Fabio Capello has named his England squad for the upcoming friendly match against Holland on Wednesday and Michael Owen was notably absent from the team sheet.
Many had expected Owen to reclaim his England spot after his unexpected summer move to Manchester United. Capello went to watch Owen playing for United against Valencia last week, but he obviously was not impressed with the golden chances that the striker squandered.
Personally I think it’s for the best that Owen has not made the team yet. He is still bedding in at United, after four terrible seasons at Newcastle, and it is still baby steps at this point; rushing back onto the International scene could have complicated things, especially if he picked up another injury.
Although even at his currently level of performance Owen could probably top some of the players who were called up, such as Jermaine Defoe or Carlton Cole, I think Capello knows that Owen is capable of much more and will not select him until he reaches that expected level.
I have no doubt by the time the next international match rolls around, and Owen has been banging in goals for United, he will be in the squad.
England squad: Foster (Manchester United), Green (West Ham), Robinson (Blackburn); Bridge (Manchester City), A Cole (Chelsea), Ferdinand (Manchester United), Johnson (Liverpool), Lescott (Everton), Terry (Chelsea), Upson (West Ham); Barry (Manchester City), Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Carrick (Manchester United), Gerrard (Liverpool), Lampard (Chelsea), Milner (Aston Villa), Walcott (Arsenal), Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), Young (Aston Villa); Cole (West Ham), Heskey (Aston Villa), Rooney (Manchester United), Defoe (Tottenham).
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I agree. I was not surprised that Owen was left out this time. Yes, he scored several times in pre-season matches, however, these were against some relatively average teams. Owen still has someway to go before he is ready for internationals again. He showed against Valencia that he still has the edge over defenders but was let down by some poor shooting. He will get the service at United which he did not at Newcastle. Its just a matter of time before he starts scoring and building up the confidence again. Lets hope he can remain injury free. Then I believe we will see Owen called up once again for England.