Premier League 
/ Richard Aikman / 25 September 2011 / Leave a Comment 
Michael Owen was given no time or space by Stoke's defenders but he also failed to create any chances for himself
"Owen passed largely unnoticed, other than the few occasions in which his inability to hold up the ball up to earn his side a reprieve from the barrage from the home side was all too evident."
A lacklustre performance from the former England star at Stoke are proof that Michael Owen's chances of getting a starting place at Manchester United are about as slim as those of him getting an England re-call. Despite what Sir Alex Ferguson says...
Where would England be without Sir Alex Ferguson, the self-anointed saviour of English football?
Only two weeks ago the United manager was putting the boot into the FA for their lack of appreciation for the country's best-loved club, claiming the game's national governing body take for granted Manchester United's generosity in providing so many players for the England team - "they us like sh*t" - were his precise words, presumably still irked at having had to serve so many touchline bans last season for criticising referees. And this weekend Ferguson decided to put Michael Owen's name forward for an England recall.
Owen you see, returned to the first team in a blaze of glory in midweek, scoring twice in one of the most crucial matches of the season - a Carling Cup third round tie against Leeds United. The 31-year-old's goals were well taken, it should be conceded, but scoring against a Championship side in a competition not even they are bothered about hardly makes the former Liverpool front man a likely candidate for a starting place in England's best XI at next summer's European Championships.
Particularly not when he is so far down in the pecking order at United. When it comes to strikers the campions do have an embarrassment of riches. Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez, Danny Welbeck and Dimitar Berbatov are all ahead of Owen in the pecking order - but when two of the very players selected ahead of him at his own club are English, it is ludicrous to suggest he deserves international recognition.
Owen has also been making pronouncements this weekend, voicing his disappointment at having been overlooked by Fabio Capello from the outset of his England reign and insisting that he is still ambitious in his international career. "If I got a call-up I'd be there within five minutes," he said. "I think [Capello] came to watch me twice in a year when I was at Newcastle, both times at the Emirates. Arsenal were one of the best teams in the league. We got tonked, and whoever was the striker for Newcastle away at Arsenal wasn't going to get too many touches, so I did feel a bit sorry for myself at that point."
Whether Owen was feeling sorry for himself after yesterday's 1-1 draw only he will know, but he wasn't playing against the Invincibles, he was playing against Stoke City. And even in the absence of the hamstrung Rooney, United's No7 was overlooked for a starting place in favour of Berbatov and Hernandez, before the latter came off injured after seven minutes to give the little man his long-awaited chance. Thereafter Owen passed largely unnoticed, other than the few occasions in which his inability to hold up the ball up to earn his side a reprieve from the barrage from the home side was all too evident.
It was actually another England striker cast into the international wilderness who caught the eye at the Britannia Stadium, Peter Crouch proving a constant thorn in United's side. The former Tottenham man became only the sixth player to score in the Premier League for a sixth different club, but he really should have scored a hat-trick and handed an off-colour United their first league defeat of the season.
It cannot be easy struggling to impress when the competition for places is so fierce that Owen cannot get a regular run of first-team games under his belt, but he only has himself to blame for that. He claims he joined United to win trophies, which is his prerogative - and it can't be all bad being paid to have a ringside seat to watch the best side in the country. But let's face it: if he genuinely wanted regular football and an international reprieve he would have left Old Trafford in the summer, rather than stay at a club that has given him one league start in the last 12 months - and six in total.
As for Ferguson claiming that United have provided England with "more players than any other club in the world" it is true that United are quintessentially more English in their makeup than any other side. But while the Red Devils "provided" five players for Capello's last England squad, Ferguson might need reminding that three of those were not even at his club last season. United deserve about as much credit for producing English internationals as Manchester City, who incidentally were represented by six players in the last gathering.
All the big guns won this afternoon as Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham picked up three points whilst the likes of Blackburn and Swansea will have increased relegation fears after today's results....
This weekend Gareth turns his attentions to QPR v Aston Villa, where one stat stands out like a sore thumb when it comes to eliminating one of the outcomes on the match odds market......
Lee Dixon gives us his views on the ever-colourful Joey Barton ahead of this clash between two sides who have got the same number of points but have obtained them in very different ways....
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