The future of North Queensland Fury marquee man Robbie Fowler appears in jeopardy after he sat out the club’s 1-1 draw against Brisbane in Townsville.
Fowler refused to play in Saturday’s A-League match after being told he would start on the bench for the first time this season.
The former Liverpool great, who scored 161 goals in the English Premier League, became the A-League’s biggest recruit in five years when he joined the Fury in February last year.
He’s scored nine goals so far this season for the struggling Fury, but spent the match against the Roar sitting in the stands at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
Fury coach Ian Ferguson later knocked back suggestions Fowler had made his final outing for the club.
“No, not at all,” Ferguson told Fox Sports.
“There’s a couple of issues we have to sort out. Robbie’s a great player, he’s an experienced player, he’s a player that we want to keep at the club.
“At the end of the day I felt it was obviously a decision I had to make, I wanted Robbie to go on the bench and he refused to go on the bench.
“We’ll go over it on Monday, we’ll have a serious talk and see what it takes.”
Reports have suggested the former England and Liverpool striker is seeking to leave despite still having a year to run on his contract.
It’s believed the 34-year-old’s wife has struggled to settle in the tropics, something Fowler did little to dispel in an interview with English tabloid the Daily Mail earlier this week.
“The kids are very adaptable to where they are, but I think my wife still needs a bit of convincing,” he said in the article.
“It’s not like back at home where there’s more stuff to do and more families that we know, so she’s still adjusting.”
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