HAVING watched a very good interview with Michael Owen on BBC’s Football Focus I did soften my stance on Mr Owen.
The change in my view point is not what you could call a seismic shift.
To clear up any confusion, Owen hasn’t retired yet, he will retire at the end of the season.
Those who don’t follow football, and even those who do, could be forgiven for thinking he retired years ago.
In my opinion it’s all very funny. Owen is retiring and every media outlet is talking about how great he once was. Yet, all I can see is the bloke who ran away from Liverpool on the cheap. Then he took a great deal of money from Newcastle FC and gave back very little. Finally, he did the unforgivable and destroyed his own legendary status when he joined Man United.
Having lost McManaman at the end of his contract for no transfer fee Liverpool FC were not prepared to risk the same outcome with Owen. When Owen left for Real Madrid he was in the last year of his contract and even back in 2004, £8 million was a joke for a striker of Owen’s calibre.
When he joined Newcastle United it was because they outbid LFC. Owen either took the cash or wasn’t able/prepared to stand up to Real Madrid with a firm ‘no thank you, I’d prefer to go to Liverpool’.
I see only one retiring LFC hero this summer and that’s Jamie Carragher, do you see two?
I remember watching BBC’s Blue Peter with the spotlight on a very young Michael Owen; he must have only have been 14 years old. He was destined for the top and with Liverpool FC and he got to the top. Liverpool showed faith and gave the 17 year old the platform to be the best and he took it with both hands.
I remember Owen stealing the FA Cup final for us in 2001. He ruled the world back then. His pace and lethal finishing with the then ‘resolute’ defence consisting of players like Stephane-hands-like-feet-so –it’s-not-a-handball-honest-ref-Henchoz made us the smash and grab heroes.
Over time I’ve seen a boy who said ‘I’m a footballer not a tart’ (when it came to selling out) grow up to become that tart with the usual adverts and no loyalty to his boyhood club.
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Owen looks at the number of games he played for us when young and blames that for his injury-hit career. Maybe he’s right but his injuries took hold when he rushed back for England, not Liverpool FC. Owen compared his own career with that of Ryan Giggs. In my opinion Ryan Giggs has always treated Wales’s games as his opportunity to rest and recover – not an opportunity to risk his well being.
Owen could possibly have played at the top level longer if he’d stayed at Liverpool. In my opinion he would have got more ‘love’ at LFC than anywhere else and maybe that would have helped him heal or avoid those injuries; all without the stress of having to prove yourself and earning ‘love’ from a new club, new fans, new managers. Being well established at Liverpool, he may have not felt the pressure to play for England and not ruptured his ACL.
Today many people have ‘forgiven’ McManaman – I have. Fans accept players move for free at the end of their contracts. But most importantly Macca didn’t play for Man United.
They say Michael lost his pace, couldn’t adapt. He continued into the twilight of his career as a shadow of his former self so is not remembered with as much affection. Fowler carried on way beyond his best but he’s remembered with all the affection any ex-Liverpool player could want. Owen made the error of forgetting loyalty; he did the ‘best’ for himself, well that’s what he thought he was doing, but ended up disloyal and disowned. I don’t think he really did the best for himself once he left LFC in the long run.
No one knows what an alternative future for Michael Owen would have looked like had he stayed at LFC. Maybe he would have helped us win the 2005 Champions league final, maybe he would have been happier, less stressed, rested when required by the highly player-condition conscious, Rafael Benitez, and as a result not played for England unless 100% fit. Maybe he would have been the difference between LFC finishing second in 2008-9, losing the 2007 Champions League final, but maybe he would have had the same injuries and LFC would have won less.
Torres and Owen have both left LFC under a cloud. Both joined rival clubs when they could have been remembered as clear cut heroes and both careers took a nose dive once they left. Torres is unlikely to ever feel at home in Chelsea but may go on to do well when (not if) he moves on. Owen should have known better; after all he grew up here and should have felt loyalty – he wasn’t in a foreign country with a foreign club. I don’t have a problem with the Spanish international who played for Liverpool FC and now plays for Chelsea FC. In the same way, should Suarez one day move on for a sizable sum, I shall wish him well, off the pitch.
Owen could have joined a number of clubs when he plucked for Manchester United. He hardly played for Manchester United and in my opinion he didn’t actually ‘earn’ any of the trophies he collected. He sold some shirts for them and he sat on the treatment table while he soiled his reputation in the eyes of LFC fans like me.
What I can be sure of is that I agree with a short text I received on the subject:
‘Kind of a sad end to such a gloriously promising career’.
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That last sentence is my thought on the subject. A lot of what ifs and probably the reason hes sounding so bitter.
Hopefully we don’t sign any players who he is agent for, letting him fleece our club of more money. !!
On the plus side he can probably get a good sponsorship deal with BUPA. Owen clealy wasnt in it for the aclaim from the fans. If he did he wouldnt have gone to Utd. I was surprised when he rocked up there as all the options at the time seemed like bottom of premiership clubs. Clearly a move all about the money on both sides. Owen stopped being a footballer years ago. Hes a good brand now though
I watched the FF interview where he contradicted himself. When referring to his time at LFC he claimed he played too much too young. Then he pointed out when at NUFC he was injured challenging a keeper while trying to score for NUFC. He then pointed out he returned for one game before heading off to the WC where he was injured again! If he played too much when young why didn’t he miss the WC and concentrate on the forthcoming season? Why? Cos MO thinks of himself only.
Short termism at its worst from MO! He was worried about his money n brand, and ego, not loyalty to NU or even his long term career!
He’s a damaged brand. Never accepted as a real Man U player because of Liverpool connections. Not considered a ‘real’ Liverpool legend (e.g. Sami H, Cara, Gerard and so on) because he played for Man U. Failure at Stoke, Newcastle and largly Man U. The neutrals have short memories and he will not be remembered well by them. A seriously damaged brand.
Owen is the definition of what could have been??? he should be a liverpool legend,but he destroyed that when he joined united.as you said we forgave macca,we could have done the same for him if he didn’t join mancs.and he still hasn’t apologised,all he talks about is how he could have joined united as a kid