Tony Towers

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Tony Towers

| image =

| fullname = Mark Anthony Towers{{Hugman|19808|accessdate=29 November 2019}}

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=8+1/2}}{{cite book |title=Rothmans Football Yearbook 1980–81 |editor-first=Jack |editor-last=Rollin |publisher=Queen Anne Press |location=London |date=1980 |page=[https://archive.org/details/rothmansfootball00roll/page/62 62] |isbn=0362-02017-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/rothmansfootball00roll|url-access=registration }}

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1952|4|13|df=y}}

| birth_place = Manchester, England

| currentclub =

| position = Midfielder

| youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 =

| years1 = 1968–1974 | clubs1 = Manchester City | caps1 = 122 | goals1 = 10

| years2 = 1974–1977 | clubs2 = Sunderland | caps2 = 108 | goals2 = 19

| years3 = 1977–1980 | clubs3 = Birmingham City | caps3 = 92 | goals3 = 4

| years4 = 1981–1983 | clubs4 = Montreal Manic | caps4 = 80 | goals4 = 9

| years5 = 1981–1982 | clubs5 = Montreal Manic (indoor) | caps5 = 15 | goals5 = 5

| years6 = 1983–1984 | clubs6 = Tacoma Stars (indoor) | caps6 = 26 | goals6 = 4

| years7 = 1984 | clubs7 = Tampa Bay Rowdies | caps7 = 9 | goals7 = 0

| years8 = 1984 | clubs8 = Vancouver Whitecaps | caps8 = 8 | goals8 = 0

| years9 = 1984–1985 | clubs9 = Rochdale | caps9 = 2 | goals9 = 0

| totalcaps = 461 | totalgoals = 51

| nationalyears1 = 1967 | nationalteam1 = England Schoolboys | nationalcaps1 = 6 | nationalgoals1 = 0

| nationalyears2 = 1969–1970 | nationalteam2 = England Youth | nationalcaps2 = 7 | nationalgoals2 = 2

| nationalyears3 = 1972–1976 | nationalteam3 = England U23 | nationalcaps3 = 7 | nationalgoals3 = 0

| nationalyears4 = 1976 | nationalteam4 = England | nationalcaps4 = 3 | nationalgoals4 = 0

}}

Mark Anthony Towers (born 13 April 1952) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Manchester City, Sunderland, Birmingham City and Rochdale. He represented England at schoolboy,{{cite web |url=http://www.englandfootballonline.com/matchrsl/MatchRslTmSBpg3.html |title=Match results schoolboys (under 15) 1960–1969 |website=England Football Online |publisher=Chris Goodwin & Glen Isherwood |date=6 October 2024 |access-date=12 October 2024}} youth,{{cite web |url=http://www.englandfootballonline.com/matchrsl/MatchRslTmU18pg2.html |title=Match results under 18 1960–1970 |website=England Football Online |publisher=Chris Goodwin & Glen Isherwood |date=1 September 2024 |access-date=12 October 2024}} under-23{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/eng-u23-intres-det.html |title=England – U-23 International Results– Details |first=Barrie |last=Courtney |publisher=RSSSF |date=27 March 2004 |access-date=12 October 2024}} and senior level.

Life and career

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.{{cite news |url=http://www.footballsite.co.uk/Statistics/CommunityShield/1972-73CharityShield.htm |title=1972/73 Charity Shield |website=footballsite.co.uk |accessdate=1 April 2020}} 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.{{cite news |title=Victim Tueart bashes board |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/manchester_city/s/1010/1010859_victim_tueart_bashes_board.html |date=9 July 2007 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927192616/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/manchester_city/s/1010/1010859_victim_tueart_bashes_board.html |archivedate=27 September 2007}}

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamPlyrsBios/PlayersT/BioTowersMA.html |title=Tony Towers |website=England Football Online |publisher=Chris Goodwin & Glen Isherwood |date=11 October 2020 |access-date=12 October 2024}}

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football/birmingham-city-fc/tony-towers-10938/league-appearances_a18633/ |title=Tony Towers Birmingham City FC |website=sporting-heroes.net |accessdate=2 September 2015}} 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,{{cite web |url=http://www.nasljerseys.com/Players/T/Towers.Tony.htm |title=Tony Towers |website=NASL Jerseys |publisher=Dave Morrison |accessdate=2 September 2015}} and then finishing his career back in England with Rochdale.