Keith Stephen Lowe (born 13 September 1985) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He made over 634 league and cup appearances in a 19-year playing career.
A Wolverhampton Wanderers academy graduate, between 2005 and 2008 he was loaned out seven times: Burnley, Queens Park Rangers, Swansea City, Brighton & Hove Albion, Cheltenham Town (twice) and Port Vale. He then dropped out of the Football League to spend the 2008–09 season as a Kidderminster Harriers player. He then spent a season with Hereford United before signing with Cheltenham Town in 2010. He was voted Cheltenham's Player of the Year in 2011. He joined League Two club York City, initially on loan, in November 2013. In January 2016, he rejoined Kidderminster Harriers before moving on to Macclesfield Town in June 2017. He helped Macclesfield to win promotion as champions of the National League at the end of the 2017–18 season. He started the 2019–20 season at Nuneaton Borough before moving on to Bradford (Park Avenue) in September 2019. He returned to Kidderminster Harriers again in January 2020. In the summer of 2022, Lowe announced he would be moving to part-time football to facilitate a career in teaching, and subsequently played for Rushall Olympic and Hednesford Town.
He started the 2006–07 campaign on loan at Brighton & Hove Albion,[11] without making an appearance for the first-team. Manager Mark McGhee had Adam Hinshelwood and Guy Butters out injured, whilst Joel Lynch was a doubt and admitted that he was short of cover on the bench before Georges Santos was signed and said after Lowe arrived that "we don't think for a minute that we are signing Rio Ferdinand".[4] A two-month loan spell with Cheltenham Town started in September 2006, they appreciated him so much that he was invited back to spend the 2007 end of the season with them.[12][13]
Lowe joined Cheltenham Town permanently in June 2010,[23] becoming the club's first choice right-back before his season was prematurely ended by an ankle injury in the home defeat to Gillingham on 27 March 2011. His consistency endeared him to the Cheltenham fans who named him as their Player of the Year for 2010–11.[24] An appearance clause in his contract also ensured he would remain at the club until summer 2012.[25] He made 31 league appearances in 2011–12 to help Mark Yates' team book a place in the League Two play-off places. He was an unused substitute in the final at Wembley Stadium, as Cheltenham lost 2–0 to Crewe Alexandra.[26] On 27 October 2012, he scored two goals in a 3–0 win over Exeter City at Whaddon Road to earn himself a place on the League Two team of the week.[27]
On 21 November 2013, Lowe joined Cheltenham's League Two rivals York City on loan until January 2014, with a view to a permanent transfer.[28] He made his debut two days later in a 2–1 defeat away to Southend United,[29] and made nine appearances for York before signing permanently on 7 January 2014 on a two-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee.[30]The Press voted him 'Press Player of the Year' in 2013–14.[31]
Lowe played in 49 of York's 50 matches in 2014–15, missing just one League Cup match.[32] On 23 August, he scored in a 1–1 draw at Exeter City and was named in the Football League team of the week.[33] He won a place on the team of the week for a second time after scoring a brace in a 3–1 victory at Hartlepool United on 22 November.[34] He was once again included after scoring the only goal of the game against Accrington Stanley on Boxing Day.[35] He was voted by York supporters as the club's Clubman of the Year for 2014–15.[36] Having earlier been made available for loan under new manager Jackie McNamara, Lowe left York by mutual consent on 9 December 2015.[37]
Return to Kidderminster Harriers
On 12 January 2016, Lowe rejoined Kidderminster Harriers, now bottom of the National League, until the end of 2015–16.[38] He made his debut when starting their 1–0 home defeat to Guiseley on 23 January 2016.[39] He scored two goals in 20 appearances[39] as Kidderminster were relegated in 23rd place.[40] Whilst considering whether to accept Kidderminster's new contract offer or to play higher-level football, Lowe said it was "a choice between my head and my heart", implying his heart lay at Aggborough Stadium.[41] He decided to remain with Kidderminster in part due to his reverence for manager John Eustace, signing a new contract in June 2016,[42] and was named as club captain in August.[43] Lowe scored five goals in 51 appearances in 2016–17,[39] helping Kidderminster to a second-place finish before they suffered defeat in the play-off semi-final to sixth-place Chorley.[44] He was named in the 2016–17 National League North Team of the Year, alongside teammates Zaine Francis-Angol and James McQuilkin.[45] In June 2017, Lowe was told he could leave Kidderminster on a free transfer, but remained under contract at the club.[46]
Later career
Lowe signed a one-year contract with National League club Macclesfield Town on 29 June 2017.[47] He played every minute of Macclesfield's 46 league matches during the 2017–18 season[39] as the club earned promotion back to League Two as champions of the National League.[48] Manager John Askey left the club after this success, but his replacement, Mark Yates, had coached Lowe at Cheltenham and Kidderminster, and offered him a new one-year contract.[49] However, he featured only 17 times in the 2018–19 campaign, playing only two games after Sol Campbell took charge in December.[50] He left Moss Rose after being released in the summer.[51] Lowe went on to become one of six players – the others being Shamir Mullings, Elliott Durrell, Rhys Taylor, Jamie Grimes and Ryan Lloyd – to issue the club with a winding-up petition over unpaid wages.[52]
On 25 July 2019, Lowe joined Nuneaton Borough in the Southern League Premier Division Central.[53] He was released by the "Boro" after just two months however, on 22 September.[54] Two days after leaving Liberty Way, he signed with National League North side Bradford (Park Avenue).[55] He served the club as captain and saw an upturn in form under new manager Mark Bower, before he rejoined Kidderminster Harriers for a third spell on 4 January 2020.[56] He scored one goal in nine appearances for the Harriers in the 2019–20 season, which was permanently suspended on 26 March due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, with Kidderminster in 16th-place.[57] In May 2020, he agreed a new contract to keep him at Kidderminster.[58] He made 16 appearances in the 2020–21 season, which was also curtailed early due to the ongoing pandemic.[39][59] He made 30 appearances during the 2021–22 campaign, including playing in the play-off quarter-final defeat to Boston United.[39][60] Following the conclusion of the season, Lowe announced his intention to move to playing part-time, alongside a career in teaching.[61]
On 9 June 2022, he signed for Southern League Premier Division Central side Rushall Olympic, with manager, Liam McDonald, hailing it as a "massive signing".[62] On 29 September 2022, Lowe moved to league rivals Hednesford Town.[63] He played seventeen games for Hednesford in the first half of the 2022–23 season, before leaving the club in February 2023 after proving unable to recovery from an injury picked up towards the end of 2022.[64][65]
Style of play
Lowe is renowned for his clean play.[66] In the first 167 appearances of his career the defender received just one yellow card – given to him on 17 March 2006 whilst with Swansea. However, he picked up two further bookings in 2010–11.[67]
Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
