11.30 from paddingtonSanguine Read a slightly damning article on Owen that, whilst praising is impact as a youngster, his contribution for England, and a consistent goal ratio, even at Madrid and United, also said that in his latter career, being a great finisher and doing not a lot else, he was a ‘prototype Adam Le Fondre’. Which is harsh on ALF, if maybe true.
If the latter part of Owen's career had been injury-free, it'd have been interesting to see if he was able to adapt his game and contribute more to the team (especially as his pace faded).
At his best, he was an extremely exciting player to watch. I remember the 2002 World Cup group game against Argentina. Having already been once-bitten in 1998, the Argentine defence seemed to crap themselves everytime Owen got the ball. Lovely dive for the penalty as well...
AK - I still don't understand the difference in treatment in regards to Owen and McManaman. McManaman just ran down his contract and went through the motions in his final year, but still doesn't seem to attract the same amount of stick as Owen (even before his signing for Man Utd).
I think Owen was just held in higher esteem when he was there so his leaving hurt their pride a bit more