Why didn’t he return to Anfield? Was his school a footballer factory? And does he really get his sister to buy all his music?
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Being Michael Owen can be a strange business at times. The 27-year-old has been conspicuous by his absence from the Premiership since returning from Real Madird in August 2005 following two freak injuries which first ended his season with a broken metatarsal and later shredded his 2006 World Cup ambitions when he hit the deck against Sweden with torn cruciate ligaments. An enforced period of rehabilitation and telly watching has followed.
Yet Owen has been a busy boy, spending more time at work than his fully fit Newcastle colleagues. And when FourFourTwo meets the Toon striker at a makeshift studio in Woking, he’s already recording an advert for the new Umbro England strip. Make-up girls powder his nose, lighting equipment whirrs noisily and fixed grins are fired into nearby cameras on request. It appears to be business as usual for Owen, who, despite suggestions from the media that his trademark pace will never fully return, shows no signs of slowing down.
And as with referees, man markers and over-exuberant make-up artists, he’ll be handling your questions with the expected levels of diplomacy. Plus the occasional wince...
You went to the same school as Gary Speed. Was your PE teacher some Mickey-from-Rocky-type motivational genius?
Steve Marshall, Stoke-on-Trent
[Laughs] I guess he was. It was a guy called Mr Ledgham and he was a top man. He was hard but fair. He liked the people that tried and he didn’t like the people that didn’t try – like most PE teachers I guess. Our school had quite a good reputation in the area for sport – Ian Rush came from just down the road too, so maybe there’s something in the water. He was strict, which was probably
why he did quite well. He had his own unique style and I loved PE. Whether it was spring, summer, autumn or winter, football, athletics or games, it was my favourite lesson. I always used to put the effort in. I never got any
detentions because I tried loads. I think I got a few off my French teacher, though!
What’s the best goal you’ve ever scored? Apart from the ones against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup, of course...
Pete Simpson, Liverpool
I scored a brilliant one for England U15s at St James’ Park. We were playing Scotland and I remember they had just equalised to bring the game to 1-1. I was standing on the centre spot for the kick-off, the ball was tapped to me and that was it, I was off. I beat about four people and put it past the keeper. Sky were televising it too, so I got to see it afterwards. We ended up winning the game 2-1 and won the Victory Shield as well, so it was quite a good night, all in all.
Do you keep your goals in a large video vault that you watch when you’re bored?
Johnny Allen, via email
[Laughs] No. I probably will when I retire so I can remember what I used to be like.
Being an Evertonian, why did you celebrate in front of their fans when you scored your first derby goal? Was it a difficult moment?
Macca, Didsbury
Not really. I’d been playing at Liverpool for a while and you build relationships with fans and players when you move to a new club. I can’t understand it when players kiss the club badge when they score their first goal, because it’s like going into a relationship with a new girlfriend – you don’t have those feelings straight away, they develop. So when I scored against our biggest rivals it was a big deal. I supported Everton as a kid, they’re a great club, but it’s great to score in the derby.
How are Everton fans with you these days?
Len Barrett, Workington
They’re OK. They used to sing a lot of chants at me, but in general they’re fine. Where I live there are a lot of Everton fans and my mum, dad and brother were all born in the centre of Liverpool, so when I go back I run into a few, but they’re good to me.
A hat-trick against the Germans on their own turf: can you explain what went through your mind when the third went in?
Hanners, via email
It was amazing. The first was very different from the third because it was the equaliser and I thought, “Yes, we’re back in the game!”. Plus I knew at that moment that we could beat them. The second was great and the third was the icing on the cake. A hat-trick in any international is tough, but it’s particularly hard against a team like Germany. It was one of my best moments in an England jersey. It’s also a moment that most England fans can really look back on and feel a sense of pride. That was a great occasion and it was as about exciting as it gets for a footballer.
Yet Owen has been a busy boy, spending more time at work than his fully fit Newcastle colleagues. And when FourFourTwo meets the Toon striker at a makeshift studio in Woking, he’s already recording an advert for the new Umbro England strip. Make-up girls powder his nose, lighting equipment whirrs noisily and fixed grins are fired into nearby cameras on request. It appears to be business as usual for Owen, who, despite suggestions from the media that his trademark pace will never fully return, shows no signs of slowing down.
And as with referees, man markers and over-exuberant make-up artists, he’ll be handling your questions with the expected levels of diplomacy. Plus the occasional wince...
You went to the same school as Gary Speed. Was your PE teacher some Mickey-from-Rocky-type motivational genius?
Steve Marshall, Stoke-on-Trent
[Laughs] I guess he was. It was a guy called Mr Ledgham and he was a top man. He was hard but fair. He liked the people that tried and he didn’t like the people that didn’t try – like most PE teachers I guess. Our school had quite a good reputation in the area for sport – Ian Rush came from just down the road too, so maybe there’s something in the water. He was strict, which was probably
why he did quite well. He had his own unique style and I loved PE. Whether it was spring, summer, autumn or winter, football, athletics or games, it was my favourite lesson. I always used to put the effort in. I never got any
detentions because I tried loads. I think I got a few off my French teacher, though!
What’s the best goal you’ve ever scored? Apart from the ones against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup, of course...
Pete Simpson, Liverpool
I scored a brilliant one for England U15s at St James’ Park. We were playing Scotland and I remember they had just equalised to bring the game to 1-1. I was standing on the centre spot for the kick-off, the ball was tapped to me and that was it, I was off. I beat about four people and put it past the keeper. Sky were televising it too, so I got to see it afterwards. We ended up winning the game 2-1 and won the Victory Shield as well, so it was quite a good night, all in all.
Do you keep your goals in a large video vault that you watch when you’re bored?
Johnny Allen, via email
[Laughs] No. I probably will when I retire so I can remember what I used to be like.
Being an Evertonian, why did you celebrate in front of their fans when you scored your first derby goal? Was it a difficult moment?
Macca, Didsbury
Not really. I’d been playing at Liverpool for a while and you build relationships with fans and players when you move to a new club. I can’t understand it when players kiss the club badge when they score their first goal, because it’s like going into a relationship with a new girlfriend – you don’t have those feelings straight away, they develop. So when I scored against our biggest rivals it was a big deal. I supported Everton as a kid, they’re a great club, but it’s great to score in the derby.
How are Everton fans with you these days?
Len Barrett, Workington
They’re OK. They used to sing a lot of chants at me, but in general they’re fine. Where I live there are a lot of Everton fans and my mum, dad and brother were all born in the centre of Liverpool, so when I go back I run into a few, but they’re good to me.
A hat-trick against the Germans on their own turf: can you explain what went through your mind when the third went in?
Hanners, via email
It was amazing. The first was very different from the third because it was the equaliser and I thought, “Yes, we’re back in the game!”. Plus I knew at that moment that we could beat them. The second was great and the third was the icing on the cake. A hat-trick in any international is tough, but it’s particularly hard against a team like Germany. It was one of my best moments in an England jersey. It’s also a moment that most England fans can really look back on and feel a sense of pride. That was a great occasion and it was as about exciting as it gets for a footballer.
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