"I scored 100 goals before getting called up" | Robbie Fowler on Liverpool, England & peaking early

Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler sits down with Joe Molloy in our later OTB Roadshow as we chat through his career with Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester City.
#CadburyFC
Have you downloaded the OTB App?
- Search for OTB Sports in the Google Play store:
play.google.com/store/apps/de...
- Search for OTB Sports in the app store if you're on iOs: apps.apple.com/ie/app/otb-spo...
SUBSCRIBE to the Off The Ball channels:
- KZbin | / offtheball. .
- TWITTER | / offtheball. .
- INSTAGRAM | / offtheball. .
- FACEBOOK | / offtheball. .
- WEBSITE | www.otbsports.com/radio...
- We are live on the OTB SPORTS app 24/7
- or if you don't have the app listen on desktop: www.otbsports.com/radio...
PODCAST the show too - we'll timestamp it for you as well
- iTunes: search for OTB AM in your app!
- Spotify: search for OTB AM in your app!
- We are wherever you get your podcast
GET IN TOUCH WITH OFF THE BALL
- WhatsApp: get in touch on 0879180180
- Snapchat: add us and message the show @offtheball1
- Twitter: follow and tweet us @offtheball and @offtheballam

[@bobbybobstar1496]

I met Robbie Fowler as a child and asked him for his autograph to witch he replied "no" and walked away , i was absolutely heart broken because he was MY absolute hero but he was only having me on he instantly turned round and said " the thing is Ia only sign autographs if I'm introduced" he shook my hand and said "Im Robbie" absolutely made up all I could reply was "i know", to this day i still have that signed shirt... He signed it .. to I know all the best Robbie Fowler 😂

[@MountRushCollymore]

Man, reading that first part I was so disappointed because he always seemed such a top bloke and so down to earth :D

[@zevrev8665]

GOD! This is the man who made me love football, absolute wond of a left peg and the most natural goalscorer we've ever had

[@MeeHandle]

Wond lol

[@81chipper89]

From '94-'97 he was, pretty much, as good as it got. Scored every type of goal you could imagine. Everton fan.

[@BoqPrecision]

It was my intro to the Premiership, and I genuinely wondered as a child why is this man not in the English National Team? It was before I realized squads aren't selected solely on raw talent alone. Also he hasn't aged at all.

[@desodea1656]

He was the complete striker, natural finisher

[@tommyc9620]

What a player 👏 great interview too.

[@jamesmccluskey5756]

As a United fan, this guy was the one I feared most

[@gordonirvine726]

He put Peter to the sword more than most in that early to mid 90s era

[@gordonirvine726]

I think most people hold Robbie in the highest regard when it comes to pure strikers.

[@cryptogold8753]

What a player. Thanks for the memories Robbie.

[@garydeane9783]

120 goals at 21!! Insane. Still never seen a player that could match that so young

[@Hedgebets100]

R9 had over 160gls I think. Fowler still unbelievable no doubt.

[@Devypocalypse]

@@Hedgebets100 wasn't R9 the only one across Europe ahead of Fowler at that age?

[@Hedgebets100]

@@Devypocalypse Quite possibly, only R9 was blasting a gl a game pretty much as a 17yr old until 21 or until his knee blew. None the less Fowlers was still remarkable.

[@ajmalcosman46]

@@Hedgebets100 i guess young players should really take a pause, all of them got bad injuries after.

[@EdgarHernandez-gn3bg]

120 goals at 21? He was 23 years 282 days when he scored 100 wtf you on about???

[@user-fu3fu4ye7j]

One of the best natural strikers football ever seen and so underrated, wasn't called god for nothing.

[@Shaggy-839two]

What a myth. Check out the statistics. Nothing special

[@alanoconnor7967]

As he said it himself. He's only regret was not joined Keane and Schmeichel at man u. He

[@user-fu3fu4ye7j]

@@Shaggy-839two il just say LOL

[@mrsastre9404]

@@user-fu3fu4ye7j I agree with you as a united fan even. You had to be there and live it. Back in 93/94 onwards unplayable. But todays kids look at stats not the all round frontline work and build up play or team play. Statistics never totally validate an argument

[@user-fu3fu4ye7j]

@@mrsastre9404 I know bro I have friends try tell me Ronaldinho and totti weren't that good! Or rivaldo or riquelme! Just because they haven't got the same stats as Messi lol clearly people who didn't watch the game just the headline..

[@antoferg3917]

united fan fave liverpool player ever and a great bloke GOD

[@leonardoandwelio1687]

What a player!! What he done in them first 3 seasons was phenomenal. He was unbelievable and you always expected him to score

[@brianogorman7752]

Biggest compliment I can give him is as a young United fan at the time I hated him because he was Liverpool through and through and so lethal in front of goal

[@199019852007]

Remember that chip he lifted over Peter October 1995 at Old Trafford after out stretching Gary Neville

[@Stepea-vg4zk]

Liverpool fan since early 90’s , its been abit of a slog having missed the glory years (until now) but Fowler is hands down the best striker I’ve seen. That includes Salah, Suarez and Torres! He’s called GOD for a reason.

[@EdgarHernandez-gn3bg]

So you say he is the best striker you have seen including salah suarez and torres so he is not the best just one of them lol

[@fagin8448]

@@EdgarHernandez-gn3bg You didn't understand his comment.

[@leverholme9894]

Rob better than Suarez ??? I mean Suarez was doing things I’d never seen before, but fair enough I respect your opinion.

[@paulmcdonough1093]

from st pats juniors to nugent seniors from toxteth same as me i went to school with him .

[@richardjones3792]

Goal machine in his early years

[@jamesnapier7396]

That left foot of his should have its own documentary, Simply Magical. Great memory as a kid in me dads car and he pulled a tongue at me and my brother in the mirror what a legend. ✌️YNWA

[@seaniek9175]

If Klopp was managing that team , Robbie would have at least 2 or 3 Premiership medals.

[@jonathanoboyle1650]

Looks like has a celling light for every goal he's scored

[@jscobie4]

You listen to everyone's best 11 for Liverpool and Robbie rarely gets a look in. Unbelievable. Set the place alight for a long time and if you wanted somebody on the end of a ball and guaranteed to put it in the net, it wasn't Owen, or Torres, or Suarez. It was Robbie Fowler!!!

[@eoinosullivan5674]

Celtic here but wow what a great Liverpool man

[@ROCKYBLUEDOGS]

His enthusiasm and being youthfulness fit helped him in those early days without saying he wasn't good but they were his peak years.

[@etteridge]

A thoroughly reasonable thoughtful man.

[@kramyelruh1]

Brilliant striker, one of the all time greats - I’d put him up their with Jimmy Greaves which for me is the benchmark of strikers - they are a different breed - precious

[@r0sco_1]

Robbie Fowler was super unlucky with England in that during his prime he was up against Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham, Les Ferdinand, Andy Cole & Ian Wright. Can't think of any period when England have been blessed with so many top class strikers.

[@BoqPrecision]

He was better than at least Sheringham and Les Ferdinand...his problem was image, like with Gascoigne. Nothing to do with talent...the FA also cared about aesthetics and player image. He was seen as a "bad boy".

[@scal5134]

Still has the best goal celebration (snorting the touch line against Everton)! RF would never tell you this…a guy was running an U11’s football team and RF went to watch. Their kit wasn’t up to much…RF spoke to the manager and then rang his sponsors, Diadora and they donated about 20 full Italian National away kits. Shirts, shorts, socks, boots and probably shin pads! The manager cried, he was an Evertonian 😃! His team were speechless…my lad was one of them! There’s probably more, but RF, Jamie C, Wayne R, Stevie G (who spent millions on the new Alder Hey, for a specific cause. I’m not sure exactly, but I worked on it. It was common knowledge) have all done there fair share of GIVING to Liverpool! It’s makes me proud to be a Scouser…God blessed ya Robbie, and you blessed us! YNWA

[@aljomc6444]

What a humble interview

[@gordonirvine726]

Great interview brother

[@KevinShoreHealthyEating]

What a player Robbie Fowler was, crippled by injuries sadly. 26 England caps was nowhere near enough. He should have been given an England cap after the Arsenal hat trick and given a chance to settle into the team for Euro 96. His goals record was comparable with Shearer at the time. Still he holds record for youngest player to score 50 Premier league goals and also most Premier league goals by age 21. Never forget the audacious skill where he turned Steve Staunton and hit a peach of a shot into the top corner.

[@MartinParnham]

Fowler was a phenomenal goalscorer and if he'd been about today, he would've won an untold amount of caps. Looking back, the depth for England in striking positions was ridiculous and that's what probably cost him. Shearer, Sheringham, Ferdinand, Wright were all scoring 20, 25, 30 goals a season consistently back then and there was Andy Cole as well who was scoring a silly amount of goals at one point (I know he was rubbish for England...) and all of them were older than Fowler. I think he should've won more caps but compare it to now and it's only really Kane who has that kind of record. Whether that's because there were more English players (or at least forwards) in the PL then or not is a different debate but in some respects he was playing in the wrong era as far as his England careers goes!

[@lombeNgandu]

Andy Cole was not given a fair chance. I think it was for personal reasons. He had a fallout with Keegan at Newcastle United- so Keegan was never going to give him a fair chance. This next argument makes people uncomfortable, but race may have had something to do with it. A lot of talented black players (and Matt LaTisssier) didn't get a fair chance back then.

[@MartinParnham]

@@lombeNgandu The Keegan thing is a good point and I hadn't realised they fell out. Being overlooked because he is black is a possibility as well but Cole was capped (or at least made squads) under Venables and Hoddle before him, so they obviously didn't fancy him either, for whatever reason so I'm not sure it was just Keegan's doing. That also isn't really an argument against the fact that there were at least 4 English strikers at that time who were scoring silly amounts of goals, so competition was fierce.

[@marcelbrown5430]

Top Baller 😃⚽️🥅

[@jimmyallen2008]

Great interview, Joe as always is the GOAT of sports interviews...

[@mrsastre9404]

Joe would love for you to get Andy Cole on here I feel like him and Robbie were treated appalling by the national absolutely criminal. Why because England never rotated anything.

[@yingyang1008]

There was an insane amount of competition for striker back then - no way Cole deserved a starting place

[@ruairiose7335]

@@yingyang1008 Ian Wright also had a hard time getting in. There was an astonishing amount of top class English strikers, and unfortunately for all the aforementioned Shearer was the best of the lot.

[@199019852007]

@@ruairiose7335 Now its just Kane and side men on the bench

[@stillion6655]

Fowler Wright & Cole we’re ‘badboys/scallies’ that didn’t fit the FA mould

[@BoqPrecision]

Alan Shearer was so clean cut, it was not even fair. We all knew he was good, but back then nobody clamored for him being in the national side...I guess we all had a set image for the player in the national squad...same goes for Gascoigne

[@jamescorlett5272]

Fowler one of England's Greatest - yeah what England career ? Sad for all who ķnow what Should have been , I'd put Ŕobbie up there with the very very best strikers of post war football , this from a Manchester United supporters .

[@jh230377]

Great goal scorer in his time. How much would an 18 year old Robbie Fowler be worth in today’s money?

[@MultiLiverpool1]

£14m?

[@miamitten1123]

I then no you mean a 21 year old. 18 he was just starting to show his greatness.

[@stevenicol1]

150 million at least

[@stevenicol1]

@@miamitten1123 he was amazing at 18, as soon as he made his debut he was a machine.

[@matthewdeniran6291]

The Legend that is God 💯 LIVERPOOL 💯 YNWA 💯

[@pete7895]

Fowler had a real bad knee injury against everton.took his sharpness away.that turn of pace went to.

[@stephenyates6651]

proper brilliant ynwa

[@SonnyK248]

People don't realize the expectations of Fowler based on those three seasons. He was supposed to go on to become a Ballon d'Or winning player and shatter every goal record put in front of him. Anyone who even caught his career in his mid 20's will never understand how good he was. As a Liverpool fan during that time so many of our best young players went down early with injuries that it was almost suspicious. Like the club were just incompetent. Fowler was never same from 21 onwards. Owen snapped his hamstring at 19 and became a different player. Rob Jones was a class right back who retired in his 20's due to injuries. I don't think people realize just how good Jamie Redknapp was in his early 20's before injuries got him. You cant help but wonder what would have been if say in 2000 we had a team of Fowler, Owen, Gerrard, Jones, Redknapp and McManaman all on the pitch together, all fit and healthy. Imagine we were still playing that 5 3 2 with Macca behind the strikers and the strikers were Owen and Fowler 🤯Redknapp controlling the game, Gerrard doing it all in midfield. We may not have won a title but that would have been a fun team.

[@MrYFlyer]

Joe you are wrecking his head.

[@chrissummerhill9445]

Robbie was a few years short of the hype train that acousted the likes of Rooney. He is a class act.

[@TheDarragh19]

God!

[@jefffoster1010]

Well we do call u God so I think you most definitely get the credit you deserve from Liverpool fans! I don't think that's debatable, although Michael Owen got all the England accolades but that meant nothing to us and every Liverpool fan holds you Robbie Fowler on another planet to Owen. We love you , we thank Michael. You GOD. YNWA

[@asadashraf2128]

I’d have taken Schmeicel as well

[@pablojablo6371]

From a different interview . ' What would you have done if you weren't a footballer ' ' Struggled ' .

[@tonyosullivan2382]

Fowler for the Irish job 🤙

[@daniellindseth5352]

Robbie, what a guy, don't fit the "Spice boy" expression... My favourite LFC player along side John Barnes.

[@sleepingwarrior4618]

Robbie has been in my life since I was about 12.... and he has no idea I even exist. To influence someone as much as Fowler did to me... and him not even realise I even exist.... is a strange phenomena. Very strange. When he played at Leeds, he didnt have the same players around him that he had at Liverpool so how can you expect him to GET the same standard of service.

[@user-uw9wr3mv1y]

At least u never went to utd like owen! City's not so bad and u are considered as a man called God by us 😂❤

[@invernessfan3017]

I would have liked him to have played for a Scottish side.

[@markdavis8430]

What happened to the Robbie Fowler podcast? YNWA

[@jefffoster1010]

Robbie did change the game when he came on in the so called Michael Owen final he really did I still remember, he should have fought harder to stay . Maybe stopped the bevvies 😄🤣

[@deanwood9893]

All i can say is, "John Fashanu has been capped by England" 😒

[@oliverhiston4223]

It's GOD himself!!!

[@GabrielA-mw4in]

A great interview but could be better without the kiss arsing by Joe

[@jacknapier6668]

We call him God. We idolise him. Pray to him. Fowler > Owen, Suarez, Torres

[@Ace-nd8co]

Dad?