Sir Alex Ferguson has given his strongest statement yet that he see’s Michael Owen as nothing more than backup for Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney. Owen was signed from Newcastle United in the summer on a free transfer and has only started one game for United so far this season. The United number 7 has found the back of the net once already in the 5-0 mauling of Wigan Athletic – although he may have to wait a little longer until that ‘blend’ has been found. Have your say in our forum on whether you think Owen is United class.
Sir Alex Ferguson has been involved in some shock signings over the years. Eric Cantona was probably the most famous, but in the free signing of Owen – particularly with Ronaldo saying ‘adios’ – runs the Frenchman close. Fergie was quoted as saying:
“Owen has not been involved and I explained that to him,”
“Owen doesn’t come into the equation because we are trying to get a blend of Berbatov and Rooney, but he will play plenty of games.”
Michael Owen was once one of Europe’s top marksmen scoring goals for fun for both Liverpool and England. Since his move to Real Madrid in 2004 – things have never been the same for Owen and I can’t see them ever touching the heights he reached pre-Madrid. You have to ask yourself, why didn’t a major European club break the bank for Owen when he was available in the summer of 2005?
I’ll tell you why – all top European teams need something more from their main striker than a goal scoring ability. Didier Drogba couldn’t touch Owen in terms of one on one and the runs that Owen makes – but Drogba has so much more to his game. He may be an annoying clown at times but he was, for me, one of the most lethal strikers in the second half of last season – both domestically and in Europe. Michael Owen will never be the main focus point of our attack. He will be mainly used as a substitute and even if we’re losing I wouldn’t object to seeing Macheda being thrown on ahead of him. I think Owen can exploit a team who are chasing a goal and push up – as Birmingham did on the opening day of the season in the last ten minutes, although Owen did manage to fluff his lines.
I agree with Fergie – Berbatov and Rooney are the priority whereas Owen will have to wait his chance to compete with our first choice strikers. Hopefully Owen gets a chance and takes it for United but I do get concerned at the thought that his mind is on getting into the England squad for the World Cup next June. United first Michael, England second.