Robert Bernard Fowler born 9 April is an English football coach and former player. As a player, he was a striker , and is the ninth-highest goalscorer in the history of the Premier League. He is best known for his time at Liverpool , initially from to He scored goals in total for Liverpool, earning the nickname "God" from the Anfield fans, and he is Liverpool's second-top scorer in the Premier League.
He moved to Cardiff City eighteen months later. He played there for a year before transferring to Blackburn Rovers on a short-term deal.
In , he joined Thai side Muangthong United as a player, but later was appointed player-manager, which he remained until his retirement in Fowler was capped for England 26 times, scoring 7 goals. Fowler was born in Toxteth , Liverpool , and brought up in the inner city area of Liverpool. At this time he was known as Robert Ryder, his mother's surname. As a youngster he supported Everton F. Despite growing up as an Everton fan, Fowler's career began with Liverpool. He signed as a youth team player on leaving school in the summer of , signing professional terms on his 17th birthday, 9 April Fowler's first involvement with the Liverpool first team came on 13 January , when he was an unused substitute in an FA Cup third round tie against Bolton Wanderers.
In the following close season, Fowler helped the England under team win the European Championship , [ 8 ] before making a scoring first-team debut in Liverpool's 3β1 win in a second round League Cup tie at Fulham on 22 September His very first league goal for the Reds had come on 16 October , when an 87th-minute equaliser at home to struggling Oldham Athletic saved the Reds from what would have been one of the biggest Premier League shocks of the season, with a last gasp own goal giving Liverpool a 2β1 win.
His first 13 games for the club yielded 12 goals, and he was rewarded with an England Under debut against San Marino in November , in which he scored England's opening goal in the third minute. Fowler was unable to sustain his goal-a-game ratio throughout the season, but finished his first season as the club's second top scorer with 18 goals in all competitions, Ian Rush had scored It was, however, a disappointing season for Liverpool, as they finished eighth in the Premier League without making an impact in any of the major competitions, though the departure of Graeme Souness as manager and the appointment of Roy Evans as successor built up hope for a brighter future at Anfield after the disappointment of the first two FA Premier League seasons.
