Manchester United’s Michael Owen has made it clear that he is more interested in doing well for his club than regaining his England team place. He has said that England is something he ‘really doesn’t think about’.
Ever since Owen’s free transfer from the relegated Newcastle United to Old Trafford, there has been constant speculation that playing for the Premier League champions could help him to regain his place in the England team. There has been much debate on the matter, and it has never seemed to reach a conclusion.
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However, Owen has now attempted to end the speculation by himself: “I am concentrating on playing for Manchester United. I genuinely go to bed thinking that I have got to play well the next day and win games for Manchester United, not that if I score or play well I might get picked for England.”
Looking back at Michael Owen’s England career (40 goals in 89 games, including three World Cups) it is easy to see why he may be content with what he has achieved so far for his country. However, he has never won the Premier League or the Champions’ League, and perhaps these are spaces in his medal cabinet that he is looking to fill.
Owen has received mixed reviews since joining the Manchester club during the summer, but his experience seems to be showing, and in recent weeks he seems to have found some form.
One of the main criticisms of the 29 year-old striker is that he is too injury prone, having had problems with a broken metatarsal, a ruptured cruciate ligament, and various muscular problems during his recent career. When he was substituted near to the start of Manchester United’s game against Wolfsburg recently, many assumed that these problems were returning.
However, Owen feels that he has been given an unfair reputation with a few unlucky injuries: “When you talk about my career, I have two long-term injuries that were linked probably. But they were not "injury-prone" injuries. It is the little niggly ones that you can probably manage and eradicate from your game.”
Only time will tell whether Fabio Capello will warm to Owen before he has to select his squad for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa next year, so more good performances at club level are crucial even if Owen is not bothered by the prospect of more time out from the England squad.
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