Michael Owen - Michael Owen - Off the Record

Anyone who lets me get a run on them, lets me turn and face them one on one, is playing to my strengths. But a defender who glues himself to me and doesn’t let me turn is starting to make it difficult to make those runs. When they do that, I love a ball to be plonked in behind the defender because I will always fancy my chances of beating him in a sprint. In those instances it’s all about the midfielder picking the right pass to play to the striker – the killer pass.

Gary Lineker was my favourite player when I was a kid, and Everton were my team, though for my card collection I’d go after any big name from any club. However, if I compare my allegiance to Everton to, say, that of my Liverpool friend and colleague Jamie Carragher, I didn’t come close to being a real diehard fan. He tells me about the lengths he used to go to in order to follow the Blues. When Jamie was five his dad was already carting him off to away games, even in Europe. When he tells me that, I think, Oh, OK, I wasn’t really a fan after all. Between the ages of five and 15 he’d be physically sick if Liverpool beat Everton. For the first 20 minutes he could hardly watch. He would hide in the toilets. I supported Everton, but if they lost it wouldn’t devastate me. I would look forward to my own game more than the Everton result.

The stars at Goodison Park when I was a kid were Trevor Steven, Kevin Sheedy, Kevin Ratcliffe, Neville Southall and, above all, Lineker, mainly because he scored goals. I didn’t know much about him though. I’d have been buzzing to meet him and get his autograph, but I didn’t really idolize anyone when I was young. I didn’t study any individual with a view to learning his secrets and the details of his life, I just loved football. I didn’t look at the players of that time and think, I’m desperate to be like you.

At that time, Lineker was the England striker, followed, of course, by Alan Shearer. I’d like to think I’m the main England striker now. People always assume you’re best pals with players who were prominent in previous England setups, which isn’t always the case, though I do speak to Gary and Alan on the phone from time to time. Not for advice, though Gary has certainly called me a few times just to chat. When I put the phone down I sometimes think he was passing on wisdom without ramming it down my throat. But I would never ask anyone for guidance. If that’s a fault, so be it. It’s not that I think I can do everything perfectly, it’s more that I regard advice as a favour given, and I don’t like asking for favours. I can never phone anyone and, say, ask for match tickets. My dad is the same. He would never have called Everton, as an ex-player, to ask for tickets, or put in a call to Liverpool to say, ‘My son’s on your books, can you get us in to the game?’ We would stand in line like everyone else. If I’m struggling for form or fitness, I batter my way through it. If someone wants to give me advice I’m a happy listener, but I just can’t ask for it. That’s just the way I am.

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