Coronavirus ends Fowler’s Brisbane Roar stint

Robbie Fowler’s time as coach of Brisbane Roar has ended, with the club blaming the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Roar coach Robbie Fowler won’t be coming back to Australia.

Brisbane Roar will hunt for an Australian coach to lead the A-League club after severing ties with Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler.

The former England striker’s stint at the helm of the Roar was officially ended on Monday, with confirmation he won’t return from England. It means the Roar is one of four A-League clubs on the hunt for a new permanent head coach, with Melbourne Victory, Western Sydney Wanderers and Adelaide United also heading into the season resumption next month with interim bosses at the helm.

Former Roar midfielder Warren Moon and ex-Welsh under-21 player Darren Davies will steer Brisbane for the remainder of the 2019-20 season, with the club promising its next head coach will be an Australian.

Watch European Football with beIN SPORTS and ESPN on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >

Western United assistant John Anastasiadis is one potential candidate while Ben Cahn has been impressing as the head coach of Queensland NPL team Brisbane Olympic and has coached ex-Socceroo and now-Roar technical director Shane Stefanutto in the past.

Former Roar player Karl Dodd is another who may be in contention having impressed as coach of Asian minnow Guam.

“We’ve always said we want to promote Australian talent,” Roar deputy chairman Chris Fong said, adding that the Roar had only ever expected Fowler to be with the club for two-to-three seasons.

Fowler and No 2 Tony Grant flew back to England to be with their families as soon as the league was suspended in March.

Fowler told English television show Soccer AM he felt he was “not a priority” for the club and had been left to make his own travel plans if he wanted to return.

Fong said the global pandemic had played a large part in bringing Fowler’s reign to a premature end.

“I would like to thank the club for the opportunity, and the Brisbane Roar FC fans for the warm welcome and support for me and the team. We are very proud of what we achieved,” Fowler said in a statement.

The club cited “the current and ongoing coronavirus situation” as the reason for Fowler’s departure.

“We are disappointed that the global pandemic has impacted our plans together but completely understand that family comes first during these difficult times,” Fong said.

It means Brisbane is one of four A-League clubs on the hunt for a new permanent head coach, with Melbourne Victory, Western Sydney Wanderers and Adelaide United also heading into the season resumption next month with interim bosses at the helm.

AAP