There are many who feel that Michael Owen is past his prime but not Kevin Keegan. The beleaguered Newcastle United manager was full of praise for the England international striker as Owen secured a vital 1 point against Birmingham City in the relegation six-pointer on Monday night.
Keegan made Owen skipper as soon as he stepped into the managerial shoes at St. James’ Park and says that Owen is still a world class striker:
If any of you had seen us at Blackburn recently, we could be talking about Michael Owen now having eight or nine goals.
In that game, he had four great chances.
But the one thing you know about Michael is that if you do create opportunities, he will normally stick them away. I’m more surprised if he misses than if he scores.
He is a world-class player. Some people in this country might be losing a bit of faith but when you look at his statistics, even his record for Newcastle by anyone’s standards is excellent.
Michael has always got the chance to answer his critics on the football field and he is such a strong character that he will do that.
Owen might have unearthed his first goal in 6 matches against Birmingham at St. Andrew’s but Keegan is still searching for his first win as Newcastle United manager since he took over from Sam Allardyce.