Forgotten Owen targets England recall

[MFC1992]

Manchester United striker Michael Owen still harbours hopes of once again pulling on an England shirt, despite being overlooked by manager Fabio Capello for more than two years.

Owen, 30, last featured for England in March 2008, three months after Capello took charge, and he has slipped behind fringe players such as Darren Bent and Bobby Zamora at international level.

With England making a winning start to their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign with victories over Bulgaria and Switzerland a recall seems unlikely.

Owen, however, still believes he has something to offer, now he has shaken off a groin injury.

Owen said: "I've got 89 caps so far. I played for England for many years, starting when I was 18.

"I played basically right the way through until about two years ago, which was my last game. So hopefully I will play for them again one day, you never know."

 

[NunoPeixinho]

Time Machine still works after all ..

 

[GodCubed]

Why not? If he still has it and can stay away from injuries, he's about a clinical finisher as you could wish for, and his all-round game has improved a lot over the years.

 

[CJ]

Lets face it, Owen's a player who relies on his pace pretty much. He's now 30 and losing his pace.

He's Past it.

 

[*JK*]

he can still play for them as long as he has the fitness

 

[Mike.]

whilst i dont think he should be recalled, given how our 4-4-1-1 now favours finishers again rather than big men, you can see the sense in it. i'd rather see andy carrol though

 

[Joneesy]

It's not how old he is, it's how good he is. If he's 30-31 and still performs brilliantly, call him up.

Frank Lampards Older than him if i have my facts right, so it's not a case of being old.

 

[Mike.]

Lets face it, Owen's a player who relies on his pace pretty much. He's now 30 and losing his pace.

He's Past it.

not true, especially as hes not relied on his pace at all for united, we actually played him deeper

 

[Ride The Walrus]

Nah, talking of bringing a new younger side for the next World Cup & Euro's.Really doubt he'll ever play for England again.

 

[CJ]

not true, especially as hes not relied on his pace at all for united, we actually played him deeper

He's nowhere near as prolific for you now when he plays then he was for Liverpool, Madrid.

 

[Mike.]

He's nowhere near as prolific for you now when he plays then he was for Liverpool, Madrid.

thats down to injury more than anything, his pace may have dropped off but his overall play is considerably better, and he sees opportunites much quicker than just about any other england striker. he has an exceptional ability to find space, and if you pick him out in that space hes likely to score. not saying he should be called up but hes certainly not past it

 

[Irish Scouse]

Why not give him a chance?

Still as good a finisher as you'll get anywhere. Great positioning and anticipation.

 

[DMF]

Maybe he could call him up one last time for the game against France and give him 90 minutes if he's fit. Just to see if he really can cut it. I mean, if you can't score against the French team these days then you won't do too well if we're being honest. Also, gives him a chance to say goodbye considering he pretty much lost his starting birth when he ****** his knee at the World Cup.

Surely he's got to give him one more cap after all he's done for England over the years?

 

[Neall]

i still think he could make the team only IF Defoe was injured or completely off form, Owen is our next best finisher after Defoe and Rooney.

 

[Dobcheev]

A great talent who should have played twice as many games as he's managed to. If not for his terrible injury record, he would have been immense..... a true legend. Now you fear for him every time he's tackled or even goes on a run.

We got the best out of him & he did us proud, but I think his ongoing fitness concerns are killing his career at international & club level.

 

[LFCMarshall]

I would welcome him back anyday at liverpool top quality player when fit!

if someone could keep him fit and play him regualary which he wotng et at united then i think it is possible he could get a recall but doubt it.... with bent, zamoraa, defoe, rooney and even crouch ahead of him it hard seeing when they all play first team

 

[bluenose_rob]

Lets face it.....he would of done much better than the **** we took to the World Cup!
I have always been a fan of Owen, he knows where the back of the net is! I think with this new idea of playing Rooney really deep for England, having Owen up top will work quite well!

 

[Cal.]

Trying to put aside personal hate here, but I don't think he deserves a call up. We need to be blooding through youth and still have players throughout their 20s who can do the job. If we were to call up a veteran, you'd want them to be reliable and not to be injury prone.

 

[Jay Pricey]

If he plays well then there would be no harm in calling him up, but he is realistically lower down in the pecking order of England strikers, so it would take some top notch form to bring him to the top of the order to gain a call up.

 

[Jak]

he voted no as he isn't good enough to start. He could be a good option to have on the bench and throw on with 20 mins to go when his pace won't be as much of an issues as players will be getting tired. His finishing is top notch (except his miss against Leeds in FA cup ) and his ability to see chances is great along with his positioning (winner against city last year is prime example). I voted no though as we need to look forward, not back