Michael Owen is learning fast at the feet of the Master.
The experience of playing for Sir Alex Ferguson has expanded his horizons.
Owen’s principal aim, entering the 14th season of a stellar career, is to do enough to make Manchester United his last club.
His secondary ambition is to prepare himself for management.
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He admitted: “If you’d asked me about becoming a manager two years ago I’d have said no, or given myself a 20 per cent chance at best.
“Now there’s about an 80 per cent chance of me trying to give it a go.
“You progress naturally, in football. At 18, 19, you may say to yourself, ‘He’s a good manager’ or ‘that’s a good session’. But generally, you do your job, play your game and don’t think too much of it.
“As you get older you analyse things a bit more.
“I decided to take my coaching badges at Newcastle. I was 27, 28, injured, sitting in the stand watching games.
“That’s when you start forming an opinion on what players do, which formations work. Because you are not thinking about how you are going to prepare for a game, you start dissecting the manager’s team talks.
“You see what is relevant. You’re looking at what everybody does. You see what creates a better environment, what helps tactically. You see how a manager’s strategies are implemented. You look at football in a different way.”
Owen has been immersed in the game since the age of six, when he played for Mold Alexandra Under-Nines.
He is an ideal ambassador for the community partnership between the FA and McDonald’s, which intends to identify coaching talent at grassroots level.
Grassroots coaching is vital to the national game, as it was for his own career.
And he recognises the value of volunteers who give up their time to provide the right environment and level of coaching for grassroots football.
Owen has been shaped by the idealism of Steve Heighway, the Anfield boot room traditions, embodied by Roy Evans. He responded to Gerard Houllier’s value-based leadership, and admired Graeme Souness’ judgment of character.
He has quickly become a disciple of Fergie.
“I am with the master,” he acknowledged. “What he has won, what he has done over 20 years, he has to be the best.
“He talks to us as men. Others could say the same, but because it comes from him it means so much more.
“Everyone is intrigued as to what he’s is like. They want to know what makes him successful, what makes him tick, what makes him the best.
“The thing that stands out for me is his winning mentality. That transfers to his team, and his staff. Everything is geared to winning. If you don’t win it’s a darker place to be the next day.
"Sometimes, if something has been said outside the group, or if the chips are down, Sir Alex delivers the sort of motivational team talk that makes you really want to get out there.
“Other times he is more tactical. He varies things a lot, but everyone knows who is boss.
“As much as he has his finger on the pulse of every aspect of this club, he is fantastic at delegation, trusting his staff and players.
“No matter who you are, in whatever business, you’re only as good as the people who work for you. He gives those around him confidence.
“To have the responsibility of managing Manchester United is colossal. You have to dedicate your life to it, and he has certainly done that.
“He has his joys outside the game, horse racing and his family, but you can’t imagine him not getting up in the morning and coming to work.
“I’d love this to be my last club. You look at Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville and you like to think you have five more years in the game.
“I’m 30, and I don’t want to wish my career away.
“In an ideal world I’d like to play out my years here. I had great moments last season – a hat-trick in the Champions League and a goal in the Carling Cup Final, but the derby goal was fantastic.
“It was one of the biggest, most pure adrenaline rushes of my career. It’s alongside that Germany hat-trick, scoring twice in the FA Cup Final, and that goal in St Etienne.
“I was fit for 43 games. The pity is I missed the ones at the end when we were playing for things. The amount of injuries I have had is exaggerated.
“It can be annoying, but you learn to live with it.”
Owen has been picking the brains of Paul Ince, his next-door neighbour in Portugal.
He is eager to expand his knowledge of the football business, and is unafraid of the privations of life in the lower Leagues..
Owen added: “I wouldn’t rule out anything. When Chester were in the mire, I thought, ‘I’d love to help save them, get them up a few divisions’.
“Serving my apprenticeship, lower down, wouldn’t scare me. I’d want something to take forward, to snowball.
“Look at clubs like Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds, Newcastle. Big fan bases, great support.
“Whoever manages them has a real chance of getting those places rocking!”
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Un retour à la Fowler, et au moins, on aurait jamais eu ce débat de savoir si c'est un traître ou une légende car pour tous il y a un sentiment partagé entre les 2 (avec des proportions différentes selon les personnes). Car si il était revenu, et qu'il aurait mis une dizaine de buts, on aurait été bien contents et dans notre coeur, ce serait une légende à tout jamais.
Mélange pas tout Bugsy, le sujet c'est pourquoi je respecte plus Giggs que Judas Owen, et je ne vois pas ce que ça à voir avec le fait que je blaire pas Manshit, comme tout le monde ici d'ailleurs...
Mélange pas tout Bugsy, le sujet c'est pourquoi je respecte plus Giggs que Judas Owen, et je ne vois pas ce que ça à voir avec le fait que je blaire pas Manshit, comme tout le monde ici d'ailleurs...
