Owen points finger back at teammates
(AP)
Updated: 2006-06-19 09:02
BUEHLERTAL, Germany _ Michael Owen is getting fed up with being the focus of
England's lackluster World Cup form.
England's Michael Owen
(L), Aaron Lennon (C) and Wayne Rooney (R) go for a run during training at
their World Cup soccer training camp near Baden-Baden June 17, 2006.
[Reuters] | Owen has been taken off for a substitute in both of England's wins so far and
critics have pointed to a lack of sharpness.
Owen, who came back from a broken foot last month, knows he's not at his best
_ but says it's difficult to score when he doesn't get the ball.
"If the team are firing on all cylinders and we're getting the ball into
places where I come alive then you'll see a different me," Owen said. "I'm the
person who takes the brunt of it because I'm the furthest forward."
England beat Paraguay 1-0 on an own-goal and needed two late strikes to down
Trinidad and Tobago 2-0. Owen started both games with the 2-meter (6-foot-7)
Peter Crouch and struggled to do anything with the long balls directed from
midfield.
The return of Wayne Rooney to the starting lineup for England's final Group B
game against Sweden on Tuesday will help. Rooney, who came on for Owen against
Trinidad and Tobago after a swift recovery from a broken foot, provides better
service to Owen.
"You would think so," Owen said. "We're not going to be playing longer balls
because Wayne and myself aren't that tall. So we'll try and keep it on the
deck."
Owen said there was little point in him changing his game.
"We just need everyone to play better," he said. "If the team plays better I
play better and I'll make better runs. It's difficult making good runs when the
center halves have got it (the ball). If I get someone just behind me or in
midfield with their head up then I come alive."
Owen said his goal against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup, where he darted
from the halfway line to score and which catapulted him to international
prominence, was a one-time thing.
"My game is about darting runs across defenders and hopefully when we play
well you will see the best of Michael Owen," he said.
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