OWEN: WHATEVER I SAY IS TWISTED
SUDDENLY I am being portrayed as a football rebel — someone who wants to take on the world in general and Sam Allardyce in particular.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
I can honestly say, hand on heart, I have never, ever set out to cause a single problem for any of my managers. And I'm sure I've succeeded in that aim.
But over the last few weeks, I have been misrepresented in a way that has made me feel very frustrated and, at times, angry.
It all stemmed from my recent double stomach operation in Germany which enabled me to be fit and ready for action again in eight days.
Now you might have thought that was a cause for celebration, having worked hard to recover in record time.
It was certainly a positive episode as far as I was concerned but it soon became a massive negative with accusations that I had rushed back too soon so I could play in the England games against Estonia and Russia.
The spin was put on it that I was more concerned about playing for my country than my club.
As a result of that people have tried to drive a wedge between myself and Sam Allardyce.
I was even told about one headline which quoted me as saying "Shut It Sam". If you look at my actual comments I did not use the words "shut", or "it" or "Sam".
Someone with a very vivid imagination dreamed that one up.
Let me now try to clarify the situation.
I recognise that my club manager wants me to be fit and available for every game for Newcastle. And, believe it or not, so do I.
What I must also point out, though, is that I am fortunate enough to play for two teams — England and Newcastle.
And as long as I am fit, I will try my hardest to play well and score goals for both.
It was in Sport of the World two weeks ago that I stated quite clearly that my priority after the two operations lay with Newcastle.
I explained that my original comeback target was to play against Spurs, in the game immediately after the international break.
And that anything ahead of that would be a bonus.
In fact, it was Sam Allardyce who first raised the possibility of me being fit for the game against Everton after he had spoken to the surgeon who carried out my operations.
As it turned out, I was fit for that game — albeit as a substitute — but it was never a case of me rushing back for Newcastle just so I could join up with England.
You can imagine how I felt then when I was warming up before the Everton game to hear one Newcastle fan shout at me: "Come on Owen, it's about time you put us before England."
That hurt me almost as much as pushing myself through the pain barrier in the days immediately after my surgery.
No one but me knows what that involved.
And, it seems, no one wants to believe I was doing it for both my club AND my country.
I have missed far too much football in recent seasons to be able to afford to pick and choose which matches I want to play in.
I will repeat: I want to play in EVERY game, whether it is for Newcastle or England.
A footballer's career is short enough as it is without deliberately missing out on big matches.
But sometimes I cannot win. I have had games for England when I haven't done particularly well and suddenly I am labelled a bad player.
Then, if I score a few goals for the national team, as I did against Russia at home and away in Estonia last season, I'm accused of putting my country before my club.
It's a good job I am a fairly level-headed person or it would drive me mad.
But I have been in the game long enough to know how things can just spiral out of control. While I was away with England last week, there were comments about release clauses in my contract, how I needed to prove myself at Newcastle and even my team-mate Joey Barton was dragged into the debate.
He said he wanted to get fit again for Newcastle before considering a recall for England — and that was perceived as an attack on me.
I will ignore all that for now and get on with my job.
I suppose I should be used to all this.
It happened to me before when I was a Liverpool player.
I broke into the England team and did well internationally almost before I had properly established myself at Anfield.
The Reds fans didn't like that because they thought I was only interested in my international career.
But I did manage to turn them around by scoring loads of goals in helping Liverpool to win an unprecedented cup treble in 2001.
For the first time the fans started chanting my name on a regular basis and I was referred to as "Liverpool's Michael Owen" rather than "the England striker Michael Owen".
I guess that is the way to win over public opinion at Newcastle as well.
If I can score the goals that will help them win a trophy or two, that will prove how much I am committed to the club.
I would love to do just that. But at the same time, I want to help England to win something as well.
And I still reckon it is possible to enjoy the best of both of those worlds.
Interview: DAVID HARRISON
