Neil William McGowan (born 15 April 1977 in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

) is a Scottish professional footballer who is currently player/first-team coach in the Scottish Juniors with

Troon Troon is a town in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with freight services and a yacht marina. Up until January 2016, P&O ope ...

Playing career

McGowan was signed by Queen of the South manager

Gordon Chisholm Gordon William Chisholm (born 8 April 1960 in Glasgow) is a Scottish professional football former player and manager. Chisholm played as a central defender for Sunderland, Hibernian, Dundee and Partick Thistle. After retiring as a player, ...

in 2007 and was primarily a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...

, who could also play full back. When signing for the Doonhamers, McGowan had already played for six other clubs that included Stranraer,

Albion Rovers Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League Two, the fourth tier of the Scotti ...

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

, Clydebank, KA Akureyri (

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

) and Airdrie United. McGowan then signed for

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

on 25 January 2008. McGowan then signed for

Clyde F.C. Clyde Football Club is a Scottish semi-professional football club who play in Scottish League One. Formed in 1877 at the River Clyde in Glasgow, the club host their home matches at New Douglas Park, having played at Broadwood Stadium from 1994 ...

, who his father (also named Neil) had played for in the late Sixties and early Seventies, in the January 2010 transfer window and he stayed at the Bully Wer until May 2011, after making 48 appearances in all competitions. After his release from the

Cumbernauld Cumbernauld (; gd, Comar nan Allt, meeting of the streams) is a large town in the historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth most-populous locality in Scotland and the most populated t ...

club, McGowan joined his brother

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name *Chris Abani (born 1966), Nige ...

at Irvine Meadow. McGowan then signed for

in the summer of 2013 and was part of the

West of Scotland Super League First Division The SJFA West Region Championship (known as the McBookie.com West Region Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a Scottish semi-professional football competition run by the West Region of the Scottish Junior Football Association and was the ...

winning team in season 2013–14. McGowan was then appointed player-coach in May 2015.

Coaching career

McGowan started his coaching career when he joined

and worked as the club's under 19s coach at

Somerset Park Somerset Park is a football stadium located in Ayr, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It has been the home of Ayr United since they were founded in 1910. Prior to that, it was the home ground of Ayr, who merged with Ayr Parkhouse to form Ayr United. H ...

and was then appointed player-coach of

in May 2015 under Jimmy Kirkwood.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGowan, Neil 1977 births Troon F.C. players Airdrieonians F.C. players Albion Rovers F.C. players Men's association football defenders Ayr United F.C. players Clyde F.C. players Clydebank F.C. (1965) players Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar players Expatriate men's footballers in Iceland Living people Oxford United F.C. players Queen of the South F.C. players Scottish expatriate men's footballers Scottish Football League players Scottish men's footballers Scottish Junior Football Association players Stranraer F.C. players Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Iceland Irvine Meadow XI F.C. players