OPINION
It’s unclear exactly who Michael Owen has been watching all season as he bizarrely suggested that West Ham defender Aaron Cresswell was being overlooked by England.
The former Liverpool forward, when predicting the Hammers’ trip to face Leicester City on Saturday, revealed that he rated the 28-year-old defender so highly that he was surprised he wasn’t being considering to go the World Cup with England.
“No Premier League defender has been involved in more goals this season than West Ham’s Aaron Cresswell (1 goal & 7 assists) and I am surprised that his name is not mentioned more frequently with regard to Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad,” wrote Owen in his predictions for BetVictor.
It’s clear that Owen must be wearing rose-coloured glasses if he is genuinely shocked at Cresswell not being linked with call-up for England.
The 28-year-old may have scored one goal, while creating seven, in the 36 appearances he has made this season, but he has no business being praised for his displays.
It’s extremely misleading that he tops any positive list, by being the Premier League defender to be involved with the most goals during this current campaign, as he should have his Hammers career considered if anything this summer.
The 28-year-old’s crossing ability is undeniably good, but that’s about it.
Cresswell has been a consistent liability at the London Stadium this season and is one of the stars of the club, who can only blame themselves for the Hammers still being in the relegation battle.
The left-back doesn’t play for the team who have conceded the most goals in the Premier League this season, letting 67 goals in 35 league games, by accident.
While there are numerous games that Owen should go and watch in order to reevaluate his opinion, he should probably start with the Hammers’ clash with Bournemouth from Boxing Day.
During that match, Cresswell whipped in a corner for James Collins to head home in order to earn assist before crumbling in the game to cause his supporters to endure a living nightmare.
The 28-year-old was constantly caught out of position, seem to mistime every tackle and even had to tread carefully from the 56th minute of the game, after picking up a pointless yellow card.
The Hammers’ clash with Bournemouth on that occasion ended as a 3-3 draw, and if Cresswell had actually successfully defended in that game, his side might have won.
Owen may want to say he forgot that match, or didn’t see it, but that was just one of many games where the 28-year-old has submitted a woeful performance this season.
Therefore all Hammers supporters will clearly agree that they would love to watch their side through the eyes of Owen, as if he rates Cresswell that highly, he might actually think the London-based club have had a good season.