Never Talking To You Again

A lesson in cause and effect in the papers today. Michael Owen doesn't talk to any journalists after the Wigan game, except to MUTV:

Owen tetchily refused interview requests, speaking only to the club’s TV station, to whom he said:

“I only played an hour or so against Burnley and had 15-20 minutes in the home game against Birmingham, so I’ve not played 90 minutes yet. But there has still been quite a lot made of the fact I hadn’t scored."

Which leads to Michael Owen not getting a very good press for scoring his goal. At least The Daily Star includes the above reason in their report, which continues:

His frustration is understandable. But, after so long as a shadow of his former self, he must live with the fact that only consistent scoring can convince people he remains a force.

If you want a good press, be nice to the journalists who are going to be writing about. Ian Ladyman in The Mail is the most offended, and dishonest. Nowhere in his report does he mention the refusal of Owen to speak to them, instead he just criticises him throughout his match report. We win 5-0 and Ian Ladyman can do nothing but criticise Owen:

Flourishing as a Manchester United player can be as much about attitude as anything. Wayne Rooney has it, but it is hard not to wonder about Michael Owen.

Rooney is very much United's heartbeat these days, the type of player who can drag his team to victory almost on his own. In this way he is a little like his former captain Roy Keane.

Owen, on the other hand, seems to be in denial and the sooner he desists the better. On arriving at United this summer, he was quick to round on those who have labelled him injury-prone in recent years.

It even leads him to praise Rooney's attitude, something very rarely seen in the papers:

There is, however, something Owen can learn from his junior colleague, too. Rooney has not been without criticism over the years. Indeed, it is his tendency to act rashly on occasions that is stopping his manager Sir Alex Ferguson from handing him the captaincy that - in so many ways - he deserves.

Rarely, though, does the 23-yearold complain in the manner that is sadly becoming so typical of Owen. When Rooney looks for answers and reasons and explanations, he tends to find them from within. It is what great sportsmen do.

Owen - as sad as it is to say - seems to have become caught up in something of a blame culture. Before Saturday he had not scored a league goal since January and that is nobody's fault but his own.

I hate that ridiculous thing where one lumps all great sportsmen (would it be too much of a leap to suggest this is sexism in its purest form: are there no great sports women?) together to suggest that the person you're talking about doesn't belong to them. It's always what they used to do to Ronaldo, "he won't be great until he controls his ego/temper/diving," and then make a convenient list of sportsmen who prove your point. In a similar vein I shall say great sports writers don't take such childish offence at someone not speaking to them...
Daniel Taylor in The Guardian quotes what Owen said to the journalists:

Owen was not willing to talk to any media other than United's own television station. "You cane me, then you want an interview?" he asked, without breaking stride, when a variety of men with microphones approached him.

Owen believes he has been unfairly criticised, telling MUTV: "I played only an hour or so versus Burnley and had 15 to 20 minutes against Birmingham, so I hadn't played 90 minutes in total, but a lot was still made of the fact I hadn't scored. It was as though I hadn't scored for a couple of years. So it was a nice feeling to score. I probably scored with the hardest chance I've had. I had two at Burnley and one against Birmingham, so this was only the fourth chance I've had in a Manchester United shirt. But I miss a couple of chances and, as ever, everyone is quick to write you off."

And singles out Fletcher for praise:

the real revelation on Saturday was the player who is rapidly becoming United's dynamo. Darren Fletcher was ubiquitous in midfield. There is not a single part of his game that has failed to improve. Fit again after a disrupted pre-season, Nemanja Vidic's return also gave United's defence a far more compact look. "We realise how badly we played at Burnley," the defender said. "We've lost one of the best players in the world in Ronaldo and of course we are going to miss him. But we still have great players who can score goals."

Steve Tongue in The Independent is fair and singles out the strength of our midfield:

"We had to do something about it," Ferguson said of Wednesday's embarrassment. What he did was demonstrate the enviable strength of his squad by dropping the whole midfield. Park Ji-Sung, Michael Carrick, Anderson and Ryan Giggs were all left out; Antonio Valencia, Darren Fletcher, Paul Scholes and Nani looked a more solid combination. Valencia, initially applauded on his old stamping ground then later booed, created the first goal with his cross for Wayne Rooney, Fletcher worked harder than anyone, Scholes successfully negotiated a tightrope after being booked in the 18th minute and Nani, who may yet flourish away from Cristiano Ronaldo's shadow, made the fourth goal for Michael Owen and scored the fifth.

Tom Dart in The Times really wanted us to lose, criticising us about as much possible after a 5-0 victory:

Five goals for and none against at the DW Stadium on Saturday seems the bluntest of responses, but just as it was too soon to mark down Manchester United’s prospects on the basis of one poor performance, however resonant, sceptics should not feel obliged to shut up quite yet.

Victories over Wigan Athletic are as routine as breathing for United: the clubs have met nine times in the Premier League and United have won on every occasion.

And it would be too facile to submit the scoreline as proof of United taking out the frustration of Turf Moor on their opponents. It was as much a reflection of an implosion from Wigan as of the visiting team’s potency. United wasted half a dozen good chances in the first period, but Wigan caused their opponents enough concern to keep the result in doubt until the opening goal.

Read, "Meh, Wigan were rubbish," and in light of that, when he says, "United might have scored ten," one imagines he's being a touch derogatory. When Arsenal ever win a game of football against, say, Portsmouth, everyone drools over their football, we do the same and the most they can muster is the odd, "they were OK I suppose."
To finish, we have the standard Monday morning story - one-of-our-players-will-faces-the prospect-of-being-charged-over-some-nothing-incident-because-of-video-evidence - today's edition Vidic.