Gareth Owen

Stoke City

Born and raised in Cheadle, Staffordshire (just outside Stoke-on-Trent), Owen attended Painsley High School in his youth. He was in the same school year as future Port Vale teammate Adam Yates. Owen began his career as a trainee with his local club, Stoke City, turning professional in August 2001. However, in March 2002, he broke his leg in a youth team match against Leeds United; this meant two ankle operations which cost Owen 15 months out of action. He made his senior debut in a First Division clash with Wigan Athletic on 14 October 2003; he replaced Clint Hill on the 80-minute mark, as Stoke lost 2–1 at the JJB Stadium thanks to two Geoff Horsfield goals. Four days later, he made a cameo against Ipswich Town. To gain first-team experience, he spent the second half of the 2003–04 season on loan at Second Division side Oldham Athletic. He scored his first senior goal at Boundary Park in a 4–1 win over Plymouth Argyle on 17 April. Upon his return to the Potteries, he won his home debut at the Britannia Stadium; he played the full ninety minutes in what was a 4–1 win over West Bromwich Albion. At the start of the 2004–05 season he was loaned out to League One club Torquay United, where he played six games. After returning from Plainmoor, he played two further games for Stoke, making substitute appearances in 1–0 wins over Coventry City and Millwall.

Oldham Athletic

He returned to Oldham on loan in March 2005, playing nine times until the end of…

Owen picked up two Wales under-19s caps, both easy victories over the Faroe Islands under-19s. The first was a 4–1 win on 7 August 2001, the second was an 8–2 victory two days later.

Having rejected playing offers from numerous clubs, Owen retired as a player and began working as the under-12 coach at the Stoke City Academy in 2013. Owen was promoted to assistant manager of Stoke City U18s for the 2018–19 season. He was promoted again to the role of academy director in April 2019, following the departure of Gareth Jennings to FIFA. In July 2023, Owen announced he will leave Stoke in September 2023, however, he later reversed his decision. In February 2025, Owen was appointed to a new position at Stoke, taking on the role of academy technical director. Owen left his position at Stoke in December 2025.

Although from Staffordshire (where he played county cricket as a youngster), he supports Chelsea, thanks to his father. With a brother in the Armed Forces, Owen ran in the Stoke-on-Trent 2010K run, a marathon to celebrate the city's centenary, to raise money for Help for Heroes. He managed to raise over £1,000. In June 2009, he started a course to earn his UEFA Level Two coaching badge. A few months later he began a sports science degree course at Manchester Metropolitan University, to get into teaching or coaching. In 2012, he graduated from Staffordshire University with a First Class degree in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting. He began writing weekly columns on Port Vale for The Sentinel for the 2011–12 season. In November 2011, he was voted onto the PFA's management committee.