Owen must forever rue the day he quit Liverpool
Last week it was announced that Michael Owen has been ruled out for the rest of the season and the World Cup because of a hamstring injury sustained in the Carling Cup final against Aston Villa. This latest setback for Owen raises the question: should his career be regarded as a flop considering the potential and hype surrounding the United striker when he burst onto the international scene as an 18 year old, scoring that goal against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup. And when did Owen’s decline begin: was it the moment he left Liverpool and joined the Galacticos at Real Madrid?
Owen scored 158 goals in 297 games in 8 years at Anfield, and had “untouchable” status on Merseyside, idolised by the fans and a riot would ensue if he was sold, much like the status Steven Gerrard enjoys now. He was England’s star striker, becoming the youngest player to score for his country and setting a record of scoring in four major tournaments for England. Owen was also prolific for Liverpool, he was the top scorer each season for Liverpool when he was at the club and won the European Footballer of the Year Award in 2001.
But injuries and the sacking of Gerard Houllier saw Owen sold to Real Madrid for £8 million in 2004. The striker did well in Spain, scoring 13 goals in La Liga in his sole season with the club, but he was mostly on the bench and unable to secure regular first-team football. A disastrous spell at Newcastle followed, before Sir Alex Ferguson snapped up the former England international last summer on a free transfer.
The main factor which has caused Owen’s downfall are the constant injuries. There was the hamstring injury that dogged his later years at Liverpool, the broken metatarsal bone in his foot at Newcastle, and the anterior cruciate ligament injury he sustained for England at the 2006 World Cup, which caused Owen to miss a whole year through injury. These injuries have robbed Owen of his blistering pace that he possessed in his youth, which was his main weapon in his first few years for Liverpool in England. Owen is too small to be a target man and has had to rely on his poaching instincts to score, which was evident in his goal against Villa in the Carling Cup Final.
I will give Owen credit that he has done well at United this season, considering there wasn’t much expectations on him to begin with and he arrived on a free transfer. This season, Owen has scored 9 goals for United, starting 11 games and making 20 appearances as a substitute. There was the injury time goal that won the Manchester derby and the hat-trick in the Champions League against Wolfsburg, that justifies bringing Owen to Old Trafford in itself.
Sir Alex has said that Owen still has a future at Old Trafford despite this latest injury, and the striker probably wasn’t going to make Fabio Capello’s England squad for the World Cup anyway, having been in the international wilderness for the last couple of years. Also, Owen has never really developed a good chemistry with Wayne Rooney for England, always underperforming on the major occasions in recent times.
But the fact that Owen is only 30 means that he should still be at his peak as a world-class striker, instead he has struggled to excel for the last few years. I believe that Owen has failed to live up to all the hype and the promise heaped on him after the World Cup in 1998. His career nosedived after he left Liverpool and the constant injuries robbed him of his best asset: his pace, which contributed to his steep decline.
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So let me get this straight:
“Injuries saw Owen sold to Real Madrid” and “constant injuries robbed him of his best asset: his pace, which contributed to his steep decline” and somehow what he did wrong was to leave Liverpool and he must “must forever rue the day he quit Liverpool “???
Logic
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Liverpool saw the best of owen.
Owens best asset was and is not his pace
its his finishing. The majority of his goals were in the penalty area and typical poacher goals.
Maybe if he had been at Liverpool this season we might not be were we are now.
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I don’t get it, right now his problems are INJURIES not lack of success(which Liverpool haven’t really had any of bar the CL in 2005), so are you saying if he’s stayed on in Liverpool, some magical healing fairy that resides in Merseyside would have somehow made him less injury prone?
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Healing fairy (Phil Thompson or Sammy Lee)
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everytime he got injured iw ill be so so happy! that’s a life as a traitor! i hope he get injured all the time and retire as soon as possible! GOD will punished him as a traitor like JUDAS!
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Real Madrid got the best out of Michael Owen. 13 goals out of a total of 35 games and an £8m profit at the end of the season was great business for the club.
Even without his pace he’s a great asset,I agree that the injuries are a problem though. His last contribution of the season was a cup final goal at Wembley so that’s not a bad input.
United will definitely keep him on for next season. Even if he’s only fit for half the games next season he’ll still be better than Berbatov.
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Sai what’s the matter with you? Does another man’s injury fill you with happiness? You are a pathetic person, I hope you get an injury that cripples you for life
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As a Red I truly believe that Owen must regret not staying and giving Newcastle another season. With Newcastle being on the verge of promotion he would grown into real hero for the Newcastle fans, possibly ignighting his England career and retaining the little respect he had from Liverpool fans. Owen advisors are guilty of being shortsighted and greedy. Owen being guilty of being a coward and naieve.
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