Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘I’m so happy with the experiences I’ve had’ – Fraserburgh’s Ryan Cowie reflects on his career after retiring

The Broch left-back has hung up his boots.

Ryan Cowie holding his son Hudson following his last game for Fraserburgh at the weekend. Picture by Darrell Benns/DCT Media.
Ryan Cowie holding his son Hudson following his last game for Fraserburgh at the weekend. Picture by Darrell Benns/DCT Media.

Ryan Cowie says he leaves Fraserburgh with many cherished memories after retiring.

The Broch left-back bowed out with a sub appearance in Saturday’s 11-0 win against Strathspey Thistle with a knee injury forcing him to hang up his boots.

Cowie started his career with Junior outfit Longside and had a season at Turriff United before joining Fraserburgh in 2012.

During his time with the Broch he made 346 appearances, netted 30 goals and helped them win the Breedon Highland League in 2022 as well as six Evening Express Aberdeenshire Cups and three Morrison Motors (Turriff) Aberdeenshire Shields.

Cowie also received a testimonial against Aberdeen last summer.

Injury issues

But knee problems in recent years have taken their toll on the 32-year-old. In 2022 he had surgery on a torn meniscus and shortly after coming back dislocated his knee cap.

Explaining his decision to retire, Cowie said: “Recently it’s just been setback after setback.

“The last two were in training with nobody around me where I just lost my stability and the next day the knee was swollen up.

“There have been too many days this season where I haven’t been able to walk the dog on a Sunday or play with my son, Hudson.

Ryan Cowie, right, in action against Aberdeen in his testimonial.

“I didn’t want to reach a point where if I played for another couple of seasons I’d really struggle in the future.

“I won’t push Hudson to go down the football route, he’s only 18 months old, but if he does go down that route I want to be part of that.

“There’s a park beside where we live and when I drive past it I always think ‘I can’t wait to take him down there to play football.’

Ryan Cowie, left, and team-mate Bryan Hay celebrate Fraserburgh’s Highland League title triumph in 2022.

“So that came into my thoughts when making what was a really difficult decision.

“On top of that I’ve been struggling to reach the standards I set myself.

“There have been games this season where I went in hoping I’d get through it rather than being at it from minute one.”

Unforgettable moments

Reflecting on his time with Fraserburgh, Cowie added: “I look back on it all so fondly.

“All the trophy lifts, Scottish Cup runs, big games and my testimonial are memories that live will with me forever.

“I’ve been pretty cut up about it at points over the last week, but reflecting on it all I’m so happy with the experiences I’ve had.

“I’ve been so fortunate as a player with the moments I’ve had and they’ll stay with me for the rest of my life.

Ryan Cowie, left, with brothers Mark, centre, and Dean after Fraserburgh won the Aberdeenshire Cup in 2015.

“To be part of Fraserburgh for 12 years has been very special.

“All the messages I’ve had since the news has come out have been overwhelming. I’m clearly biased, but the way Fraserburgh is from top to bottom I don’t see another club like.

“I can’t speak highly enough of everyone at the club and the way they’ve treated me.”