Michael Owen gets a lot of stick.
Owen’s commentary and punditry on BT Sport is frequently criticised on social media.
In fact, almost every utterance that comes from the mouth of the former Manchester United and Liverpool striker is ridiculed by many on Twitter.
Like, for example, in February 2016, when Owen said Leicester City, then top of the Premier League could be involved in a relegation battle the following season.
“Leicester conceivably could go down next year,” Owen said on BT Sport.
“They could win the league and they could still be in a relegation fight next year.
“It depends which way they go. They could go and invest all of their Champions League money and try to be a top club for years to come.
“Or they could pocket the money, maybe lose someone like [Riyad] Mahrez.
“All of a sudden, you know… their team is not a Manchester United squad or a Liverpool squad, and they’re having an unbelievable season. I sincerely hope they go on and win it [the title] but they could [go down next year].”
The former England striker received a lot of stick for that shout.
@FletchAndSav @LCFC @themichaelowen @ManUtd @LFC Dear oh dear, atrocious punditry.
— AB (@ABaraclough) February 13, 2016
@FletchAndSav @LCFC @themichaelowen @ManUtd @LFC probably the main reason no1 can take him serious #chatsshitgetsbanged
— Dean (@Deanobt) February 13, 2016
But, here we are, a year later and well… Owen was right.
Claudio Ranieri is gone and Leicester dropped into the relegation zone on Saturday, following Crystal Palace’s win over Middlesbrough. The Foxes play Liverpool on Monday night, and have yet to score a league goal in 2017.
Very valid point https://t.co/OT2gOUnxkA
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) February 26, 2017
Owen, probably the most maligned football pundit on British television, was right and BT Sport replayed the clip of his prediction on Saturday evening.
Ian Wright found it very funny
“I remember it, Mike,” the former Arsenal striker said.
“The amount of stick (you got). Okay, Leicester haven’t gone down yet – but the amount of stick you took.
“That’s what we do on here. You sit here and get slaughtered by people but you say what you feel.”
Owen, looking a bit smug, and rightly so, said that he took note of all those who criticised him over his prediction.
“The best thing is Wrighty, afterwards I went down all my Twitter feed and took pictures of every single one. I can’t wait to reveal it one day.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTrS9IDzRe8
Maybe now the people who criticise Owen might start respecting his opinion?
Yeah, probably not.
He can always say he got it right about Leicester, though.
Catch up with this week’s episode of 888sport Football Friday Live
