Steve Bower is a football commentator, best known for working for the ill-fated Setanta Sports. Bower has since gone freelance, working for most major UK broadcasters, primarily
ESPNESPN is a sports television channel in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland owned by American sports broadcaster ESPN Inc. The channel launched on 3 August 2009...
. He was educated at
Calday Grange Grammar SchoolCalday Grange Grammar School is a non-denominational selective grammar school, founded in 1636, situated on Caldy Hill above the town of West Kirby on the Wirral . The school admits boys from the ages of 11 through to 18, and girls for the sixth form only...
.
Bower began his career as a football commentator and presenter (September 1991 – May 1996) with Radio City (Liverpool) where he presented all sports bulletins on the Sony award winning Breakfast show (Monday to Friday), as well as sports shows from studio and stadiums including pre-match and post-match interviews, with full match commentary on Liverpool, Everton and Tranmere Rovers matches (including FA and League Cup finals plus European competitions).
In May 1996, Bower was appointed Head of Sport at Piccadilly Radio (Manchester), the youngest Sports Editor in the UK in Independent Radio, responsible for all sports output including the flagship Saturday afternoon show between 1pm and 6pm.
Steve Bower is a football commentator, best known for working for the ill-fated Setanta Sports. Bower has since gone freelance, working for most major UK broadcasters, primarily
ESPNESPN is a sports television channel in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland owned by American sports broadcaster ESPN Inc. The channel launched on 3 August 2009...
. He was educated at
Calday Grange Grammar SchoolCalday Grange Grammar School is a non-denominational selective grammar school, founded in 1636, situated on Caldy Hill above the town of West Kirby on the Wirral . The school admits boys from the ages of 11 through to 18, and girls for the sixth form only...
.
Early career
Bower began his career as a football commentator and presenter (September 1991 – May 1996) with Radio City (Liverpool) where he presented all sports bulletins on the Sony award winning Breakfast show (Monday to Friday), as well as sports shows from studio and stadiums including pre-match and post-match interviews, with full match commentary on Liverpool, Everton and Tranmere Rovers matches (including FA and League Cup finals plus European competitions).
In May 1996, Bower was appointed Head of Sport at Piccadilly Radio (Manchester), the youngest Sports Editor in the UK in Independent Radio, responsible for all sports output including the flagship Saturday afternoon show between 1pm and 6pm. He presented every sports programme, mostly live from the stadium, including full match commentary on all Manchester United (including all the Champions League), Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers matches, as well as providing coverage of all England matches home and away. In addition, he gave coverage of Euro96 for Independent Radio news, while in 1998, he gave full match commentary on all England and Scotland matches during the World Cup for the entire EMAP radio network.
MUTV
From September 1998 to July 2007, Bower was senior commentator and presenter at Manchester United Television (MUTV) where he provided commentary on Premiership, Champions League, FA Cup and Carling Cup matches for the full 90 minute delayed broadcast with a co-commentator (including the historic treble winning season of 98-99). He also gave commentary and on-location presentation on pre-season tour matches live around the world in places such as Australia, United States, China, Japan and South Africa, not to mention Reserve and Youth Cup matches (live). He conducted after-match interviews at every game with players and manager, plus special exclusive sit-downs such as with David Beckham on signing in Madrid, Sir Alex Ferguson on announcing his retirement and Roy Keane on ‘prawn sandwich’ fans. The Roy Keane interview was recorded as part of the series,
Roy Keane Plays The Pundit, but was never broadcast due to Keane’s reported stinging attack on his fellow Manchester United players. His role also comprised studio presentation, which included fans’ phone-ins and special shows such as with Joel Glazer on his family buying Manchester United. His work as Head of Presentation made him responsible for all presenters and the overall look of the channel. In the Autumn of 2000, he and long time co-commentator from his days at Piccadilly, 1968 European Cup winner, Paddy Crerand were given their own show by MUTV entitled
Crerand and Bower...in Extra Time. During this time, Bower was England reporter for talkSPORT radio during Euro 2000 which saw him conduct daily interviews with manager and players, and offer on-location studio presentation. He also provided studio presentation throughout Euro 2004 for talkSPORT radio in addition to full match commentaries on England qualifiers and Champions League matches. Bower’s MUTV commentary work, alongside Paddy Crerand, can be heard in the 2004 film
The Day After Tomorrow.
Setanta Sports
In July 2007 Bower made the move to
Setanta SportsSetanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland.Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to Irish expatriates. The channel operates individual channels in Ireland, the United States, Canada, Africa and...
where he was a commentator and presenter. His first match was a Conference North play-off between Farsley Celtic and Hinckley United, working alongside Paul Parker. His work included live Premier League games, live
FA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association. The name "FA Cup" usually refers to the English men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held...
matches, live
UEFA CupThe UEFA Europa League is a competition for eligible European football clubs; the second most prestigious European football contest after the UEFA Champions League. It is an annual football cup competition for European club teams organised by the Union of European Football Associations...
matches, live World Cup qualifiers, commentary and presentation of live Blue Square Premier (conference) games (where he worked with Paul Parker), including play-off games and a final at Wembley, presentation on FA Cup matches including build-up to the final, as well as coverage of live England under-21 and under-19 matches, and coverage of the FA Youth Cup (including the Final). Bower has also seen his duties cover the 2007 Peace Cup pre-season tournament, hosted in South Korea, featuring games involving Bolton Wanderers and Reading and Tottenham Hotspur’s pre-season tour of South Africa.
Freelance work
Following Setanta Sports' UK division entering administration in June 2009, Bower began working for ESPN in August 2009, mainly focusing on European football including
Portuguese LigaThe Portuguese Liga , currently named Liga Sagres after its main sponsor, is the league competition for Portuguese professional football clubs located at the top of the Portuguese football league system , making it Portugal's primary football competition.The Liga is presently contested by 16 clubs...
and Eredivise, but also domestic competitions from time to time. His first commentary for the network was the pre-season friendly between
SL BenficaSport Lisboa e Benfica , commonly referred to as Benfica, is a multisports club based in Lisbon, Portugal. Although, they compete in a number of different sports, Benfica is mainly known for its football team...
and
A.C. MilanAssociazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan and as just Milan in Italy, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy...
He has been heard commentating for
Sky SportsSky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
on the 22nd August 2009, for the Hull City v Bolton Wanderers Premier League match and on
Match of the DayMatch of the Day is the BBC's main football television programme. Typically, it is shown on BBC One on Saturday evenings during the English football season, showing highlights of the day's matches in the Barclays Premier League...
for the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
, for
Blackburn RoversBlackburn Rovers Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire.The club was established in 1875, becoming a founding member of The Football League in 1888. It is one of only three clubs to have been both a founder member of the Football League...
v
WolvesWolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is a professional football club representing the city of Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands region of England, and currently playing in the Premier League. Commonly referred to by their nickname Wolves, the club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 have played...
on the 12th September 2009.
Steven also played amateur football in the 1990s for Heswall F.C. in the West Cheshire Football League and for
Colwyn BayColwyn Bay F.C. are a Welsh football club who currently play in the Northern Premier League Division One North. Nicknamed the Seagulls, the club play at Llanelian Road in Old Colwyn.-History:...
Reserves.
External links