Sports Poets Society

26 Feb 2024 - Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland) BY PAUL BYRNE  Paul.byrne@mirror.co.uk @Paulbyrnemirror Seventies sporting maverick who was touched by genius "He was a delightful footballer & a hugely charismatic man"     - GARY LINEKER SINGS PRAISES OF STAR STAN While tens of thousands of football fans were buzzing with excitement at the prospect of seeing more of Stan Bowles’ brilliance, the man himself seemed much less focused on the match. His warm-up often consisted of hastily getting to the ground from a betting shop, where he would frequently be seen 20 minutes before kick-off. At other times, he wouldn’t even have his kit on with just 10 minutes to go before the game started, choosing instead to be reading a paper. But when he did get on the pitch, he graced it like few others ever have. Stan, who has died aged 75, was one of the great entertainers of a generation. The maverick was a supremely gifted player who helped to define an era. Former England strike...

26 Feb 2024 - Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland) BY MIKE WALTERS @Mikewaltersmgm I never got it with Cloughie...  all he did was walk his dogs by the Trent HINDSIGHT is a noble virtue, but Stan Bowles and a loaded gun was never a good idea. Back in the day, when he appeared on the BBC’S Superstars programme - a decathlon where elite athletes from different sports competed against each other - Stan the Man was supposed to hit a target with live ammunition, but he shot the table. Half a century later, Bowles still holds the record for the lowest number of points in the series where Kevin Keegan famously fell off his bike. “They were disgusted with me right the way through,” he said. “I wouldn’t do any weights. I told them I had a bad back. I was like f ****** Arthur Daley. “I did the canoeing – the canoe overturned. In the shooting, I shot the table. You were supposed to lift the gun up, put it back down on the table, lift it up again and then fire. But when I put it down again it nearl...

Fist fights and gambling could not disguise Bowles’ mastery of the game Maverick was part of the QPR team that shone in the mid-1970s but he would win only five England caps Paul Hayward 26 Feb 2024 - The Guardian A veteran Fleet Street football writer once shared a story about running into Stan Bowles in a Nottingham betting shop shortly after his move in 1979 to Forest. Bowles was disconsolate, but not because he had backed another loser. “What’s up, Stan?” the reporter asked. “This manager,” Bowles replied, and proceeded to tell a story about Brian Clough. The first time Bowles had sat down in the Forest dressing room, Clough had fixed him with a stare and said: “You. What’s your name?” “What do you mean, what’s my name?” Bowles replied. “What’s your fucking name,” Clough persisted. “I’m Stan Bowles. You’ve just signed me from QPR.” Clough considered the response and said: “I want you to get the ball and give it to that fat fellah over there [pointing to the great John Robertson].” ...