James Rowe (football manager)


James Colvin Rowe is an English professional football manager and former player. He is the manager of Gloucester City AFC.

Playing and early coaching career

Rowe was born and grew up in Ipswich, Suffolk. He attended St Joseph's College. In his youth he played for Luton Town and Charlton Athletic. After being released as a youngster by Charlton, Rowe started his senior playing career at age 18 with Ilkeston he went on to become a prolific striker playing for Histon, AFC Sudbury, Leiston, Canvey Island, and Leamington before at aged 27 being lured into his first professional coaching role, at Birmingham City, as the Academy's head of education and coach for the U16 & U17 teams.
Rowe left Birmingham in 2013 to take up a technical coordinator role for the Premier League and later that year taking up a coaching position with West Ham as Assistant Academy Manager.
Autumn 2015 Rowe left West Ham, to further his career and study a masters in coaching degree at the Johan Cruyff Institute in Amsterdam and graduated in 2016. Rowe also holds a UEFA A Licence, and a Masters of Research Degree in Sports Science from Nottingham Trent University.

Managerial career

In the summer of 2016 at the age of 32, Rowe was appointed assistant manager at Aldershot Town joining Gary Waddock manager. His contract was later that year extended. Waddock and Rowe proved a formidable partnership and were subject to football league approaches. They went on to steer the shots to two successive play-off positions, the side fell just short of promotion at the end of the 2016–17 season, losing out to Tranmere Rovers in the play-off semi-finals & 2017-18 narrowly missing out this time to Ebbsfleet their fate decided by a penalty shoot out. Financial constraints at the club led to Rowe leaving the shots in January 2019.
Rowe was appointed manager of Gloucester City in November 2019. The Tigers finally got their man to lead the Club back to Meadow Park, after terms could not be agreed during their initial approach to Aldershot 12 months earlier.