I'm sure many would disagree but Michael Owen has to over-rated in my view. Don't get me wrong, at times he's brilliant and he's probably achieve over 15 goals this season. I'm still not convinced about him these days. Injuries have hampered him from being dangerous, so that explains a lot. It is safe to say that the English media over the years have overhyped him just a bit. Another striker that's definitely on my list is FC Kaiserslautern's prized asset Miroslav Klose. OK, he was exceptional at the World Cup, but what has he done since then? The Red Devils are in big trouble and Vratislav Lokvenc (no disrespect) leads the team in goals? C'mon. No wonder he got snubbed by Tottenham and Man. Utd. In my opinion, obviously they felt that he's not Premiership Class and rightfully so. Only thing that sticks out about him would have to be his height and aerial ability. But trust me, Kaiserslautern's problems stem even further than Klose. Wheres the respect for such prolific strikers as KRC Genk's Wesley Sonck, scored 30 goals last year in the Belgian First Division and currently leads once again with 16 goals. It's only a matter of time till he ply his trade somewhere else, probably in the Bundesliga. He's definitely one of my favorites. Too bad Genk didn't progress further in the Champions League. Right now i'd definitely rank Sonck ahead both Owen and Klose, he's been consistent for the past two years since joining Genk. The only thing that separates them would probably have to be the level competition. Anyone beg to differ?
I'm sure many would disagree but Michael Owen has to be over-rated in my view. Don't get me wrong, at times he's brilliant and he's probably going to achieve over 15 goals this season. But I'm still not convinced about him these days. Injuries have hampered him from being dangerous, so that explains a lot. It is also safe to say that the English media over the years have overhyped him just a bit. Another striker that's definitely on my list is FC Kaiserslautern's prized asset Miroslav Klose. OK, he was exceptional at the World Cup, but what has he done since then? The Red Devils are in big trouble and Vratislav Lokvenc (no disrespect) leads the team in goals? C'mon. No wonder he got snubbed by Tottenham and Man. Utd. In my opinion, obviously they felt that he's not Premiership Class and rightfully so. Only thing that sticks out about him would have to be his height and aerial ability. But trust me, Kaiserslautern's problems stem even further than Klose. Wheres the respect for such prolific strikers as KRC Genk's Wesley Sonck, scored 30 goals last year in the Belgian First Division and currently leads once again with 16 goals. It's only a matter of time till he ply his trade somewhere else, probably in the Bundesliga. He's definitely one of my favorites. Too bad Genk didn't progress further in the Champions League. Right now i'd definitely rank Sonck ahead both Owen and Klose, he's been consistent for the past two years since joining Genk. The only thing that separates them would probably have to be the level competition. Anyone beg to differ?
How did I know Michael Owen's name was going to pop up here? Look, you can say what you like about Owen. You can call him predictable or even one-dimensional, but then he'll just go and score a hat-trick against you. He hasn't got the tricks, the drag-backs, the stepovers, but he is fast as lightning and he scores loads of goals at every level, whether against Barnsley or against Brazil. End of story.
So good was your point that you posted it twice? Anyway, onward. He wasn't actually that good at the WC. He disappeared miserably after the opponents started getting a little harder than Saudi Arabia. My vote goes to Andy Cole. (Sorry...Andrew...ponce) This has been my personal soap box type issue for years. About the time he went from Newcastle to Man U, was when I properly got into noticing his distinct lack of proper skill. It wasn't his inablility that annoyed me so much, more the yay-sayers. Constantly we heard about how he was a fantastic goal scorer for anywhere he played. The fact that he needed to be part of a team of the ilk of 90's Man Utd, and subsequently have 10 attempts at goal to get one, is just highlighted by the meagre handful of goals he scores for Blackburn. And then there's his England record ...... Rant over.
It's Owen, he's good but he's never even hit 20 league goals ffs, European player of the year? win a few golden boots and score 20 goals then maybe. He's only ever won one golden boot, which he shared with Hasselbaink (Who is miles better) in what was a fairly low scoring year, he's never gone near the top of the goal scoring charts at a major tournament or in the champions league and never threatens the likes of henry and co in the premiership yet he was the European player of the year when he's not even the best striker in England. Great player yes, but also totally over rated. And Owen is a player you CAN judge soley on his goal scoring stats, since he's an out and out goal scorer and no more.
Don't forget Owen has a 1 goal per game average vs Brasil-the current World Champions- as well as probably 6-7 years of prime playing abilty left. He must be useless to score a hatrick in world cup qualifying against Germany on their pitch , all 3 goals past Oliver Kahn( arguebly finest goalie at the time-playing on his Bayern home turf)Keep on hating blindly on Michael, if it makes you happy.
Check for facts Slash. He's won TWO successive Golden Boots in the Premiership, in 1997-8 and 1998-9 (the second one was shared with Hasselbaink and Yorke even though he was injured for the last 7 games of the season). So what more would he have to do to justify your criteria? http://www.liverpoolfc.org/profiles/owen.html He's scored 127 goals from 241 games for Liverpool. Pretty good shooting. And his England record is just as good - 19 goals from 43 caps. http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/features/players/drilldown/F4075021012-0838.htm Sorry Slash but your arguments appear to be based on non-existent facts. He is class, full stop.
Depends on how one defines "over-rated." He is without doubt a top-flight forward that any opposing manager will worry about; however, after his WC'98, Owen was projected to be a world dominator in the Ronaldo (pre-injury) mold. He has not come close to that. Time will tell if he will get there -- but he is quality now. Is Owen that much better a striker than Fowler was in his 'Pool glory years? As for Klose.... he isn't over-rated, as no similar hype machine ever went into action on his behalf.
RAUL?!?!?!? since you are so obviously out of your gourd, i wont even reply to that ill nominate fowler - hes funny as hell tho
Class but not the best player in Europe by a long shot, Hasslebaink, Henry, Shearer and Van Nistelrooy have all proven to be better strikers in England alone. He's never even hit 20 league goals in a season for gods sake, class yes, over rated definitely.
Van Nistelrooy and Henry may indeed be better strikers than Mikey but goal scoring alone is not a fair comparison. He plays for a side that prefers low scoring matches and can dominate matches but still only win 1-0 or 2-0. Also, the second half of your statement is grossly inaccurate since Liverpool strikers are expected to track back to defend regularly. To score a goal every 1.9 matches for Liverpool is no small feat.
Re: Re: Over-Rated Strikers Part One He's a different kind of striker. Also, he has proved himself at international level, something Fowler didn't/hasn't yet managed, for whatever reason. He pops up and scores goals when you need them most, and his consistency at every level is incredible.
Re: Re: Over-Rated Strikers Part One Yet he was tipped for a move to the Premiership and he represented the FIFA all-stars against Real Madrid. He was over-hyped.
Elber's strength is that he fits amazingly well into Bayern's system and thrives within it. Only problem is, he's never been anything but garbage for Brazil.
You must be joking. Two times Liga Primera top goalscorer, highest number of league goals for any active player in Spain, two Bronze Boots, Silver Ball - all by the age of 25? And before you put up the "Andy Cole" argument - that is, the only reason Raul scores so much is that he plays for Real Madrid, just like people said about Cole and Manchester United - bear in mind that Cole was quickly found out when he couldn't produce at the international level, while Raul is Spain's all-time leading scorer.
I nominate.....Fernando Morientes. Slightly above average striker who benefited from playing on a very offensive minded team. What exactly do some Real supporters see in him when they complain about his loss of minutes to Ronaldo? Why was Roma rumoured to be willing to pay $15-$20 million to get him? Then he refuses to play for Spurs; presumably because he's too big for them. Huh?
I'd like to ask the same to those Madrid supporters who like Fernando. Hope they sell him soon. He's a goog guy but not good enough for our team.
The '94 World Cup edition Asprilla was a lot of nothing at U.S.A '94. And here's an obscure one for you: Remember Josip Weber, the Croatian transplant the Belgians had that year? He scored like a dozen goals in pre-World Cup friendlies and was supposedly one of the dark-horse scoring threats to watch. Saw him play in Orlando -- he couldn't have hit the giant ball at EPCOT from three feet away. Never heard from him again. Another name from the past, though not U.S.A. '94: Chris Sutton.
uhhhh sutton scored a double for celtic today - besides hes been playing in midfield for a while presumably to allow hartson to play more
Regarding Michael Owen... If he wasn't England's golden boy he would be getting crucified for the sheer amount of chances that he misses. It is unbelievable how he blows hot and cold; he does it more than any other striker in world football. When he's on form he is nigh on unstoppable but his form has been generally very poor this season and last... Andy Cole is definetly over rated as are Claudio Lopez, Del Piero, Kanu. All flatterers. Look good but lack any end product most of the time. Oh, and I know he's not a striker but Joe Cole is the most over rated player ever for the same reason outlined above. Can't think of any more of the top of my head.
Which hacks off the celtic support no end as we play better football when big chris is up front with henke, he is overall a far better player than Hartson who despite being a goalscorer doesnt contribute much else to the cause.
You guys can talk smack about Owen all you want, but when Liverpool or England plays your team, watch how at least two or three defenders are always watching him and always going to any extent (legal or not) to keep him from getting one on one with the goal. Every team in the world is aware of his great abilities and do everything possible to shut him down. And he'll still probably score one or two.
I'm going to open this up to some of the Italian strikers. Somebody mentioned Del Piero and I have to agree. He's got skill and can play, but isn't as good as mentioned to be. Same with Totti IMO. Granted, Totti plays for the most boring "big club" I've ever seen in my life, but he still is overrated. I can't believe someone mentioned Raul. Not only does he score bundles of goals, but he does so much more for the team. He's not a player I'd refer to as a pure goal scorer. In England, people will say Owen, but I disagree. Then there will be people who say Alan Smith, but I don't even really see him as a striker. El Tel plays him wide right so it would be hard to bring him into this. Other common names in England include Emile Heskey and Darius Vassell. So in the end I'd probably do with Del Piero or Totti.