AIN DOWIE, the humble former Northern Ireland striker, is a popular figure in football for several reasons. Not only did he embrace the cruel notion that his looks left plenty to be desired, he also joked about the own-goals he scored with the same gusto he used to describe those he thumped into the opposition’s net. But perhaps his biggest claim to fame is being credited with being the first to utter, while on TV analyst duty, the phrase “bouncebackability” in 2004 and way to describe rebounding from defeat. In 2005, the term – which by then, frankly, was being used ad nauseum – found its way into the Oxford English Dictionary. .
