Owen the impact sub will fail to convince Capello
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It is bad news for former Liverpool striker Michael Owen that United tend to opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation
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Fabio Capello will not be revising his World Cup plans quite yet as a result of Michael Owen's unexpected transfer from Newcastle to Manchester United on Friday. The England manager picked 43 players at some stage last season but Owen was not among them, and his one appearance under the new regime was an ineffective 45 minutes in defeat by France 16 months ago.
It is difficult to pinpoint a period in the recent past when 29-year-old Owen was a force at international level. There have been occasional accomplished performances, but the most recent, when scoring twice to win a European Championship qualifying game at home to Russia, was back in September 2007. It could not obliterate the memory of a dreadful 2006 World Cup, in which Owen played poorly and then, when united with Wayne Rooney for the first time, lasted one minute against Sweden before twisting his knee.
Being reunited with Rooney at club level may appear to offer benefits for England, but that has never been a particularly successful partnership either, each of them faring better with some aerial or physical power alongside Peter Crouch or Emile Heskey.
Meanwhile, football has moved on, England and most leading clubs, including United, tend to opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation or a close variation thereof. That is bad news too for Owen, who has not proved that he can operate effectively as a lone striker. Nor has Rooney, whose frustration tends to get the better of him when left on his own, but he fits neatly with Steven Gerrard as a pair just behind the front man. For Capello, that leading man is currently Heskey or Crouch, while Jermain Defoe and Carlton Cole come off the substitutes' bench.
What of United? With Carlos Tevez following Cristiano Ronaldo out of the door, it is by no means certain that Sir Alex Ferguson will lose all interest in signing another striker this summer. Even if he sticks with what he has, however, Owen's most likely role is that of impact substitute. The manager believes that Dimitar Berbatov has more to offer than was regularly evident last season and that he will flourish in the new campaign. He needs opportunities to prove it, ideally with Rooney pushed up alongside him rather than hugging the touchline.
"I want to play in the position where I think I'm best," Rooney said last week. "A lot of people think I'm best as a centre-forward." The clear implication is that he is among them. The point, as it relates to Owen, however, is that there are likely to be fewer vacancies than he might hope in the matches that really matter.
Others are already making extravagant claims on his behalf, like another former Liverpool striker Ian Rush, who dismissed his successor's continuing injuries with the suggestion that "he always comes back stronger and better". The evidence that Owen must now dispel on a huge stage is that, on the contrary and not surprisingly, he comes back weaker and worse.
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Comments
MUFC will be better balanced next season without Ronaldo, certainly better without Tevez: an average player with an exceptional manager/owner in Kia Joorabchian - Max Cliffoed with dark hair.
Yes Michael Owen impact substitue. Tony Cascarino is sceptical of the deal claiming he thinks: "I would be surprised if he plays more than 25 games." Absolutely, looking at the stats for Tevez and Owen, Owen comes out better. Hopefully he will not moan so much. Yes Eastlands is the place for Tevez - whingers r' us
Critically he had not been a regular starter at West Ham earlier when things went wrong, and he rose to the challenges.
ManU were never goimg to rely on him in the same way, his wish to be there with Rooney & co, to gain recognition, was thwarted, so it is prob best he has gone.
Rooney will have no doubt still play consistently well again next season. But people expect Berbatov to flourish next season? Tevez has changed clubs 3 times with Corinthians, West Ham and Man Utd and 3 times he started flourished in just 1 season. Berbatov will likely be a flop this time without help from Tev.
Owen stats is better? You gotta be kidding me! Tev scored 7 goals in last 10 games with West Ham while Owen scored 0 goal in last 12 games with Newcastle. Tev masterminded the miraculous comeback of West Ham relegation survival, while Owen was hopeless in helping Newcastle. Tev helped West Ham to win 7 out of last 10 games in that relegation battle, while Owen played and Newcastle only won 1 out of 12 games seeing that they only needed to win 2 games out of 12 to survive.
Tev wasn't happy in 2008/2009 season, without peace of mind and be treated badly by Man Utd and Fergie's favoritism, thus his stats were affected but his talent and form are with him all the time. He will soar again with a new club and new manager. If he joins Man City, Mark Hughes will understand him as "Sparky" has the similar dilemma like Tev be4 when he left Man Utd for more regular play because Cantona got his extension. Mark Hughes was a player once and he knows how to unleash Tev simply by trusting him, unlike Fergie who play favoritism over "Cantona-like-but-not-quite" Berbatov and Rooney. Soon Tev will become one of the greatest footballer in history. While Owen has already passed his prime time, just that some English love to hype him up, simply because he is English.
I'm not a great fan of Fergie, I've always thought he should have gone in 2002. Personally I believe Carlos Queiroz is responsible for most of the current time, will he return after the World Cup, next year? Probably not, given Portugal are not very impressive.
Oh by the way the stats for last season on Owen and Tevez
description________________Owen_________
appearances_______________28____________
starts______________________21__________
minutes____________________1894_________
goals_______________________8___________
percentage_shots_on_goal___61___________
The clincher for me is Tevez statement that he should have been on the park for all of the Champions League Final. It was a disastrous game for MUFC, with the creaking midfield badly exposed. However, after Vidic I rate Tevez as the biggest waste of space, when he did appear for all of the 2nd half. It was like watching a little kid in the park, chasing the ball around as the big kids pass the ball just out of reach. I concede Berbatov should have put them back in it with his missed header (after about 75 mins).
By the way, how often does Tevez start for Argentina? Certainly not every match when fit. The argies don't have an axe to grind in this debate.
At least Kia is a good friend to Tev who never treated him badly besides owning his right, unlike Fergie and Man Utd.
About the stats, you forgot to figure in Tev's state of mind last season. No top footballer can play to his best without peace of mind (no contract and has to worry about his unknown future with his beloved club), and Fergie and Man Utd tried to do some "funny things" to lower his value (you can call them cheapskate)i.e. by using him as sub mostly, using him to "babysit" the youngsters in small games etc thus affect his true performance, and in turn successfully gave most people like you the impression that Tev was not good enough for his value or even for Man Utd. It was like one of Fergie's tricks and mind games, but this time it played to the fans and public's head. But other big clubs like Man City and Chelsea they are as shrewd, can't be fooled easily.
Owen was probably the same with his injury suffer but not as bad as Tev's situation, as Owen probably knew he was no longer that good anymore seeing that he has flopped for 4 years with Newcastle. A player who flopped that long a period won't suddenly "surprise" you and give you good performance without good reasons. Stats never tell you all these, why rely on them solely?
Oh by the way, Tev scored 19 goals in total in 2007/2008 season, while he wasn't even fully fit during that time due to exhausted body playing way too much game non-stop, thus not even at his best (But still key enough to help Man Utd win the Double). Imagine how many goals he could score if he is fully fit and plays to his best and most importantly, play regularly, thus my prediction of 25 goals next season. Despite an unhappy 2008/2009 season he scored in total 15 goals, only got to play more regularly after the FA-Cup Semi Final defeat, remember that. While Owen scored 10 goals in total, and he always more a regular despite some injury. And he was still a misery performer with 0 goal in the last 12 games and couldn't help Newcastle to win just 2 out of 12 games to survive when they needed him very much. That tells you enough story.
I can understand why Tev loves to chase around the ball. Some people think he is stupid, headless chicken or some kind but in fact he is not. He knows, in order for him to play well and show his talent, he got to have the ball thus the possession, especially when the feeding from midfield was evidently so poor sometimes. He just can't stand there like some typical striker for example Torres to simply wait for the ball to come to him, not his style. Chasing the ball gives him not only... well, the ball but also space somewhere between the front striker (out-and-out) and the midfield. This is the area usually best to unleash his talent and magic, thus sometimes he played exceptionally well because of that. Most people never care to realize that.
About start for Argentina, he is always the first choice among Messi and Aguero, even before Maradona's reign, and he is even the more experienced one than the two. Changing a new club will further enhance his start, nothing to worry here, what for even mentioning? Remember, Maradona once asked him to leave Man Utd as well. I even have a funny feeling that Argentina will surprise everyone by crushing the in-form Brazil when they meet again soon.
Just wait and see.
owen = 201/418 = 0.48
torres = 164/368 = 0.44
drogba = 142/337 = 0.42
ronaldo = 110/287 = 0.38
rooney = 104/276 = 0.38
Benzema = 39/136 = 0.36
Owen will do better, with a midfield than without one, unless his knacked again.
Tevez is better suited to a team where a trier is needed. Pity.