Should Owen be remembered as a great?

Michael Owen made his gushing admission that he was to retire and the thought of it had reduced him to tears, but will he be remembered as a great?

Unfortunately for his sake no. He will be remembered as a football mercenary who whittled his career away as soon as he decided to leave Liverpool.

The 1998 strike against Argentina is one which people will nostalgically look back upon but it is not enough to nullify and mitigate the way his career turned out.

Whilst he was unfortunate with injuries his desire to play football at the intensity that he was once capable of vanished in his time at St James’s Park.

Whilst people will like to remember the old Michael Owen of 10 years ago, essentially most people considered him retired long before this season.

He may have an impressive international record for England but prioritising this over club football means that you can’t hail his consistency to deliver.

Owen was one to lavish his abilities in the six yard box but once his game lost its one crucial factor, pace, his game became redundant.

His swan-songs at Man United and now Stoke have been prolonged goodbyes. On the football pitch he is not a presence that will be missed anytime soon either.

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