a worthy number seven?

So Sir Alex Ferguson has handed Michael Owen the number seven shirt for the upcoming season, which, even if he does make more signings this summer, puts a fair amount of responsibility on the injury prone striker’s fragile shoulders. What’s more, it seems to have riled an already unsettled United fan base, who in addition to seeing Owen apparently become their ‘big name’ signing of the Summer, have now seen him take the shirt that was made iconic by the great George Best, and further endeared to them when adorning Eric Cantona, David Beckham and of course, Cristiano Ronaldo.

For them, that an ex-Liverpool player should wear their most sacred of shirts is akin to sacrilege, and they’re not to chuffed about it. But I think that Sir Alex Ferguson may well know what he’s doing with this decision, and that though they probably won’t admit it any time soon, United fans may eventually see that the decision to give the number seven jersey to Michael Owen could be a decision that ensures he will be a successful signing for the club.

Of course, Antonio Valencia would perhaps have been the natural choice for the shirt, given that he (at present) looks set to be their starting right winger and thus the man to fill Ronaldo’s boots. Needless to say, no one expects him to fill them completely, because they are big boots, and even Ronaldo found them hard to stand up in much of the time. However, Fergie will realise that Valencia will be under a lot of pressure from United fans and opposition fans alike, who will all be watching him closely to see if he is worthy of his predecessor.

Such pressure can be hard to take, especially for a player so tender in years, and let’s face it, Valencia is not yet acclimatised to the high stakes game that United will be playing. He excelled at Wigan, but there he was pretty much a big fish in a medium sized pond (meaning no disrespect to Wigan at all). At United though, he has entered a much larger pond, more of lake if we’re honest, or even a small sea. This brings with it more pressures, not just bigger fish, but waves, and currents, and perhaps a different water temperature, and he will need time to adapt before he can excel.

So giving Valencia the number seven shirt would only have increased the pressure on him. He will already feel a certain pressure to live up to Ronaldo, so he doesn’t need to be running around with Ronaldo’s shirt on too. So in that sense, a wise move from Fergie I think. Gabriel Obertan likewise, may be placed in the same situation as Valencia, and so he too is not a fitting recipient of the number seven jersey.

Michael Owen though, is a big name. He may not be a big superstar anymore, and he may not be the most talented player in their team (he certainly isn’t), but he is a big name who has learnt to live with expectation and pressure. He grew up with the expectation of a nation on his shoulders, as the man who we hoped would fire England’s golden generation to international glory. That didn’t happen, and Owen’s personal career has gone pretty spectacularly downhill too, with unsuccessful stints at Real Madrid and Newcastle United.

Owen then, has fallen a pretty long way. He used to be one of the most feared strikers in the world, and yet in recent times he has become something of a laughing stock, his reputation not aided by his marketing company producing the most ridiculous brochure of all time to sell him to clubs, which instead probably put people off. Yet Alex Ferguson has thrown him a lifeline. Owen would surely have been happy to secure a deal at almost any Premier League club this season, but he would never have dreamed that he’d be signing for the Champions.

And while it is a move that is definitely a risk for Ferguson, he will have his reasons, and he’ll know that owen can do a job for him. It’s my personal opinion that Owen’s pace was what made him a truly top class player and his loss of that blistering burst to take him clear of a defender puts him among the masses, sure he’s got a good eye for goal, but many strikers do. And Ferguson may well agree, but there’s one thing for sure, and that is that Ferguson will get the best out of Michael Owen if he possibly can.

And though it may be a massive cliche, Owen like all strikers thrives on confidence. Once he gets one goal, he’ll get a few, and then he’ll be on a roll. The confidence will encourage him to take risks, to take chances, and they’ll pay off. When he’s on form, Owen does have a knack of being in the right place at the right time, and that’s exactly where Ferguson will want him to be. However, after a calamitous period of his career, it’d be fair to say that Owen is a bit short on confidence.

Signing for Manchester United will have given him a boost, a big boost, but he will have read the headlines too. He’ll have seen the shock, he’ll have felt the anger of the United fans and he’ll have doubted himself. After enduring such a torrid time he is not going to be too sure of himself, and he’ll wonder why Ferguson signed him. Does he truly believe in him, or is it more a marketing ploy? Or just a grab for the headlines? Or a slight of hand from Ferguson so that he can sign another striker away from the media glare?

However unlikely, these things will have passed through Owen’s mind, because he isn’t the player he once was. We know this, and he knows this, he’s not stupid. But Feguson needs to stamp that attitude out of his new striker. He needs him full of confidence, he needs Owen to back himself, to feel comfortable in trusting his striking instincts, to take those chances and to be in the right place at the right time. And what better way to show Owen that he thinks highly of him, that Owen features in his first team plans, than to give him the iconic number seven jersey?

While Valencia and Obertan may have felt daunted by the pressure that the shirt placed on them, Owen will thrive on it. He’ll see it as a vote of confidence, he’ll see that Ferguson believes that he is worthy of the shirt, that Ferguson believes that he can contribute to the team in a similar way to that which Ronaldo did. And Ronaldo is arguably the best player in the world right now, so that’s some glowing praise indeed. It’s the sort of praise, the sort of recognition that strikers live for.

Owen is a confidence player, and giving him the number seven jersey will fill him with confidence. It will give Ferguson the best possible chance of getting the best out of Michael Owen, and if he can get the best out of Owen consistently, then it will prove a very shrewd signing. So although United fans may feel insulted that a Scouser is wearing the shirt that they idolise, and will probably never be happy with it, they should recognise that Ferguson is being pretty cunning here.

While we as fans can have license to get all sentimental about shirt numbers, and we have players who we feel are worthy of certain shirts, a manager can’t worry about that. To him it wouldn’t matter what numbers the players were wearing so long as they are winning, that’s his only concern. But Ferguson has recognised that he can use Owen’s shirt number to get the best out of him and thus help the team to win, and he’s accepted that that’s worth pissing off the fans for. And I have to say, I agree with him, and if Michael Owen has a storming season for United, the pissed off United fans might agree with him eventually too.

Like this article? There’s plenty more where that came from at They Think It’s All Over…