Editing Robbie Fowler (section)

=== Leeds United ===
Despite his popularity with Liverpool fans, who referred to Fowler as "God",<ref name="god">{{cite news |last1=Matthews |first1=John |last2=Harte |first2=Adrian |date=3 February 2006 |title=Liverpool – City of God |work=UEFA |url=http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/association=none/news/newsid=390452.html |access-date=15 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200502194736/https://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/association=none/news/newsid=390452.html |archive-date=2 May 2020}}</ref> [[Michael Owen]] and [[Emile Heskey]] had established themselves as Liverpool's regular strike partnership, leaving Fowler on the fringes of the first team. This, along with his difficult relationship with Houllier, made him seek regular first-team football away from Anfield in the form of a £12 million move to [[Leeds United]].<ref name="ESPN">{{cite web|title=Robbie Fowler |publisher=[[ESPN]] |url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/profile?id=7956&cc=5739 |access-date=13 September 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916065907/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/profile?id=7956&cc=5739 |archive-date=16 September 2008 }}</ref> Fowler maintains that Houllier forced him out of Liverpool, and accused Houllier of pressuring the ''[[Liverpool Echo]]'' newspaper to use its influence to turn opinion against him.<ref name="Observer">{{cite news | title=Don't look back in anger | work=The Observer| url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2005/sep/04/features.sport|access-date=4 December 2013 | location=London | date=4 September 2005 | first=Sarah | last=Edworthy}}</ref>

The transfer went ahead just one month after his hat-trick at Leicester. He made his Leeds debut in an away game against Fulham in December 2001,<ref>{{cite news | title=How Fowler fared |publisher=BBC Sport | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/leeds_united/1688004.stm|access-date=13 September 2008 | date=2 December 2001}}</ref> the [[Craven Cottage|same ground]] where he had made his Liverpool debut eight years earlier. Fowler scored 12 goals in the remainder of the season, helping Leeds to a [[UEFA Cup]] qualifying place. Fowler was included in the England squad for the [[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002 World Cup]], but only made one appearance, coming on as a substitute in a second-round win over [[Denmark national football team|Denmark]].

Fowler suffered an aggravation of a pre-existing hip injury in the [[2002–03 in English football|2002–03 pre-season]], and did not recover until December.<ref name="ESPN"/> Struggling to gain fitness, and seeing teammates sold off due to a financial crisis, Fowler's form and market value diminished. It was despite this decrease in form that he still, in total, scored 15 goals in 31 appearances for Leeds; achieving an impressive strike rate of just less than one goal every two games. In 2002–03, Leeds finished 15th in the Premier League and a severe financial crisis was developing.