Why Aidy Boothroyd and Northampton Town are a perfect match

The Football Front’s Lower League Expert Matt Bruce explains why Aidy Boothroyd is a fantastic appointment by Northampton Town.

Northampton Town are a confusing club to get to grips with. With a wealthy benefactor and a healthy fanbase, this club has bags of potential, yet for some reason they find themselves continually locked in a battle for Football League survival.

Northampton are something of an enigma; a forward-thinking club reduced to looking over its shoulder at the abyss of the Conference.

When David Cardoza and his pot of money arrived at Northampton in 2003 they were labelled 'the Chelsea of League Two'. At a time when other Football League clubs were frantically trying to slash budgets, Northampton were throwing money at anyone who would take it. However, eight and a half years later all Cardoza has to show for his investment is a meagre three seasons of League One football, all of which must seem like a long time ago now. The club is currently fighting to stay in the same division it was in eight years ago.

Perhaps the root of Northampton's troubles is short-termism and lack of a defined long-term strategy. Since Colin Calderwood left to take over at Nottingham Forest in 2006 Northampton have had five managers, none of whom have fared particularly well. With a high turnover of managers and a revolving door of players which inevitably follows as each new boss tries to bring in their own staff. It was this which almost cost Northampton their place in the Football League last season, when Gary Johnson arrived at Sixfields with a thud. He immediately criticised the club's players in the press and undermined the side's already-fragile confidence, triggering a spectacular collapse of form which saw Northampton only secure safety in the penultimate match of the season.

Having narrowly survived relegation last season Northampton began rebuilding during the summer. Johnson presided over a clearout and was given funds to replace the entire squad for this campaign, bringing in marquee signings such as Adebayo Akinfenwa (back for a second spell at the club), Jake Robinson and Arron Davies. It was made clear before the season began that Johnson had been backed to assemble a promotion-winning side and hopes were understandably high amongst the Cobblers faithful, but so far this season has been no better than the one that preceded it.

Early results suggested that the side wasn't ready for a promotion push, with home reverses to Cheltenham and Morecambe coming within the first month of the season. As results gradually deteriorated and the Cobblers began to sink towards the bottom, Gary Johnson's behaviour got gradually more erratic; selling star signing Shaun Harrad on transfer deadline day amid rumours of a physical altercation between the two, then retreating to the dugout during home games and refusing to patrol the technical area, and finally placing ten first team players on the transfer list. Defeat to non-league Luton Town in the FA Cup capped a run of six defeats in seven matches and cost Johnson his job.

What followed has really set alarm bells ringing in Northamptonshire, as a rudderless Cobblers were smashed 7-2 at home to Shrewsbury and followed that up with a 4-1 defeat at the hands of basement side Plymouth Argyle to leave them slumped in 21st place, just 3 points above the dreaded relegation zone. Northampton's poor start to the season has left their team demoralised and totally lacking in organisation and so far they have been getting consistently worse. What the club need most from a new manager is someone to reinvigorate the current players and spread some positivity through the changing room, identify transfer targets for January, improve organisation and leadership and stop the defence from leaking so many goals.

This is why Aidy Boothroyd was appointed as manager a week and a half ago. He is the perfect match for Northampton. Boothroyd has previous successful experience at clubs in similar difficulties, having steered Watford from troubled waters and onto promotion to the Premier League in his first job in management. His upbeat and positive demeanour would seem to be just what is required to boost spirits in what must be a pretty demoralised squad of players and perhaps Boothroyd will be able to instil some confidence back into the team. Boothroyd's style of football has often been subject to criticism (they don't call him 'Hoofroyd' for nothing!), but he has always made it clear that he is a results man first and foremost. Entertainment is a luxury that Northampton can ill afford in their perilous position.

Northampton fans who may feel uneasy about using such tactics need look no further than their own history for a justification. Ian Atkins, renowned for his ugly but effective brand of football, managed the club for four successful years, earning promotion from the fourth tier and competing right at the top of the second. In later years he carved out quite the reputation for saving clubs from relegation against all the odds – coming within a whisker of pulling off the most unlikely great escape at Chester in 2000, saving Carlisle from the drop in 2001, and pulling off a miracle escape with Torquay in 2006. Northampton fans must hope that Boothroyd can achieve similar results.

No matter what methods employed.

This piece was written by Matt Bruce, you can follow him on his Twitter - @tbfuth, You can find Matt’s blog here too: theboysfromupthehill

Video: A Football Manager Life

This video is brief, but hilarious. I think we can all relate to this lad in some way or another!




This Video was made by FootballManager18.

Premier League Predictions: Week 13

This week we saw the Premier League’s first managerial dismissal. Steve Bruce got the axe at Sunderland due to the team’s woeful start to the season. However, Andre Villas –Boas finds himself in just as excruciating pressure, this weekend his Chelsea side take on an inform Newcastle at St. James Park. While Man United travel to the Midlands to face a solid Aston Villa side.

This week our predictor is, Tim Stillman writer for Vital Arsenal and Arseblog. Our other predictor is Andrew Gibney, of French Football Weekly.

So onto the predictions!

Fixture	Ibby Akkas prediction		Tim Stillman prediction		Andrew Gibney		Actual Score
Newcastle v Chelsea	1-1		1-2		1-2		0-3
Blackburn v Swansea	1-3		1-0		0-1		4-2
Man City v Norwich	4-1		3-1		3-1		5-1
QPR v West Brom	2-0		2-1		2-1		1-1
Tottenham v Bolton	1-0		3-0		3-0		3-0
Wigan v Arsenal	1-2		1-2		0-2		0-4
Aston Villa v Man United	0-2		0-2		0-3		0-1
Everton v Stoke	2-1		2-0		1-1		0-1
Wolves v Sunderland	2-1		2-2		2-2		2-1
Fulham v Liverpool	1-2		1-1		1-2		1-0
Total Correct Scores	correct scores - 4	perfect scores - 1	correct scores - 5	perfect scores - 1	correct scores - 5	perfect scores - 1

The Results

Andrew Gibney - 8 points

Tim Stillman - 8 points

Ibby Akkas - 7 points

After a very close encounter, we have a draw. Andrew and Tim finish joint first with 8 points, while Ibby finishes third, but only one point behind them with 7. All three managed to get at least one perfect score which is pretty decent!

Be sure to follow Tim Stillman on Twitter: @Little DutchVA. Check out the fantastic websites he writes for too: Arseblog and Vital Arsenal

Check out Andrew Gibney’s brilliant French Football Weekly. Andrew can also be found on Twitter too: @AGibneyftbl

Take a look at this season’s Prediction Challenge League Table.

Find out here how last week’s predictors did!

For more information on The Predictions Challenge check out this page.

Lower League Football, It's growing...

In his debut article for The Football Front, Daniel Speller explains how the attendance of League one and Two matches is steadily increasing along with the quality on the pitch.

In a footballing world where more and more fans are jumping on the bandwagon and supporting top clubs such as Barca, Real, United and Man City, it’s intriguing to see the growing levels of support for the lower English leagues.

Take Hartlepool United for example. A League One club. A club currently 12th and filling on average 75% of its ground every week, impressive huh? A club that is Geographically close to Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Doncaster and only twenty or so miles south from high-flying Newcastle United. Why is it that they are attracting big crowds every week? Now I say big, and I mean big for Hartlepool’s standards. Hartlepool’s stadium capacity is 7229 and with an average attendance 5491 turning up every week. It’s safe to say it’s not that far off a full house. Hartlepool offer affordable prices and without a doubt this is one of the sole reasons as to why lower league teams are attracting large numbers week in week out and with kids willing to sing their hearts out to support their team, the clubs benefits from it in more ways than one. Rousing support without a doubt boosts atmosphere and with people singing for the players rather than clapping them on and off the pitch at the beginning and end of the game it's bound to have a positive effect on player morale too. I experienced this first hand in January when Newcastle came to Stevenage for a 3rd round FA Cup tie and to this day I am convinced the atmosphere unsettled the Newcastle side. Barton as you can imagine took a lot of stick and when Newcastle showed signs of "uncomfortableness" it showed and the crowd picked up on it. What I'm trying to say is when the crowd get's going at any club let alone the Premier League's elite it really is a moment to behold and savour.

However, as I briefly touched upon earlier, money and affordability does play a large part. A season ticket for an adult at Hartlepool is on average £376.50 compare this to Middlesbrough who are a Championship club and that figure rises to £420-595. Therein lays one of the sole reasons lower league football in England has seen a rise in support. Premier League and Championship football is just too expensive to watch. The Championship, full to the brim of Premier League talent and have their prices high simply for “financial reasons”. David Gold, chairman of West Ham stated in the summer that he “can't justify paying huge wages to players and passing on the cost to fans however a financial reality”. This is an idea that Adrian Durham of Talksport was totally against and in turn, many other football fans. It’s not just Premier League football that’s excluding a large percentage of it’s fans, but the Championship is also resorting to high-ticket prices to help fund their astronomical wage bills in the hope that the players they have signed will guarantee them promotion. Gold's quote without a doubt highlights the increasing problem in Championship football. Clubs are willing to take a risk on ex-Premier League players in the hope that it will fire them back up this (and I know it's still early days) has not been the case at Leicester City where as I'm sure you are all aware, spent big in the summer in the hope they'd run away with the Championship. This hasn’t turned out to be the case. The side are currently 9th in the Championship and 13 points of the leaders Southampton. A change in manger surely doesn't help but when you've spent big and the fans are paying for it in more ways than one, it doesn't bode well.

But let’s step away from finance and get serious; lower league football is becoming much more attractive. Let’s take League One again for example; Charlton and Sheffield United (ex Premier League), Sheffield Wednesday (ex Premier League ), Huddersfield and even the once mighty MK Dons are all playing their trade there. With these big names, comes ex big name players; Clinton Morrison, Bradley Wright-Phillips, Lee Hughes and Richard Cresswell to name. But slowly but surely ex Premier League players will reignite themselves down the footballing ladder. These players, albeit not single-handedly, do still however attract fans to watch their team play. For example I can remember earlier on in the season at Stevenage when Notts County came to town a lot of the home fans were talking about Lee Hughes perhaps a bit negatively but it highlights the point that big time players playing in the lower leagues are getting fans talking and more importantly, getting them paying. Not to mention the League's are breaking the typical stereo-type. Traditionally when you think of lower League football you think of the dreaded away trip to Carlisle/Plymouth in the pouring rain where you'll witness 90mins of hoofing the ball forward to the well-built striker in the attempt he'll get a lucky header that floats in. Well I can tell you that is no longer the case. Having been to four Stevenage home games this season and seen them beat Charlton, the Sheffield’s Clubs and lose to Notts Country it's evident that this is no longer the case. In every game, both sides kept the ball on the ground and looked to play it and with the way the English game is evolving it's nice to see this is spreading down the Leagues. I say the word evolve because I personally believe that that is what's happening to the modern game. You’ve got to look at this with open eyes and you cannot categorically deny that there are times where the football becomes ugly and it turns into a game of who can head the ball the furthest. However as the game evolves and the footballing ethos is further developed eventually I can see the "Footballing Divide" between the Leagues to the Premier League gradually becoming smaller and smaller.


League’s 1 and 2 are also providing a platform for some very interesting managers to show off their capabilities. Take Chris Powell for example, he took over at Charlton last season, pulled them through to a below-par 13th place finish in League one and in his second season he’s got them currently 5 points clear and only losing once (1-0 away to Stevenage). The fans adore Powell from his tenure at the club as a player and this was undoubtedly what saved his job, without his previous reputation his shot at the big time could of been over before it'd even begun. Graham Westley currently in charge of my local team Stevenage FC has not seen his success go un-noticed in recent years. Having led them to back to back promotions it was inevitable he would be linked with a job in the big time. The Media speculated that it'd be Westley who would take over as Watford manager in the summer. It was however not to be and Sean Dyche got the job but it's certainly interesting to see these accomplishments being noticed. Westley's style has undoubtedly changed over his 2nd spell at the club. However the mentality "witness the fitness" remains and it's easy to see why they are so successful. Stevenage without a doubt are one of the smallest clubs in the Football League and with roughly the same squad that saw them promoted from the Conference it's evident to see that Westley has something about him - I mean, you don't beat Newcastle 3-1 at home if you're not up to scratch do you?

A further example would be Paolo Di Canio at Swindon. Lets face it, all of us including Hammers fans were sceptical if Paolo would be able to cut it as a manager however 18 games in Swindon are sitting in 7th in League 2 on 30points eleven off the pace, not bad for a rookie eh? If the League position doesn't impress you then maybe the fact that he led Swindon to a 4-1 win over League 1 high-flyers Huddersfield who at the time of writing are 44 league games unbeaten. If that's not enough to get chins wagging then I don't know what is.

If you want to have a moan at me on Twitter you can find me @Daniel_Speller

This article was written by Daniel Speller, you can follow him on Twitter:@Daniel_Spellerr .

Preview: NIVEA's Great Football Experiment: Ivory FC v England Legends

This Sunday, (26th November) there is a fantastic football project going ahead at Dagenham and Redbridge's Victoria Ground.

The project is entirely unique, exciting and absolutely ground breaking. An amateur side, Ivory FC will pit their fists against a side of former England Legends. A team including the likes of Ray Parlour, Clive Allen, Rob Jones and Luther Blissett. The encounter will be intriguing for all involved. Especially for the Ivory FC players who are eagerly waiting for the game as if its Christmas!

But here's the twist to the tale, Nivea have provided Ivory FC with official training FA training and their coaches have been a certain Terry Venables and Ray Wilkins. That's not too bad now is it!? Not only this, the Ivory players have had training sessions with other top FA coaches, the players have also received the advice of top physio's too and to top the whole thing off, the team have been given a brand spanking new Umbro Kit.

The game is going to be a sensational, unique and rather funny experience. If you're free this Sunday you must go down.

The game kicks off at 2pm, at Dagenham and Redbridge's Victoria Ground so get yourselves down there early, its going to be incredible.

You can find out much more information about Nivea's Great Football Experiment here: http://www.niveaformen.co.uk/nivea_for_men_england_cooperation/thegreatfootballexperiment.html

Make sure you follow their Facebook page too: http://www.facebook.com/niveaformenuk?sk=app_122333154537264

To give you a bit of a taster of the fantastic experiment, watch this latest episode about Nivea's Great Football Experiment.


The Football Front will officially back Ray Parlour to be Man of the Match! So good luck to Ray!

Premier League Predictions – Week 12

Another batch of Premier League fixtures are amongst us, this weekend sees Man United host Newcastle United, which should be a fantastic encounter. While Liverpool host the league leaders Man City on Sunday.

This week, our predictors are Gagan of Anfield Index and EPL Index. The other predictor this week is, Jonny Mullins of Lanky Guy Blog.

So onto the predictions,

Fixture	Ibby Akkas prediction		Gagan prediction		Jonny Mullins prediction		Actual Score
Stoke v Blackburn	2-1		2-1		2-2		3-1
Bolton v Everton	3-2		1-1		1-2		0-2
Chelsea v Wolves	2-0		3-2		2-0		3-0
Man United v Newcastle	1-0		2-0		3-1		1-1
Norwich v QPR	2-2		2-1		2-1		2-1
Sunderland v Wigan	3-1		1-1		2-1		1-2
West Brom v Tottenham	1-2		1-2		0-3		1-3
Arsenal v Fulham	4-1		3-1		4-0		1-1
Swansea v Aston Villa	1-1		1-0		2-0		0-0
Liverpool v Man City	3-2		2-2		0-2		1-1
Total Correct Scores	correct results - 4	perfect results - 0	correct results - 4	perfect results -1	correct results - 3	perfect scores - 1

The Results

Gagan - 7 points

Jonny Mullins - 6 points

Ibby Akkas - 4 points

This week's winner is Gagan who edges past Jonny Mullins by 1 point. It was a very close encounter this week, will all the predictors besides Ibby, getting one perfect score. But a decent effort for both Gagan and Jonny!
Make sure you take a look at Gagan’s fantastic Anfield Index and EPL Index, both websites are fantastic and have articles filled with brilliant statistics. Both EPL Index and Anfield Index can be found on Twitter: @EPLIndex + @AnfieldIndex.

Jonny Mullins blog is most definitely worth the time. His blog: Lanky Guy Blog specialises on tactical analysis of recent matches across the globe. Jonny can also be followed on Twitter: @Lankyguyblog.

Take a look at this season’s Prediction Challenge League Table.

Find out here how last week’s predictors did!

For more information on The Predictions Challenge check out this page.

Contracts in Football - Are they worth the paper they are written on?

Leanne Duckett explains to The Football Front the true value of contracts and whether they have real value.

The thing in football that baffles me most is ..... CONTRACTS!! Do they actually mean anything?

As an HR Advisor this may be a little surprising but it seems Football as a business is totally exempt from the normal everyday HR structure that other businesses run to.

Contract of Employment: "Oral or written, express or implied, agreement specifying terms and conditions under which a person consents to perform certain duties as directed and controlled by en employer in return for an agreed upon wage or salary. Whether stated or not, both the employee and the employer owe the duty of mutual confidence and trust, and to make only lawful and reasonable demands on each other. Every employee is under the obligation to carry out assigned duties, or the employers instructions to the best of their abilities. The employer is under the obligation to protect the employee from harm or injury." (www.businessdictionary.com, 2011)

By its very definition a contract is there to in-still "mutual confidence and trust" it seems ‘confidence’ and ‘trust’ are the missing elements in the Mancini -Tevez affair.


So, the key question is has Tevez breached his contract?

Well, he allegedly refused a request from his manager to play against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Manchester City then suspended him for a maximum of two weeks, on full pay whilst they conducted an investigation into the incident. Tevez was then fined 4 weeks wages, close to a £1 million pounds, and was training with the youth team.

Some of the options available to City are, to retain Tevez's registration until 2014, leaving him unable to play any competitive football, except for Argentina, until the registration expires. Or, they can sell him, his former club, Corinthians are said to have expressed interest in taking him back for around £16-£18 million, almost a third of the £47 million City paid for him.

Man City Chairman, Sheikh Mansour however has stated no cut price deals will be made.

Indeed, there is a FIFA regulation where a player can terminate his contract if he feels he has sporting just cause:

"An established professional who has, in the course of the season, appeared in fewer than ten per cent of the official matches in which his club has been involved may terminate his contract prematurely on the ground of sporting just cause. Due consideration shall be given to the player’s circumstances in the appraisal of such cases. The existence of a sporting just cause shall be established on a case-by-case basis. In such a case, sporting sanctions shall not be imposed, though compensation may be payable. A professional may only terminate his contract on this basis in the 15 days following the last official match of the season of the club with which he is registered." (www.fifa.com)

This is not new territory that Tevez finds himself in. At the end of his time with Corinthians he refused to play, thus to push forward his transfer to West Ham United.

Carlos Tevez is well known for his sulking and petulance which is a massive shame, considering how talented he is.

Tevez did initially receiving the backing from the PFA in his claim against Mancini for defamation of character. But since he’s gone AWOL, presumably back to Argentina, this sour affair shows no signs of being settled this year.

Champions League club representatives have urged FIFA to take a tough stance against Carlos Tevez if his self-imposed exile from Manchester City leads to the end of his contract.

One club executive said: ‘If Tevez does get away with having his contract cancelled and then gets himself a lucrative deal elsewhere, what’s to stop others doing the same thing? We are all watching this situation very closely.’

As are we all!

This article was written by Leanne Duckett, you follow her on Twitter: @halftimejaffas .You can find her work on her blog here too -> http://halftimejaffacakes.blogspot.com/

Arsenal and the one-man team myth

The Football Front's, Jake Harrison evaluates the notion of the 'one-man team myth' and Arsenal

Saturday’s win at Carrow Road was Arsenal’s fifth straight Premier League victory and continued a fine series of games that has seen them look comfortable against teams who, a few weeks ago, commenters were saying they should be beating with ease.

They managed to finally break down Stoke and edged past Bolton before easing past West Brom and comfortably beating Norwich at the weekend – whilst smashing Chelsea 5-3 in the middle of it all.

An early Per Mertesacker mistake could have derailed Arsene Wenger’s side on Saturday as Steve Morison scored after 16 minutes but two goals from Robin Van Persie secured the points for the Gunners.

Their last defeat came at the hands of rivals Tottenham at the beginning of October and, despite some defensive issues – Mertesacker should have coped better this weekend. Although, as many have pointed out, a shorter player could have dealt with the danger with more ease – the team, including the summer recruits, seems to be settling down.

The only side in the League who are in a better run of form than Arsenal are the unstoppable Manchester City. Arsenal, in the 12 games they have played this season, have scored 25 goals: only the two Manchester clubs have scored more.

Of course, a large proportion of those goals have come from one indomitable source in the shape of Robin Van Persie. 13, to be precise, taking the Dutchman’s tally for this calendar year to 31. Arsenal’s second top goalscorer in the League is Gervinho with two goals to his name.

Such a fantastic record has lead many to go down the slightly ignorant route of declaring that Arsenal are a one-man team, if such a thing exists.

However, Arsenal are reliant on Van Persie. Just as Liverpool are reliant on Luis Suarez and Manchester United are reliant on Wayne Rooney. It is also true that Arsenal would be a worse team without Van Persie; of course they would be. Look at any club in the world, take away their best player and they will indeed be a team that isn’t as good as they were before.

But having one player who is the focal point of the team is not the same as being a one-man team, or even vaguely similar. Van Persie has 52% of Arsenal’s league goals – but then someone has to give him the ball to score those goals.

Theo Walcott put in one of his best Arsenal performances on Saturday and is enjoying a fantastic season on the right-wing, while Gervinho – despite a wasteful showing at the weekend - looks a class act on the opposite wing. The attacking three behind Van Persie seems to be working well for Arsenal, with Aaron Ramsey also having a fantastic season.

It is Mikel Arteta, though, who proves to be just as key to Arsenal’s side as Van Persie does. His ability to hold on to the ball and rarely give away possession (an average pass completion rate of 90.5% over nine games) is almost dwarfed by the amount of defence-splitting, key passes he makes per game (2.3). He may not be a direct and all-conquering replacement for Cesc Fabregas, but Arteta is proving himself to be a superb buy at just £10 million.

Arteta has just the one assist this season but Gervinho has got five, with Ramsey getting four, as has Alex Song. More often than not Alex Song is usually viewed as something of a peripheral figure, sometimes a distinctly average defensive midfielder, but he's been fantastic this season and he was absolutely sublime against Norwich.

Even players who were being ridiculed weeks ago are now showing themselves to be more than competent. Mertesacker clearly lacks pace but his ability to read the game at Premier League speed is improving and his robustness in the air is something that Arsenal have been craving for a while now, especially with Thomas Vermaelen continuously injured.

The Belgian has now returned though and Lorient Koscielny also looks very impressive. Now all of a sudden, Arsenal have three excellent centre-backs. Add all of that to the fact that they also boast one of the best goalkeepers in the league in Wojciech Szczęsny and it makes the ‘one-man team’ argument look even more flawed.

Arsenal, like every other football club, rely on much more than the goals of one player. But viewers of football see one player score lot of goals and equate that with him being the only player who does anything. But look at the fantastic team play and passes that lead to Van Persie's goals, without the sensational creativity of Arsenal's midfield and wingers, Van Persie probably wouldn’t have scored that much nor would Arsenal be on such a healthy run.

The goals Robin Van Persie has scored tell a story of a team, that are all working productively. Rather than showing a team with just one man performing.

This article was written by Jake Harrison, you can follow Jake on his Twitter: @Jake_Harrison92 .You can also find his blog here: jakecharrison.blogspot.com/

Michael Owen: did he ever fulfil his true potential?

Michael Owen is a figure who divides opinions. Some view him as a player who was once a World Class player and a player who took the world by storm, but for others it’s a completely different story.

But almost everyone agrees in his younger days, Owen was world class. To put things into perspective, Michael Owen is the 6^th most profile striker in the Premier League era, with 149 goals. He's scored more Premier League goals than, Teddy Sheringham, Dwight Yorke, Ian Wright and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

But the real question which divides many is: did Michael Owen ever fulfil the potential that surrounded him during his teenage and early years in professional football.

Indeed, this is a rather inflammatory question which stirs a lot of debate. Especially as present Michael Owen, now 31, spends most of his time sat on the bench at Man United whilst lapping up the trophies.

But rather ironically, as a teenager, Michael Owen was a certain starter for his side and more importantly, Owen was a consistent goal scorer at the tender age of 18. It’s very easy to forget how much of a prodigy Michael Owen was when he was a teenager.

Owen’s scoring knack began at just 17 years of age. He even scored on his Premier League debut in 1997 away at Wimbledon.

But that goal was a plain glimpse of what was to come from Michael Owen.

The following season, Michael Owen’s first full season in professional football, the then 18 year old scored a total of 18 Premier League goals. A demonstration of his achievement is truly represented by the fact the teenager finished joint top goal scorer alongside Dion Dublin.

Michael Owen took the Premier League by storm. He was untouchable. His electrifying pace, movement and clinical finishing made him an incredibly potent and threatening striker– even for the most experienced of defenders.

The fact Owen, a mere 18 year old, a player had no previous Premier League experience could take England’s elite league by storm summoned many to believe Michael Owen would become a global superstar. A player would end his career in the same bracket as many English legends such as Gary Linekar, Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer.

But the expectations of his potential grew to a sky high level by the 1998 World Cup in France. His magnificent individual goal against Argentina proved not only could he compete with the best in England, he could also compete with the best players in the world.

After this glorifying World Cup for Michael Owen was destined for more than just a global superstar, he was perceived as a player who would go onto be an all time great footballer: a player in the ranks of Pele, Ronaldo and Maradona.

To be fair to Owen, with the global attention which was following and expecting from him, he initially didn’t fail to deliver. His progression continued in a substantial fashion after the 1998 World Cup.

In the 2001/02 season Michael Owen reached his best goal tally for a season. He scored 28 goals in 43 games. Upon reflecting, one could argue the 2001/02 season was Michael Owen’s pinnacle season. Owen was single handily winning games for his club and this was internationally recognised.

The 2001 FA Cup final between Liverpool and Arsenal is the perfect example of Owen single handily changing the game for his team’s favour. In the final, Liverpool for most of the match were second best and looked odds on to lose the final. But a five minute spell of brilliance from Michael Owen transformed the game for Liverpool. Owen’s potent finishing and blistering pace caught a dominate Arsenal side completely off guard.

Michael Owen was the star. He was England’s finest striker. No English striker was anywhere near Owen’s abilities. The year 2001 ended with Michael Owen being crowned with FIFA’s Ballon d’Or - a vivid symbol of Michael Owen’s abilities and how they were leaving the footballing world in absolute awe.

However, Michael Owen for all of his talents was not enough for Liverpool to consistently challenge for the title. Continuously, Owen would lead by example scoring in the bucket loads, single handily carrying Liverpool from one game to the next. But his team mates were often no where near to his level of performing.

Inevitably, the writing was on the wall. In order for Michael Owen to reach the pinnacle of European football, he would have to win trophies. And that meant leaving his beloved Liverpool.

In 2004, this happened. Michael Owen transferred to Spanish giants Real Madrid. To many, this move was Owen’s downfall. Some label it as the end of the golden boy era for Michael Owen.

Make no mistake, Michael Owen was no golden boy at Real Madrid. The talented Englishman spent most of his time fighting for a place on the bench, often drawing criticism from the Spanish press and the fans for his inconsistent form.

Within a year, Owen arrived back in England.

Owen’s time at Newcastle was spoiled with injuries. Had Michael Owen returned to England and managed to stay injury free, maybe the striker would be performing to a very high level to this day, thus assisting him fulfil his full potential. But at Newcastle, Owen would take a few steps forward, scoring a number of goals. Then he would take a few steps back and would find himself injured for a lengthy period.

The consequence of continuous lengthy periods on the sidelines had adverse effects on Owen’s abilities. Owen style of play depended on his pace and sharpness. But without these components Michael Owen lacked the cutting edge, the confidence and crucially, the chance to be a serious thereat to the opposition.

Some argue, Michael Owen was an early peaker, but one can never be sure of this. If Owen hadn’t suffered from a history of injuries in the second half of his career, maybe he would have continued to progress or at least maintain his fantastic goal scoring form.

To be fair, Owen’s injuries were not spontaneous occurrences. They were subtly arising on the surface, even when Owen was at his peak.

Tom Nash (@ffootballer) argues because Michael Owen was exposed to so much high level football at a young age, it would inevitably end up catching up with Owen’s body. This is a fantastic point. By the age of 21, Owen had already played more than 95 Premier League games. Not only this, the sheer expectation, and summer tournaments at a young age must have had an effect on his body.

One must remember, even when Owen was in his early twenties, he suffered some lengthy injuries. In the 1999/2000 season, Owen played 30 games in total. While in the season prior, he appeared 40 times.

Perhaps if Michael Owen’s development was better protected by his national team and club, maybe Owen could have consistently played and performed at the highest level for a longer period of time. His sudden thrust into the highest level of football and his comfort in these surroundings created massive expectations which Owen had to strive to conform to.

It’s sad to say, but Michael Owen’s injuries have hindered him from reaching his true potential. If 10 years ago, one would ask where they would see Michael Owen being, many would speculate he would be playing week in week out continuously finding the net.

The grim reality is that Owen, finds himself predominantly on the bench at Liverpool’s arch rivals Man United. Something which I’m sure most United and Liverpool fans would have never imagined.

However, it cannot be denied. Michael Owen WAS world class. But in the early period of his career. But during a footballer’s conventional peak years (26-31 years old), Owen at that age was never able to regain his world class label.

But Owen was a special player. He held the hopes of the nation, he held the hearts of many football fans. Off the pitch, even at a young age Owen was a true role model not only to children, but to adults.

The regrettable aspect is that poor protection of the striker from his national team and clubs along with some poor transfers and the critical loss of crucial abilities have meant Michael Owen never truly fulfilled his potential.

But when Michael Owen retires from football, he probably will reflect on his career, considering all the if’s and buts. However, when he looks at the medals he has won and what he achieved in his career he will look back at his career with great pride.

Owen has won 89 England caps, scoring a sensational 40 goals. He has a Premier League medal, an FA Cup medal, three League Cups medals and one UEFA Cup medal in his cabinet.

Michael Owen was a special player, a world class player at times, but his decline in the second half of his career hindered him reaching his true potential.

Here are a collection of some of Michael Owen's best goals in a Liverpool shirt: