Owen: I am still good enough at United
-
Sidelined Owen voices frustration
Michael Owen has spoken of his frustration at Manchester United. Owen, 30, missed the final two months of last season with an injury and has been overlooked since returning to fitness. Owen, who has played just 46 minutes this season, said: “You can only do your best, prepare and train well, so you’re ready when the manager calls on you. The most difficult thing is not playing for a couple of weeks, suddenly getting picked and being mentally and physically right to perform. Getting in the team is no easy feat – staying there is harder.”
David McDonnell, Daily Mirror
Sir Alex visited Antonio Valencia in hospital yesterday before the winger underwent surgery on a fracture to his tibia and fibula in his left ankle. The Daily Mail quotes Ecuador's national team doctor Patricio Maldonado saying: "We think he'll be out for five or six months".
Alan Smith suffered a similarly horrific injury in 2006 at Anfield for United. He tells The Sun: "It's a hard road back. But the thought of getting back on the field keeps you going. He's in good hands. United's medical team is excellent."
Richard Williams writes in The Guardian that Valencia's enforced absence "could have a profound effect on United's fortunes this season", while speculating that Park, Giggs, Obertan or Bebe may fill the void.
The Mirror says United are tracking 20-year-old Sporting Lisbon whizzkid Wilson Eduardo, currently on loan at newly-promoted Beira-Mar.
The Independent claims Roy Hodgson will rest Fernando Torres for their Europa League opener against Steaua Bucharest in preparation for Sunday's visit to Old Trafford. Meanwhile Rio Ferdinand believes he isn't assured a place in Sunday's starting line-up, despite a confident comeback against Rangers on Tuesday. -
Michael Owen has become a better footballer since joining Manchester United, according to Reds boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
Owen, who’s played at Liverpool, Real Madrid and Newcastle, arrived at Old Trafford in summer 2009 with a reputation as one of English football’s finest finishers. In his pomp, he frightened defences all over Europe and even won the coveted Ballon d'Or in 2001.
United’s striking department is one of the strongest around, however, and Owen, now 30, has had to be content with making an impact off the bench: 24 of his 37 United appearances have come as a substitute. But while Owen may not be a fixture in Sir Alex’s starting XI, the Reds boss believes he’s getting better all the time. “He’s an outstanding footballer and I think he’s improved since he’s come to our club.”
Owen's latest act of heroism came at the Reebok Stadium last Sunday, when a glancing header helped rescue a valuable point. Even so, Sir Alex was playing his cards close to his chest in Valencia when asked if Owen would start against the Spanish side.
“Michael’s contribution on Saturday doesn’t go un-noticed – it was a fantastic goal,” he said. “He’s fit and his training performances have been terrific ever since he joined us.”
Dimitar Berbatov is expected to get the nod should Sir Alex adopt a 4-5-1 formation, but Owen could well feature from the first whistle – Federico Macheda and Javier Hernandez are the only other strikers on the trip – should the boss elect to employ a two-pronged attack. -
He is still a good marksman but he needs more ammunition from midfield.
-
Originally posted by Rooney9:
Sidelined Owen voices frustration
Michael Owen has spoken of his frustration at Manchester United. Owen, 30, missed the final two months of last season with an injury and has been overlooked since returning to fitness. Owen, who has played just 46 minutes this season, said: “You can only do your best, prepare and train well, so you’re ready when the manager calls on you. The most difficult thing is not playing for a couple of weeks, suddenly getting picked and being mentally and physically right to perform. Getting in the team is no easy feat – staying there is harder.”
David McDonnell, Daily Mirror
Sir Alex visited Antonio Valencia in hospital yesterday before the winger underwent surgery on a fracture to his tibia and fibula in his left ankle. The Daily Mail quotes Ecuador's national team doctor Patricio Maldonado saying: "We think he'll be out for five or six months".
Alan Smith suffered a similarly horrific injury in 2006 at Anfield for United. He tells The Sun: "It's a hard road back. But the thought of getting back on the field keeps you going. He's in good hands. United's medical team is excellent."
Richard Williams writes in The Guardian that Valencia's enforced absence "could have a profound effect on United's fortunes this season", while speculating that Park, Giggs, Obertan or Bebe may fill the void.
The Mirror says United are tracking 20-year-old Sporting Lisbon whizzkid Wilson Eduardo, currently on loan at newly-promoted Beira-Mar.
The Independent claims Roy Hodgson will rest Fernando Torres for their Europa League opener against Steaua Bucharest in preparation for Sunday's visit to Old Trafford. Meanwhile Rio Ferdinand believes he isn't assured a place in Sunday's starting line-up, despite a confident comeback against Rangers on Tuesday.I am so pathetic.
-
Michael Owen has suffered a fresh hamstring injury and will be out of action for "a few weeks".
Owen has been out with a groin injury after being substituted in Manchester United's 0-0 draw with Sunderland on October 2. He was back in training last week but picked up a hamstring strain ahead of Tuesday night's Carling Cup win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
"It's not going great," he told BBC Radio 5live. "I had a bit of a tight groin a while ago and I've trained for a week preparing for last night's game but then I had a setback with a different muscle injury.
"Unfortunately, that ruled me out for last night and will rule me out for a few weeks as well.
"I got injured in the cup final and then subsequently this season I was in the squad for the first 10 games or so. But unfortunately, because of a training ground injury the other day, I'm going to be out for the next few weeks, which is disappointing.
"It's all part and parcel of football. Everyone gets injured. Hopefully, I can come back and be as strong as ever."
Owen has suffered a catalogue of hamstring injuries, the previous one coming in the Carling Cup final at Wembley at the end of February which ruled him out for the rest of the season.
With Wayne Rooney also out until the Manchester derby on November 10 with an ankle problem, Dimitar Berbatov and man of the moment Javier Hernandez will be Sir Alex Ferguson's main strikers.
But the loss of Rooney and Owen leaves Sir Alex short on options from the bench with only Federico Macheda, who has not scored this season, at his disposal.
Also in his interview with the BBC, Owen praised the impact of Hernandez.
Owen said: "It's obviously early days for him but he's made a really good impression at the club, scored goals in the last couple of games. He's young, sharp and a good finisher. He seems to be thriving, he's always got a smile on his face, he enjoys his football and the fans have taken to him already.
"So far so good, but, as I know, football changes in a week or whatever. Hopefully it's the start of something good for him, but he needs to keep working hard and keep putting in those performances because at Man United that's what it demands - you score one week, but if you play poorly the next week then you could be out the team so you need to always be on top of your game.
"Thankfully he's playing well at the minute, and long may that continue.''
Owen insisted that sweeping generalisations about footballers are unfair on many professionals.
''People like to judge footballers as a whole but I think that's pretty unfair,'' Owen said. ''Everyone's different. I've met some footballers that are absolutely fantastic people, are always visiting sick kids, they do things for charities, but they don't ask for any press coverage.
''They just go about it because they want to do it. Some don't, but that's not to say they're bad people. I think it's dangerous if you generalise and say 'all footballers are this, all footballers are that'. We're all individuals, we all do our different things, and the common thing is we all go out on a Saturday afternoon and play on the football pitch.
''But apart from that every footballer's different.''
Owen also said that the Rooney contract saga had no effect on the rest of the squad: ''Everyone seems to be happy now. The club have got a world-class player signed for five years and obviously Wayne's happy and the manager's happy.
''Wayne is obviously ambitious and the club's ambitious. He wouldn't have signed if he had any doubts. I don't think there was a change of mind. The press can look into things like that, the why and what and all the rest of it.''
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson revealed both he and the rest of the squad received an apology from Rooney for his comments regarding the club's direction, and Owen feels the 25-year-old was right to do so.
He said: ''A lot has been made out of it but half of it is just to fill papers because of the size of the club and the stature of the player. Cutting out all the rubbish, the main thing is that he's signed. It's better having Wayne Rooney in your squad than not, so we're all happy in that way.''
-
Lucky his contract is running out soon, i'm sure Fergie wont be extending.
Next time people wont say birds of the same feather flock together but instead, People with owen in their name gets injured together.
-
'I never thought I would start every game when I joined the club. Honestly, I've loved it here,' says Michael Owen of Manchester United. Photograph: Nick Potts/PA
The tone was set on the opening night of the season. The first game is always a special day for football people. But when Sir Alex Ferguson announced his team, for one person in the Manchester United dressing room, there was nothing but crushing disappointment. Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov were in from the start; fair enough. Javier Hernández, the new signing, and Federico Macheda were among the substitutes, but there was no room for Michael Owen – no place in the 18 for the man once regarded as the most devastating finisher in the sport.
He has grown wearily accustomed to watching football in a club suit, but it never gets easier. In total, he has made only six starts for Manchester United in the Premier League, and 14 in total, since moving from Newcastle United 16 months ago. They are the kind of statistics to prompt legitimate questions of whether this is a man being shunted to the edges. But Owen insists he is settled, that he wants to stay and will get more job satisfaction from the odd game at Old Trafford than he would, say, from playing regularly for a club in the bottom half of the league.
Two months away from turning 31, he is also acutely aware that leaving United would mean his career heading one way: down. Owen had a miserable time at Newcastle. He will always be grateful to Sir Alex Ferguson for offering him another chance to win a league winners' medal when the rest of English football had virtually turned its back on him, and there is only one moment when he expresses anything remotely approaching dissatisfaction with his current employer.
It is when he is asked why Ferguson has been so reluctant to partner him with Rooney when it once worked so well for England. His body language changes immediately: guarded, wary, looking for the right words. He knows the answer, he says, because the manager has explained it to him, but he does not feel like he should talk about it. Later, he adds to the intrigue by saying it is not a tactical decision, though he will not be pushed further.
Ferguson's preference is for Rooney to partner Berbatov, though Hernández's blistering form is threatening the order, while he is unwavering in his belief that the 19-year-old Federico Macheda will eventually be a hero of Old Trafford. Owen now seems to be fifth in line, regardless of all those goals from a glorious past.
The injuries, by his own admission, have taken their toll. "They had taken something away by the time I was 21, to be honest. At 18 to 20, I was probably one of the quickest things around, at the peak of my powers. But what can you do? I can play different ways now. I can link play better now, I can do things I couldn't do when I was younger. And you never lose the instinct of being a goalscorer, of knowing where the ball is going to drop. It can just take a bit longer to get into that position now."
In January he would be six months from the end of his contract and free to speak to other clubs. "It's a question for the manager really, but if you ask my opinion I would love to stay. I never thought I would start every game when I joined the club and I have never complained about anything.
"Honestly, I've loved it here. I signed a two-year contract, I'm only 60% into that and hopefully we will talk [about extending it] before the end of the season."
Gérard Houllier, his former manager at Liverpool, is said to be keen to take him to Aston Villa. Liverpool, too, have been linked with their former player. There would be no shortage of potential suitors but Owen feels Old Trafford is the sort of place where he belongs.
"I won't drop down the leagues and whether I would even want to drop down to a poorer Premier League team … I don't know. Yes, I could score goals, but I would probably get less opportunities and less enjoyment.
"I think I'd rather play less and train with top players, rather than playing every minute of every game, getting three or four touches and not enjoying it."
There have been difficult moments with United, though. The time, for example, when he scored a hat-trick at Wolsfburg in the Champions League but was dropped for the next match.
"But I'm 30, I have been around and I understand how it works. I am not going to kid myself because I know that if I were fit and scored a hat-trick in the next two or three games, Wayne would still come back into the team when he is fit again. I know I am not as good as him. Maybe 10 years ago you could argue I was – but not now.
"This season, too, I scored two against Scunthorpe [in the Carling Cup]. The next game I was on the bench but came on and scored and then the next game we played, at Valencia, we used three strikers [even with Rooney left at home] and I was an unused sub."
Owen comes armed with his own statistic, one that says he has scored in every 111 minutes he has been on the pitch. Hernández is the only other striker at Old Trafford with a more prolific record.
"He's a goalscorer; you can see it in his eyes," Owen, an ambassador for BT Chat for Children, says of the Mexican. "It's hard to explain this without fear of it being taken the wrong way, but it's still early days, and who knows what will happen? But he's got something. He knows how to score goals, he knows how to get in the positions."
Does he remind him of anyone? "Myself, probably."
Previous interviews with Owen would always lead in the direction of talking about England and whether he felt he could get back into Fabio Capello's plans. "It is probably a reflection on Owen's lack of minutes at United that his status as an international footballer is prefixed by the word "former" these days, even though he is nearly three years younger than England's latest cap, Kevin Davies.
This interview finishes on a subject that makes him wince far more than talk of his game-time: his hamstring. On Friday, in the last minute of training, Owen attempted a back-heel to John O'Shea and felt a sharp, familiar pain. He will be out for four weeks, potentially missing seven games. "I just want to get fit again and playing and I'm sure I can score goals at this level for a long time."