OWEN BASHING

As a salutory lesson, it couldn't have been more cruel.
At 28, strikers are supposed to be at their peak of their scoring powers, physically strong, with around a decade of centre forward experience to draw upon.
This is the time when the goals should be flowing like never before.
Instead, Owen looked lost and dejected in his black and white Newcastle stripes as he enviously watched Liverpool's new striking hero being fed the kind of on-a-platter service he can now only dream of.
It was a stark contrast - the young, powerful, electric Torres lighting up Anfield, and the slowing, pint-sized Owen making little impression on an untroubled Reds back four.
This dramatic change in fortune has led to some cruel jibes and cries of 'I told you so' from Liverpool fans, still sore at his decision to leave Anfield.

Sore also at his decision to join Newcastle from Real Madrid when an emotional Anfield homecoming beckoned.
What cannot be denied is that Michael left Liverpool for the money and the lure of playing for the Harlem Globetrotters, otherwise known as Real Madrid.
He talked about his 'ambition', yet spent all his time getting arse splinters on the bench in Spain.
Many accuse him of stalling tactics, and say the £8m we got for him was peanuts when top clubs would have been prepared to pay at least double that figure.
With the threat of a Bosman free transfer in the offing, Benitez was forced to act or face losing him for nothing.
Ironically, when he did get on the field in Madrid, he often scored, but still the galaticos didn't want him.
There were many smug smiles on Merseyside.
Then, with an offer for the prodigal son to return to Merseyside, to a desperate public tortured by the spectacle of Diouf, Cisse and others posing as strikers in a Red jersey, he had another chance to return.
How much criticism can be levelled at Owen for choosing Newcastle is debatable, as Liverpool could never compete, or wouldn't compete with the Magpies inflated evaluation.
Many Reds say if Owen had really wanted to join Liverpool, he could have stuck his heels in and forced Madrid's hand.
How that would have played out is anyone's guess.

In the run-up to the Newcastle game last week, and in the aftermath, many fans had only bile for their former hero.
It's something he doesn't deserve.
He's still unquestionably a Liverpool legend. Not many former Reds strikers can boast 162 goals in 297 appearances.
The little genius won games on his own for us, and carried the team in his younger days when we had a defence that leaked water like a sieve.
And who can forget the 2001 FA Cup Final when Owen won the trophy for his ailing teammates, a game Arsenal were dominating, in the space of five magical, wonderful minutes.

I'll never forget the way he'd regularly accelerate away from defences and finish with such unerring, simple, devastating coolness. The bloke was immense.
So he was ambitious. He was a world class player in a decent but not all-conquering Liverpool side, who thought he could grace a stage where his hopes and dreams could be realised.
He messed up. Istanbul proves that.
But, in any profession or line of work, who isn't tempted by money? Who doesn't want to go and test themselves against the best?
If you're offered a job at a leading company in your profession at a glamorous location, are you going to snub it on the grounds that you could never leave your hometown?
Let's get a little perspective.
His head was turned like anybody's would be.
It spectacularly backfired and Owen knows that better than anyone.
Next time he returns to Anfield, let's give him the respect and plaudits he still rightly deserves.
He made thousands of Reds very happy for many years.
Thanks for the memories.