Michael Valentine McGowan (born 22 February 1985) is a

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who is currently without a club.

Career

McGowan began his senior career with Stenhousemuir, where he played a handful of games, before moving to Dundee. McGowan failed to make a single appearance for Dundee, and subsequently joined

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

. McGowan made his Clyde debut as a substitute in the first league game of the 2005-06 season against Ross County, and went on to cement his place in the team, missing only one more game that season. During that season, McGowan was rewarded for his consistent performances by being named Clyde F.C. player of the year and earned a call up to the Northern Ireland U21 squad, after discovering he was eligible to play for them. He won three caps in total for them. McGowan temporarily took over the captain's armband at Clyde under Joe Miller in February 2007, due to an injury to recently appointed

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Neil McGregor Neil McGregor (born 17 July 1985, in Irvine), is a Scottish football defender who has previously played in the Scottish Premier League for Dundee. Career McGregor began his career with Kilmarnock. He played in the Scottish Youth Cup wi ...

. McGowan captained the side for the rest of the season, and was officially appointed team captain in August 2007 under new manager

Colin Hendry Edward Colin James Hendry (born 7 December 1965) is a Scottish football coach and former professional footballer. Hendry, who played as a defender notably played in the Premier League for Blackburn Rovers where he was part of the title winning ...

. He left the club in July 2008, after failing to agree a new contract. He then joined Queen of the South in July 2008 after impressing in a trial. McGowan signed for

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...

in July 2009. In his first season with the club, he played 18 games and scored 6 goals, despite only joining halfway through the season. He became a fans' favourite and was named Dundalk F.C. player of the year. On the last day of the season, and on McGowan's last game for the Lilywhites, on 5 November, he scored a goal from the halfway line against Derry City. This earned him the Goal of the Season award on

Monday Night Soccer ''Monday Night Soccer'' is a former football television programme shown on RTÉ Two each Monday evening during the football season. Presented by Peter Collins, he was usually joined by two guests, like manager Damien Richardson and former Mill ...

. Despite being offered an improved contract at the end of the

2009 League of Ireland The 2009 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 25th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division was made up of 10 teams. Bohemians were champions while Shamrock Rovers finished as runners-up. Teams Overview The 20 ...

season (the only player to do so), he chose to reject the offer in order to focus on signing with a Scottish club. He trained with Rangers for four months before re-signing for Dundalk on 6 May 2010, helping them get to the second round of the 2010-11 Europa League. In August 2010 he left Dundalk again when his contract was terminated by mutual consent. In September 2010, McGowan went on trial with St Mirren. The trial came to nothing but he was picked up by

Alloa Athletic Alloa Athletic Football Club is a Scottish association football semi-professional club based in the town of Alloa, Clackmannanshire. Formed as Alloa in 1880, the football club shortly changed its name to Alloa Association, and then to Alloa Ath ...

in November of that year. He signed for Ayr United in 2011.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGowan, Michael 1985 births Living people Scottish men's footballers Scottish people of Northern Ireland descent Stenhousemuir F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Clyde F.C. players Queen's Park F.C. players Queen of the South F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players League of Ireland players Scottish Football League players Alloa Athletic F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players Scottish Professional Football League players Footballers from Glasgow Northern Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football midfielders