Isn't he a City Reject? In all seriousness though, a terrific player just hampered with awful injuries.
Wasted talent indeed, it was his decision to go to Man U after Newcastle that spoke volumes about his character to me, not for a minute suggesting he should have come to us, but to take a decision to go be guaranteed 4th choice at best, rather than somewhere where he could have still got regular games at 28 showed that he didn't particularly care about playing football, just wanted money to support his horse racing adventures.
Could have been an English legend but beset by injuries. I'll never forget seeing his leg bend completely the wrong way. I feel sorry for him because unlike others, he wasn't the architect of his own downfall.
I don't think that money was a motivating factor - more prestige. He thought that he would be playing a lot for Man Utd and winning trophies, when he could have shone much more at a 'Europe-chasing' Premier League club. Similarly, when choosing Stoke, it seemed unlikely he would break the first team, when he could go to a club fighting relegation, or a Championship club, and show the type of player that he thought he was.
Shame he got injured when he did or else he would have really been something special. Shame, but there's no point in him just going Club to Club to sit in the reserves/bench.
He's a **** - has only been interested in racing as opposed to football for a good 7 years and wasted his career as much as Michael Johnson. The only reason he doesnt get the same abuse is because his other interest wasnt booze related.
Anyone pitying him and blaming injuries really dont know him. He simply doesnt give two ****s about football and is only interested in racing.
He comes across as an arrogant prick This story made me laugh though; http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/funny-football-michael-owen-twitter-1740803
Maybe the fact he's so injury prone would have an effect as well. You wouldn't want to go somewhere where you were needed to play every week if you knew you weren't going to be able to handle all the games. It's actually better all round in that situation to go somewhere you'll be an occassional sub. You're at a better club, the better club has a good player who's not demanding to start every week, and the smaller club doesn't find their team unsettled every couple of games because of their key player getting injured. Take us with Koren, admittedly not so much this season, but last season. If we'd been in a position where he was going to regularly miss games we'd have been better off without him and building tactics that didn't need him.
Good luck to him, he was a great England player in his day, distracted by other things but that goes for most footballers these days and forevermore
I think it is unfair to say that he didn't care about football. Of cause we will never know, but IMO his move to Spain from Liverpool was the start of his decline. I think if he had stayed at Liverpool like Gerrard maybe things would have turned out different. However he has been beset by injuries, and probably because of the time off on the side lines his interest in other things got stronger. and football lately took less priority in his life. Great player at his peak, and certainly made him financially.
Yet another English player of this generation that hasn't achieved anything like what he should have done.
Oh dear. Why can't you just enjoy the positive aspects? That goal in 98 against the Argies was arguably the last great England goal. His hatrick in Munich 2001 was also a high spot that doesn't have to many rivals. His milking extravagant amounts from Man Utd, Stoke and Newcastle should endear him to any proper City fan.
Absolutely. I bet it's tough recovering mentally as well as physically from an injury like that. I remember being in Piper watching that particular England game (in whatever WC/Euros it was, they all merge together for me these days) and as they showed an awful slow-mo replay of the bend there was a collective "ooooooooh" in the pub as everyone realised that it was probably a tad stingy. You could see something inside his knee kind of 'click'. Great finisher, unfortunate injuries.
Will never forget that night as a 10 year old I watched Owen bag that famous hat trick in Munich. A promising career sadly hampered by a succession of injuries.
