lost 1-0 to Barcelona in Spain, Cowans scored a penalty in the 3-0 second leg win over the Catalan giants.

By the time of England's home international match against Wales in February 1983, Cowans' form for Villa, along with his continued good displays for the England 'B' side, saw Bobby Robson call him up to the full England side where he impressed alongside Bryan Robson in England's central midfield.

Just when everything was coming together for Cowans, he broke his leg horribly in a pre-season friendly in Spain, thereby missing the entire 1983/84 season and losing his place in Robson's side. He was back for Villa, now under Graham Turner, for the following season but, in the summer of 1985, he was sold along with striker Paul Rideout to Serie A side Bari - a slightly surprising move as both players, especially 'Sid' Cowans, were well liked by the Villa fans.

Having been promoted into the top flight of Italian football for the first time in 15 years, Bari were looking forward to the new season and were confident of their chances of staying up, especially with the addition of their two English imports. Under manager Bruno Bolchi, however, things did not go according to plan and the biancorossi only managed to win five of their thirty matches, finishing bottom but one and suffering the pain of immediate relegation back to Serie B.

For the 1986/87 season, Bari brought in Enrico Catuzzi as their new manager and he played Cowans far more as he searched for a formula that would lead to Bari's return to Serie A. Despite Cowans' consistent good form, Catuzzi's side finished in a lowly ninth place as Pecara were crowned champions and were promoted.

Though Serie B was hardly where Cowans wanted to be playing whilst at the height of his playing powers, the 29-year-old committed himself to one final year in Puglia in an effort to steer the club back into the big-time. Only a small improvement was made, however, as Bari finished in seventh place.

When it was made known that Cowans favoured a move back to England, Villa took up their option of first refusal to buy him back and manager Graham Taylor quickly had him back in the side. After a season of consolidation - Villa having been promoted in the summer of 1987 - Taylor's side challenged for the championship in 89/90 but finished second to Liverpool.

When Taylor took over the England manager's hot-seat, he recalled the 33-year-old Cowans to the national side for one final match, away to the Republic of Ireland in a Euro '92 qualifier. In total, he played 10 matched for the Three Lions, scoring 2 goals.

Ron Atkinson sold Cowans to Blackburn before he returned to Villa Park for a third spell before seeing out his playing days for numerous First Division teams including Wolves, Sheffield United and Stockport County.

Gordon Cowans

Nationality: English 
Date of Birth: 27 October 1958 
Place of Birth: Cornforth 
Height: 5' 07''
Weight: 9 08 
Clubs: Aston Villa, Bari, Blackburn, Derby, Stockport, Wolves, Sheff Utd, Burley
Position: Midfielder

Gordon Cowans' England career

1982/83: Wales, Hungary, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Australia (3)
1985/86: Egypt, USSR
1990/91: Rep of Ireland

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