Michael Owen: This isn't sour grapes... the England team was a lot better in 2002

'The Golden Generation': The England teams Owen played in were tipped for big things
AFP/Getty Images
Jack Rosser @JackRosser_16 October 2019

That England internationals from years gone by look at Gareth Southgate’s current crop of Three Lions and think ‘what if’ is huge testament to the work being done at St. George’s Park and Wembley Stadium.

The feel-good factor borne from last year’s run to the World Cup semi-final has run on from Russia, through a rather humbling Nations League Finals trip to Portugal and, barring Friday’s blip in the Czech Republic, deep into the qualifying campaign for Euro 2020.

England have been dragged to the forefront of international football since Southgate reluctantly replaced Sam Allardyce in the manager’s seat, the former Middlesbrough manager bringing anyone and everyone with a vested interest in the Three Lions’ fortune onto the same page.

Players, officials, fans and even the wider media are behind the England manager’s project, which certainly was not the case in years gone by.

Michael Owen was a key factor in the England side of the early 2000s branded the ‘Golden Generation’. Southgate’s side have gone further than England sides featuring Owen, David Beckham and Frank Lampard ever went, and the 2001 Ballon d’Or winner puts that down to one man.

“I think the way Gareth has gone about it, brought a nation together again, is great,” Owen told Standard Sport. “If I am honest, I didn’t think we had the best team in the world going to the last World Cup.

“This is not sour grapes, they did better than I ever did, I’m not bothered about it and wish they would have won it but my generation, the ‘98 team was a lot better, the 2000/2002 teams were a lot better than the last World Cup team but they did a lot better than us.

“That was purely because the way the manager managed them, the way they got on with each other and the way the whole of England were sort of supported and they felt loved. I thought it was a much more refreshing atmosphere, and if we can have the quality of players to match that feel-good factor we have now got, I think we are onto a winner and Gareth Southgate has been pivotal in that.”

Southgate and key figures behind the scenes at The FA have taken proactive steps in engaging the media around the England team since the build-up to Russia 2018.

The days of Graham Taylor having his head on a turnip splashed across a national newspaper could not feel more far removed from today’s relationship, and Owen knows how much of a relief that can be to a squad of players.

Marching on: Southgate has created at feel-good factor leading on from last year's World Cup run
Getty Images

“I vividly remember that players couldn’t stand the press,” Owen said. “Back in our day we used to feel that we got turnips put on our heads, effigies burnt.

“When Wayne Rooney walked off the pitch [at the World Cup] in South Africa bemoaning the fans down the camera, that didn’t happen by chance. That was not just a frustrated moment, that was the feeling of everybody, not just Wayne Rooney. At the time we didn’t feel we were supported by the press and, consequently then that maybe with the fans we thought people were just waiting to stick the knife in as well.

“I have sat on the back of the bus after a game with people saying ‘oh s***, that means I am going to get a five in the paper tomorrow.’ It was that powerful.

“People coming off the pitch and saying that as a first thought. Irrelevant stuff but it was so powerful back in the day. The press were so powerful and we used to go into press conferences almost s****ing ourselves thinking how things were going to get spun and it was almost like we were just fighting all the time.”

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