The man in question is Michael Owen – a player who once set Anfield alight with his scintillating forward displays and natural goal-scoring ability. Unfortunately, that very same Michael Owen no longer exists – at least not as anything beyond a memory. Yet there are reports suggesting that Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is keen to bring Owen back to Anfield when his contract with Manchester United expires.
These reports come courtesy of Caughtoffside.com. Whether there is any truth to them remains to be seen, but it does raise an intriguing question – exactly how would Liverpool fans feel about seeing their once beloved striker return to the club?
Michael Owen was at Liverpool for eight years between 1996 and 2004, racking up 216 appearances and scoring an astonishing 118 goals. Fans loved him, pundits loved him and he soon established himself as one of the best strikers in Liverpool’s history. Unfortunately, his physical condition and decision making since he left the club has left it unlikely that fans would consent to the aging forward’s return.
Caughtoffside.com suggests that Michael Owen still has a number of allies within the Liverpool changing room, such as Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher. One feels, however, that in this case it won’t be enough to have a few buddies already in the workplace – it needs to be clear that he can add something to this Liverpool side – something that remains questionable.
His injury problems will be a worry for any team that considers signing Michael Owen. At 31-years-old, riddled with injuries (he’s made just 29 appearances for United since signing in July 2009) Owen doesn’t make for an attractive prospect. His trademark pace has all but disappeared and though he may still have the movement and ability to finish who knows how often Liverpool would be able to utilise these talents given the amount of time Michael spends out of the game with various injuries.
I haven’t even mentioned the fact that he signed for Liverpool’s biggest rivals, Manchester United yet.
Michael Owen was wonderful when he was at Liverpool – he’s the source of any number of great memories, but that time is starting to seem somewhat distant. Liverpool are not the same beast they were back then and neither is Michael Owen. As Liverpool rebuild and attempt to climb to the top of the Premier League once more, they’ll need the best player’s available and, as much as I hate to say it, Owen is something of a liability.
In fact, I reckon Liverpool fans would rather tune in and watch Gary Neville on SkySports than see their old boy back at Anfield.
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As long as he isn’t on astronomical wages as most of our freebies are and a few decent performances (which if any manager’s going to get out of him its kenny) makes him a decent back up for next year helping us to an increasingly more realistic title challenge he could write his way back into the liverpool record books and their fans hearts.