During this barren couple of weeks the story of Michael Owen retiring at the end of the season has caught my eye. I watched him interviewed on Football Focus and felt myself experiencing a mixture of emotions - I couldn't decide if I liked him or not - if I felt sorry for him or not - and if he deserved my sympathy or not. Through the years I had never taken the time to formulate any real feelings about him other than he had been an incredibly talented and injury stricken player who had fallen from grace in the footballing community and most importantly, was easy on the eyes! I had been fortunate enough to see him play in a Liverpool shirt on a rare visit to Craven Cottage back in the day and remember being quite moved by his physicality!!So much has been said about the struggling striker and much of it has been criticism.... Criticism for his seemingly selfish, cold, detached and ruthless attitude to football - for his ability to treat football as a 'job' as opposed to a lifestyle - for never showing true passion for his club and often appearing to put Country over Club by cynically and prematurely finding fitness just in time for England campaigns resulting in more long term injury and club absence. He has never been the badge kissing type. You could argue that at least he wasn't being fake. Yes there are some club die-hards in the footballing world like JT and Gerrard but there are also the likes of Van-Persie, who swapped an eight year old Arsenal shirt for a Manchester United one with the ease of a playground Pokemon swap.
In his glory days, Owen scored 158 goals in 297 appearances for Liverpool. In 2001, after helping Liverpool achieve the treble, he was the recipient of the Ballon d'Or making him Europe's player of the year. The last English player to have won the prize was Kevin Keegan, back in 1978 and 1979 - No English footballer has been awarded the prize since Owen. During the course of 89 England caps he scored 40 goals and he became the only player ever to have scored in four major tournaments for England. Looking back at his achievements it is difficult to understand why Owen is treated more like a deserting soldier than a sporting hero.Even commentators have stooped low enough to disregard his achievements by calling him a 'one trick pony' and attributing all his talent to his amazing pace, which when lost through injury cost him his career. Owen himself has accused Liverpool of not looking out for him as a youngster and compromising his health by overplaying him. Perhaps fans find such open hostility towards their club too much to bear on top of the player's arrogant and aloof demeanor whilst sporting the Liverpool shirt and obviously preferring the England shirt. It has been suggested Owen's major career goal was to eclipse Bobby Charlton's international goal scoring record of 49.
Michael Owen's time at Newcastle isn't fondly remembered by many Magpies either. Newcastle United fans felt short changed by the £16 million pound striker during his four years at the club. One positive I found about Owen's time at Newcastle was a quote from Kevin Keegan which contradicts the views that Owen's only talent was his pace. As England coach Keegan had seemed to prefer Andy Cole up front but at Newcastle he turned Owen into an attacking midfielder with considerable success. Compensating for the striker's loss of pace, Keegan cleverly utilised Owen's brain and undervalued technical abilities."Michael can keep the ball all day, sees a pass and knows when to release it, he'll score lots of goals from deep and, if he can stay fit, he'll play on in midfield until 36 or 37," he said. "I didn't realise what a good footballer Michael was before."
Owen's move to Manchester United, on the back of Newcastle's relegation in 2009 was not only extremely unpopular but also doomed through injury. In his last season at Old Trafford, Owen only made 4 first team appearances. He also found himself on the bench the majority of the time even if he was fit to play. This pattern continued after his move to Stoke City. In a blog on his decision to hang up his boots, Owen said this about his time at Stoke:
"I signed for Stoke with every intention of playing more football than in recent seasons. It hasn't transpired. Yes, I've had a couple of small muscle injuries but it would be wrong to blame my lack of action on fitness. I have been available for a higher percentage of games this season than in my previous two. It just hasn't happened and the simple fact is, it is either the manager's opinion that I am not good enough to get into the team or that I don't fit into the system that we adopt. That is an opinion that I accepted a long time ago and I totally respect."
I am still undecided as to whether Michael Owen has a strategic football mind or his success did just stem form his incredible pace. The proof may lie in his future management potential. The retiring 33 year old striker says he is open to moving into coaching or management.
I find myself far too invested in the unresolved tale of this sporting hero who is possibly more hated than revered. Perhaps it has struck a chord because of the similarities to the on going 'Fernando Torres' dilemma. Liverpool superstar turned laughing stock...
Is Liverpool responsible for what happened to Owen? I can't answer that question but annoyingly find myself needing to use the 'F' word - would things have been different if Alex Ferguson was in charge? It is strange how most quandaries lead back to the age old 'Nature v Nurture' argument. Was Owen born with an injury prone body or was he mismanaged? Does Cristiano Ronaldo owe Fergie a debt of gratitude for his injury free career or was he born a gladiator?All I know is that I am left with an overwhelming sadness when thinking about Michael Owen's career.
"I retire in the knowledge that everybody knows where they were when 'That Goal' nestled into the top corner of the Argentinians' net!"
It really doesn't seem like a fitting end for a footballer who showed so much promise.
I haven't mentioned anything Chelsea for far too long - so congratulations to Lampard, Oscar and Hazard scoring in their International games - I know Oscar only scored in a friendly but it was a great ball which he slipped past Italy's Buffon. Also congratulations to Petr Cech for winning his 100th cap for the Czech Republic in the same season that he played his 400th Chelsea game.
I would like to end by wishing Michael Owen well with his future endeavours, whatever they may be...
No comments:
Post a Comment