Topic: Michael Owen

[daggerdoo]

I seem to recall both him and Carra much preferring Hodgson to Rafa.  I could be wrong of course - I mean, gawd knows why they would.

I can't imagine that being the case on a professional level, maybe a mate who I can manipulate kind of level though

[Black Bull Nova]

Am I the only who finds Owen quite humerous?

Yes, you are

Do you like Keith Harris and Orville as well?

[God's Left Peg]

On the Beeb: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/49642135

Fuck me, dull as ever

And so very in love with himself, the narcissistic sports pimp.

[Black Bull Nova]

And so very in love with himself, the narcissistic sports pimp.

Never had a cup of coffee or a cup of tea, watched 6 films in his entire life

I can understand the second one because he probably just watches videos of his best goals and tells his kids how good he used to be (before they were born)

[mattD]

Think some of the hatred on here is way oot! He made a few bad career moves at a relatively young age, can't see the massive outrage myself.

'An utter turd of a human being'...really? The prisons are full of such people, and more worryingly plenty of them freely walking the streets.

Like a lot of footy players, Owen might be a bit dim, but if he moved next door to me, I'd be ok with that. I met him a coupe of times, when my young daughter was crazy about him, he was made up when she told him he was her favourite player! He came across as a genuine and polite person.

Owen has done nothing in his personal life to suggest he's some kind of vile person to avoid at all costs, people need to chill, it's only footy!
 

This right here.

I grew up watching Owen in his prime and he gave us trophy winning moments for sure. For that, I’ll always respect him.

He’s not a legend of the club but neither does he deserve the hysterical insults thrown at him. As said above, being only 25 and knowing that you are on the decline is hell of a tough battle. It’s hard to underestimate just how seriously damaging to footballers mental health it is when injury prone. Yes, they earn shitloads but for most of them, this is all they ever know in life and all they ever wanted in life so to see that being taken from you would be terrifying. These are professional athletes who work around the clock every day to prepare themselves physically and mentally for a game since they were young lads - to think of a life outside of that would make many apprehensive.

Owen always struck me as a guy who, while being a brilliant player, was never fully in love with the game. He doesn’t come across as a diehard fan of any club in particular and was simply in it because he was good at it. That detachment gives him room to make ill advised comments on the clubs he served but I don’t necessarily think there’s malice there. He’s not a bad guy at all, like many ex-pros, I think football is just a sport that he has a difficult and detached relationship with.

[mattD]

I seem to recall both him and Carra much preferring Hodgson to Rafa.  I could be wrong of course - I mean, gawd knows why they would.

Yep, one of the most idiotic things both Stevie and Carra did was favour Hodgson.

I’d hope they severely regret their judgement. Sure as hell hope so - seems Gerrard is trying to be more like Rafa in his managerial style than the definition of mediocrity that is Hodgson.

[PhaseOfPlay]

Yep, one of the most idiotic things both Stevie and Carra did was favour Hodgson.

I’d hope they severely regret their judgement. Sure as hell hope so - seems Gerrard is trying to be more like Rafa in his managerial style than the definition of mediocrity that is Hodgson.

Not sure about that. From watching Rangers and from reading some of Rangers forums, one of their biggest (of very few) beefs with Gerrard is his sideline passivity, as opposed to the constant fine-tuning and tactical repositioning that Rafa does.

Ultimately, though, I think his biggest managerial model is Ged.

[surfer. Fuck you generator.]

Seen new comments / excerpts that he didn't have his own bank account till he was 38, and the Newcastle transfer decision came to a vote between his family, agent, financial advisor and himself.

Gives you a bit more insight into the kind of stunted lives some of the pros lead during their playing days, and only have the opportunity to grow as people / adults once they leave the game.

[24/7]

.....and only have the opportunity to grow....

He's not taking it. He's still only 1.73m.....

[Fromola]

Seen new comments / excerpts that he didn't have his own bank account till he was 38, and the Newcastle transfer decision came to a vote between his family, agent, financial advisor and himself.

Gives you a bit more insight into the kind of stunted lives some of the pros lead during their playing days, and only have the opportunity to grow as people / adults once they leave the game.

The Athletic article was an interesting read, but it's obvious that he's trying to reinvest himself as some kind of big Liverpool fan to try and use that as his post-career idendity as it's where he had his best years.

He lost that privilege when he signed for Man United. I remember him at Anfield in that shirt just desperate to score. Probably the only time he was motivated after leaving Madrid.

[surfer. Fuck you generator.]

The Athletic article was an interesting read, but it's obvious that he's trying to reinvest himself as some kind of big Liverpool fan to try and use that as his post-career idendity as it's where he had his best years.

He lost that privilege when he signed for Man United. I remember him at Anfield in that shirt just desperate to score. Probably the only time he was motivated after leaving Madrid.

Yeah him signing for Utd put paid to the Liverpool connection / optics post career. We can still recognise that as a player he gave everything while here, contributed massively. Ultimately, that metric trumps all, you care about something you get the work done. Plenty of players didn't for us. Beyond that, it's interesting (for me at least) to see how his mentality was, get  a bit of insight into the person, especially his issues.

[surfer. Fuck you generator.]

He's not taking it. He's still only 1.73m.....

 

[paulrazor]

someone i know has seen him in a hotel they work in, i wont say where

but she said he is ok but a bit full of himself. she overheard him the other night say something along the lines of once being the best player in the world

whoever he was with also passed a very inappropriate remark at a waitress.

the relation of mine told me "if the mate or owen said that to me id have told them to where to stick their steak knife"

didnt leave a tip either. I dared her to ask him "were you the guy always injured?"

[wheresnemeth]

someone i know has seen him in a hotel they work in, i wont say where

but she said he is ok but a bit full of himself. she overheard him the other night say something along the lines of once being the best player in the world

I don't remember him being the best player playing in England.

[jillcwhomever]

People are forgetting how much his profile went up when he scored the goal at the World Cup in France (I think!). He had a lot of fame on the back of that goal. I have to say I don't dislike him in the way that others do. I kind of felt a bit sorry for him when he had broken through into our first team, as it seemed few people were prepared to give him that much love. I am sure he was well aware that a section of our fan base would always prefer Fowler whatever Owen actually did, I never really got that. Fowler of course was a great player, but I didn't take to him in the way that others did. I just get the impression he was very aware of that when he was at Liverpool, maybe that was hard for him to deal with at the time, he was very young when he first broke through. His goals in the FA Cup were the stand out for me he was incredible that season. A shame the way it worked out for him all in all.

[Paully]

Nice Owen reference!

https://twitter.com/alanshearer/status/1179726228451991555?s=21

[God's Left Peg]

I don't remember him being the best player playing in England.

I do.

[Kenny's Jacket]

Cant help think he has considerably improved as a pundit.

[GinKop]

Cant help think he has considerably improved as a pundit.

I was actually interested in his analysis of the Mertens goal yesterday...what is going on?

[So… Howard Philips]

I was actually interested in his analysis of the Mertens goal yesterday...what is going on?

Yeh, he actually analysed how and why Mertens actually scored. I know Owen was a good striker but the ability to explain what that entails sets him apart from at least 75% of pundits.

[kavah]

Really liking Owen as a pundit. Speaks clearly and his analysis is straightforward.
Pretty much better than almost all the other ex-pros

[A-Bomb]

Really liking Owen as a pundit. Speaks clearly and his analysis is straightforward.
Pretty much better than almost all the other ex-pros

You been on the lemon sherbets mate 

[deFacto please, you bastards]

He's terrible as a commentator but as a pundit he's alright

[thejbs]

He's terrible as a commentator but as a pundit he's alright

This. I don’t mind him, really.

[Carras Left Foot]

Just listened to him on Carra’s Greatest Game podcast and thought he came across really well. Hugely regretful about not rejoining us and it’s clear he absolutely loves the club. Carra gives him a bit of stick over not renewing his contract ha.

[paulrazor]

Just listened to him on Carra’s Greatest Game podcast and thought he came across really well. Hugely regretful about not rejoining us and it’s clear he absolutely loves the club. Carra gives him a bit of stick over not renewing his contract ha.

ive seen a few tweets saying carra didnt hold back on difficult questions

ill give it a listen on the way home

though im sure he will constantly mention he tried to come back every day from 2005 to 2019

[ByrdmanLFC]

 I listened to the podcast and it's a great listen. For me it has always been hard to hate Owen, because he was the player that made me a liverpool fan, he is the reason number 10 is my favorite number and his shirt was my first official shirt i ever had, therefor i never hated him like every other Liverpool Fan, but listening to this podcast changes my view of him a good bit. He won't ever be under my favorite players nowadays, but listening to him telling his story kind of warmed my heart

[Tame_Impala]

Listened to the first half on the bus to work and it was great, can't wait to finish here so I can stick the rest on.

I probably like Owen a lot more than your average Liverpool supporter does. Obviously hated him as much as the next red when he binned us off to go to Madrid or when he joined United but one thing I'll give him since his retirement is at least he's been honest about the situation. He's came out and acknowledged that leaving in the first place was a mistake and that he did try on a few occasions to force a move back to us.

A lot of people have let the water flow under the bridge for the likes of Torres (leaving to join a direct rival at the time felt a bigger blow than when Owen moved abroad) and Suarez (embarrassing the club twice to try and force a move, as well dragging Kenny's name through the dirt with the racism fiasco), not to mention Owen contributed much more than the pair of them during his time at Liverpool. As good as they both were, Suarez won one Carling Cup when he was here and Torres won fuck all, whereas Owen was top class for a good 5 or 6 years and basically won an FA cup on his own, as well as being the standout performer in our treble season.

Obviously he doesn't deserve to be among the all time greats but I think he should be cut a lot more slack, seeing as plenty of other players seem to have been given the benefit of the doubt

[deFacto please, you bastards]

One thing I can't forgive him is going to the Mancs.

Everything else I can somewhat understand.

[S]

Watched him on Neville's program and was glad (though not surprised) he mentioned his partnership with Heskey. Lethal at times.

[Tame_Impala]

One thing I can't forgive him is going to the Mancs.

Everything else I can somewhat understand.

Can even forgive him that. Remember him saying he was looking to join Liverpool around then too but we weren't interested anymore

Think Utd had just won 3 titles on the spin, and had played in consecutive European Cup finals. Can't really blame him for taking the chance having just played for newly-relegated Newcastle

[aw1991]

Owen was probably the first player I was sad to see go, and one of the first I genuinely liked.

In retrospect, I definitely don't blame him for joining Madrid. He outgrew the team and deserved to play for a more competitive side. There is, however, something sad about the fact that he felt the need to join United in order to win the Prem.

So I don't hate him, but I struggle to appreciate the good times he had here, and can definitely understand why other fans are dismissive of him.

[LallanaInPyjamas]

Owen was probably the first player I was sad to see go, and one of the first I genuinely liked.

In retrospect, I definitely don't blame him for joining Madrid. He outgrew the team and deserved to play for a more competitive side. There is, however, something sad about the fact that he felt the need to join United in order to win the Prem.

So I don't hate him, but I struggle to appreciate the good times he had here, and can definitely understand why other fans are dismissive of him.

I don't think that's primarily why he joined them. He joined them because they were by far the best offer on the table. It was them, Everton or Hull.

[Fromola]

Tbf Owen is the only ex-red I genuinely disliked after he left because of a few reasons and I loved him as a Liverpool player. He was running his contract down and would have done a Macca and left for nothing, which would have meant no money for Alonso and no CL. He should have stuck it out to come back in 2005 rather than Newcastle but he was more concerned about his England place.  I didn't like him going to United but didn't really blame him but in going there he knew he was burning bridges.

He's clearly trying to butter up Liverpool fans again, ultimately for selfish reasons. United fans don't like him anyway, Newcastle fans despise him, Real Madrid or Stoke fans won't even remember him and although he was a good England striker he never got beyond a quarter final and is just known as another one of the failed golden generation. His successes were pretty much at Liverpool, so if even Liverpool fans hate him, what does it say for him and his career? He wants to change that.

I quite like that he's doing that though because it's another positive for us in the media. I'd rather that than a bitter little scrote like Danny Murphy who'll stick the boot in whenever he can.

[MJD-L4]

One thing I can't forgive him is going to the Mancs.

Everything else I can somewhat understand.

This. I was hurt, but understood his decision to leave for RM, even though I was only 15 at the time.

If he cared that much about LFC though, there would have been nothing to convince him to join United.

I don't hate him as a person. Can't stand him as a pundit though. Every time I see him talking us up with a grin on his face I just see him celebrating in a United shirt.

He was my first footballing idol though, one of the reasons I really got big into football was that the hottest prospect in Europe was playing for my team & had the same first name as me  . I'll never forget running up & down the little caged pitch on the estate in my oversized LFC top, copying his hand rubbing celebration every time I rolled one into an empty goal.

All in all, I love him and loathe him at the same time haha.

[Fromola]

This. I was hurt, but understood his decision to leave for RM, even though I was only 15 at the time.

If he cared that much about LFC though, there would have been nothing to convince him to join United.

I don't hate him as a person. Can't stand him as a pundit though. Every time I see him talking us up with a grin on his face I just see him celebrating in a United shirt.

He was my first footballing idol though, one of the reasons I really got big into football was that the hottest prospect in Europe was playing for my team & had the same first name as me  . I'll never forget running up & down the little caged pitch on the estate in my oversized LFC top, copying his hand rubbing celebration every time I rolled one into an empty goal.

All in all, I love him and loathe him at the same time haha.

Ultimately the reality is he didn't and never did care that much about LFC. He was never one of us, he didn't grow up a red and never really pretended to be. A red wouldn't have gone to United no matter what, but he's not a red.

Now his career is finished he looks back on it and his best and happy times where with Liverpool and wants to change the perceptions on him from the fans. As a result he's rewriting history and spinning a little bit, but he's also being straight forward as well.

I haven't listened to the Carra pod but there was the interview with TAW which i'd imagine covers the same ground. What came across in that interview is he's quite Partridge in terms of lacking self-awareness and a bit of a loner.  Ultimately he's a nice enough lad and was a great player for us.

[wige]

Tbf Owen is the only ex-red I genuinely disliked after he left because of a few reasons and I loved him as a Liverpool player. He was running his contract down and would have done a Macca and left for nothing, which would have meant no money for Alonso and no CL. He should have stuck it out to come back in 2005 rather than Newcastle but he was more concerned about his England place.  I didn't like him going to United but didn't really blame him but in going there he knew he was burning bridges.

He's clearly trying to butter up Liverpool fans again, ultimately for selfish reasons. United fans don't like him anyway, Newcastle fans despise him, Real Madrid or Stoke fans won't even remember him and although he was a good England striker he never got beyond a quarter final and is just known as another one of the failed golden generation. His successes were pretty much at Liverpool, so if even Liverpool fans hate him, what does it say for him and his career? He wants to change that.

I quite like that he's doing that though because it's another positive for us in the media. I'd rather that than a bitter little scrote like Danny Murphy who'll stick the boot in whenever he can.

He's given two interviews now to TAW and now Carra. In both he's faced some direct and pretty brutal (as far as it can be in a sporting interview) questioning. I think you have to either be ignorant of those interviews or completely ignore what he's said and the tone of his responses in order to write what you have there.

Not saying you, or anyone else, have to like him. I completely get why the United move just itself would be enough to permanently tarnish his reputation in the eyes of a Liverpool fan. Just that the reasoning and motivations you've ascribed seem way, way off the mark.

He was in my second generation of Liverpool heroes. Being 9 at the end of our last title winning season, and not from Liverpool, I don't have any real memory or affinity with that team - only through old VHS's and stories from posters on here. My first loves were the Evans boys - Fowler, McManaman, Redknapp etc. Then Owen came through. He was unbelievable from 18-21/22. One of the best Liverpool players I've seen. He scored a hat-trick on my first ever trip to Anfield and was one of my heroes.

I can forgive him his choices - especially when they were laid out as they were.

[Fromola]

He's given two interviews now to TAW and now Carra. In both he's faced some direct and pretty brutal (as far as it can be in a sporting interview) questioning. I think you have to either be ignorant of those interviews or completely ignore what he's said and the tone of his responses in order to write what you have there.

Not saying you, or anyone else, have to like him. I completely get why the United move just itself would be enough to permanently tarnish his reputation in the eyes of a Liverpool fan. Just that the reasoning and motivations you've ascribed seem way, way off the mark.

Haven't listened to Carra, listened to TAW when it came out.

Yes, he was very candid. He knows himself the United move did for him in the eyes of fans and his explanation for that is fine. He wanted to come here and Rafa didn't want him (what he doesn't say is he messed Rafa about twice and twice bitten thrice shy). Therefore his best option was Man United and that's where he went.

[Schmidt]

He's clearly trying to butter up Liverpool fans again, ultimately for selfish reasons.

Pretty much. He's talked in the past about the later stages of his career and how he was basically unable to follow his instincts on the pitch because he knew his hamstrings couldn't handle sprinting, and so he just ended up standing around in games. I can understand him going to united in that context, he knew he was crocked and so taking millions in wages from them while sitting on the bench isn't the worst thing, but he also says he would've preferred to sign for us, knowing he was crocked and unable to contribute.

[Fromola]

Pretty much. He's talked in the past about the later stages of his career and how he was basically unable to follow his instincts on the pitch because he knew his hamstrings couldn't handle sprinting, and so he just ended up standing around in games. I can understand him going to united in that context, he knew he was crocked and so taking millions in wages from them while sitting on the bench isn't the worst thing, but he also says he would've preferred to sign for us, knowing he was crocked and unable to contribute.

I think Rafa as well knew that he wasn't just signing a back up, he was signing someone who would expect to play or throw a titty lip on if he did start and got taken off (i.e. Robbie Keane who Carra also did his upmost to get us to sign a year earlier). He wasn't happy at his lack of game time at United but had to grin and bear it with Ferguson. He was clearly finished after that ACL in 2006 anyway. Ferguson signed him to piss us off as much as anything else.

I remember an interview with Owen a few years back where he blamed Houllier/LFC for overplaying him when he was younger for his injuries. Ignoring the fact that he'd throw a wobbler when he was ever left out the side. That's what I mean about rewriting history a bit. Now he's finished playing and he wants in on the ex-Liverpool circuit and trying to get the fans back.