Issue No. 6 of the Supporters Club magazine: ‘The Superhoop’: included an in-depth interview with Stan Bowles at the Rangers Stadium on Thursday, 28th October 1976:
KF: How did you meet Don Shanks, Stan?
SB: I first met Don Shanks in the Robin Hood Restaurant in Hammersmith. I was introduced to him by Gerry Francis. That was four days after I moved down from Carlisle.
KF: You did not know him before?
SB: I knew him through football, but that was our first proper meeting.
KF: I have a few questions from one of our supporters here and he would like to know: “Why does the ace prefer to wear polar-neck jerseys?”
SB: Ha…I don’t know really. I’ve got no money to buy anything else.
KF: He goes on: “Why did he say Norwich City was his favourite team in the ‘Shoot’ magazine interview a couple of years ago?”
SB: I don’t remember that. I probably said it as a joke.
KF: “When will the ace acknowledge Rangers fans when they chant his name?”
SB: When, ha ha….who sent that letter?
KF: Alan Barnes
SB: When will I….I always do…behind the goal he means? Next time I will, I’ll remember that one.
KF: And lastly: “What did the ace say to make Liam Brady laugh so much when Macdonald missed an open goal at Highbury?”
SB: Actually, it was Brady who said something to me. He said if you don’t win that bet you want shooting, then we both laughed.
KF: What is your honest opinion of Malcolm Macdonald?
SB: He will always score goals regularly but as a footballer he is a non-entity.
KF: Do you drive Stan?
SB: No, no….although I am going to start taking lessons in about a weeks time.
KF: Where are you living at the moment?
SB: I live in a flat in Ealing at the moment, which I will be moving out of in the next seven days into another flat.
KF: Have you missed your wife and kids?
SB: Yes, I saw them at the Man. City game, but that’s the first time for a few months. I hope to be seeing them again next week sometime.
KF: Any chance of a reconciliation?
SB: Possibly, one can never tell. At the moment there is a lot of court wrangling going on.
KF: Do you still enjoy gambling?
SB: Yes I do.
KF: Are you winning?
SB: No. I don’t know any gambler who is winning.
KF: Nearly every game that you have played this year you have portrayed 100% brilliance. What has changed your attitude to the game and made you a dedicated professional?
SB: Probably getting a bit older and more wiser. That’s all. I’ve realised that it was stupid to retaliate so much.
KF: What will you do after retiring?
SB: I have never even given it a thought. Hope to be an actor or something like that.
KF: Or advertise jeans, maybe?
SB: Or polar-necks.
KF: What was the greatest goal you have ever scored Stan?
SB: One against Derby when we won 5-1 up there a couple of seasons ago.
KF: What was the greatest match you’ve played in?
SB: The recent game against Slovan in Czechoslovakia. There were a couple of cup-ties against Chelsea that were good games. But I think the Czech game because of the team performance and the atmosphere. Noisiest crowd I have ever seen.
KF: Would you like to play for England again and why?
SB: Yes, I would, for the simple reason that I think I have something to offer England, and to prove a point.
KF: Are there any players and managers who you admire?
SB: Terry Venables as a manager – our own manager. Player wise, I tend to go for the more skilful types, such as Marshie, Bestie, Gordon Hill of Man. United and Alan Hudson.
KF: How about influences. Has anyone influenced your career at all?
SB: Couple of people. Terry Venables, Ian McFarlane, who was my manager at Carlisle. They were the biggest influences. And Gordon Jago. I like Gordon.
KF: How did he sell this club to you?
SB: He just told me it was a good team that was going to get better. I went to Burnley to watch them. They played my type of football and I believed him. He was proved to be right.
KF: Have you any spare-time interests?
SB: Racing is my main interest outside football.
KF: Do you get to many meetings?
SB: No, not now. I’ve calmed down a lot, with the gambling anyway. I like going out for a game of tennis in the summer. But that’s about it.
KF: Have you got any ambitions?
SB: Not really. Just to prove that I am one of the best footballers in the country, if not the best.
KF: Have you got used to flying yet?
SB: Much better with flying now, but I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it. I’m alright when I am up there, it’s just take-off and landing.
KF: Have you got a nickname?
SB: Bonso.
KF: Where did you get that from?
SB: Oh, Francis Lee gave it to me a long time ago and they have cottoned on to it down here. Somebody told them. I don’t know who it was. They call me Bonso.
KF: No-one ever mentions your parents…..
SB: No, they just like to keep in the background doing their own thing. I still keep in contact.
KF: Have you any brothers?
SB: Yes, three brothers, one sister.
KF: Are they footballers?
SB: One of them used to play for Man. City as a schoolboy, but did not quite make the grade. He had a drinking habit my brother.
KF: As a boy Stan, who did you support?
SB: Manchester City.
KF: Finally, how would you spend a good social evening? What is your idea of a good social evening?
SB: Well, just going down to a pub and having a drink. The nightclubs, I go to them now and again, but I don’t like them that much. I prefer to go to a pub for a quiet drink.
KF: Great.
SB: Well, I am always good for interviews.
Steve Russell