Michael Owen Will Miss the Cut for England
Michael Owen will miss the cut when Fabio Capello trims his pre-selection squad this evening to a 23-man party for England’s friendly match against Holland on Wednesday, with Sir Alex Ferguson telling the forward that he must rebuild his reputation at Manchester United if he is to earn a place at next summer’s World Cup finals.
Although Capello included Owen in a squad of more than 30 names, having been impressed by his movement during United’s 2-0 friendly win over Valencia on Wednesday, the forward will not be among the players picked for the trip to Amsterdam. Capello is likely to stick with Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch as cover for Wayne Rooney and Emile Heskey, while Ben Foster, the 26-year-old United goalkeeper, may be the most notable call-up as he looks for an extended run of first-team football at Old Trafford.
Ferguson shares Capello’s view that players cannot be picked on reputation alone, but feels that the England manager would find it hard to ignore an in-form Owen, given the dearth of top-class strikers at his disposal. “England are not endowed with a bunch of top strikers,” Ferguson said. “The only consistent one has been Rooney.
They’ve tried Heskey and Crouch and even included [Theo] Walcott in the World Cup squad at 17, which I still can’t understand. There is a dearth of really top strikers in the country.
“That gives Michael Owen a chance. He has operated really well for us so far. He has shown some really clever stuff and I’m really pleased with him. It’s only through what he does here that Fabio can really look at him. His name and reputation will not get him into the World Cup. It’s what he does with us that will, hopefully, get him into the England squad for South Africa. Fabio has to pick the best players and he’s not going to pick a player on his reputation from eight years ago.”
Capello’s views on the matter mirror Ferguson’s, the England manager keeping his mind open to a recall for Owen, despite having picked him only once in his first 15 games in charge. Capello is encouraged by the idea of Owen recovering form and fitness at Old Trafford, but it will take more than his four goals in four games on United’s pre-season tour to Asia to win a recall to the squad.
Owen, in an interview published in Sport magazine yesterday, said: “I would love to get that place back in time, but at this moment playing well for Manchester United, scoring goals and earning my place in the team is the priority. If England comes as a result, fantastic.”
Bert van Marwijk, the Holland coach, has shown his confidence in the Dutch players facing an uncertain future at Real Madrid by naming them in his 22-man squad. Van Marwijk yesterday included Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart and Arjen Robben, who are all the subject of transfer speculation in the Spanish media.
Source : The Times
