Two Waning Englishmen?

Michael Owen (29) and David Beckham (34). No, this is not some locker room fan fiction, so don't get your hopes up. Just two aging footballers who are looking past their sell-on date. But how much is down to the players, and how much is the product of severely dysfunctional teams?

Michael Owen
I had glanced at it, but I finally got around to reading the infamous 32-page Michael Owen brochure in full. While much was hilarious and pathetic, the more I read the more I was convinced that Michael Owen might actually be a decent player. Newcastle really was a fiasco, and I can definitely imagine that having something to do with his injury and goalscoring records. Most of the English media don't share my sympathy, but the English media isn't known for being particularly generous.

Page 7: The second bullet is as priceless as Michael Owen would have been.

Page 12: "Clean and fresh"? Is this a laundry detergent ad?

Page 16: I'm not sure if this graph quite made the point they they wanted, because that sure looks like a downward slope to me. Regardless, I'm such a sucker for graphs that it made me start to think there might be something to it. With the right team, and the right coach, surely he can rediscover a bit of that old form? Depending on his wage demands, Blackburn or Hull might be getting themselves a bargain.

David Beckham

This well-publicized book excerpt paints David Beckham in a poor light. I certainly never realized the relationship between Beckham and Donovan was so shambolic. With Beckham returning to the Galaxy in a few days, you have to wonder whether his presence will help or hurt the team. One thing seems fairly clear: Beckham won't be staying in the US beyond December.

On the other hand, Beckham could make a fairly decent living merely selling commentators crow, so don't quote me on that.

[Update July 2, 2009: I'm already regretting writing that bit about Beckham. Knowing him, he will comeback just to prove haters wrong. Meanwhile, Donovan's outspokenness sure won't hurt his chances of being sold-- perhaps that was even part of the motivation for him to speak out.]