You may not remember Iain Dowie. You may not be a connoisseur of his pioneering work at Crystal Palace, Charlton Athletic and Coventry City. You may not be one of “The Dowie Bunch” as we, his staunchest fans, call ourselves. However, you can still take inspiration from his time in football.
A time which, sadly, appears to have come to an end.
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Having struggled to land a job in the beautiful game since his unsuccessful stint as Hull City’s “Football Management Consultant” in 2010, Iain has now taken a position as a regional sales manager for Go To Surveys. You probably weren’t aware that the company “undertakes homebuyers reports, building surveys and valuations throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland”, according to its website.
The moment the Coventry Telegraph broke the story, football lost a part of its soul.
Just in case you’re not familiar with Iain’s career, he was what is known as “an old fashioned centre forward” in his playing days. A muscular hunk of curly-haired madness, he built his reputation on “putting himself about” and shinning in a goal once every three or four games.
Though his was never that easy on the eye, his ideals were divine. With hard work, physical sacrifice and the indomitable force of his will, he became a profoundly average but much-loved striker with Luton Town, West Ham and Southampton. He was living the dream.
Unfortunately, his subsequent career in management followed a downward trajectory. After semi-successful stints with Oldham and Palace – he led the latter to a season-long stay in the Premier League – his time at Charlton saw the club lose the majority of their games and (after his speedy sacking) go on to be relegated from the top flight. Following another dismissal at Coventry, then another at Queens Park Rangers, he oversaw Hull’s relegation from the Premier League in 2010. With that, his managerial prospects were hurled into the dank pit of oblivion. His forays into punditry haven’t gone much better.
Still, though Dowie now conducts building surveys for a living, his vision lives on. Unlike a career in football management, a man’s ideals can never die.
Following his pursuit of a football team that adhered to his ethics – that pulled their socks up, gave it their all, and eventually attained semi-acceptable mediocrity – Iain has far more inspirational power than the silverware-laden success mongers of this world. While they would have you believe that you must excel to live long in the memory of your fellow man, Iain has proved that you can be an admirable also-ran and still offer humanity a glimpse of everlasting beauty.
Go To Surveys is lucky to have him. Godspeed, Iain Dowie.
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