Forgotten Hero

Last updated : 28 August 2005 By True Red

This time last year Liverpool fans were up in arms after hearing the news that Michael Owen, after months of delaying signing an extension to his Liverpool contract, jumped ship and signed for Real Madrid. It emerged that he had been holding out for his contract to expire the following season and newly-appointed Rafael Benitez had told him to sign the new contract or leave. Within days he was gone and Liverpool picked up £8million plus Antonio Nunez. Citing regular Champions League football as one of the reasons for his departure from Anfield

Many of us were gutted to have lost a player of michael Owen's ability for a paltry £8m, and were less than impressed with Nunez. However, if Benitez hadn't moved so quickly we would have certainly lost Owen on a Bosman the following June, possibly to Premiership rivals Chelsea, Arsenal or Manchester United.

Despite Owen's departure, Benitez's new-look Liverpool looked good. Gone were Gerard Houllier's counter-attacking tactics and in came a more positive, attacking approach. 'Pass and Move' was back. It wasn't long before Owen was forgotten and the new king of the Kop was Djibril Cisse.

Fast forward 12 months and we see a different situation. Liverpool are now Champions of Europe while Owen has moved down the pecking order at Madrid. Sven Goran Eriksson has told him he risks losing his place in the England squad for the forthcoming World Cup and has decided a move back to the Premiership is needed to resurrect his international career.

Surprisingly there was no interest from Chelsea, Arsenal or Manchester United. The only club expressing an interest were Newcastle United, who face a season without any involvement in European football, having been knocked out of the Inter Toto Cup at the semi-final stage.

Owen has insisted he would prefer to return to Liverpool, but Benitez doesn't want to know. Chairman David Moores and chief executive Rick Parry would like to see the former Academy star return but the manager has no such emotional ties and doesn't see the value in bringing back a player who only a year ago refused to commit to the club.

The majority of Liverpool fans want to see Owen back at Anfield, but appear to have forgotten what life was like when he was last here. Few strikers are able to play alongside Owen, who prefers to play as a lone marksman, with a supporting forward on hand to feed him, as Emile Heskey did. Peter Crouch would be the obvious choice, but Morientes doesn't have the physical strength to be able to fulfill the role. Djibril Cisse would struggle to play alongside Owen, as Fowler and Baros did previously.

Let's also remember Owen's injury problems. He has been dogged by a persistent hamstring problem which has left Liverpool without a top class finisher for large spells in recent seasons. His injury-free season at Real can be partly attributed to the lack of football there - he only played six full games. If he were to return to Liverpool, who have a hectic season ahead, would our squad be able to cope with any possible injury spells, particularly if Cisse is offloaded as has been suggested?

I believe Benitez is in a perfect position to make the right decision for Liverpool Football Club. He has been employed to bring success to the club and selects players who he feels can bring us that success. If he believes that Owen doesn't offer what Liverpool need (as Ferguson, Wenger and Mourinho have already decided) then we must accept that decision and move on, and let Michael seek another way of guaranteeing international football which, at the end of the day, is his real reason for wanting to leave Real Madrid.