On This Day (26 May 1988): England Heartbreak For “Ower Gary”
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Gary Owers was a brilliant servant for Sunderland AFC during the 1980s and 1990s, and many Roker Park regulars felt at the time that his skills deserved wider recognition.
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There were various rumours and links with big moves up the league over the years that failed to materialise, and somewhat unfortunately for a player whose athleticism and durability were just two of his main strengths, when the Three Lions came calling in 1988, he was rather uncharacteristically injured.
The bad timing was confirmed on the 26 May by The Echo’s Ken Matthews, who advised readers that Owers had been forced to pull out of England Under-20’s upcoming tour to Brazil due to a foot problem.
A recent operation to remove an ingrown toenail on his right foot had caused severe swelling and soreness, and instead of going away to represent his country, the youth team product was instead looking at an eight to nine-week spell on the sidelines.
A disappointed Owers told the paper that when he found out he was picked he “went straight to Roker Park to get injections for travelling abroad.”
But as soon as Steve [Smelt, physio] saw my foot he said it would be impossible for me to kick a ball for two months, never mind travel to Brazil.
I was devastated. To go would have been a dream come true — a chance of a lifetime. I just hope I get another chance in the future.
An injury to his other foot had already ruled the midfielder out of the domestic run in but was now thought to be resolved, whereas the latest issue had come about following a routine visit to a chiropodist. As Gary continued:
They removed the nail, gave me injections on the toe and killed the root, which means I will never have a nail on that toe again.
The problems arose when I got home and my toe went up like a balloon. It gave me some stick.
The development meant that Owers would also have to miss out a high-profile youth tournament that Sunderland had been invited to in Yugoslavia.
My problem will be boredom for the next few weeks.
I love to keep fit and play sport, but there is very little you can do with your foot like this. It will make it hard work to get fit for the new season, but I need no incentive for that.
Sure enough, it came as little surprise when he was indeed available for Sunderland’s return to Division Two in August. Always a reliable performer, fans were pleased to have Owers back given the form he had shown during the 1987/1988 promotion campaign that had caught the eye of the international selectors in the first place.
Sunderland had been crowned Division Three champions in his debut season at senior level, during which he played across a number of positions, and he’d recently been on an England youth training weekend at Lilleshall alongside teammate Marco Gabbiadini.
*Since breaking into the Sunderland side, nineteen-year-old Owers, who was handed his first team chance due to Steve Doyle picking up a suspension in a Durham Senior Cup tie and then kept his place, was a leading example to members of the youth and reserve teams that he had graduated from.
Following in his footsteps were players such as Brian Atkinson and Warren Hawke, and their development looked to be in steady hands on this day with the confirmation that coach Chris McMenemy would be remaining at the club.
Alongside the Owers article in The Echo was a small piece quoting manager Denis Smith, who stated that:
Chris has shown tremendous character to overcome the problems that being [former managing director] Lawrie McMenemy’s son brought. He has shown that he is able to survive without his father.
He has had to deal with my style of management, which it totally different to what he is used to. He has also had to change his style of coaching, and he’s done it well.
He still has some way to go — but a lot of us have. I’m pleased he wants to stay.