Ferguson Backs Owen For World Cup Place

From Vital England:

Many would think that Michael Owen's chances of making the world cup are gone, well what many considered an 'outside chance' went with his latest injury that saw him ruled out of the most recent games - although he probably would not have made it in anyway?

His Man United manager Sir Alex Ferguson still feels that Owen has every chance of making the squad, as he told sky sports, due to fact that he feels we do not have an abundance of strikers to select from: 'there may be two or three places up for grabs. Fabio maybe will have a number up to 25 in his mind. He will then have to eliminate from that to make 23.

'Michael Owen has a good chance because he is a striker and England don't have a tremendous number of them.

'The form of Carlton Cole will have encouraged him and Peter Crouch's goals don't do him any harm.

'Along with Wayne Rooney I think those three will go to South Africa, then it is a fight for one more.'

I can see where Fergie is coming from as we have forwards but not that many genuine strikers, we lack those out-and-out goalscorers that you need, although Spurs' Jermain Defoe is probably one of the best in the business - so assuming he stays fit I cannot see anyway that he will be left out?

At the moment Owen, for me, would be behind Sunderland's Darren Bent - and he cannot get a look-in can he, so for Owen to jump ahead of Bent, let alone Defoe or anyone else it is going to take a monumental effort, something that I can no longer see happening...

Full article: England - Fergie backing for Owen.