Tony Towers

Mark Anthony Towers (born 13 April 1952) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Manchester City, Sunderland, Birmingham City, Rochdale and England.

Tony Towers
Personal information
Full name Mark Anthony Towers[1]
Date of birth (1952-04-13) 13 April 1952[1]
Place of birth Manchester,[1] England
Height 5 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1.74 m)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1968–1974 Manchester City 122 (10)
1974–1977 Sunderland 108 (19)
1977–1980 Birmingham City 92 (4)
1981–1983 Montreal Manic 80 (9)
1981–1982 Montreal Manic (indoor) 15 (5)
1983–1984 Tacoma Stars (indoor) 26 (4)
1984 Tampa Bay Rowdies 9 (0)
1984 Vancouver Whitecaps 8 (0)
1984–1985 Rochdale 2 (0)
National team
1976 England 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Towers made his professional debut five days after his seventeenth birthday in April 1969, playing for Manchester City in a 3–0 defeat against Southampton. He made a handful of appearances the following season, and scored his first goal, against Leeds United, in one of them. Towards the end of the season, he had a run in the first team, and was part of the team which won the 1970 European Cup Winners Cup scoring the winner in extra time against Portuguese club Athletico De Coimbria en route to the final. He became a first team regular in the 1970–71 season, acting as a utility player. He played as City won the 1972 FA Charity Shield.[3] In 1972, under Malcolm Allison's management, Towers settled into a midfield role, usually wearing the number 11 shirt. He was part of the Manchester City side for the 1974 League Cup Final, but the final proved to be his penultimate game for the Manchester club, as two weeks later he transferred to Sunderland in an exchange deal involving Dennis Tueart and Mick Horswill.[4]

Towers made his Sunderland debut against Fulham in March 1974. His performances at Sunderland resulted in him receiving an England call-up in 1976 for the British Home Championship. He made appearances in the matches against Wales and Northern Ireland, and added a third cap two weeks later in a friendly against Italy.

In the 1977 close season Towers joined Birmingham City for a fee of £140,000. He made his Birmingham debut on 20 August 1977 in a 4–1 defeat to Manchester United.[5] He made 92 League appearances for the club, the last coming in 1979–80. In 1981, Towers moved to the Montreal Manic of the North American Soccer League (NASL). He remained with Montreal through the 1983 season. He then began the 1984 season with the Tampa Bay Rowdies before being traded to the Vancouver Whitecaps,[6] and then finishing his career back in England with Rochdale.[5]

References
  1. "Tony Towers". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  2. Rollin, Jack, ed. (1980). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1980–81. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 62. ISBN 0362 02017 5.
  3. "1972/73 Charity Shield". footballsite.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  4. "Victim Tueart bashes board". Manchester Evening News. 9 July 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
  5. "Tony Towers Birmingham City FC". sporting-heroes.net. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  6. "Tony Towers". NASL Jerseys. Dave Morrison. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
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