Focused Robbie Fowler looks to lead ambitious Al-Qadsiah to a brighter future

Steven Gerrard is not the only former Liverpool legend making a splash as a coach in Saudi Arabia’s exciting new football world.

Robbie Fowler the player never bowed to a challenge and was one of the sharpest strikers in Europe. Now, more than a decade after hanging up his boots, the former England, Liverpool and Manchester City forward is showing he has taken that same mentality into management as the coach of First Division Al-Qadsiah.

The 48-year-old has led his new club to three wins and a draw in an undefeated start to the 2023-24 league campaign, and would love nothing more than to join the big boys of the Roshn Saudi League next season.

Fowler, however, is not getting carried away at such an early stage.

“There’s always going to be pressure on you, and you have to accept that,” he said. “The owners (Aramco) would like to get promoted and I also would like that. I want to be successful, of course. From a club point of view, there’s got to be some realism there though. Regardless of where you finished last season and how much money you’ve spent, there’s no guarantee or entitlement to say we’re going to get into the pro league.

“My primary example for that is Chelsea,” said Fowler. “They’ve spent almost a billion pounds on players and they’re probably further away from the top four than they’ve been for years. So, there’s no guarantee if you bring in lots of players that you’re going to be successful. It just doesn’t work like that. But if you have that club ethos in place and a group of players totally committed to the cause then, of course, anything is possible.”

During a playing career that saw him net 163 goals in 379 Premier League appearances between 1993 and 2009, Fowler racked up honors — an FA Cup,