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"She said I had two demons inside me" - Robbie Fowler on the England team's former faith healer

Robbie Fowler says the lack of game-time at international level meant he never really enjoyed his...



"She said I had two demons...
Soccer

"She said I had two demons inside me" - Robbie Fowler on the England team's former faith healer

Robbie Fowler says the lack of game-time at international level meant he never really enjoyed his time with England.

Speaking to Off The Ball at the launch of Eir Sport alongside Harry Redknapp, the Liverpool legend admitted that he starred at a time when English football had produced a host of talented strikers like Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham, Ian Wright, Les Ferdinand, Chris Sutton and Andy Cole, just to name a few.  

"Did I enjoy it? The simple fact is I never because I never played that many games. I think I started 12 games for England and that's why I never really enjoyed it. If I was playing more, I would have loved it and when I did play, I did love it. But I didn't play enough," he said of a career that only saw him win 26 caps despite plundering goals at club level.

"When you're going down there as a squad member it's not exciting."

But he did share a few anecdotes about Paul Gascoigne's antics while on England duty.

 

 

He also spoke about his former England boss Glenn Hoddle and believes he would be more suited to the job now.

But during his time in charge of England, faith healer Eileen Drewery was part of the backroom staff, although as Fowler said, it wasn't for everyone and he never bought into it himself.

"Some players used to love going to see her, it wasn't for me. I remember going in with Paul Ince, Gazza had already been and Les Ferdinand and they spent hours and hours in the room with her and I went in after those two and I think you have to buy in to something like that. I never bought into it.

"So I'm sat in the chair and she starts placing her hands all over me head, arms and shoulders and she said I had two demons inside me which was not bad. Gazza had five so I was happy with that," he joked.

On the current England team which got knocked out of Euro 2016, Fowler believes Raheem Sterling and Jack Wilshere shouldn't have been brought to France.

 

 

Plus he recalled a story when he'd had more than a few drinks on an England flight from Georgia when he had not received game-time and approached Hoddle on the plane.

"By the time we got on the plane home I was on the double brandies. I remember going up to a few of the lads at the front of the plane and saying that I can't believe that I wasn't even a sub.

"I go up to the back of the plane - and [I'm] having a little whiff of my cigar - and I asked Glenn why I wasn't playing. He just said 'I'll see you tomorrow'.

Robbie Fowler was speaking at the launch of eir Sport, formerly Setanta Sports and the eir Sport Pack. The eir Sport pack includes eir Sport 1 and eir Sport 2; BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2, BT Sport Europe and BT Sport ESPN. The eir Sport Pack is now free to all existing and new eir broadband customers. eir Sport has also secured the rights to the 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup. eir Sport was formerly Setanta Sports.


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