MICHAEL Owen achieved some pretty remarkable feats during his career as a footballer.
Winning almost every major honour the club game has to offer — barring a glaring Champions League triumph of which many on Merseyside are only too happy to remind him about — Owen’s medal cabinet is not without its share of gold.
Add to that his Ballon d’Or crown in 2001, won without protestation despite being in the company of fabled talents such as Zinedine Zidane, Raul, Rivaldo and Thierry Henry and it is easy to forget what a special goalscoring talent he was.
And he was special.
Some detractors will point to his hamstring snapping like a guitar string at Leeds United away on April 12, 1999 as the beginning of the end. Others will point out he never hit the heights he could and should have in terms of a goal return, having never posted more than 20 league goals a season at Anfield.
While that may be true, it remains slightly unfair given that he only records more than 30 games once and hits 18 and 19 goals twice each over seven years, all without taking into consideration his accumulation from cup competitions.
It is maybe more poignant to recount the player who scored a brace in the impenetrable colosseum of Rome and who won an FA Cup final as single-handedly as you can possibly attach such a statement in 2001, as part of Gerard Houllier’s perennially underappreciated treble-winning team.
Despite all of this; Owen’s most tragic achievement is his lack of identity and the disdain and indifference in which he is thought of by almost every fan base he has served.
Owen doesn’t have a home. He has no club that he can attach himself to as an affirmation of somewhere he will always be fondly thought of.
At Liverpool, the forward’s reputation as a teenager was fraught with distrust by the Liverpool faithful. Despite his clear and wonderfully exciting talent, he was always held up next to the root and branch of the club’s other great goalscorer at the time, Robbie Fowler.
Fowler was embroiled in Liverpool culture to the point where it was at times problematic. His noble and social protestations for the plight of the city’s Dockers, for example, was admirable. At other times, his inability to separate himself from the darker side of fame and fortune in a major city was unquestionably to his detriment.
Another factor which tarnished Owen from a young age was his love and affinity to the national team. This was only heightened by his majestical solo goal for England against Argentina during France ‘98, a moment which led Kopites to the assumption he viewed himself more as “England’s Michael Owen” and not Liverpool’s.
His Liverpool reputation would further plummet following his departure to Real Madrid, a transfer everyone including the player could see coming for months, despite him throwing soundbites to local media outlets about how he still may sign a contract at Anfield.
His move to Manchester United in 2009 was seen as the ultimate betrayal, despite the fact he can lay claim to winning the Premier League a year after being relegated from it with a career seemingly on the slide.
Owen’s one major regret in time may be that he could seemingly never let go, never stop looking over his shoulder at what he perceived to be a more attractive club to the one he was at and never commit himself enough to be truly accepted.
His recent spat with Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer and subsequent quotes from his forthcoming autobiography hint at how, from the minute he walked out on Liverpool in 2004, he was playing under some form of mental duress.
All of this is relevant to the short and pressured career of an elite footballer. One wrong turn at a point in which you can attain rare control of a situation you’re central to, can lead to a lifetime of regret if you back the wrong horse.
The recent plights of a career such as Philippe Coutinho’s is further evidence such gambles remain far from a formality in a player’s career.
What that all means for Owen now is as ambiguous as his identity and standing in the game. He has seemingly chosen a career in punditry, a vocation at one point he would have been seen as the perfect fit due to his lack of allegiance and pedigree as a player.
However, the industry now increasingly craves fan-led voices and the passion of rivalry transcended to a studio due to the unmitigated success of Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville. As a result, Owen has found himself as just another avoidable voice among the babble.
The fact he is now a Liverpool ambassador has also become provocative among the supporter base. Yet he can rightly place himself in the category of goalscorer this club has come to rely on down the years.
It should not be forgotten that at one point he carried such a baton, albeit without ever becoming the endearing figure his description usually accompanies at Anfield.
The feeling is that Michael Owen will probably carry on being Michael Owen, and nothing else.
That has ultimately come to define and deprive him throughout his footballing life.
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Although I agree on every word that is written here, I just think we shouldn’t give him that much attention. As you rightly mention, he lacks an identity, so don’t try to give him one. It surely would help if the club removes him from that ambassador role. He never was a Liverpool ambassador in any sense (not as a player, neither after his playing career) and he never will be! Michael Owen always very much has been Michael Owen… Once he is off that ambassador role, fans pretty much stop talking about him, I guess…
My thoughts entirely. Well said.
Very good and honest piece
I remember Owen fondly at Liverpool and was sorry to see him go. By his own admission he always wanted to return to Anfield (a la Rush) but they didn’t fancy him with his injuries. Robbie Fowler went to play for bloody Leeds and then came back. The England thing also rings true with Keegan, so Owen is not on his own there either. This article could also be written about Suarez, who spent much less time at Anfield but is a hero there. He was only a quid away from going to Arsenal, so maybe we should give Owen more credit. You’re cherry picking your arguments. Maybe if he’d bitten someone.
Fowler was forced out and I don’t think Suarez is remember as fondly after the game with Barca.
Owen left us with little options when walking out on the eve of a new season after saying he would stay.
Sorry he’s always been in it for himself
“unremarkable”? Do you mean remarkable or is there a note of sarcasm here I’m not getting? Otherwise your central point is sound, though I always thought the comparisons with Robbie were a little unfair. Ged was a stickler for discipline and in addition to being low maintenance it just seemed that Owen did a bang up job almost every time he played. We should never forget the good days. It’s easy for us to sneer at Phil or Emre Can now, but back then very few footballers would have turned down Real, especially given the way the Houllier era sagged towards the end. He could and should have had more faith in Rafa, but that’s easier to say in hindsight. And yeah, the United thing is just unforgivable.
Ultimately, when I hear him speak about all this now, in interviews or through the book he’s hawking, it seems clear he’s got more than a few regrets. Not having a home is almost certainly one of them, and it adds to the air of melancholy that surrounds him these days. We don’t always make the right decisions in life; he certainly botched a few.
Michael Owen is a Liverpool legend in my opinion but because he left the way he did, he is often treated with disdain in exactly the same way Kevin Keegan was – another unjustly maligned legend. All memories of his great deeds are now “erased”. It is a pathetic attitude imo and has always bothered me. I was always very proud as a life long LFC fan to see him excel at international level too – the hatrick against Germany in Germany for example was cheered even louder by myself because Michael was a red! He brought joy to the fans, he inspired young fans to follow Liverpool and I think LFC fans should give him a break and remember the great times as there were many, and recognise his legacy as the most exciting teenage phenomenon Liverpool launched on to the world stage.
Well said. I absolutely loved watching the lad play for us. That’s my primary requirement of a Liverpool player. Growing up Gerrard, Fowler and Owen were my favourites, in no particular order, and I’ll never forget the memories all of them gave me.
Agreed.
I have a clone
Yep, spot on. Agree totally with this.
He never felt lucky to be at any club he has ever played for. Maybe being a star player through the youth ranks and being in the first team so young gave him the sense of entitlement that made him so self centred. His attitude towards Newcastle is ridiculous. If he didn’t want to go there say no. But he said yes and took a big wage from them. Rather than look at it as an opportunity and feeling grateful, he looked down on the club. Hes not bigger than a football club. Unfortunately Michael Owen is all about Michael Owen and it’s too difficult for him to see how he is perceived when he comes out with all of his self centred views of how things went for him.
Exactly. Well said
Exactly. Owen was a great player but his loyalty was only ever to himself. From what I’ve seen of his book, nothing’s changed. Still, if it sells enough copies he wont care
Exactly
The pinnacle for anyone who supports Liverpool, who grew up living and breathing Liverpool each Saturday, its playing for Liverpool. If we all had the talent, we’d play for Liverpool and we’d work our hardest to bring the club success until we weren’t good enough any more. There is nothing else. In England its the same at every other club. The problem with Michael Owen is he doesn’t get it.
The publicity drive around Owen’s books have once again exposed this, for all his protestations and his reasonings for his football career and the decisions hes made, he just shows he doesn’t get it. The Newcastle episode shows it. The injury prone, record signing on obscene wages, replaces a club legend and then appears to phone it in. He then confirms he was phoning it in, he thought himself bigger than the club and runs down the club legend….What does he hope to achieve from that?
So with us. I’ve seen comparisons between Owen and others and perhaps the most interesting is Owen and Suarez. I saw God bring it up. Suarez forced his way out and brought the clubs reputation into disrepute on multiple occasions but many, myself included can let it slide, because hes the best player we’ve seen in a Liverpool shirt. Why not Owen?
The difference is that Suarez gets a pass, because in our heart of hearts we all knew that Suarez is a kid from Uruguay and theres no chance he grew up wanting to play for Liverpool. He wasn’t even in English culture, hes not supposed to get it. We all knew that if he reached the top of the game, he’d play for Barcelona or Real. The same reason Alonso and for some Mascherano get a pass. The same reason that Torres was embraced like he was and then the anger when he went, because we thought Torres got it. It helps that Suarez, despite his showings on the pitch where he is the snidest of snide twats in the world, is humble when he talks about Liverpool. He doesn’t make excuses for his time at Liverpool, but always talks with affection for us. Like Alonso and Mascherano they are humble, they understand why we were disappointed and hope they are welcome back in the future. When they aren’t humble like Suarez was in May, theres a backlash. The wound opens up again.
The same reason we give Mcmanaman and Sterling shit. Owen, Mcmanaman and Sterling were supposed to get it. They’d come through at least a stage of our system, they’d grown up in English football culture. They are supposed to understand. The same reason Owen and Mcmanaman are ill thought of, but relations with Sterling appear to be thawing. Owen and Mcmanaman appear genuinely insulted that they aren’t revered and loved. Even Mcmanaman at least, seems to have settled into his part as respected but not loved. Sterling understands why, and despite all the shit, gives respect when asked. Sterling will get booed next time hes at Anfield but its because he plays for City and it seems to get to him. Sterling will never be loved here but he may one day be respected. As it currently is I find it insulting Owen gets to go around the world and call himself an ambassador to Liverpool.
Its kind of harsh that Owen has to achieve that extra level of footballing morality based purely on his passport, but it goes the other way. If Owen stayed at Liverpool his entire career, even if it tailed off at the end he’d have been an icon and legend at the club and put on a pedastol like Gerrard and Carra. Like Shearer at Newcastle. He would have to have shown character traits he just doesn’t have to do that though.
The main thing that gave it all away though that Owen has never got it is his decision to go to United. Career wise its understandable. Rafa had just finished second and was the manager that won the European cup. He didn’t want him so Owen wasn’t joining Liverpool anytime soon. The choice then was the Champions of England and European cup finalists or Hull. So its understandable but still unforgivable.
Really it was a choice between Michaels Owens career and us Liverpool fans. Owen knew it wouldn’t go down well with us, but went anyway. He knew they hated him, they hated everything to do with Liverpool but he went anyway. Because Michael Owen isn’t for the fans, Michael Owen is for Michael Owen. Its why he runs his contract down and went Real Madrid, because he’d win trophies there and not at Liverpool. Its why he went Newcastle rather than wait, because they’d pay him well and he’d keep his England spot for the world cup. Its why he releases the book to set the record straight, throwing everyone else under the bus in an attempt to make him look better. If he can get favor or controversy then it will help his punditry career. Its all about Michael Owen.