Can Owen make a happy return?
May 2 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal
Owen was not the only striker to spurn a golden opportunity, but it was his miss which stung the most. Owen has scored just one goal in his last 12 appearances and just once this year. He has looked short on sharpness and confidence since his return from an ankle injury earlier this month and the one player who appeared to give Newcastle the edge over their rivals in the relegation battle has been a major disappointment.
Yet, for Alan Shearer, Owen remains his trump card and he will start again against Liverpool tomorrow with his manager hoping the return to his former club will help erase those painful memories from Monday night.
“Michael’s disappointed, like the rest of the guys were,” said Shearer, who realises his friend is not the same sort of player he was when they were team-mates.
“He would have hoped to put that chance away, but he will not wallow in self pity.
“If you look at the stats, work rate-wise there’s no problem, he’s always in the top three or four players on the pitch. But it’s goals that Michael’s made his name from and he was disappointed not to score the other night, as was everybody else.
“But he didn’t, Oba (Martins) didn’t, Mark (Viduka) didn’t and we didn’t win the game. It’s over now and we can’t do anything about it.
“If I do decide to drop one of the three strikers against Liverpool, it will be a tough choice. Michael’s always been a confident lad but he’s not a brash lad, telling everyone what he’s done. He’s a quiet individual and his confidence comes from within.
“I think if he gets in the same situation on Sunday, we’ll be looking for him to put it away.”
In contrast, the man who has replaced Michael Owen as the darling of the Anfield Kop, Fernando Torres, is on top of his game and, according to Shearer, a striker who deserves to be recognised as the best in the world.
The Spaniard, who has adapted superbly to the pace and physicality of English football since a £26.5m move from Atletico Madrid in 2007, has been enthusiastically admired by Shearer from the comfort of the Match of the Day studio.
Now he has to try and contain him as a manager who desperately needs a point at Anfield to make up for the failure to take all three against Portsmouth. He said: “Fernando Torres is probably the best striker in the world. I’m a huge admirer of his.
“He is a great goalscorer and the scorer of great goals. He is a top, top player, with power, pace, work-rate but more importantly goals.
“So our defenders will know on Sunday afternoon that they have been in a game. Have we got enough to keep him quiet? I believe so.
“Probably our best player since I came here has been Sébastien Bassong. It is probably his toughest test since I came.
“Can he cope with it? I believe so. I have been very impressed by Sébastien. He has everything, though I’d like him to score a goal from a corner. I have been very impressed, he has good pace, is good in the air, can use the ball, and can read the game.
“I think he has a big future in the game, I really do.”
