[3] Bowles spent time as a youth player at Manchester United, before he started his career with Crewe Alexandra.
He helped Harry Gregg's "Railwaymen" to finish 16th in 1975–76, 12th in 1976–77, and 15th in 1977–78, before Crewe fell to last place in the 1978–79 campaign under the stewardship of Warwick Rimmer.
[1] Despite struggling with his weight, as one of the more experienced players in a youthful squad, he was given the captaincy and featured 49 times in the 1980–81 season, scoring four goals.
[1] He played 70 league games for Eric Webster's "Hatters", helping the Edgeley Park club to post 16th and 12th places finishes in 1982–83 and 1983–84.
However, he picked up a double fracture to his ankle playing against Liverpool at Anfield in the League Cup and was unable to recover from the injury fully.