By Myles Palmer
_________________________________________
IF I WAS Owen’s agent, I would advise him to feel an injury today.
Michael is off-form, lacking fitness, defensive, short of confidence, and if England fail to beat Wales with him in the team, he will get another battering from the media, which he might not survive.
Owen’s year is shaping like the season from hell, so he has to be smart.
Does his agent have the bottle to advise his client to give this one a miss and wait for a start in Azerbaijan, or a goal from the bench ?
Either scenario would be an opportunity, less dangerous, a chance to be successful again.
TODAY IS THE FIRST day that I have read the England coverage in the papers and I’m shocked.
Suggestions that Sven will play 4-3-3 have rattled my equilibrium, big time.
I was having a good week till I read that story.
I was throbbing along with the sparkling piano of Monty Alexander.
4-3-3 WILL NOT WORK ! It’s crazy!
But it would show that Sven lacks the bottle to drop Owen.
It would demonstrate that the manager who refused to choose between Lampard and Scholes, and therefore bungled Euro 2004, has learned nothing from that huge mistake.
We are being told that Sven now refuses to choose between Defoe and Owen !!!!
INCREDIBLE !
Even with Steven Gerrard available, he should never play 4-3-3.
If he does it, we will see Wales take over midfield and Beckham hitting 55 long balls.
Lampard will be wasted.
It will be a disaster!
I WAS GOING TO write a sensible piece here, saying that Rio is a far better defender now, more authoritative, an awesome centreback who shut down the boisterous Cisse, but I’m not in the mood to write anything constructive about Svengland this morning.
Don’t like writing about football when I’ve got the hump.
So I’m gonna end this tantrum RIGHT NOW!
8th October 2004