Back in the late 1980's & early 1990;s footballers earned a far better wage than the average man in the street, but did not earn very much when compared to today's pampered superstars in the Premier League era, so it is always sad to hear of a player from back then falling on hard times.
For those of a certain age, 1992 is almost fresh in the memory, whilst for many in the current Southampton fanbase, they cannot remember it if they are under 40 and a fair proportion were not even born.
But it was year zero for several reasons, firstly it was the year that the Premier League started and secondly it was also the year that Alan Shearer left Southampton Football Club for the then moneybags club Blackburn Rovers.
The soon to be 22 years old Shearer left for a British record £3.6 million transfer fee and a reported £3,000 per week, a wage that dwarfed the earnings of all of his contemporaries and it is worth noting that when he left Ewood Park for Blackburn just 4 years later for another British record fee it had more than quadrupled to £15 million and his weekly wage had risen to £34,000, around 10 times his wage when he left the Dell for Blackburn and God knows how many times the amount he was being paid in 1991/92 his final season as a Saint.
So it is sad to hear that a player who had partnered Shearer up front in his final season, Iain Dowie is in financial trouble and is facing bankruptcy according to givemesport.com
Dowie joined Southampton from West Ham in September 1991 and he would score his debut goal at Queens Park Rangers in his second game for the club, also gaining an assist (OK we didn't call them assists back then) when he flicked on the ball for his fellow striker Shearer to score the first goal in the 2-2 draw.
Dowie would go on to achieve cult status at the club and in that first season would score 9 goals in 30 appearances, second only to Shearer's 13 in 41, and it should be noted that Dowie scored at a rate of 1 goal every 3.30 games with Shearer only marginally better on 1 goal every 3.15 games, in fact his record might even have been better in terms of actual minutes on the pitch, Shearer playing all of his games from the start with Dowie starting only 25 games plus 5 as sub.
A fella called Matt Le Tissier was mainly the provider then scoring just 6.
Dowie would remain at Saints for 3 1/2 years, in 115 League appearances plus another 7 as sub he would score 30 goals and although he was regarded as a wholehearted player by the fans was not always appreciated by them.
He would at times look class, whilst at others not so good and although he would score some vital goals, in January 1995, having just turned 30, Alan Ball the then manager at the Dell decided to rely on Neil Shipperley & Matt Le Tissier for the goals and then Dowie's replacement Gordon Watson and go for a more passing approach, Saints got a fee of £400,000 only £100,000 less than they had paid so got good value for money.
givemesport.com now report that Dowie has been issued with a Bankruptcy petition from the HMRC, with a hearing now scheduled in court to tackle the matter.
They suggest that this might have its basis from almost two decades ago when Dowie then managing Crystal Palace persuaded to club to waive it's right to compensation when he left, citing that he wanted to live nearer his family in Bolton.
Palace were understandably furious when just 8 days after departing he was unveiled at Charlton Athletic manager, a club just a few miles up the road in South London.
The matter went to court and Dowie lost the case and apart from needing to repay Palace the compensation they should have received, later settled by mutual agreement, he also was ordered to pay Palace's £400,000 legal bill, presumably his own costs were similar.
In 2023, Dowie revealed that he had taken on a new role as a mortgage advisor at a law firm. He still lives in Lancashire today and in March of last year suffered a cardiac arrest whilst attending a gym class in Chorley