England’s flat and uninspired display against Montenegro had much to do with the strike force that was available to Capello. With both Bent and Defoe injured and Rooney out of form, it was no real surprise that England lacked potency in front of goal.
After the injury to Bent it is difficult to explain why Owen didn’t find himself included in the squad. Owen has an extraordinary record for England, netting 40 goals in 89 games including representing England in three World Cups. It is a credit to Capello that he saw through the media spin on Kevin Davies and called him into the team but not to only have three front line strikers was clearly a mistake.
With the greatest respect to Kevin Davies he is not a player that will change a tight game from the bench, with only two goals from seven starts before the match at Wembley his record suggests this. With a player like Michael Owen, you get a predatory instinct from the bench. Remember the Manchester derby last season? With Capello asking his wingers to cut in onto their favoured foot, Crouch became an isolated figure and the introduction of Davies did nothing to alleviate the problem. Any loose balls or deflections in the box would have suited a proven goal scorer in Owen rather than Davies.
A call up for Owen would not be a long-term solution for the striking problems England have. However most England fans must agree that with the greatest respect in the world, they would rather have seen Owen come on for the last ten minutes than Davies. Owen started the season in limbo at Old Trafford. With the signing of Hernandez and emergence of Macheda it seemed that Owen’s days in Manchester were numbered.
However, Owen has clearly worked hard in training and his performance in the Carling Cup brought Owen back to starting line up against Sunderland. Owen without doubt is not the same player that left Ayala for dead in 1998 – with the situation England found them selves in he would have given England’s attack a different dimension.
It is not a convincing argument that Owen is passed it for England. Owen netted a hat trick in the Champions League last season and has been brought on against the top teams in England. Looking from the outside it seems that Capello either has forgotten about Owen or simply has little trust that he can still give something at international level. Maybe when every front line striker is fit Capello is right not to include Owen. Capello and England go into the new year on the back of an abject performance. Owen would not have changed the performance but it is not inconceivable to think a winning goal could have been achieved with Owen on the pitch.
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