A Very Fair Assessment Of Owen

[Crumpy Gunt]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1164499/ASH-WEDNESDAY-Magnificent-Michael-retire-Ordinary-Owen-free-transfer-flight-fancy.html

These are the last words Michael Owen spoke as an England player: 'In terms of what he (Fabio Capello) is trying to do, you had better ask him. There are enough reasons to want to win for your country other than a new manager, but it is certainly another ingredient.'

 

That was inside the Stade de France, shortly after a clearly irritated Owen came off the substitute's bench, when he replaced Wayne Rooney at half-time, in a half-baked friendly against the French.

 

In 45 minutes he had made Zero Impact.

 

Tomorrow, March 26, marks the first anniversary of his 89th and perhaps last appearance for England, a full calendar year since this 28-year-old striker was abandoned by Fabio Capello following a 1-0 friendly defeat.

 

At first he was squeezed out of squads by players with a full Barclays Premier League season under their belts: Jermain Defoe, Alan Smith, Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Peter Crouch Emile Heskey.

 

Fair enough.

 

Now he is simply not under consideration. Not even ahead of Carlton Cole as England prepare for a friendly against Slovakia at Wembley on Saturday and a World Cup qualifier against Ukraine the following Wednesday.

 

It is heading the same way with his club side Newcastle, where the evidence suggests that Owen is no longer a premium brand, no longer capable of scoring the goals that once helped Liverpool to win five trophies in a remarkable 12 month spell under Gerard Houllier.

 

He was dropped from the Newcastle team to play Arsenal at St James' Park last Saturday, humiliated by coaches Chris Hughton and Colin Calderwood as the team predictably slipped into the relegation zone.

 

The word is that legacy injuries to Owen's neck and to his back means that he cannot run properly, certainly not at full capacity or in full flight.

 

He will never be the same player. Those darting runs, the days when he could skip past Jose Chamot and Roberto Ayala at the World Cup in 1998 are a thing of the past.

 

He knows that. So does Capello.

 

His popularity with his team-mates is also on the wane. There has been a cooling off in recent weeks, with some of Newcastle's players distancing themselves from a player who could still be key to their survival hopes.

 

In the four years he has spent earning £125,000 a week at St James's Park he has never quite embraced the Geordie Nation, despite the remarkable reception at St James' Park when he signed from Real Madrid for £16m in 2005.

 

Instead he flies into the training ground most days in his helicopter direct from his Manor House racing stables in Cheshire, back at home before his wife Louise is even back from the gallops.

 

That yard is his passion, with millions of pounds invested in the thoroughbreds at the 160 acre farm that Owen hopes will one day compete with the great owners such as JP McManus and John Magnier.

 

His reluctance to set up home in the north-east has been a source of frustration to his team-mates for some time, coming to a head when Owen returned to the Newcastle team from his latest injury for the 1-1 draw at Hull on March 14.

 

Instead of riding the team bus back to Newcastle with his team-mates, Owen returned to Cheshire with Nicky Butt.

 

There are mutterings of discontent among the players that the striker, once the most sought-after forward in world football, can come and go as he pleases, a free-spirit at a club in freefall.

 

Despite captaining Newcastle in the past, he has little affinity with the area or its people, never buying into the Toon culture that served others, such as Kevin Keegan, so well in the past.

 

Instead he will leave on a free transfer this summer, attempting to persuade Manchester City that his body can withstand 38 games in the Premier League and another ten or twenty or more in the Europa League, FA Cup and Carling Cup.

 

Signs are that City are not interested, despite the best efforts of his agent to procure a move to an up-an-coming club. His supporters still champion his cause and they have every rightl to after an international career that has included 40 goals in 89 appearances.

 

He very nearly rescued England in the Euro 2008 qualifiers when he scored goals in Tallinn against Estonia (3-0), Israel at Wembley (3-0) and Russia (3-0).

 

Sadly, he missed the 3-2 defeat at Wembley against Croatia in November 2007 through injury (again), something that a succession of England coaches have become increasingly frustrated with since he made his debut against Chile in 1998.

 

Between the ages of 17 and 25, when he returned from an aborted spell at Real Madrid, he played at the very highest level.

 

Owen can look back on those eight years with immense pride, eight years at the very pinnacle of a demanding sport. It is more than most.

 

He joined the greats in 2001 when he won the prestigious Ballon D'Or, becoming the European footballer of the year, engraving his name on to a trophy that also includes Marco van Basten, Roberto Baggio and Zinedine Zidane, the best of all.

 

That elite group of players all went out at the top of their profession.

 

Sadly for Owen he will never have that choice, no matter which new manager he has to impress.

 

Never was interested in engaging the locals.

[Dinho lad]

And no doubt he blames his fading career on joining NUFC.

[Guest Ebolarama]

And no doubt he blames his fading career on joining NUFC.

 

I would.

[LoveItIfWeBeatU]

Instead he flies into the training ground most days in his helicopter

Not literally he doesn't. I think I'd notice a helicopter landing at the training ground as I live near it.

 

I'm sure I read he owns a home near Bolam lake and his kids go to school locally.

[Decky]

And no doubt he blames his fading career on joining NUFC.

 

Why wouldnt he? Liverpool to Real Madrid to a club that since he has been here has been a complete farce. I seriously doubt Big Sam and Kinnear's training is doing him the world of good either.

[Doug]

Well written by Neil Ashton of the Mail.

Does that mean fair though.

The agenda of the piece is determined to tell us that he does not belong ,that he is now crap and that the coaches don't care for him.

Just think about  statements like "his popularity with his teammates is on the wane" (source?) "humiliated by the coaches" (hes not match fit yet)

"will never be the same player".(we know how effective he now is playing from deep behind the front two when match fit)

Ashton is just another hack on a mission to stick the knife in albeit eloquently.

Ive said it before and i,ll say it again dont trust the bastards.

We have to hope he will play a part before the season is out he is not match fit yet regardless of how Ashton dresses up his claims.

[Frazzle]

Owen looked pretty happy when Keegan was in charge and looked like a good teammate (even if he will never be a good captain) and to be fair most players would grow disillusioned with the state of the club, especially after his early career success.

[Kanj]

Don't you think he has to partially think that with his quality, if he holds himself into that regard, that he is that a good player to be able to turn it around?  If I was him, I'd be kicking myself partially - knowing that had I not had such "horrible luck" with injuries, that I would be a big enough prescence and player to have the club performing differnetly.

 

Not saying he should blame himself, but a player of his apparent "stature" and "class" would have to know that had he not had such a terrible time with injuries, he would have have the club playing better, he would be banging in 20 goals and would be a no-brainer for England.

 

Facts are facts - hes been plagued with injuries, when he gets in the team and has a strong run, he gets goals we start looking better, he gets hurt, he comes back, forced into the team and we stagger b/c he is completely out of the flow of the team. He works himself back in finally, starts scoring again and BAM, hurt again.

[Guest neesy111]

he's finished as a premiership footballer imo, he's had too many injuries and can't adapt his game

 

he'll be lucky to be earning 50k a week next season, not the 125k he's on here

[mrmojorisin75]

hope he rots

 

EDIT: classic short sighted footballer....had he not looked at the next short term move when at liverpool & real madrid (i.e move abroad then rush from real to make the WC squad) he'd have broken the english goals record comfortably

 

in short he's blown it all through his own poor decisions, imo

[Yorkie]

he's finished as a premiership footballer imo, he's had too many injuries and can't adapt his game

 

he'll be lucky to be earning 50k a week next season, not the 125k he's on here

 

Can you please justify that? He adapted his game pretty fucking well last season, wouldn't you agree?

[GM]

Even if it is biased and based more on speculation and supposition than hard empirical evidence, I suspect the article will resonate with more fans than not. Won't be long before the logical extension of this line of thinking makes itself felt, and Owen becomes a scapegoat for all our ills, post-relegation - a totem of the once great club's hubris and subsequent downfall.

[Teasy]

I wouldn't say its fair at all, like most articles from hacks today it takes events and facts and twists them to fit an agenda.  There are elements of truth there but a hell of a lot of nonsense as well.

[Jayson]

Completely ridiculous article.

 

Owen always had a lot more to his game than purely pace. Im pretty sure there was more to his game to be voted the best in europe than simply running around a whole lot.

Perhaps there are other abilities that come into it. Like .......i dont know.... being able to read a game, his reaction speed, making good runs, good shooting ability etc

 

The only time hes been given any space to do anything for us was under Keegan where he was dropped behind the front to which made him harder to mark = more space = he scored goals.

 

Our lot cannot pass through midfield.......atall.....they lump long balls up to his head.....the guy is 5'8 ffs.....a 6'4 defender just stands on his heels all game and ppl wonder why he doesnt come into it.

 

This whole "he's lost it" stuff is bs. Look at his finishing in both west ham games, v portsmouth, v stoke. No one else in our team has finished like that all season bar Martins goal v Aston Villa.

 

His main issue is obviously being fit.....but once again.....we're Newcastle. If any club isnt going to be able to solve his physical fitness issues its us....i see no proof that he's done now atall.

 

 

 

[mrmojorisin75]

only interesting bit for me was the neck & back injuries, if true he's fucked

 

owen could stand doing nothing all game in a decent team and he'd score more often than not, unless he couldn't actually walk, simply down to his instinct

 

and this is from someone who hates him fiercely

 

[madras]

only interesting bit for me was the neck & back injuries, if true he's f***ed

 

owen could stand doing nothing all game in a decent team and he'd score more often than not, unless he couldn't actually walk, simply down to his instinct

 

and this is from someone who hates him fiercely

 

can't understand  the hate ?

 

he's here for exactly the same reason as the rest in that we were the best available option at the time.

[mrmojorisin75]

only interesting bit for me was the neck & back injuries, if true he's f***ed

 

owen could stand doing nothing all game in a decent team and he'd score more often than not, unless he couldn't actually walk, simply down to his instinct

 

and this is from someone who hates him fiercely

 

can't understand  the hate ?

 

he's here for exactly the same reason as the rest in that we were the best available option at the time.

 

oh, it's cause he's a massive part in our current predicament, in every sense

 

never wanted to be here & would have been gone already given a sniff of a chance

[madras]

only interesting bit for me was the neck & back injuries, if true he's f***ed

 

owen could stand doing nothing all game in a decent team and he'd score more often than not, unless he couldn't actually walk, simply down to his instinct

 

and this is from someone who hates him fiercely

 

can't understand  the hate ?

 

he's here for exactly the same reason as the rest in that we were the best available option at the time.

 

oh, it's cause he's a massive part in our current predicament, in every sense

 

never wanted to be here & would have been gone already given a sniff of a chance

same goes for the vast majority of the squad

[mrmojorisin75]

only interesting bit for me was the neck & back injuries, if true he's f***ed

 

owen could stand doing nothing all game in a decent team and he'd score more often than not, unless he couldn't actually walk, simply down to his instinct

 

and this is from someone who hates him fiercely

 

can't understand  the hate ?

 

he's here for exactly the same reason as the rest in that we were the best available option at the time.

 

oh, it's cause he's a massive part in our current predicament, in every sense

 

never wanted to be here & would have been gone already given a sniff of a chance

same goes for the vast majority of the squad

 

no, it doesn't due to the size of the fee & wages vs return on said investment

 

but i see what you're saying

 

any decent human being would have signed a contract extension with us given what he's provided in terms of value...he hasn't, says it all

 

hope he rots

[Cronky]

I don't know how true the stuff is about his effect on team morale, but that's long been a worry of mine. He gets paid far more than the rest, doesn't play much, won't sign a new contract and clearly would rather be elsewhere, and yet somehow he's the club captain. His team-mates are hardly likely to be looking up to him in that situation.

 

I don't particularly blame Owen, and I find the anger directed at him a bit misguided. We shouldn't have signed a reluctant player and definitely shouldn't have made him captain just to encourage him to stay.

[Jayson]

Should never have been made captain thats true. Clearly either Beye or Barton would be doing a far better job.

[Kimbo]

Barton for captain. A man that all the players can look up to and respect.  

[Jayson]

A guy that would drive them on & actually speaks his mind instead of staying quiet all game. He clearly has the passion to do it & a determination to win. If you havent seen that you're blind. 

[Kimbo]

A guy that would drive them on & actually speaks his mind instead of staying quiet all game. He clearly has the passion to do it & a determination to win. If you havent seen that you're blind. 

 

I've seen some scummy angry charv that commands as much respect as a traffic warden. If you haven't see that then you're the blind one. Plus there's the fact that he never plays, which makes him being captain a nonestarter.

[Ronaldo]

passion my prick