Time For A Change Of Direction

Mike Stowell today flew to Israel to link up with Robbie Keane and accept his first overseas post at the age of 58.

The long-time former Wolves man was touted among supporters as being a strong contender for the Molineux goalkeeper coach’s job following Tony Roberts’s departure to AC Milan.

But, with that post still unfilled, he has headed instead to Maccabi Tel Aviv and is due at the club’s Europa Conference League game at home to Petrocub tonight.

“It all happened very quickly,” he said when we caught up with him moments before he boarded a breakfast time flight.

“I don’t know what Wolves are doing with Tony’s job but Robbie found himself without a keeper coach with the season about to start and I’m off there straightaway.

“I obviously won’t be involved tonight but they have the second leg of this tie in Moldova next week and the league games start later in August.

“I believe the season runs until the end of March and it’s only a contract for 11 months, so it’s a relatively short time away. And there are opportunities for my wife and daughter to come out here a couple of times and hopefully for a nice stay at Christmas.”

Stowell often stayed away from his Bristol-based family when working for Leicester anyway and needs little introduction to Maccabi’s newly-appointed head coach.

He was the dependable last line of defence at Norwich on the opening day of 1997-98 when Keane sensationally announced his arrival as a League player by spectacularly scoring both goals in a 2-0 Wolves win.

The two remained colleagues for two years until the brilliant forward was sold to Coventry early in 1999-2000.

Keane has been installed in the Israeli capital in mid-summer on a two-year deal and has taken his former Republic of Ireland team-mate, Rory Delap, as his assistant.

But, after a warm-up programme that included a victory over Bournemouth in Marbella, he ran into problems when former Wolves reserve Graham Stack was sacked as his keeper coach, reportedly because of an altercation in a nightclub.

Stowell said after his remarkable 18-year stay at Leicester had been ended by new boss Enzo Maresca’s wish to take in his own backroom men that he would be prepared to sample working life abroad.

His only experience of coaching in an overseas set-up was when then Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel helped him receive an invitation to coach Denmark’s goalkeepers for a few days.

In addition to being given a lovely send-off by Schmeichel on social media, Stowell has this year been inducted into Wolves’ hall of fame and was present at the award dinner in April.