For a while there Michael Owen looked like he would become one of those iconic Liverpool players, a legend who would be spoken of in the sort of exalted terms usually reserved for such titans as Ian Rush, Alan Hansen and Jamie Carragher. His records for the national team and his club were both pretty stellar, and he became a hero to many young football fans getting into the game between 1996 and 2001. Even despite a niggling hamstring injury he managed to keep up that stellar reputation for a while. Right up until he left for Real Madrid in 2004. To some it wasn't a surprise that a consistently strong player like Owen would wind up being pilfered by the Spanish side - it's sort of their "thing" - but after 216 appearances, 118 goals and eight years at Anfield, it didn't look like he'd ever leave. Then he revealed his true mercenary nature by leaving Madrid after a unproductive year and milling about first Newcastle and then Liverpool rivals Manchester United from 2009 to 2012, with his shenanigans getting less shocking and more sadly accepted each time.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
