England; Owen versus Defoe.

Fabio Capello announced his squad last weekend for the upcoming showdowns with two international powerhouses, Kazakhstan and Belarus. The squad left me with one major question – is Jermain Defoe honestly better than Michael Owen?
 
Now I am not going to be dragging big Emile and even bigger Crouchie into the equation, I accept they are different types of players to Owen and don’t really offer Capello the same qualities. The squad and team clearly need options and diversity but, purely in terms of putting the ball in the net, Michael Owen is a different animal.
 
Comparing the two, surely there is only one winner.

Michael Owen.
 
• European Footballer of the Year.
 
• Twice Premiership joint-top scorer.
 
• Scorer of 40 international goals in 89 international appearances.
 
• Currently sitting as the 4th highest England goal scorer of all time.
 

Jermain Defoe
 

• 5 international goals in 30 appearances. (Seriously hat’s all I have on him)

I cannot deny Defoe has been having fun down at Fratton Park but his return of 5 goals in thirty appearances isn’t a patch on Owen. Admittedly, a lot of his appearances have been as a substitute but still, he is never going to be a match winner like Owen can be.
 
Defoe’s goals have come against world beaters Trinidad & Tobago (where he scored 2), European giants Andorra (again he scored 2) and Poland. That means he has scored against 3 teams! 3 teams!!!
 
Owen has scored goals against Portugal (in the European Championships), Brazil (in the World Cup), a hat trick against Germany and that goal against Argentina
 
Now, I am not claiming Owen is some sort of Cristiano Ronaldo or anything but surely he is better than Jermain Defoe........

Craig Malpas

Comments

[Patrick]

I remember reading a newspaper article once in a well respected broadsheet that said Owen had lost his pace, he wasn't the player he was and his England future was in jepordy. I was taken aback as he was only 20 at the time (a few months later he scored the hatrick against Germany)!

For as long as I remember people have written Owen off. It's unfortunate that he has been around in era when the concept of a striker scoring goals has become unfashionable. Give it a year or two and a well regarded Spanish/Portugese/Italian manger will come up the "idea" of playing a creative number 10 behind a goal scoring number 9 and the "sophists" of football will be clambering over themselves to proclaim the tactical genius of the man.

If we can't have more than one goalscorer in the England squad, and a choice has to be made between Owen and Defoe, then it is Owen all day long. Defoe simply isn't up to it at the highest standard - sad but true. Owen was born to international football.

[Limbers]

Stop living in the past! Yes Owen has a good historical record, but let's compare like for like this season, and even last. Michael Owen has been out injured for a significant chunk of that time. Can you really be calling for the return of a player who has been out for that chunk of time, without having proved return to form and fitness?

[Tim]

Ronaldinho pulled out of the squad if I remember correctly?

Owen will be back, he always comes back and proves everyone (or rather, the doubters) wrong.

He is a better striker than Defoe, there is no doubt about that. Owen will end up outscoring him in the Premiership and playing in the bigger International games when they come around.

Defoe is by no means a bad player, he is a good Premiership striker, he just isn't quite International standard.

[Rob T]

Even though Owen has the experience, I'd go with Defoe because of the way in which he has forged a promising partnership with Crouch at Prtsmouth. Owen is not as pacy as Defoe and besides he has become the 'Jonny Wilkinson' of football - always getting injured and seemingly never able to complete a full 90 minutes for either club or country. I'm afraid Capello is right - he's thinking of the future not just the here and now, and this matters. Therefore Defoe over Owen. Looks like Owen's England days are numbered but I don't think he's played his last game for England yet.

[Ben]

"When were Owen's last England goals? What is his form in comparison to Defoe over the last few years?"

In 2007 alone Michael Owen scored more goals for England than Defoe has in his entire career

[MM]

Defoe's England career has been almost entirely from the bench. The few starts he's had, he's invariably scored.

When were Owen's last England goals? What is his form in comparison to Defoe over the last few years?

What year was Owen European Footballer of the Year?

When could Owen last be described as a 'match-winner' for England?

and what Bobby said ^

[Ouiouinho]

Owen's gambling and Spiv buddies are what irritates the F.A. and some of the squaddies. It's not just Wayne Rooney's debts but the questions raised in Declan Hill's book 'The Fix.' WHO was involved in possibly fixing the Ghana loss to Brazil and Ingerland's win over a ridiculously subdued Ecuador team? Jermaine Defoe is a minor talent, but, even though Owen's legs have gone, he's still a killer in the box. Stephen Appiah is persona non grata in the Premiership and it looks like Likka Mickey may be toxic, too.

[Bobby]

This is a ridiculously poorly executed comparison. You (and most people commenting) seem like the type of person who might tune in for a World Cup but don't watch the Prem week in week out. Owen's main achievements are in the past, plus Defoe's been on fire this season. He's topscorer at the moment with 6 from 7, and anyone who watches the Prem would say that on current form Defoe is the preferred choice without question.

[Geoff Banks]

Until this year when ronaldihno played in the olympics where he made a massive impact in an under 23 tournament!

Shouldn't you rule out heskey for recent achievements as well.

They also weren't dropped cafu and carlos retired, ronaldo got injured and ronaldihno got fatter.

[Federico]

I'm fron Argentina. And I think that Michael is better than Defoe.
Newcastle havenn't got a good team and have a lot of problems. But Owen is the leader of that team and scores goals. He always plays at 100% for his club or coutry. All we know that. If you remember he saves England a lot of times. I think that Owen needs one chance to show at a world and all the people who critizide him, that he can play for England. Becouse he and Rooney are the best striker and they have to play together.

Sorry for my english

[jim]

"Jim
Is this the same Brazil that fielded Ronaldo, ronaldihno, cafu and roberto carlos in the 2006 world cup."
Bang on Geoff Banks and they failed there. A year later they had dropped some of the has beens and won the Copa America. Thanks for backing me up.

Intresting idea from Simon to play Villas trio of Young, Agbonlahor and Davies but lets wait to see how many they get against the likes of Hamburg and Ajax before judging how well they really are doing for Villa, after all we didn't see much of them on Sunday against real international opposition.

[Geoff Banks]

Jim

Is this the same Brazil that fielded Ronaldo, ronaldihno, cafu and roberto carlos in the 2006 world cup.

Owen may or may not be worthy of a place but the chances are Defoe will only be a last 15 min player anyway!

[AS]

Both should be in the squad. ROONEY, HESKEY, OWEN & DEFOE should be the permanent England first-team strikers in the squad.

AGBONLAHOR should be the first-choice backup and the others (such as CROUCH, ASHTON etc should not be considered).

[Jimbo beee]

Forget both of these average strikers (current form) and play Gerrard just behind Heskey...it's the only way to accomadate (the selfish)Lampard and Gerrard in the same team...Barry can then be (the lazy) Lampards donkey partner in center midfield!!

Ha Ha!!

[Sam]

I think it is commendable of Capello to pick who he thinks are the best players for the team and not bow to public pressure.

I still think he is wrong though!

[Jimmy]

As for Owen's listed achievements being five years ago - this season he is 5 goals for 8 appearances. And for Newcastle!

[Richard]

Anyone who thinks Beckham deserves a place in the starting 11 over Owen is a fool. Beckham cares more about being paid to attach his name to an aftershave, and attend some celebrity gala than playing football! He is a commercial celebrity.
Owen is magnificent, yes some of his achievements are many years ago, apart from those 2 goals against Argentina in 2005. He is 10 x better than Defoe.
How can Fabio judge him based on 45 minutes against France???
Owen over Defoe, Beckham Crouch and Heskey any day!

[Simon]

Owen, Heskey and Crouch should move over for Agbonlahor, Young and Kevin Davies - this scenario works well for Villa.

Also, Beckham should be starting, his experience and delivery is invaluable.

[Roger Barrington]

Who cares? England are a spent force whoever they pick!

[David]

As a Newcastle fan I can testify that Michael Owen does work hard, does track back and in a team where chances are a premium, does indeed put the ball in the back of the net. Defoe on the other hand has raw pace, like Owen used to have. Given the injuries Owen had with England recently Im not going to cry that he isn't in the squad and maybe Defoe's pace suits Cappello's system better but Owen is the better finisher and works very hard.

[jim]

The joke is half of Owen's listed achievments here were achieved 5 years or more ago. Remember when he was the little wonder kid who played for Liverpool and then moved to perhaps the most prestigeous club in football, Real Madrid. Is the author deliberately trying to mislead us in implying that it is exactly the same player, pace, enthuseasm, stamina the lot, that is now plying his trade at Newcastle? Pull the other one!

Anyone watch the last Copa America a year or so back. See Brazil win without the likes of Ronaldinho and Ronaldo. Think the Brazillians sat around counting those two players Ballon D'or's after lifting the cup, complaining about how they should have been in the squad? And it's not like the players they brought in for them are much better than ours, believe me I watched Baptiste at Arsenal and he's hardly better than Defoe. Fact is the Brazillians recognised that those shining stars of the past had faded and were indeed calling for their heads not shouting about their achievments 3 or 4 years ago. We need to do the same and forget the old Owen of the past, he's not here right now.

With that in mind how would it look if the likes of Defoe who has a far better, more goal scoring, injury free callender year in 2008, if he were left out in favour of Owen's on the back of his form 8 years ago? Is Owen garunteed a place until he retires as as long as he plays no one else can and therefore they have no hope of equaling his England goal scoring record until he's gone. Course not.

Oh and Crouch has the best goals per game ratio of any England player but that doesn't mean I'm gonna call for Capello's head if he plays Rooney and Heskey ahead of him, some decisions go a little deeper then these pathetic stats.

[kingknuts]

owen versus Defoe apart from goals owen brings little else whats clear from capello's early team selctions is that he prefers a bigman striker to lead the line supported by a second striker leaving owen out of the equation as he does not play that role or have the attributes to as he is prehaps the best manager around we need to let him get on with the job he is paid for.
gone are the days when bigname unfit or off form players still turn out for england to use it as a personal publicity shoot to further boost they already overinflated sponsorship deals whilst putting in crap performances playing for england 40 goals yes but there is no denying Owen falls into this catergory over the last few year on fittness and form. Fact it is not good enough and has to change. Sven pandered to it Mclaren was clueless to it and Capello is not going to stand for it which we all know is the right desicion....

[joppadoni]

the FA have a lot to be accountable for, they have put postman pat in charge of the national squad, hes a prat in my eyes to ignore the fact MO is our best ball-put-in-the-back-of the-netterer..

love to see strikers set up other that miss all the time. defo...

italiantard....