A Tale of Two Imperfect Tens
Two sporting heroes who have made the number ten synonymous with their name. Two twenty-eight year olds who made their England debuts in 1998. Two prolific scorers who ply their trade in black and white, in the North-East of England. Two players who should be at their peak.
The players in question are Michael Owen and Jonny Wilkinson, both of whom, you could argue, are past their peak. Both were given debuts young, aged eighteen, and in both cases it seems their best form is behind them; in Wilkinson’s case one need look no further than World Cup 2003. In Owen’s case, perhaps we look as far back as his hat-trick in England’s 5-1 victory over Germany in 2001.
Wilkinson has undergone a lengthy catalogue of injuries, to his knee ligaments, arm, shoulder (both a dislocation and a nerve problem) and even to his kidney. Owen has endured one catastrophic knee injury during the 2006 World Cup, but also has been troubled by problems with his hamstring and a broken metatarsal.
England has relied on these two men as much as it has relied on any player in any sport in recent times. From their debuts, rarely has anything other than injury precluded them a starting berth in international competition, and still that is the case. Yet now we are faced with the prospect of a Michael Owen robbed of the searing pace that made him so dangerous to play against. When allied with his finisher’s instinct, he had all the qualities that led the England fans to feel that, no matter how badly their team were playing, Michael would pop up with a goal. We may never feel that reassurance again.
Wilkinson, meanwhile, has lost some of the imperious presence he once brought to the rugby field. His length of kicking from hand is shortening, and a row about illegitimate match balls at the France World Cup aside, even his metronomic goal kicking looks less than inscrutable.
It is illustrative that before he re-committed himself to the North-East, Wilkinson’s possible departure from the Falcons was widely discussed. His motivation for leaving, so we were told, would be that his personal fitness and rehabilitation guru Steve Black had departed. No-one worried that Wilkinson might leave when Rob Andrew, who brought Wilkinson on from an 18-year-old playing alongside him and then oversaw his meteoric rise under him as head coach at the Falcons, left to assume his role as Director of Elite Performance at the RFU. Such is the scale of Wilkinson’s preoccupation with injury.
Wayne Rooney took Owen’s crown as the youngest player ever to score for England. Yet even he, aged just twenty-two, has been regularly suffering with injuries of his own. Perhaps we should only expect to have the Rooney we know and love for another four or five years; it seems that while our national sides and top clubs are willing to use the “if they’re good enough, they’re old enough” mantra, they are unwilling to consider the long term implications of too much, too soon.
The players in question are Michael Owen and Jonny Wilkinson, both of whom, you could argue, are past their peak. Both were given debuts young, aged eighteen, and in both cases it seems their best form is behind them; in Wilkinson’s case one need look no further than World Cup 2003. In Owen’s case, perhaps we look as far back as his hat-trick in England’s 5-1 victory over Germany in 2001.
Wilkinson has undergone a lengthy catalogue of injuries, to his knee ligaments, arm, shoulder (both a dislocation and a nerve problem) and even to his kidney. Owen has endured one catastrophic knee injury during the 2006 World Cup, but also has been troubled by problems with his hamstring and a broken metatarsal.
England has relied on these two men as much as it has relied on any player in any sport in recent times. From their debuts, rarely has anything other than injury precluded them a starting berth in international competition, and still that is the case. Yet now we are faced with the prospect of a Michael Owen robbed of the searing pace that made him so dangerous to play against. When allied with his finisher’s instinct, he had all the qualities that led the England fans to feel that, no matter how badly their team were playing, Michael would pop up with a goal. We may never feel that reassurance again.
Wilkinson, meanwhile, has lost some of the imperious presence he once brought to the rugby field. His length of kicking from hand is shortening, and a row about illegitimate match balls at the France World Cup aside, even his metronomic goal kicking looks less than inscrutable.
It is illustrative that before he re-committed himself to the North-East, Wilkinson’s possible departure from the Falcons was widely discussed. His motivation for leaving, so we were told, would be that his personal fitness and rehabilitation guru Steve Black had departed. No-one worried that Wilkinson might leave when Rob Andrew, who brought Wilkinson on from an 18-year-old playing alongside him and then oversaw his meteoric rise under him as head coach at the Falcons, left to assume his role as Director of Elite Performance at the RFU. Such is the scale of Wilkinson’s preoccupation with injury.
Wayne Rooney took Owen’s crown as the youngest player ever to score for England. Yet even he, aged just twenty-two, has been regularly suffering with injuries of his own. Perhaps we should only expect to have the Rooney we know and love for another four or five years; it seems that while our national sides and top clubs are willing to use the “if they’re good enough, they’re old enough” mantra, they are unwilling to consider the long term implications of too much, too soon.
posted by Matt at 3:06 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home