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 general consensus was that a star would jump into the Red Devils jersey to replace him. however, Manchester United got Luis Valencia from Wigan and Michael Owen. A player who for the past five years has been beset by injury problem after injury problem and who was not only struggling for fitness, but form too. 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 details of the deal became known along with Ferguson’s intentions for Owen, it became clear that once again, the shrewd Scot had been canny. 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 role in the team seemed apparent when he was called in on the Manchester United derby game against Manchester City scoring the last minute winning goal. 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.
However since then, it hasn’t really worked out for Owen. Only managing to score four goals from eighteen games this season (many of which he only appeared as a substitute however), there seems to be a growing feeling that the Owen experiment may not have a long term future.
It seems highly unlikely that Owen will make it back onto the England squad. Fabio Capello has repeatedly reiterated the need for players to be fit and playing regularly in order to play.Owen has not managed to be do either of these over the last few years. However it should be noted here that Capello doesn’t seem to extend this mantra to other England strikers, Emile Heskey looks like a certainty in the team regardless of his performance at Aston Villa.
The high point of the experiment so far has been Owen’s last minute goal against City.It will be highly unlikely for Alex Ferguson to continue the agreement with Michael Owen unless the former English striker can find form and consistency in the remainder of the season, much in the way youngster Darron Gibson is doing. The question remains whether Owen has the ability and fitness to earn a spot in next years team, however it seems likely that Sir Alex Ferguson’s gamble, in the long run, may not pay off.
