Home / Champions League / Owen’s Out to Pasture; Rooney’s a Disaster

 


It happens to every player eventually, after a long road filled with success and acrimony, loss and joy, they enter the greener pastures of retirement. For some, they go there gracefully, others take their inspiration from Zinedine Zidane, but in the case of Micheal Owen it seems to be a little of both. At 35, he was one of the best young talents of his generation ,and graced both the colors of Manchester United and England over his career, but now it seems the years have caught up with him. Sidelined again by his wicker hamstrings, Owen seems distant to make an exit from the top flight of the game at the end of his contract. His services, once indispensable to Newcastle are no longer required at Man United, even in the wake of the recent Rooney saga, and he has a worthy successor waiting in the wing. Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez has been the real star of united since Rooney decided that three was the company he’d like to keep; and goals were a good piece of leverage for a contract negotiation. Owen seems on his last legs, and seems time to put the wages he’s paid towards a younger player, and with Chicharito in the team, do they really need him?

As for Rooney, the real question is does he intend to stay for the rest of his five year contract, or is this simply some sort of face saving measure for both sides. Rooney is a man with a credibility gap, both at home and on the pitch. If the rumors of glasses being throw while out on a recent “quiet dinner” prove true, then it seems his bad form will be set to continue. The irony of trying to patch up his personal life in a place like Dubai where everything, even the ground, is artificial and defined by misogyny seems lost on him. Apparently he was even confronted by an angry fan in the lobby of the hotel he’s staying in and had to justify his treacherous negotiating tactics. If he can’t scrape some form out of the bottom of his decidedly scummy barrel then will the United faithful accept him back to the top of the pedestal; or will he begin to viewed with the same mistrust and malaise that the Glazers inspire?

For my part it seems that it will all come down to Rooney’s performance on his return. Soccer fans are fickle, and Sir Alex has rightly pointed out that they build heroes quickly, but this doesn’t always apply to those who fall off the top like Rooney. It will be a long humbling crawl back to glory for him, and he’s facing a similar struggle at home, for United’s sake, I hope his ego can take it. As for Owen, it seem the money used for his wages could be better spent elsewhere, and I don’t too much of a future for him at the club.

Written by: Matthew Wall, editor, soccerprose.com

 

About the author: Matthew Wall

 

I've played soccer since I could walk thanks to my father and love keeping up on all the latest gear and gab. I'm in my twenties, and I'm lucky enough to have found work in search marketing for a leading soccer retailer after completing my M.A. at Georgetown in 2008. My team is Liverpool, and national side is Ireland, but I've also got a passion for GAA and a number of sports. Feel free to give me a shout on Google+

 

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