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Toward the end of his book Inverting the Pyramid, Jonathan Wilson writes about the changing nature of modern football.&nbsp; A player he brings up to emphasize this is Michael Owen.&nbsp; To Wilson, Owen is a relic of a previous era.
“He appears a player left behind by the tactical evolution of the game,” Wilson writes.&nbsp; “Owen could be one of those players who wins teams the occasional game, but prevents them playing good football (which means that he may prove extremely useful to mediocre sides, or even to a good side playing badly, but rarely if at all to a good side playing well).”
Michael Owen is the prototypical “fox in the box” or “goal poacher.”&nbsp; He does one thing.&nbsp; He clings to the last defender, darts onto a pass and finishes.&nbsp; He once did so very proficiently.&nbsp; Despite injuries, he remains reasonably productive.&nbsp; But, how valuable is that skill? 

For Owen to affect the game, he needs service.&nbsp; He needs a midfield dedicated to feeding him.&nbsp; He sharpens one angle of attack, but simultaneously blunts others.&nbsp; A team can make Owen successful, but can he make the team successful?
Liverpool did win the Champions League the year after Owen left.
The designated finisher once was an essential position, but how many teams play such a specialist anymore?&nbsp; Look at last year’s Champions League finalists.
Manchester United did not play a designated goal-scorer.&nbsp; Berbatov is more of a facilitator.&nbsp; Goals came from Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney often moving in from wide roles.
Samuel Eto’o and Leo Messi scored a number of goals for Barcelona, but both play far more versatile roles, Eto’o will at times play on the wing, and defends.&nbsp; Messi plays on the right.
Neither Man U nor Barcelona played a goal poacher.
If looking for a designated forward, most Premier League fans would choose Didier Drogba or Fernando Torres.&nbsp; Both players finish, but they also are big, strong and fast enough to attack from multiple angles and create space.&nbsp; Their technical ability and vision allows them to facilitate teammates.
The one manager who dared press Owen, point out his weaknesses, and encourage him to expand his game was Kevin Keegan.&nbsp; Rather than accept the message, Owen stubbornly <a href="http:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk/sport-old/football/2008/01/17/michael-owen-my-hell-with-kevin-keegan-115875-20288533/">blamed Keegan for ruining his confidence</a>.
Teams need forwards to do more than score goals.&nbsp; Judging them solely by the number of goals, hardly says anything.&nbsp; Unless, we are all crowning Nicholas Anelka the best striker in the Premier League.
It’s not necessarily that Michael Owen has declined, but his skill-set does not fit the modern game.&nbsp; The question, then, is why Manchester United bothered to sign him?

Michael Owen: Past his Prime or Past His Time? - World Soccer Talk

Michael Owen: Past his Prime or Past His Time?

<a rel="attachment wp-att-733" href="http:\/\/www.serieatalk.com/last-minute-christmas-gifts-for-your-football-fanatic/729/juventus-team-feature-page-by-soccer-italia-magazine/" title="Juventus team feature page (by Soccer Italia magazine)"></a><div><figure class="image"><a rel="attachment wp-att-733" href="http:\/\/www.serieatalk.com/last-minute-christmas-gifts-for-your-football-fanatic/729/juventus-team-feature-page-by-soccer-italia-magazine/" title="Juventus team feature page (by Soccer Italia magazine)"></a></figure></div>
Looking for those last minute gifts for that Calcio loving family member?&nbsp;&nbsp; Why not send a subscription to Soccer Italia magazine&nbsp;or visit the local bookstore and purchase such titles as,
Mad For It by Andy Mitten
Mad For It covers the world’s biggest, oldest and most famous football derbies and Serie A Talk will have a book review&nbsp;early next year covering the most notable chapters and stories documented by FourFourTwo magazine writer Andy Mitten. <a href="http:\/\/www.amazon.com/Mad-Andy-Mitten/dp/0007280807/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1230067951&amp;sr=1-1">Order It Today</a>.
Inverting the Pyramid by Jonathan Wilson,
EPLtalk – Inverting The Pyramid: The History Of Football Tactics. The first-ever comprehensive history of football tactics has already been critically acclaimed after being named to the short list for Sports Book Of The Year Award in England. Written by Guardian journalist Jonathan Wilson, the book is a must-read for fans interested in tactics.&nbsp; <a href="http:\/\/www.amazon.com/gp/product/0752889958?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=et00d-">Order It Today</a>.
If you think your fan prefers something more visual,&nbsp;take a peek at Soccer Italia magazine.
<a rel="attachment wp-att-731" href="http:\/\/www.serieatalk.com/last-minute-christmas-gifts-for-your-football-fanatic/729/frontcover-of-soccer-italia-360-soccer-by-soccer-italia-magazine/" title="frontcover of Soccer Italia / 360 Soccer (by Soccer Italia magazine)"></a><div><figure class="image"><a rel="attachment wp-att-731" href="http:\/\/www.serieatalk.com/last-minute-christmas-gifts-for-your-football-fanatic/729/frontcover-of-soccer-italia-360-soccer-by-soccer-italia-magazine/" title="frontcover of Soccer Italia / 360 Soccer (by Soccer Italia magazine)"><img src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20081222_WST_64147_mag-selection-02.webp&amp;width=500&amp;height=310" alt="frontcover of Soccer Italia / 360 Soccer (by Soccer Italia magazine)"></a></figure></div>&nbsp;
&nbsp;The folks at <a href="http:\/\/www.socceritalia.net/">Soccer Italia magazine</a> were kind enough to send out several samples, including one of their Soccer 360 publication which is primarily an examination of&nbsp;game and players&nbsp;across all leagues.&nbsp;
In their bread and butter publication, Soccer Italia magazine, the coverage of Serie A is quite good containing team pullouts, high quality images and articles not only covering the current scudetto race but special features on historic events and past superstars as well.&nbsp;
<a rel="attachment wp-att-730" href="http:\/\/www.serieatalk.com/last-minute-christmas-gifts-for-your-football-fanatic/729/filling-the-void-article-soccer-italia-magazine/" title="Filling the void article (Soccer Italia magazine)"></a><div><figure class="image"><a rel="attachment wp-att-730" href="http:\/\/www.serieatalk.com/last-minute-christmas-gifts-for-your-football-fanatic/729/filling-the-void-article-soccer-italia-magazine/" title="Filling the void article (Soccer Italia magazine)"><img src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20081222_WST_64147_filling-the-void-03.webp&amp;width=500&amp;height=310" alt="Filling the void article (Soccer Italia magazine)"></a></figure></div>&nbsp;
&nbsp;The magazine also&nbsp;keeps a close eye on the Azzurri (The Italian National squad) and this season’s Race To The Finish issue featured, “Filling the void” an article which discusses the difficulties Italy is facing in finding an adequate backup and potential replacement between the sticks for elder statesman Gigi Buffon.&nbsp;
I eagerly await the discussion,&nbsp;“Filling the void”, of the back-four in an issue not yet written. Clearly&nbsp;old-time security of <a href="http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco_Baresi">Baresi</a>, Costacurta, <a href="http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paolo_Maldini">Maldini</a>, Nesta and very soon <a href="http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabio_Cannavaro">Cannavaro </a>is of major concern for Azzurri tifosi so come on Soccer Italia impress us even further with your relevant coverage of this great game.
From all of us at Serie A Talk&nbsp;a Very Merry Christmas&nbsp;or enjoyable feast day that you’ll be celebrating.
(thanks goes out to Mario at Soccer Italia&nbsp;for&nbsp;his help)

Last Minute Christmas Gifts For Your Football Fanatic  - World Soccer Talk

Last Minute Christmas Gifts For Your Football Fanatic

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Michael Owen: Past his Prime or Past His Time?

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Last Minute Christmas Gifts For Your Football Fanatic