Right man in the right place at the right time...

He'll never be the same player again, he's lost a yard of pace, he drifts out of games too easily, he misses chances, defenders are wise to him blah blah blah blah... All comments that I've heard said or seen written about Michael Owen over the last few years, and for the most part what a load of rubbish! There might be some morsel of truth in some of the comments, but so what if he doesn't do much for 85 mins of a match if in the other 5 he's scored the 2 goals that have won it! After so long out with injury he's proved again in these last 2 England matches against Israel at the weekend and Russia this evening that he's a top quality goalscorer - he just has the knack of being in the right place at the right time, and England haven't got anyone else like him. 2 great goals against Russia tonight making him the 4th player ever to pass 40 goals for England, and now well within sight of Bobby Charlton's English record. Wish he was still playing for Liverpool!

Feels strange to be able to sit here writing about England playing well twice in a week, but they have done - 2 3-0 wins is more than could have been hoped for. Very impressed with Gareth Barry alongside Gerrard in midfield. Hopefully now McClaren will realise how much better England look with a more defensive midfielder leaving Gerrard a bit more free to break forward - yeah Gerrard was maybe more quietly effective than dominating, but Barry and him worked well together and it gave the team a better balance. Gerrard and Lampard just does not work - should be 1 or the other with a Barry / Hargreaves in there as well, and I know I'm biased but I know which of Gerrard / Lampard I would pick every time! Heskey did the job he was brought into do well, and generally England did look pretty good. Having said that Russia were a bit unfortunate to have a goal disallowed which would have made it 1-1 and could have changed the course of the game, and they did create a few chances with their build-up play. England were at times quite sloppy in defence - Ashley Cole and Ferdinand in particular, both quality players but just seem to switch off sometimes and can be punished for it. The other slightly disappointing aspect for me was Wright-Phillips - great energy, great pace, great skill etc., but so often his end product whether a cross, pass, shot or whatever let him down. England could have had a couple more goals if he'd taken chances to score himself or if his final ball to put others in had been better. Imagine an English right winger who has his pace and skill but with Beckham's crossing / passing ability - he'd be perfect!

Have to applaud Scotland this evening as well - 1-0 win away in France is a fantastic result, meaning they're still in with a great chance of qualifying and considering they've had both France and Italy in their group no-one would have thought that possible. Less said about Ireland the better though, unfortunately...