Soccer Rules

One unexpected transfer that took place last Summer was that of Michael Owen, the often injured striker from Newcastle United who made the move to the Red Devils.

Many experts were left confused by the decision of Sir Alex Ferguson. With Cristiano Ronaldo gone, the generally accepted view was that a big name would automatically pop in to Manchester United soccer apparel to take over for him. Instead, United got Luis Valencia from Wigan and Michael Owen. A player who has been struggling with fitness and form over the last five years along with more injuries than one can count. The fact that he is a former Liverpool player only adds insult to injury. There were a few bemused faces around Old Trafford the day the deal was announced.

When the finer details of the agreement were released it became apparent that Alex Ferguson knew what he was doing. Owen was on a pay as you play deal at Old Trafford and Ferguson intended to use him sporadically from the bench and in the team. He would be used to assist from the bench when needed, he would not be the lone striker.

A slow start for Owen was not helped by the fact that he hardly featured in many games and if he did, he was a late substitute. However his adoption into the United ranks seemed complete when he came on in the Manchester derby game to net a last minute winner for United to deny City a point at Old Trafford. It seemed the goal would kick start a greater involvement for Owen and there was talk of him possibly regaining his England place, should he continue to score goals and play more consistently.

Things however have not worked out that way for Owen. A further two goals since has brought his tally to four this season in eighteen games and while Owen is at pains to point out that the statistics do not tell the whole story (the majority of his appearances have been as a substitute), there seems to be a growing feeling that the Owen experiment may not have a long term future.

Certainly, in terms of forwarding Owen’s hopes of regaining his place in the England squad, the move hasn’t worked out well for the striker. Fabio Capello has stated that his players need to be fit and playing well consistently in order to play for England.Over the past few years Owen  has managed to be neither of these things. However it should be noted here that Capello doesn’t seem to extend this mantra to other England strikers, Emile Heskey it seems is a shoe-in in every squad, regardless of whether he plays for Aston Villa or not.

The high point of the experiment so far has been Owen’s last minute goal against City.Owen needs to find goals and consistency over the remainder of the season or it seems unlikely that Alex Ferguson will continue his experiment onto the next season, much in the way youngster Darron Gibson is doing. Whether Owen has the ability and level of fitness to do that remains questionable and as such, it seems likely that Sir Alex Ferguson’s gamble, in the long run, may not pay off.