michael owenThe former England star striker told the Times of India that the team’s strength lies in attack but the manager relies too much on the defensive structure…
Whenever Michael Owen closes his eyes, he sees himself in a dream England On his shirt he has a picture of an 18-year-old boy bursting through Argentina’s defenders and scoring a goal in Saint-Etienne at the 1998 World Cup.The goal is so spectacular that it can be compared to a Maradona moment. “I think that’s what people remember me for,” the 44-year-old told the Times of India.
Owen, a member of England’s golden generation, understands better than most the pressure on the current lineup as they struggle in the Euros in Germany. Owen knows the pressure is inevitable, but he explains that England’s ailment is much more than just this ailment. Excerpts from the conversation…
England started as favourites but they are not playing well. What do you think is going wrong?
It’s been tough to watch so far. We’re trying to build momentum in the tournament. I think Gareth SouthgateWe will probably try to make up for that deficiency by making some changes to our team against Slovenia. We will all be fine. We still have time to build the team.
It’s not all gloomy. We have four points and we will be in the knockout stage. Looking at the positives, I don’t think many teams that win the tournament start the tournament by winning 5-0 and carry on in that rhythm. If England had won the first two games five-nil, we would all have said, England are going to win the tournament. And that’s probably not the attitude or mindset we want in our players or our supporters.
But after losing two matches, what do you think is not working for the team?
I knew coming into the tournament I would be disappointed. I think Southgate is a great manager in terms of man-management. He creates a great atmosphere. He pays attention to every little thing. He has played as a player before. He knows what works.
He’s an exceptional manager in many ways. But I knew before I came into the tournament that I would disagree with his team. Southgate always plays with two holding midfield players, and I never felt you needed two. Look at the most successful teams. Look at all the Premier League teams – they all play with one. Rodri plays for Manchester City, which is probably the best team in the world at the moment. They play with just one. Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man United all play the same. I think playing with two is too defensive.
Here, Declan Rice is joined by Trent Alexander Arnold. Maybe next game it will be Kobi Manu or Adam Wharton or another midfielder but I don’t think we should play like that. I think our strength is our attack. And how many players we can put into the game, that affects the game. Declan Rice is more than enough as a No. 6. We can play our back four. We can play Rice and then we can play two ahead of Rice and then two wide players and Harry Kane up front.
So, I will try to build a more aggressive team. I will try to bring another player who is a more advanced player, Cole PalmerWho has had a great season for Chelsea. I’m trying to get him into my team, but with Southgate it’s not a surprise. I knew he would play with two holding midfielders. We didn’t know who he would play with, Rice. I think he’s going to stick with the same system, which is disappointing, but he might change one or two players.
Do you think England is not brave enough?
Absolutely. I think our strength is in our offensive players. We have players like Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Palmer, and Harry Kane as strikers. Anthony Gordon has had a great season at Newcastle. I would love to see him play. And then we have players like Jude Bellingham who are good from an offensive point of view. There are a lot of good offensive players in the team that we should include.
What’s the best way to get involved? Trent Alexander-Arnold,
I’ve always seen him as a right back. When he comes into midfield for Liverpool he’s very dangerous. But coming from a right back position and then coming and holding your own when nobody is marking you is very different to being a player who is in midfield and receiving the ball from the right back. (Because) then you have people behind you, it’s a 360-degree position, whereas when playing at right back everything is in front of you. You only really get to see 180 degrees. So, I think it’s a very different role. And even though he may come into that position playing for Liverpool, actually being in that position from the start is very different.
Southgate probably won’t play him as a right back. He’ll play other players there. But I would like to see Rice play at No. 6 and Foden and Bellingham play further up in midfield. And I would play Saka or Palmer and Gordon or Palmer. Just try to bring in an extra attacking midfield player instead of a No. 6.
You argued in favor of Cole Palmer…
Anyone who watched the Premier League last season will have seen that Palmer was excellent for most of last season, even at a struggling team like Chelsea, he scored lots of goals; he can take the ball, he’s very brave; he’s young and he’s confident; he’s creative, he scores goals. I find it hard to look at the England bench and see his name, not knowing what he can contribute on the pitch. If I was Southgate, I’d be desperately trying to find a role for him on the pitch.
Do you think Southgate is confused about his starting eleven in that way?
I don’t think he is like that. Well… in some ways he is. He has always played that way and has always been criticised. This is not a new tournament for him. You know, in the last two tournaments, everyone has said, why do we play so defensively? Why are we playing two ‘sixes’ or midfield players? He has always done that, which is why I knew I would be disappointed that some of our best players would have to sit on the bench. Maybe now he is confused about who to play as the second number 6 because in the previous tournaments we have always had Kalvin Phillips and Rice.
Phillips is no longer on the team. Jordan Henderson is no longer on the team. And he’s trying to find a replacement, which he’s a little skeptical about. But if it were me, I wouldn’t try to find a replacement. I would leave Rice alone there and get another great player on the team. What I’m arguing about and debating is not the players he’s selecting, but the system. And if he’s going to play that system, he certainly can’t play Cole. He can’t play a lot of the players I would love to play. He hasn’t done that in a long time. I don’t think he’s going to change now.
Do you think players should take more responsibility for their performances?
I think the players, at the end of the day, take responsibility. They are the ones who are on the field and they are the ones who are criticised. So, I completely understand what Harry Kane said (reacting to Gary Lineker’s comments). I thought his words were very measured and very responsible and on behalf of the team, as captain, I thought it was great.
You can never change the pundits. If it’s not Lineker, it’s someone else. Pundits are being paid to give their opinion. But still, Kane is very accurate in saying, ‘Wait a minute, some of you have played before. You know how tough it is to play in a tournament. You know how tough it is to represent England with all the pressure and expectations.’
Playing for England is inevitable, the expectations are probably different to any other nation, and I find it hard to find solutions to that and how we can make things better in the future. Because you will always have that pressure on you.
The longer we don’t win tournaments, the more the pressure builds up, and the harder it becomes to deal with. Then you lose confidence from people criticising you all the time and the pressure builds up and you don’t play well. It’s very difficult to be an England player. It’s been very difficult to be an England player for a long time. But I don’t really know the solution.
You can never stop people from having their own opinions and you can never stop players from reading and hearing those opinions and then you can never stop fans from hearing their opinions and then having their own opinions. If the game isn’t going well, they badmouth their players. And then we get caught in this whole cycle, we’re all almost at each other’s throats. Fans, pundits, media, players, we’re all fighting against each other and then we’ll be out and it’ll be a big disaster, a big investigation. It’s not easy at all.
We have great players, but there is a lot behind the scenes as well that these players have to deal with.
What about your generation?
There was probably more pressure on me and my teammates than on any player in the last couple of decades. We were classed as a golden generation that everybody thought would win competitions. There was a lot of pressure on us. And that’s why I can talk about it with the expertise and insight of actually being in that dressing room when the pressure was probably at its highest. I wouldn’t say there’s as much pressure now as there was on our generation. It’s something you have to be able to manage as an England player. Not every player can do that. And one of the biggest criticisms over the last couple of years is why don’t our players play as well for England as they do at club level? And that’s true. You can only assume it’s because of the pressure.
Michael, if you were to close your eyes right now and think of your favourite moment in an England jersey, what would it be?
Oh, wow. Well, I would love to score against Argentina in the World Cup. I had some amazing moments. I scored in the European Championship quarter-final (against Portugal, 2004), in the World Cup quarter-final against Brazil in 2002, but we lost those games. We lost against Argentina as well. Scoring a hat-trick against Germany in a World Cup qualifier was amazing. But I think one moment that people remember me for, and probably one of my iconic moments, was scoring against Argentina in the World Cup at the age of 18.
(see UEFA) euro 2024 on Sony Liv)
Whenever Michael Owen closes his eyes, he sees himself in a dream England On his shirt he has a picture of an 18-year-old boy bursting through Argentina’s defenders and scoring a goal in Saint-Etienne at the 1998 World Cup.The goal is so spectacular that it can be compared to a Maradona moment. “I think that’s what people remember me for,” the 44-year-old told the Times of India.
Owen, a member of England’s golden generation, understands better than most the pressure on the current lineup as they struggle in the Euros in Germany. Owen knows the pressure is inevitable, but he explains that England’s ailment is much more than just this ailment. Excerpts from the conversation…
England started as favourites but they are not playing well. What do you think is going wrong?
It’s been tough to watch so far. We’re trying to build momentum in the tournament. I think Gareth SouthgateWe will probably try to make up for that deficiency by making some changes to our team against Slovenia. We will all be fine. We still have time to build the team.
It’s not all gloomy. We have four points and we will be in the knockout stage. Looking at the positives, I don’t think many teams that win the tournament start the tournament by winning 5-0 and carry on in that rhythm. If England had won the first two games five-nil, we would all have said, England are going to win the tournament. And that’s probably not the attitude or mindset we want in our players or our supporters.
But after losing two matches, what do you think is not working for the team?
I knew coming into the tournament I would be disappointed. I think Southgate is a great manager in terms of man-management. He creates a great atmosphere. He pays attention to every little thing. He has played as a player before. He knows what works.
He’s an exceptional manager in many ways. But I knew before I came into the tournament that I would disagree with his team. Southgate always plays with two holding midfield players, and I never felt you needed two. Look at the most successful teams. Look at all the Premier League teams – they all play with one. Rodri plays for Manchester City, which is probably the best team in the world at the moment. They play with just one. Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man United all play the same. I think playing with two is too defensive.
Here, Declan Rice is joined by Trent Alexander Arnold. Maybe next game it will be Kobi Manu or Adam Wharton or another midfielder but I don’t think we should play like that. I think our strength is our attack. And how many players we can put into the game, that affects the game. Declan Rice is more than enough as a No. 6. We can play our back four. We can play Rice and then we can play two ahead of Rice and then two wide players and Harry Kane up front.
So, I will try to build a more aggressive team. I will try to bring another player who is a more advanced player, Cole PalmerWho has had a great season for Chelsea. I’m trying to get him into my team, but with Southgate it’s not a surprise. I knew he would play with two holding midfielders. We didn’t know who he would play with, Rice. I think he’s going to stick with the same system, which is disappointing, but he might change one or two players.
Do you think England is not brave enough?
Absolutely. I think our strength is in our offensive players. We have players like Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Palmer, and Harry Kane as strikers. Anthony Gordon has had a great season at Newcastle. I would love to see him play. And then we have players like Jude Bellingham who are good from an offensive point of view. There are a lot of good offensive players in the team that we should include.
What’s the best way to get involved? Trent Alexander-Arnold,
I’ve always seen him as a right back. When he comes into midfield for Liverpool he’s very dangerous. But coming from a right back position and then coming and holding your own when nobody is marking you is very different to being a player who is in midfield and receiving the ball from the right back. (Because) then you have people behind you, it’s a 360-degree position, whereas when playing at right back everything is in front of you. You only really get to see 180 degrees. So, I think it’s a very different role. And even though he may come into that position playing for Liverpool, actually being in that position from the start is very different.
Southgate probably won’t play him as a right back. He’ll play other players there. But I would like to see Rice play at No. 6 and Foden and Bellingham play further up in midfield. And I would play Saka or Palmer and Gordon or Palmer. Just try to bring in an extra attacking midfield player instead of a No. 6.
You argued in favor of Cole Palmer…
Anyone who watched the Premier League last season will have seen that Palmer was excellent for most of last season, even at a struggling team like Chelsea, he scored lots of goals; he can take the ball, he’s very brave; he’s young and he’s confident; he’s creative, he scores goals. I find it hard to look at the England bench and see his name, not knowing what he can contribute on the pitch. If I was Southgate, I’d be desperately trying to find a role for him on the pitch.
Do you think Southgate is confused about his starting eleven in that way?
I don’t think he is like that. Well… in some ways he is. He has always played that way and has always been criticised. This is not a new tournament for him. You know, in the last two tournaments, everyone has said, why do we play so defensively? Why are we playing two ‘sixes’ or midfield players? He has always done that, which is why I knew I would be disappointed that some of our best players would have to sit on the bench. Maybe now he is confused about who to play as the second number 6 because in the previous tournaments we have always had Kalvin Phillips and Rice.
Phillips is no longer on the team. Jordan Henderson is no longer on the team. And he’s trying to find a replacement, which he’s a little skeptical about. But if it were me, I wouldn’t try to find a replacement. I would leave Rice alone there and get another great player on the team. What I’m arguing about and debating is not the players he’s selecting, but the system. And if he’s going to play that system, he certainly can’t play Cole. He can’t play a lot of the players I would love to play. He hasn’t done that in a long time. I don’t think he’s going to change now.
Do you think players should take more responsibility for their performances?
I think the players, at the end of the day, take responsibility. They are the ones who are on the field and they are the ones who are criticised. So, I completely understand what Harry Kane said (reacting to Gary Lineker’s comments). I thought his words were very measured and very responsible and on behalf of the team, as captain, I thought it was great.
You can never change the pundits. If it’s not Lineker, it’s someone else. Pundits are being paid to give their opinion. But still, Kane is very accurate in saying, ‘Wait a minute, some of you have played before. You know how tough it is to play in a tournament. You know how tough it is to represent England with all the pressure and expectations.’
Playing for England is inevitable, the expectations are probably different to any other nation, and I find it hard to find solutions to that and how we can make things better in the future. Because you will always have that pressure on you.
The longer we don’t win tournaments, the more the pressure builds up, and the harder it becomes to deal with. Then you lose confidence from people criticising you all the time and the pressure builds up and you don’t play well. It’s very difficult to be an England player. It’s been very difficult to be an England player for a long time. But I don’t really know the solution.
You can never stop people from having their own opinions and you can never stop players from reading and hearing those opinions and then you can never stop fans from hearing their opinions and then having their own opinions. If the game isn’t going well, they badmouth their players. And then we get caught in this whole cycle, we’re all almost at each other’s throats. Fans, pundits, media, players, we’re all fighting against each other and then we’ll be out and it’ll be a big disaster, a big investigation. It’s not easy at all.
We have great players, but there is a lot behind the scenes as well that these players have to deal with.
What about your generation?
There was probably more pressure on me and my teammates than on any player in the last couple of decades. We were classed as a golden generation that everybody thought would win competitions. There was a lot of pressure on us. And that’s why I can talk about it with the expertise and insight of actually being in that dressing room when the pressure was probably at its highest. I wouldn’t say there’s as much pressure now as there was on our generation. It’s something you have to be able to manage as an England player. Not every player can do that. And one of the biggest criticisms over the last couple of years is why don’t our players play as well for England as they do at club level? And that’s true. You can only assume it’s because of the pressure.
Michael, if you were to close your eyes right now and think of your favourite moment in an England jersey, what would it be?
Oh, wow. Well, I would love to score against Argentina in the World Cup. I had some amazing moments. I scored in the European Championship quarter-final (against Portugal, 2004), in the World Cup quarter-final against Brazil in 2002, but we lost those games. We lost against Argentina as well. Scoring a hat-trick against Germany in a World Cup qualifier was amazing. But I think one moment that people remember me for, and probably one of my iconic moments, was scoring against Argentina in the World Cup at the age of 18.
(see UEFA) euro 2024 on Sony Liv)
