As he had almost predicted yesterday, England manager Fabio Capello has again left England striker Michael Owen out of his squad for the World Cup qualifying games coming up.
Michael Owen - doesn’t make England squad again
And Joe Cole is another surprising omission from the squad for the games against Kazakhstan and Belarus.
But it appears Joe was left out of the squad on injury grounds, after coming off against Aston Villa, in today’s 2-0 Chelsea win. It looks like Fabio will take no chances with players only on the periphery of being fully fit. It appears that Capello prefers Heskey (Wigan), Crouch (Portsmouth), Rooney (Manchester United) and Defoe (Portsmouth) to Owen.
Owen has scored five goals in his last eight appearances for the Newcastle side this season, but there’s no doubt the Tyneside club are struggling. But Fabio warned that scoring goals is not enough, and it looks like Capello wants only complete team players in his squad.
Peter Crouch returns to the squad, as does Steven Gerrard, with Jimmy Bullard dropping out, but this will be a blow for Michael Owen’s England ambitions, and he may think he needs to move from Newcastle to reclaim his place in the England line-up.
We hope not.
England Squad:
James (Portsmouth), Green (West Ham), Carson (West Brom); Brown (Manchester United), Johnson (Portsmouth), Terry (Chelsea), Ferdinand (Manchester United), Lescott (Everton), Upson (West Ham), A Cole (Chelsea), Bridge (Chelsea); Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Walcott (Arsenal), Barry (Aston Villa), Jenas (Tottenham), Lampard (Chelsea), Gerrard (Liverpool), Downing (Middlesbrough), Wright-Phillips (Manchester City); Heskey (Wigan), Crouch (Portsmouth), Rooney (Manchester United), Defoe (Portsmouth).
20 responses so far ↓
1 I want Steve Bruce in, Along with Amir Zaki, Valencia and Palacios(GG7) // Oct 5, 2008 at 21:06
scandalous! italian fraud ridden pr*ck
2 Xsico golden boot // Oct 5, 2008 at 21:07
Is MO game not about scouring goals I hope cappello falls flat on his freaky smug face
3 ToonKing // Oct 5, 2008 at 21:11
brilliant news….again.
4 ToonRich // Oct 5, 2008 at 21:21
Good news on NUFC’s side, as he’ll get extra rest during the international break…but this cant be good for his own confidence
5 Phil,Gosforth // Oct 5, 2008 at 21:21
Capello is gonna prove a huge waste of money IMO.
If the team isn’t playing so well and doesn’t make any opportunities for Owen to score,why is that his fault?He still is the best finisher we have.
Ah well,stuff England.
Howay the Lads.
6 ERIC CRAMMY MAG // Oct 5, 2008 at 21:22
least he will be fresh for us which is the main thing
7 Joseph // Oct 5, 2008 at 21:26
Capellos brain dead, honestly leaving out owen and including Jenas of all players in the squad
8 beyethegreat // Oct 5, 2008 at 21:32
imo owen is the only one who performs consistentley for england
9 Marguerite // Oct 5, 2008 at 21:38
Joseph (7) - you beat me to it.
10 Toon Graeme // Oct 5, 2008 at 21:46
I think MO played his last game for England lads.
11 Paul // Oct 5, 2008 at 22:01
wheres harper in the squad?? LOL…and england wud do betta with shola n smudge upfront than defoe n heskey
12 Fans Should Own the Club // Oct 5, 2008 at 22:02
Well, he won’t come back injured then…
13 KK FOREVER (Ross) // Oct 5, 2008 at 22:15
Joseph and Marguerite-you both beat me to it. Including jenas when we have gerrard, lampard, barry, downing etc all already in there yet he chooses not to put owen in there is baffling. However, i’m not saying i have a problem with it. Keeps him fit for us and hopefully, he’ll be determined to keep banging them in for us to try and catch capello’s attention!
14 toonfan // Oct 5, 2008 at 22:26
yeah great news for us…imo owens type of player is old skool, without that extra yard of speed you only get whilst younger, he just a good player. to me hes not a “top” international striker…although id have im in the squad, on the bench…coz he does score goals, but hes not strong, not as skillfull as others, and gets sucked deep into midfield when hes not being serviced…dont think hes the “it” player anymore…lol…but i would have him in the squad…
15 Irish John // Oct 5, 2008 at 22:26
problem with this crap decision MO may feel he may have to leave to get a regular spot for England..
16 toonmania1 // Oct 5, 2008 at 22:32
he doesnt even want to be at newcastle his body language says it all - so just freakin leave mate/
JOE FOR LIFE
GIVE JOE A KEY TO THE CITY
BUILD A JOE STATUE IN THE TOON CENTRE
17 SwedEric // Oct 5, 2008 at 23:08
You should have hold on to Sven Göran Eriksson… That´s all I can say.
If you prefer Heskey for Owen now when he is in form, you can´t be that bright…
18 brutooooon // Oct 6, 2008 at 0:46
well this show that he is not good enough to play for england.
look at the bright side, more rest for him, less chance of being injured and he will score for newcastle.
19 dougnufc // Oct 6, 2008 at 2:46
It’s quite sad that a player like Owen who can’t make it to the England team, I really hope he stands out for the rest of the season and hopefully prove Capello wrong
20 Lawman // Oct 6, 2008 at 22:31
Despite playing in a very poor nufc side and all the off field turmoil caused by Arseley, Owens played very well indeed (scoring 3 in epl and 2 in Carling cup).
It’s a bigger injustice when you see Heskey in the squad who’s only scored the single goal in all competition!!!!!
Don’t bother me cos I’m Scottish - in fact, this is good, at least he can stay fit and focus on nufc.
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