Comments on: Love and football. It hurts.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:20:43 +0000

BD Condell, you should really educate yourself and stop being so ignorant. Although you’re a United fan so being from london you are born into ignorance so maybe its not your fault. Now;

Anyon who ever saw both of them play at their peak will tell you Fowler was by far the better player and injuries are what ruined his career. As a person Fowler is also a more beloved character than Owen ever will be.

I would love to know where you get your statistic that Robbie Fowler has played for NINETEEN seasons. I’m guessing you went counting on wikipedia and never noticed that he transfered mid season THREE times and those three seasons are all listed twice.

Also you might want to note that while its true that Fowler only scored more than 20 in 3 seasons, he also scored 18 goals in two separate seasons where he played in just over half of Liverpools games. And you seem to conveniently forget that Fowler scored more than 30 goals 3 times before injuries spoilt what would otherwise have been one of the great English careers., Owen has never managed that.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:07:44 +0000

This summer Michael Owen, Daniel Sturridge and Fabian Delph all moved for a combined total likely to be no more than 12million. Rafa has been talking about the need for more English players in the side due to new Uefa regulations yet he failed to make a move for any of these 3 and instead spent 18million on a slightly above average rightback.

I think Owen is past his best, and the thoughts of him in the scum jersey sicken me, but i think he could have done well for Liverpool, if only to keep Gerrard and Carragher happy and give Torres a rest for the last 15 minutes of games.

By: BD Condell

BD Condell — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:08:24 +0000

@Chris: Ah! The old stats game again. You might want to note that in 19 season’s Fowler has bettered 20 goals just 3 times (his 2nd, 3rd and 4th seasons at Liverpool, which were the only 3 seasons he was ever prolific) whereas Owen has bettered 20 goals a season 5 times in his 13 seasons.

Your comments regarding Fowler’s personality are baffling….you actually think those instances you mention enhance Fowler as an individual? Fowler’s temprament and indiscipline led to him wasting his talent and becoming a journeyman. He is, and always was, something that came from the gutter.

By: Jofrad

Jofrad — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:55:35 +0000

NB Rafa sold Michael Owen to Real Madrid in 2004 because he wanted to leave Liverpool to win trophies. If he had not wanted to leave he would have signed a new contract have a European Champions League medal hanging on his wall a year later. When Owen arrived in Madrid he stated he’d just joined the best club in the world (not), which gives some indication of the strength of his desire to leave the the ‘Pool.
Rafa did not resign him in 2005 because it would have cost Liverpool £10m more than they sold him for, and this to sign a player who wanted to leave a year earlier.
Good luck to Mr Owen, it will be interesting to see what transpires. I personally think he should have gone to Everton.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:18:21 +0000

Michael Owen was (note past tense) never close to being as complete a footballer as Fowler. He was only ever a player of use with acres of space in front of him. He could not beat players with skill, only with pace, and that has deserted him long ago. His finishing was generally average, particularly outside the box. He was a quick schoolboy player who took his chances well but never had the panache or the personality for anyone but postercollectIng girls to fall in love with him. Fowler had that in spades. Owen didn’t hattrick Arsenal in 5 minutes. Owen never scored 28 league goals, nevermind STILL finish second highest scorer with such a total. He never snorted a touchline at his former love’s snarling fans. He never offered his backside to le Saux (that we know of). He never owned up to a dodgy penalty call on him- and there were plenty. Owen was never cared about enough, for anyone to hate him now. You can’t hate what you could never grow to love in the first place.

By: Tanuj Lakhina

Tanuj Lakhina — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:13:33 +0000

An absolutely amazing read. I don’t particularly remember any Owen moments but one that I have seen repeatedly on the TV is his crisp movement to score and then rub his hands like he’s ready for a feast. I remember my young days when I wasn’t too into football that I was hooked to an Owen fan page which I had kept as my homepage. Loved the wonder kid and its a shame that he’s been one of the unwanted players ever since he left Liverpool. Madrid didn’t give him opportunities to prove himself and let’s not talk about his time at Newcastle. Hope he proves the critics wrong now at Manchester United even if it is at an expense of upsetting Liverpool fans.

By: Paul(No1Fan)

Paul(No1Fan) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:13:56 +0000

Let’s face it it’s a great move for Michael Owen but a big blow for Liverpool fans. Having said that I don’t think Owen would have succeeded if Rafa had have made a successful bid for him. I’m not sure if he fits in to the Torres/Gerrard equation. Also, I wouldn’t be suprised if AF only uses Owen in the ‘easier’ games when the main strikers need a rest.

By: Gaz T

Gaz T — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:51:12 +0000

Great article as per usual, Neil. As an aspiring sportswriter myself (and a Liverpool fan) I’m a big fan of your writing style. Keep up the good work, mate.

By: BD Condell

BD Condell — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:55:42 +0000

It seems sthat both Owen and Fowler were never the same after leaving Liverpool. Owen may still have something left but the odds are against him everything getting near his previous heights.

As a Utd fan I hope he does well but I’m not counting on it.

By: Alex

Alex — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:50:55 +0000

Would have loved to see him playing for Liverpool again.

He is basically the reason for me supporting Liverpool. When I was seven, I watched my first ever game of football. It was the 2001 FA Cup Final where Liverpool was up against Arsenal. I remember Sander Westerveld kept coming off his line and looked like a muppet till Ljungberg scored. Then Owen clinically beat Seaman (England’s no. 1 and one of the best keepers in the world) twice. That had me hooked on Liverpool and in particular, on Michael Owen.

I think Rafa didn’t sign him because he seems to be into humble players (I think Owen is humble), but more importantly, with a low media image. I know Gerrard and Torres are always in the media but they come across as down-to-earth, modest people, whereas Owen is endorsing everything from Lucozade to Umbro.

If you look at the rest of Rafa’s squad, most are bits-and-pieces players (Arbeloa, Aurelio) and hard workers who get the job done and try their guts out for their team (Alonso, Mascherano, Carragher, Skrtel). This is a mould that Michael Owen will never fit.