Big Day Beckons For Returning Star

Can it be true? Is Mike Stowell really about to sit in the stand on a Molineux match-day for the first time since the end of his record-breaking Wolves career?

Strange though it sounds, he believes that is an accurate summing-up as he prepares to attend tomorrow’s home game against Chelsea in a corporate capacity.

“I can’t remember going to the ground as a supporter since I left in 2001,” he said. “And I never went there to scout for Leicester because there were others who did that job.

“I have been back many times, of course, but it was always to watch from the dug-out, or for dinners and other events.

“This will be the first time I can relax there and just enjoy the 90-plus minutes, hopefully with a Wolves win, and not be hands-on through working.”

The 59-year-old’s last game as a player in these parts was the 1-1 season-ending home draw against QPR 23 years ago, when Dave Jones showed there was still some sentiment in football by sending him on as substitute for Michael Oakes for the final 15 minutes.

It was his 448th competitive first-team appearance for the club – far in excess of the number played by Bert Williams, Malcolm Finlayson and any other Wolves keeper before or since.

And that handsome tally is a large part of the reason why he has had a place in Molineux’s hall of fame since April of last year.

“That was a great night for me, my wife and our daughter and was the last time I was at the stadium,” he added. “Before that, away from match days and nights, I was also there for one or two other dinners and, on a much sadder note, for Sir Jack’s funeral.

“I know the club have changed a lot since I played there but it will still be terrific to go back and maybe see a few familiar faces.”

Stowell, a title winner in Israel’s top division last season alongside Robbie Keane at Maccabi Tel Aviv, will be present this weekend as Paul Berry’s on-microphone guest in the various Billy Wright Stand hospitality rooms.

He is waiting to see where the next door might open in the job market, the keeper having this week spent three days at coaching sessions at St George’s Park and made a working trip to Canada earlier in the summer.

A former associate from Leicester had been asking him for years to put in a stint at his summer camps across the Atlantic and his current rest between jobs finally freed him up for a memorable week in Calgary.

Stowell and his wife, Rachel, are also continuing to monitor the emergence of their daughter, Ella, an England Schoolgirls keeper, at her club, Bristol City.