and a desire to help his forwards. He broke down between the two." Everton were 3–0 victors, but when Cowan received his runner's up medal from the Duke of York, he remarked that he would come back next year to win. True to Cowan's word, City returned to Wembley the following year. In the 1934 FA Cup Final, Cowan became the first and thus far only Manchester City player to represent the club in three FA Cup finals. He captained City to a 2–1 victory over Portsmouth. As team captain Cowan held primary responsibility for motivating his fellow players and match tactics. This was typical for a captain of his era, as managers of the period were chiefly administrators who had little input into coaching and tactics. Cowan's final season at Maine Road was 1934–35, in which he was ever-present. His final match for the club was a 5–0 defeat of Wolverhampton Wanderers on 4 May 1935. In total he made 407 appearances for Manchester City, scoring 24 goals. As of 2008 he ranks 12th all-time for Manchester City appearances. Bob Donnelly was signed to replace him in the 1935 close season, and Bradford City signed Cowan for a fee of £2,000 in October 1935. At the time the transfer fee was the second highest ever paid by the club. Bradford City Bradford City were struggling in the Second Division at the time of Cowan's signing, having won just one of their first ten games of the 1935–36 season. Cowan made his debut for them on 19 October 1935 in a 2–2 draw with Swindon Town, but it was not until Cowan's third game that Bradford won for the second time that season. Cowan missed just three of the club's remaining fixtures that season, playing 29 times in the league and three in the FA Cup as City finished 12th. The following season, City again struggled. Cowan missed just one of the first 23 games, but after Christmas, he was restricted to just six; and without Cowan, Bradford finished 21st and were relegated to the Third Division (North). Managerial career In 1937, Cowan was appointed player-manager at Mossley. He led the club to the seventh place in the Cheshire League and to the Manchester Challenge Shield title. On the pitch, he played 39 matches and scored one goal. At the end of the season Cowan resigned to join Brighton &