Injury Prone Michael Owen

I have been hung out to dry, raked over the coals, laughed at and yelled at prior to the World Cup and after it, for suggesting that Michael Owen should only be a super-sub for England.

In a Big Soccer post I was accused of having a "mental illness".

But today the BBC has a story that supports my views about Owen.

The BBC reports that researchers have discovered that "repeat injuries are more likely to be the result of risk taking behaviour and psychological factors - if a player makes a mistake once, it might be likely that he will make the same mistake again. "

That is a rather interesting angle to it all. It might explain why Owen has become "injury prone".

I feel very strongly about Michael Owen being injury prone and therefore unreliable as a starting player. I have played and watched a lot of soccer over the years and coached at a high level.

If I were manager of England, I would acknowledge Owen's talent by picking him for the 23 man squad. But I wouldn't have him as a starter. Not only can he not handle that load any more at the club or country level, despite his young age, but his teams have to plan to not have him around. His teams need to develop other starters which they can rely on. He can then be used in special situations as a weapon.

While he doesn't have the body any more he still has the ability to score goals with the best of them.